Summertime blockbuster movies are back, baby! Well, I don’t know if ‘blockbusters’ but with the world slowly reopening, a trip to the movies is back on the table. This summer I’m particularly excited to announce that SuperHero movies aren’t so exciting this year. This is due to the constant rescheduling releases and titles that are not big enough for me to muster the strength and give up the $18.
So Instead, let’s talk about the fun, exciting films showing in a theater near you. This summer I want to dance, meet colorful villains and just enjoy how weird that new M. Night Shyamalan film “OLD” looks.
One of my theories regarding theater trends is that every couple of years a genre of film emerges that causes a ripple effect. For example, Gravity caused a surge in big budget astronaut movies, with Interstellar and the Martian the following years. Needless to say, the whole thing with Marvel movies falls in this trend.
That’s all to say that I hope we are entering the Lin Manuel Miranda trend that will spark joy in the hearts of every New Yorker and New York enthusiast. Can you tell I’m a huge Hamilton fan?
Can you tell I’m excited for a movie musical to dominate theaters this summer?
3 Movies Worth Going Back to the Theater for This Summer
Watch the Trailer for – In The Heights
The creator of “Hamilton” Lin-Manuel Miranda and “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon M.Chu team up to bring you the musical of the summer. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music and lyrics combined with Jon M. Chu’s eye for storytelling is set to capture a world unlike any other but universal in its appeal.
“Where the streets are made of music and little dreams become big…In the Heights”. A showcase of the vibrant Washington Heights community in New York City. The film was shot primarily in New York City and on location in the dynamic Washington Heights community.
I don’t know what it is about a bodega that inspires musicals…
This is one film that I’ve been waiting for since 2019, but due to the Pandemic, we get this summer. Sure there’s plenty of criticism about the lack of black Latinos in the film, and Lin-Manuel Miranda has gotten a lot of heat lately for it. I too am a critic of the misses in casting.
However, he has spoken about it and it looks like this will be a wonderful film, regardless of its faults.
The following movie is available for streaming on Disney+, but you have to pay $$ for it. This film looks like it is worth the trip to the movies and it’ll cost about the same as streaming it alone in your living room. Additionally, I’m a huge fan of Emma Stone’s black and white bob.
Watch the Trailer for – Cruella
Who knows, maybe this film will make you more sympathetic to people who want to skin puppies for fashion. I doubt it. Emma Stone is Disney’s Cruella. “A live-action feature film about the rebellious early days of cinema’s most notorious and fashionable villains, the legendary Cruella de Vil.
The story follows a young grifter named Estella, a clever and creative girl determined to make it with her fashion designs. Estella and a pair of thieves who appreciate her mischievous ways come together to make a life for themselves in the London Streets. When Estella’s fashion catches the eye of fashion legend Baroness von Hellman, the events that follow set in motion a set of wicked revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her true evil self.
Picture it like a hot, chic and fashionable ‘Joker’ movie, but less about mental trauma… I assume. Cruella is directed by Craig Gillespie, director of “I Tonya” and it was produced by Andrew Gunn from “Freaky Friday” so you can picture the nostalgia vibe for Disney live action films and anti-heroes.
Update: A friend has told me that the costume design is incredibly beautiful.
Now, what is summer without a chilling thriller in mid July? M.Night Shyamalan unveils a weird one this year.
Watch the trailer for – OLD
This mysterious new thriller is about a family on tropical vacation who discovers that the beach where they are relaxing is causing them to age rapidly, reducing their entire lives to a single day.
The film stars one of my favorite Latin American actors from “Mozart in the Jungle” an “Y Tu Mama Tambien”, Gael Garcia Bernal. Also starring in “Old” is Vicky Krieps from “PhantomThread” and Ken Leung from “Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Force Awakens”.
“Old” is set to premiere July 23rd and it looks like it’s worth the chills.
Of course there are plenty of other notable films in theaters this summer, but this is just a compact list to get out the door. Check out our previous article here for more of the highly expected films for 2021.
Let’s all go to the movies!