Though summer is the most lucrative period of the year for the film industry, the quality of summer movies seems to be inversely proportional to the profit. With Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Smurfs set to be released, it doesn’t look like Hollywood will break free from this unfortunate tradition any time soon. Street guides you through the seas of warm–weather mediocrity, searching for bright spots on the summer horizon.
Bridesmaids 5/13 (Paul Feig) The Judd Apatow canon will get a much–needed infusion of female perspective this summer in Paul Feig’s Bridesmaids, co–written and produced by Saturday Night Live superstar Kristen Wiig. Even without the whiny men–children and the shrewish women that love them that feature in any Apatow production, the film promises plenty of raunch and bad behavior. It's the ladies who take the spotlight in this comedy, which centers on one maid of honor’s desperate quest to plan the perfect wedding for her best friend. As complications arise in the form of jealous bridesmaids, insufferable roommates and broken tail lights, the story becomes more a tale of survival than the sweet romantic comedies usually marketed toward women. Featuring Jon Hamm in a role that promises plenty of shirtlessness, expect to see the tables turned on the bothersome “male gaze.”
The Tree of Life 5/27 (Terrence Malick) Veteran director Terrence Malick is back after a healthy break, during which film critics and audiences realized how hard they were in their initial judgments of 2005’s The New World. Though panned at the time, the film ended up on countless critics’ top 10 lists at the end of the decade, drawing everyone back to the conclusion that everything Malick touches is an utter masterpiece. The world now waits with bated breath in anticipation of Malick’s latest, even despite the filmmaker's deliberate silence when it comes to revealing any details of the plot. So far, we gather that Brad Pitt stars as the father of Sean Penn’s character in youthful flashbacks, and that the film deals with “the loss of innocence.” Regardless of what Tree of Life ruminates on, expect to be blown away by beautiful imagery, music and an overall reverence for the natural world and the nature of humanity.
The Troll Hunter 6/10 (Andre Ovredal) This latest in the recent trend of horror faux–docs comes from Norway. A group of teenagers searches for the cause of a string of mysterious bear killings, only to come upon the trail of a hunter who specializes in snuffing out trolls. Played to rapturous fanfare at a midnight screening at Sundance, the film looks like it has the potential to become the type of midnight movie that will attract audiences long after its initial release. Drawing on Norwegian folklore and utilizing the country’s natural scenery to the fullest effect, one can at least hope for The Troll Hunter to upset the cliches that dominate “found footage” material.
Tabloid 7/10 (Errol Morris) Legendary documentarian Errol Morris’ latest gift to the cinephiles of the world chronicles “The Mormon sex in chains case,” a 1977 incident involving the alleged rape and imprisonment of a Mormon missionary in England. It’s no wonder that the British tabloids had a field day with the case, given that the accused perpetrator of the crime, Joyce McKinney, was not only female, but a former Miss Wyoming. The film documents its history with a focus on the media coverage of the event, which became its own spectacle when notorious gossip rags Daily Mirror and Daily Mail began hurling personal insults at one another on the coverage of the case. In a summer full of sequels and remakes, Tabloid promises to show that there is no dearth of material out there to be exploited, given the abundance of shit that can't even be made up.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 5/15 (David Yates) Since it’s a challenge to make it through summer without seeing a movie with a colon in the title, it’s best to indulge oneself with a sequel that’s more of an adaptation. Besides, you’re contractually obliged to go to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 as a person born between 1988 and 1992. The saga of the boy wizard comes to its unofficial close as the second half of the final book hits theater screens in July. You won't want to miss the event. If the first half of The Deathly Hallows was any indication, the latest installment will likely offer a satisfying conclusion to an obsession that has absorbed our collective time and money for more than a decade.
30 Minutes or Less 8/12 (Ruben Fleischer) Rounding out the summer months with a comedy will help the realization that school is just around the corner go down a little easier. Jesse Eisenberg stars as an unassuming (duh) pizza delivery boy who is kidnapped by criminals and forced to pull off a bank heist. Also starring Danny McBride and Nick Swardson (Terry from Reno 911, lest you have forgotten), expect to see some of the immature male caricatures we thought we had gotten rid of with Bridesmaids. Luckily Eisenberg is on hand to bring the smarts to his role, and hopefully the dose of good nature that will elevate this thriller–cum–comedy above similar fare.
