The spring is usually a dumping ground for studios, and while there were big misfires in spring 2013 like A Good Day to Die Hard and Jack the Giant Slayer, there were also some nice gems like Warm Bodies, Stoker, and the great The Place Beyond the Pines. Now we move towards the heavy hitters of summer, and it's tough to choose just five among the many choices headed our way. Summer 2012 was a slog, but hope begins anew with summer 2013.
Hit the jump to see the films that Matt, Adam, and Dave are most anticipating in from April to June.
[Picks are in order of release date]
Matt's Picks
Director: Michael Bay
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, Ed Harris, Rob Corddry, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub, Rebel Wilson, and Ken Jeong
Release Date: April 26th
Why I'm Excited: This is about as indie as Michael Bay will ever get. The budget is still in the tens of millions, and it's an action movie, but Pain and Gain has been a passion project for Bay, and he decided to take a break from giant talking space robots to make it. The trailer is a lot of fun, and it looks to be silly rather than abrasively stupid. This flick could either be a fresh direction for Bay or a nice throwback to his smaller-scale work (again, by his standards) like Bad Boys.
Director: Shane Black
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley
Release Date: May 3rd
Why I'm Excited: Two words: "Shane Black". Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is one of my all-time favorite movies, he's one of the best action-film writers of all-time, and the franchise needed a fresh voice after the disappointing Iron Man 2. Not only does the Iron Man series require some new life, it also has to follow The Avengers, a task that fittingly falls to the superhero that kicked off Phase One. The trailers have signaled a darker story for Tony Stark, but I'm still expecting the crackling dialogue and tone that Black has delivered in the past.
Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, and Benedict Cumberbatch
Release Date: May 15th in IMAX 3D; May 17th in 2D and 3D
Why I'm Excited: I feel obligated to include this even though I have some reservations. Most of those reservations come with J.J. Abrams' fetish for secrecy in an age where the marketing will give away almost everything anyway, and going out of his way to hide things that don't matter like the name of the villain (I don't buy Damon Lindelof's argument). But this cast has already proved they're perfect for the roles, and I hope that the time between Star Trek and Into Darkness has given the writers time to nail the script. Despite these issues, I'll turn out simply because Benedict Cumberbatch looks like he's going to crush it.
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Christopher Meloni, and Russell Crowe
Release Date: June 14th
Why I'm Excited: Again, I have reasons to be hesitant. Let us not forget that Snyder's last two films were Legend of the Guardians and Sucker Punch. I'm also very concerned about the seemingly po-faced approach to a feel-good superhero. But the buzz thus far has been ecstatic, and I desperately want this movie to be good. I like Superman, but I also think he's a tough character to get right. It's a matter of high risk, high reward. If Snyder can meet the challenge, then he could come away with the best Superman movie to date.
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Kaitlin Olson, Ben Falcone, Demian Bichir, and Thomas F. Wilson
Release Date: June 28th
Why I'm Excited: Paul Feig hit a homerun with Bridesmaids, and showed that a hard-R female comedy can tear up the box office. The red-band trailer for The Heat had me cracking up, and Bullock and McCarthy look like a great comic duo that will bring a new spin to the mismatched-buddy-cop flick. Also, Universal moved The Heat out of April and into the heart of summer. Not a bad sign.
Adam's Picks
Director: Michael Bay
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, Ed Harris, Rob Corddry, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub, Rebel Wilson, and Ken Jeong
Release Date: April 26th
Why I’m Excited: Though I was dubious that anything directed by Michael Bay could be considered “small scale,” the first trailer for this film hit all the right notes for me. Johnson and Wahlberg look to be a fantastic comedic pair, the tone walks the fine line between dark and funny, and Bay’s colorful visuals remain on full display. I get a strong Bad Boys vibe from this movie thus far, and I’m very eager to see how Bay handles the more sordid details of this horrifying true story.
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, and Adelaide Clemens
Release Date: May 10th
Why I’m Excited: Brilliantly inventive or disastrously over the top? This one could really go either way, but I’m incredibly excited nonetheless. Luhrmann obviously has a flair for distinct visuals, and all the trailers for Gatsby promise a positively epic take on the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald story. I love the filmmaker’s bombastic, colorful iteration of the Gatsby world that we've seen thus far, and he’s assembled an undeniably impressive cast to bring the characters to life. This is also one of the few times that I’m actually looking forward to checking the film out in 3D, and my fingers are crossed that Luhrmann does something truly inventive with the filmmaking tool. Whether Gatsby is a massive disappointment or an immense success, I have a feeling we’ll be in for something grand either way.
Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, and Benedict Cumberbatch
Release Date: May 15th in IMAX 3D; May 17th in 2D and 3D
Why I’m Excited: Abrams’ 2009 reboot of Star Trek remains one of the most entertaining films of the past few years, and so I’ve been looking forward to this follow-up ever since my first viewing of that film. You can’t go wrong with Cumberbatch (I couldn’t care less what the villain’s name is), and I’m interested to see if Abrams can keep things fun while also balancing what looks to be a considerably darker tone.
Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Summer, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen, and Patrick Heusinger
Release Date: May 17th
Why I’m Excited: This one was flying under the radar for quite some time until its debut at last year’s Telluride Film Festival, where Baumbach’s latest directorial effort received a wildly positive response. I was aware of Frances Ha in the ensuing months and looked forward to seeing it eventually, but then the comedy's first trailer debuted and I was entirely won over. Gerwig is adorably irresistible as the title character, and everything about the film looks unendingly charming, from its black and white aesthetic to its warmly comedic tone. Also, Adam Driver.
Directors: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Cast: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Jason Segel, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, David Krumholtz, Paul Rudd, Martin Starr, Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, and Rihanna.
Release Date: June 12th
Why I’m Excited: Not only does this mark the directorial debut of Superbad and Pineapple Express scribes Rogen and Goldberg, but it also looks to be the largest assembly of young comedic talent in recent memory. I’m intrigued by the idea of the cast playing exaggerated versions of themselves as they face down the apocalypse, and the film’s first red-band clip/trailer had me in stiches. Here’s hoping things get weird.
Dave's Picks
Director: Shane Carruth
Cast: Andrew Sensenig, Shane Carruth, Amy Seimetz
Release Date: April 5th
Why I'm Excited: Carruth's previous (and only other) directorial effort was 2004's Primer, which remains one of my favorite films to use as a launching point into a discussion on time travel. It seems like Upstream Color will provide the same intellectual stimulation as Carruth's debut film if word out of Sundance is any indication. I'm excited just to have the chance to try and figure it out, since I've been digesting Primer for almost ten years and need a change of pace.
Honorable Mention: Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead remake and Danny Boyle's Trance...which are here because they open the same day as Upstream Color and I can't wait to check them out.
Director: Shane Black
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley
Release Date: May 3rd
Why I'm Excited: At this point it's pretty much a given that any Marvel property will come with its own dose of anticipation. While Iron Man 2 lacked the punch of the original film, I'm looking forward to seeing Black's take on the comic property. I'm also jazzed to see Kingsley's take on the infamous villain, The Mandarin; owing to his voice-over in the recent trailer, it's going to be interesting to say the least. Even though it's been touted as a standalone film, Iron Man 3 will be our first introduction to Marvel's Phase 2 so I can only imagine what surprises are in store.
Honorable Mention: Sorry, Supes, but you'll have to take a back seat to Tony Stark on this one. Zack Snyder has proven time and again to be the master of cutting a great trailer but then disappointing with the feature film. Here's hoping Man of Steel proves me wrong.
Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller and Benedict Cumberbatch
Release Date: May 15th in IMAX 3D; May 17th in 2D and 3D
Why I'm Excited: I was only ever a casual fan of Star Trek, but Abrams' 2009 reboot was a welcome transition back into the world for me. The fantastic cast has only added to my anticipation for this follow-up film and I'm absolutely on board with the tone Abrams has established so far. Cumberbatch seems genuinely pissed off at Starfleet so, whoever his character actually turns out to be, our heroes will certainly have their hands full.
Honorable Mentions: Celebrating 2013 as the year of (hopefully) great sci-fi, I'm also looking forward to Joseph Kosinski's Oblivion and grudgingly, M. Night Shyamalan's After Earth.
Director: Justin Lin
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Luke Evans, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster and Gina Carano
Release Date: May 24th
Why I'm Excited: There is not one franchise that's packed full of more summer fun than the films of Fast and the Furious. I have a hard time remembering 2009's Fast & Furious but Lin stepped it up a notch by bringing Johnson into the mix in 2011's surprising crowd-pleaser Fast Five. I'm hoping for more of the same in Fast & Furious 6 which will see Johnson team up with the street-racing outlaws to take down a new threat. Plus, you know, Gina Carano.
Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne, John Goodman, Josh Gad, B.J. Novak, Max Minghella, JoAnna Garcia Swisher and Aasif Mandvi
Release Date: June 7th
Why I'm Excited: It's the reunion of the Wedding Crashers themselves! What's not to get excited about? While the recent trailer definitely has the guys showing their age (along with a few forced "old and out of touch" tropes), the chemistry between the Vaughn and Wilson is worth the price of admission. There's a little bit of Old School vibe going on here as well, which could prove to be a welcome addition to the plot.
Honorable Mention: With Vaughn and Wilson in The Internship, everyone else in Hollywood was busy starring in Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's This Is the End, opening June 12th.
