Whitney Cyr
Managing Executive Editor
While the temperatures have yet to heat up in the spring, soon the hot summer days will force some people to seek the cool and comforting air of the local movie theater. These next few months have no shortage of sequels, super hero movies and what should be big summer blockbusters. Here is a month-to-month guide of the movies you need to catch at the Cineplex in the next few months.
The month of May is going to be dominated by the Baz Luhrmann epic, “The Great Gatsby.” While the film was originally supposed to be set for a Christmas Day release, Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” had also taken that spot.
Instead of a fierce competition at the box office, the studio for Gatsby pushed back the release until the summer. “The Great Gatsby” features a completely star-studded cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire. Luhrmann’s somewhat spotty reputation as a director has resulted in some amazing films like “Moulin Rouge” and some absolute bombs like “Australia.”
What Luhrmann can confidently say is that his unique visual style of over-the-top, colorful and crazy production is his hallmark. “The Great Gatsby” will take over theaters on May 10.
Also in May is the highly popular third entry in the “Iron Man” trilogy, with recurring stars Robert Downy Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow reprising their roles in the Marvel comic book adaptation. While the second film focused too much on his character’s narcissism, I hope Downy Jr. and the script can successfully rein those tendencies in. “Iron Man 3” hits theaters on May 3.
May 17 brings us the highly anticipated sequel to Star Trek, titled “Star Trek Into Darkness.” This J.J. Abrams-helmed vision brings back the cast from the first, with Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, Zoe Saldana as Nyota, and Zachary Quinto as Spock. After having performed very successfully at the box office in 2009, this sequel’s biggest challenge will be avoiding the sophomoric slump that could determine whether or not a third one could be made.
The most exciting release in June will be the long-awaited remake of Superman. “Man of Steel” is helmed by Zach Snyder of “The Watchmen” and will star Henry Cavill. Whether or not this latest Superman can reach the lofty heights Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy has is yet to be seen.
Following after a monster superhero summer with “The Avengers” and “The Dark Knight Rises” last year, “Man of Steel” has some serious work to do, but with a rounded out cast of Amy Adams and Cameron Crowe, it’s hard to believe this film could disappoint. “Man of Steel” flies into theaters June 14.
Johnny Depp will be teaming back up with “Pirates of the Caribbean” director Gore Verbinski and getting back to his own Native American roots by playing one in “The Lone Ranger.” After an amazing first trailer, with the title character, played by Armie Hammer, along with Depp, this film will surely be another successful blockbuster for the Depp-Verbinski duo. With a July 5 release date, “The Lone Ranger” is the first exciting film to open up in July.
Later on in the month, on July 26, “The Wolverine” will be roaring into theaters. While Darren Aronofsky isn’t the director anymore, James Mangold has stepped in to direct this “X-Men” spin off sequel. As July melts into August, Pixar won’t miss a summer to make a lot of money, with the “Cars”-inspired movie “Planes,” an expansion of the “Cars” universe. About a cropdusting plane with dreams of competing in an aerial race, this family crowd-pleasing film could boost Pixar’s slump in the quality of their productions recently. “Planes” comes out on August 9.
Whitney Cyr can be contacted at
wcyr@keene-equinox.com