HOLLYWOOD—Officially the summer movie season kicked off with the month of May. We have already seen blockbusters like “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Fast X” and recently “The Little Mermaid” take big bites out of the box-office. However, with May a thing of the past, June is here and there is plenty at the multiplex the next 3 months. For starters, this week we see the sequel, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” which is already getting rave reviews. Be advised this is an animated version and unlike most animated flicks which gives it a major edge.
If you want something to scare you, check out “The Boogeyman” which is getting spun as something from the brainchild of novelist Stephen King. There was a movie quite some time ago coined “Boogeyman” so what makes this flick different from that version. If anything, it is going to scare kids again about checking under the bed and that closet and rarely do PG-13 flicks get underneath the skin of adults.
I’ll be honest June is a loaded month; it might be the biggest month for the summer 2023 to unleash movies. June 9 we have the sixth installment in the “Transformers” franchise, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.” I will admit after the third installment which was expected to be the end, I stop caring about the franchise. If they want to rebirth it, you need Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Tyrese Gibson back. Bring the people that made the franchise hot back into the fray.
The movie that is at the top of my list is “The Flash,” which opens June 16. I know everyone is concerned about with the troubles surrounding its star Ezra Miller, but that trailer was fantastic, not to mention the buzz about early screenings is calling it one of the best comic book movies since “The Dark Knight” is major buzz. That same weekend you have the animated flick “Elemental” which is certain to do big bucks at the box-office with kids, and there is also the thriller “The Blackening” that is looking like a satire. The problem is “The Flash” is going to be so huge; I would be scared for any movie to open alongside that superhero comic adaptation.
The month of June ends with the fifth entry of the “Indiana Jones” franchise with “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” starring Harrison Ford who is knocking at 80 people. Can’t wait to see this flick, but I am on the edge of caution because I am wondering how Ford is going to pull off these wicked stunts.
Now the month of July kicks off with the return of an infamous horror flick “Insidious” with the fifth entry, “Insidious: The Red Door” that reunites original stars Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson. Oh, I cannot wait for this one. Opening July 12 is “Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part I,” with Tom Cruise returning. I swear these flicks are so entertaining and the previous flick was such a good time and the stunts are always amazing so I expect nothing less with this one.
Perhaps the one flick I’m still trying to make sense, why we’re getting a live-adaptation of an iconic doll, “Barbie?” Like please explain this plot to me because I cannot understand this for the life of me. The movie releases July 21, and it stars Margot Robbie as the iconic doll, with Ryan Gosling who has been MIA from cinema in a while as the golden boy, Ken. Other big names in the flick include Issa Rae and Simu Liu. Rather this movie is for kids, tweens, teens, young adults or old adults I have no clue.
If there is one filmmaker who has not delivered a dud of a flick it is Christopher Nolan as he tackles the story of the creation of the atomic bomb with “Oppenheimer.” He doesn’t make a movie every year, but when Nolan steps behind the camera it is a piece of magic. The month of July ends with another live-action flick as “Haunted Mansion” plans to bring audiences a new version of a classic starring Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish and Rosario Dawson.
Summer will begin to wind down as we enter the month of August. The month kicks off with the animated flick “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” on August 2. Do you remember that campy flick from 2018 about a massive shark starring Jason Statham? Well, a sequel is coming with “The Meg 2: The Trench” hits theaters on August 4 to make people afraid to go into the water again. We have the adaptation of the classic video game “Gran Turismo” on August 11. There is also the spy-thriller “Heart of Stone” starring Gal Gadot being released that same weekend.
Honestly speaking there is NOT much happening in the month of August movie-wise that will make moviegoers flock to the theater. The month closes out with the drama “White Bird” starring Hellen Mirren and Gillian Anderson. There is also the return of Liam Neesom in the action-flick “Retribution” as the Wall Street exec who uncovers something heinous. Yes, there is plenty at the multiplex for all this summer, but I feel like the fall 2023 movie season will be just as exhilarating.
