15 Most Anticipated Summer Films

The Avengers will assemble for what may be the most overstuffed tent-pole ever, and Katy Perry will unleash the first movie that could actually give you cavities.

15 Most Anticipated Summer Films
Photo: 20th Century Fox

The Avengers will assemble for what may be the most overstuffed tent-pole ever, and Katy Perry will unleash the first movie that could actually give you cavities, but that doesn’t mean this summer’s cinema landscape is a wholly barren wasteland.

Between superhero orgies (The Avengers) and bubblegum 3D concerts (Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D), there’s a rich array of warm-weather fare, from pint-sized love stories (Moonrise Kingdom) to sci-fi prequels (Prometheus) to breakout festival faves (Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Queen of Versailles). In addition to catching the final chapter of Christopher Nolan’s Batman saga (The Dark Knight Rises), we’re dying to see Joachim Trier’s follow-up to Reprise (Oslo, August 31st), Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest sure-to-be humanistic triumph (I Wish), and a twisted revenge-horror flick that’s already made waves in Australia (The Loved Ones).

If there’s time after Channing Tatum’s semi-autobigraphical strip show (Magic Mike), we might squeeze in a sit with The Avengers, but only if they promise to deactivate Katy’s whipped-cream boob cannons for good.

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The Dictator

The Dictator (Dir. Larry Charles, May 11). Sacha Baron Cohen’s third partnership with Borat and Brüno director Larry Charles promises the duo’s usual brand of politically-charged debauchery, inspired by everything from Saddam Hussein’s novel Zabibah and the King, Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, and the recent events surrounding Muammar Gaddafi. Cohen’s shift from mockumentary to traditional narrative (co-stars include Anna Faris and Ben Kingsley) opens the door for typical and tired Hollywood guffaws, but it’s likely this provocateur will continue to deliver.

I Wish

I Wish (Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda, May 11). From After Life to Still Walking, Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda has proven himself a master of richly drawn family drama and soulful meditations on loss. For his latest effort, he gently lightens the mood to tell the tale of two young brothers (real-life siblings Koki Maeda and Oshiro Maeda) on a mission to reunite. Any film by Kore-eda is pretty much unmissable, and what’s more, this one reunites him with Still Walking standouts Hiroshi Abe and Kirin Kiki.

Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom (Dir. Wes Anderson, May 25). Wes Anderson’s first live-action film since 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited sees his singular whimsy channeled into an appropriately youthful yarn, which tells of two pre-teen lovebirds (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) who fly the coop and leave their small town’s adults in an Andersonian frenzy. As usual, the obsessive production design looks to be as colorful as the cast, which also includes Bruce Willis, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, and Anderson favorites Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman.

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Oslo, August 31st

Oslo, August 31st (Dir. Joachim Trier, May 25). With Reprise, Danish-Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier served up a stunning groove of a debut, evoking a handful of clear, iconic influences while musing over the dueling beasts of friendship and creative expression. His sophomore film, which has already been widely lauded on the festival circuit, reunites him with exciting Reprise lead Anders Danielsen Lie, who this time stars as a jobless, Gen-Y addict adrift on the streets of Oslo. Winner of Best Film and Best Cinematography at last year’s Stockholm International Film Festival, the movie, like Trier’s first, was just a tad too slick to land on Oscar’s Foreign shortlist.

Prometheus

Prometheus (Dir. Ridley Scott, June 8). Despite the hubbub over flicks like Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down, some would argue that Ridley Scott hasn’t made a decent film since his one-two sci-fi punch of Alien and Blade Runner in 1979 and 1982, respectively. With Prometheus, a largely shrouded and brilliantly advertised pseudo Alien prequel, the atmospheric director at last returns to his strongest genre, employing the beloved elements of his two greatest movies. This is easily the summer’s most intriguing big-budget title.

Brave

Brave (Dir. Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, June 22). Aiming to bounce back after last year’s nadir of Cars 2, the folks at Pixar will release their first female-driven feature in Brave, the story of a Scottish lass (Kelly McDonald) who pulls a Mulan and defies male-centric customs to find her worth. Helmed by Mark Andrews, who’s worn multiple hats in the House of Pixar, including one as story supervisor on The Incredibles, Brave seems the right project to give the studio fresh life, and if you’re looking for relevance, its Katniss-style archery couldn’t be more on-trend. Mainly, it will be nice to see something (seemingly) original and (hopefully) daring from the animators who, until recently, were insurmountable.

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Beats of the Southern Wild

Beasts of the Southern Wild (Dir. Benh Zeitlin, June 27). To tout something as the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival doesn’t exactly guarantee quality these days, but Beasts of the Southern Wild, which achieved that very feat at Park City’s most recent soiree, seems a true gem, employing social, historical, and mythological elements to convey the power and the ripple effect of a bond between father and daughter. Setting his debut film in still-recovering New Orleans, and using its natural features and struggles to enrich his fairy-tale approach, filmmaker Benh Zeitlin fills the screen with non-actors who may well reflect those specifically shaken by local tragedy. Though possibly cuddly, Beasts looks promisingly raw.

Magic Mike

Magic Mike (Dir. Steven Soderbergh, June 29). In truth, Steven Soderbergh’s all-male revue may prove to be even worse than Full Frontal, but no gay, gal, or pop culture junkie is going to risk missing it. Inspired by star Channing Tatum’s glory days as a male stripper, Magic Mike is described by Soderbergh as “a party”—a party that promises more skin than ever from Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, and Matthew McConaughey. Okay, maybe not the latter.

The Loved Ones

The Loved Ones (Dir. Sean Byrne, TBA). A festival hit that released in 2009 in its native Australia, debut director Sean Byrne’s The Loved Ones is Prom Night with a screw loose, featuring a guilt-ridden high-schooler (Xavier Samuel) abducted by a psycho admirer (Robin McLeavy), whose father is the ultimate murderess enabler. Daughter and Daddy have long been nabbing prom kings, and turning their home into a dance floor cum torture chamber. Looking to be the Down Under answer to the unending wave of international horror, The Loved Ones seems perverse enough to stand out among lesser nail-biters, its controversial gore offset by tongue-in-cheek humor.

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The Queen of Versailles

The Queen of Versailles (Dir. Lauren Greenfield, July 6). Directed by internationally acclaimed photographer Lauren Greenfield, the buzzworthy documentary The Queen of Versailles tells of a real-life rags-to-riches couple, who begin by building America’s biggest home (a 90,000-square-foot, Versailles-inspired mansion), only to have their lives undone by the economic crisis. Word has it that Greenfield nails a tack-sharp socioeconomic commentary, profiling the lives of the billionaires, their children, and even their employees to fascinating effect. And with retrospect and a true artist’s eye in her favor, it looks like she may have the doc of the moment.

Savages

Savages (Dir. Oliver Stone, July 6). These days especially, one never knows what he or she will get from an Oliver Stone film. Sometimes it’s the partially successful, yet unbelievably fascinating jaunt of W.; sometimes it’s the atrociously awful “nostalgia” of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Let’s hope Savages proves both fascinating and reminiscent, its wealth of social deviants echoing the undesirables of Natural Born Killers, and its story deserving the same good ink that followed the release of Don Winslow’s source novel. That the cast is a mess of ’90s icons (John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Slama Hayek, Benicio del Toro) and current heartthrobs (Aaron Johnson, Blake Lively, Taylor Kitsch) could prove, shall we say, kitschy, but the merger of artist and material looks good from here.

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises (Dir. Christopher Nolan, July 20). While it’s unlikely to top the urban crime epic that was The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s fanboy-taunting final chapter, The Dark Knight Rises, should give his revered trilogy a satisfying close, making the most of hot talent like Tom Hardy, and reintroducing a franchise favorite (Catwoman) in the form of Anne Hathaway. It’s a good sign that Nolan is incorporating the comic-book storyline that catches up with an older Bruce Wayne, and the film’s class-conscious, Occupy-esque plot elements should lend it the same timeliness that elevated its predecessor.

The Bourne Legacy

The Bourne Legacy (Dir. Tony Gilroy, Aug. 3). Matt Damon is out, Jeremy Renner is in, and much of the supporting cast (Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Albert Finney) is back for this fourth franchise installment, appropriately the first not based on an actual Robert Ludlum novel. Adapted from the first Bourne series book by inheriting author Eric Van Lustbater, Legacy also sees the departure of Paul Greengrass, passing the director’s chair to trilogy screenwriter Tony Gilroy. Gilroy’s aptitude for classy action is a major plus, even if this seems like little more than a studio holding onto a profitable brand with all its might. And if Renner can bring half of what he brought to The Hurt Locker and The Town, Damon won’t be all that missed.

Chicken with Plums

Chicken with Plums (Dir. Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, Aug. 17). Based on the beloved Iranian graphic novel of the same name, Chicken with Plums charts the last eight days in the life of Nasser Ali Khan (the great Mathieu Amalric), who waits for death after multiple suicide attempts, longing for the first love (Golshifteh Farahani) he lost before starting his current family. A violinist, Khan turned to music as an escape, and when that is taken from him, he finds solace in fanciful visions, which recall the past and introduce color and comfort. Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud’s movie promises to carry the viewer along on Khan’s journeys, a propsect nearly as intriguing as the supporting cast of Isabella Rossellini, Maria de Medeiros, and Chiara Mastroianni.

Lawless

Lawless (Dir. John Hillcoat, Aug. 31). Formerly known as The Wettest County, John Hillcoat’s Prohibition-era drama firstly boasts what’s surely one of the season’s best casts, with Tom Hardy and Shia LaBeouf accompanied by Jessica Chastain, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, and Guy Pearce. The script is penned by Nick Cave, back to make good on the promise of The Proposition, and the book on which the film is based is itself based on the actual travails of author Matt Bondurant’s ancestors. All told, the project seems a perfect merger of talents, marrying a handful of harmonious sensibilities from gritty, in-their-element craftsmen. Set in Virginia, the tale of three bootlegging brothers could be the year’s best western.

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R. Kurt Osenlund

R. Kurt Osenlund is a creative director and account supervisor at Mark Allen & Co. He is the former editor of Out magazine.

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