It’s the calm before the storm. Summer movie season is just round the corner. The last few Oscar contenders have their time, then come April, bang, summer blockbuster time (Yes, Summer movie season starts in April/end of March). Let’s have a look at what to look forward to over the coming months (Subject to change because films reshoot and covid) and what you should add to your calendar.
X (March 18th)
I have never seen any of Ti West’s previous work, but when A24 get involved, you grab my attention. The film follows a group of young Adult film makers who go to a rural Texas to make a film, when their hosts start to behave strangely and causing the group to fear their lives. Finally a horror for horror fans to eat up something of a rarity so far this year.
AMBULANCE (March 25th)
Michael Bay is back. Expect expolosions and more explosions, with over the top action scenes, as two criminals steal an ambulance during a heist. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Matteen II and Eiza Gonzalez
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (March 25th)
Probably won’t be a film for everyone because it’s a foreign film, and some people struggle to read. I’ve never seen any of Joachim Trier’s previous work, but some really positive reviews and a couple of Academy Award nominations (Best International and Best Original Screenplay) make it a must watch for film fans, if you can find a cinema showing it.
MORBIUS (March 31st)
Do I need to sell this film anymore? Do I think it will be good? Absolutely not. If you’ve read my review for Uncharted you know my opinions on Sony and their films, and it isn’t more true than for their weird Marvel universe they’ve got going on for Spider-Man villains, where they try and make them funny so takes any threat they cause. But hey more Jared Leto acting, and I have no doubt he will be trying.
THE BAD GUYS (April 1st)
I’ve seen the poster for this film for months and didn’t particularly think of anything of it. But when I actually got to see the animation style in flow, it grabbed my attention. Dreamworks can be hit or miss, and the director, Pierre Perifel, having never made a feature film before, it might be a surprise but is likely to get lost under the size of the next film on this list.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 (April 1st)
Sonic the Hedgehog was a big hit with families and younger children, being one of the best video game movies we’ve had (not saying much) and a hit at the box office in the struggling box office year of 2019. This time I’m sure the film will be basically the same apart from this time we have Knuckles (Voiced by Idris Elba) and Tails (Voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey) joining the party.
FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE (April 8th)
It’s weird how little I care about this franchise. I liked Fantastic Beasts more than most people did, and saw the potential, but it was at it’s worst when it was tying into the rest of the universe, which the sequel just jumped straight in with, making it a big old mess. This universe needs a fresh start with a series? That would be cool, in the mean time we have this final Fantastic Beasts (Which isn’t really about beasts but is more about Dumbledore vs Grindelwald).
THE LOST CITY (April 15th)
The Nee brothers might not have a lot of film credits but with big names Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum and Daniel Radcliffe all in this adventure comedy which looks a lot of fun, has potential to be this years Free Guy, even if the poster is just very reminiscent of Dora and the Lost City of Gold.
THE NORTHMAN (April 15th)
Robert Eggers has become one of those names film fans will watch anything he makes. His films The Lighthouse and The Witch were both very well recieved dispite having limited releases. This time Eggers brings the story of a Viking prince out to avenge his father’s murder. The film stars Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Anya Taylor-Joy.
THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT (April 22nd)
Do you like Nicholas Cage? In this one, Nicholas Cage plays Nicholas Cage who is paid to appear at a billionaire drug lord’s birthday party but undercover as an FBI informant. It could be a lot of fun but definetly won’t be one of the bigger hits of the year and won’t be for everyone.
DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA (April 29th)
Okay, I’ve never seen Downton Abbey, I’m not worried about seeing it, but it will do well at the box office for the strong, older audience that love the series.
DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (May 6th)
Perhaps the biggest film on the list and might be the biggest film of the year. Following on from opening up the multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as Wanda messing with it at the end of Wandavision and Loki and the TVA playing about in Loki, Doctor Strange must deal with the multiverse opening up and the chaos that causes with different variants popping up, expect cameos gallore from the X-Men Fox universe as a bare minimum, with many cameos being kept as quiet as possible. Avoid spoilers if you can.
MEN (May 20th)
Alex Garland’s two films so far have been big successes with Ex Machina and Annihilation, which has quickly made him one of my favourite film makers working. Another creepy film is on the way as Jesse Buckley plays a young woman who goes on a holiday to the countryside after the death of her husband.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK (May 27th)
The long awaited and heavy delayed sequel to Top Gun arrives at the end of May. This time directed by Joseph Kosinski who Cruise worked with for Oblivion. Perhaps not a raging success, but never the less, Cruise gets butts in seats and there is definetly an audience who love the first one and are very excited for this one, a must watch in IMAX.
JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION (June 10th)
The third installment in the World section of the Jurassic franchise. The fans of these films are hardcore and we’ve seen how they can turn out in huge numbers like they did for the first Jurassic World. This time with the originals of Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill all returning this time to take on the dinos, and Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard also reprising their roles. We shall see how much of a wrap of if this franchise it will actually be, and don’t be surprised if it leaves the door open for a contiunation.
LIGHTYEAR (June 17th)
So this is a film inside the Toy Story universe that the toy Buzz Lightyear is based on, are you following? I think this film has a chance to be a huge hit and the start of a franchise. The first trailer gives off some big Star Wars and Star Trek vibes, this will be one of the biggest hits of the summer box office, and could be the start of these films based on Toy Story characters.
ELVIS (June 24th)
Baz Luhrmann hasn’t directed a film in nearly 10 years since The Great Gatsby, his unique style and talent is always something to watch out for so when it was announced he was doing a film based on the life of Elvis it was going to be on the list. Austin Butler’s star has slowly been on the rise particularly in recent years with his role in Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, having mostly had a TV based career so far, Elvis could be the film that makes his career having also now been rumoured to appear in Dune: Part Two. Tom Hanks also stars as Elvis’ manager.
MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU (July 1st)
This one has been in the bank waiting for the best time to come out for some time. Heavily delayed, waiting for children and families going in those droves to watch the yellow creatures cause more mayhem in this sequel to their solo origin film. Another animated film that will dominate the box office.
THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (July 8th)
Time for another Marvel film. We haven’t seen anything yet for this one but don’t be surprised if we get something soon, especially for the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Being helmed by Taika Waititi, who directed Thor: Ragnarok. Expect more laughs and ridiculousness, with action as Thor leaves the Guardians and battles against Gorr the God Butcher (played by Christian Bale). Thor: Love and Thunder also stars Russell Crowe and has Natalie Portman and Jaimie Alexander returning to their roles.
LEAGUE OF SUPERPETS (July 29th)
Another superhero one, this time it’s their pets taking centre stage. The last big DC Animated film that got a cinema release was Teen Titans Go! to the Movies which I loved, but I have a lot less faith in this one. It might be fine, but definetly looks like it’s leaning more towards being one that’s just for kids.
That’s the biggest films to watch out for this summer movie season. I’m sure there will be some over big hits to look forward to, as well as the many films to watch on streaming and series to watch on all streaming services.
Which one are you most looking forward to? For me it has to be Doctor Strange, closely followed by Lightyear and Nope.
Flooders Films 
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