5) Transformers: The Last Knight — You know it’s going to be a slow summer when a Transformers movie makes one of these lists. None of them have ever really been all that good and even the best of them — Age of Extinction — was the definition of disposable entertainment. They’re loud, crass and juvenile: representing the very worst in Hollywood blockbusters. And yet, for whatever reason, people keep coming back for more
Despite this — despite looking no different than any other film in the franchise, simply louder — I can’t help but admit that I kind of want to see the latest entry. After the abysmal first three movies, Age of Extinction roughly corrected their disastrously Bay-tastic trajectory. The trailers have all looked like a lot of fun, not to mention that we might finally get to see Unicron in live-action. And that, Friends, just might be worth the price of admission.
4) Cars 3 — Like the Transformers movies, I’ve never really been able to get into the Cars franchise. It was my neighbor growing up who liked playing with cars — who loved the Fast and the Furious movies back when we were supposed to take them seriously — not me.
The first movie was fine enough, I guess. The second was the very definition of a pointless sequel. The third, however, seems to be out to reinvent the wheel: to strip the two-dimensional character of Lightning McQueen down to his core and build him back up as a more seasoned, more grounded person. For the first time in my life, I really want to see an Owen Wilson movie.
3) It Comes at Night — Now this is more my speed. Keep your giant alien robots and your anthropomorphic cars. Keep your billion-dollar franchises and your focus-grouped sequels. Horror — particularly independent horror — is where it’s at.
A24 has a near-perfect record with the movies they pick up for distribution these days, including last year’s Best Picture winner Moonlight and the fiercely unique Enemy. They even have a particular affinity for films about things that go bump in the night, as seen with Green Room, Ex Machina, The Witch and Under the Skin. It Comes at Night seems to be the perfect cross-section of these kinds of movies: a psychological horror film focused on one man’s obsessive need to keep his family safe from whatever is lurking in the shadows.
2) Baby Driver — Some movies exist as the perfect storm of circumstances that inevitably give rise to a classic. They have the perfect director, perfect script and perfect cast, all working toward a singlularly perfect vision. While most aren’t obvious until well after their release — when their perfection dawns on you gradually over time — others are clear from the moment they’re announced that they’re going to be something special. Baby Driver belongs to this second category of “too perfect to miss.”
Baby Driver is a sometimes comedic retro-thriller from Edgar Wright, the writer-director responsible for Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End. The cast includes a mix of reliable old-hands — Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx — and fresh, young, up-and-coming talent — Ansel Elgort and Lily James. The trailer suggests Drive, only with more fiercely developed characters, promising to make this a highlight of the summer movie season.
1) Wonder Woman — Despite how many times DC’s superhero movies have burned me in the last couple of years, Wonder Woman seems to be the movie to buck the dreary trend of grim dark, depressing and nonsensical action movies. Strong word-of-mouth paints a glowing picture for a movie that everyone and their mother was hoping would be good.
The movie looks fun and colorful: with a strong art direction and sense of narrative purpose. The WWI setting is perfect for a warrior princess. And the actress, Gal Gadot, was born to play this part. If there’s one film to bet on in June, it’s this one.
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