At last week's Little Rock Film Festival someone came up to me and said, "If Mad Max: Fury Road isn't the movie of the summer, it's going to be a heck of a summer."
I agree. Except that it's not summer. At my house, we haven't turned on the air conditioner yet.
We all know that Hollywood is no respecter of the calendar, but I don't want to think about summer movies -- those great exploding inevitables -- at least until after the Cannes Film Festival wraps up. (Which it will later today.) But seeing how we've already been hit with superheroes and Tomorrowland, maybe we should just heed John Lennon's advice to turn off our minds, relax and float downstream.
Here's a preview of what dreams are scheduled to come for the next 16 weeks, because Hollywood has decreed that summer ends with the opening of the Toronto International Film Festival in early September.
Disclaimer: Dates are subject to change. This list is not inclusive -- some films that are not mentioned will open, others that are mentioned may not. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty, either express or implied. We have seen very few of these films and are not responsible for elevated expectations. Gambling is strictly prohibited and flash photography is dangerous to our performers. Violators will be asked to leave.
Remember to silence your cellphones. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
FRIDAY
Aloha -- Cameron Crowe directs Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams and Emma Stone in a dramedy set in contemporary Honolulu.
Gemma Bovery -- French director Anne Fontaine's meta-take on Gustave Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary sounds interesting. It may not arrive here on this date, but considering it's distributed by Music Box Films it will likely eventually make its way to Little Rock theaters and possibly Northwest Arkansas as well.
Results -- This Sundance Film Festival favorite, directed by redoubtable indie director Andrew Bujalski, stars Guy Pearce and Cobie Smulders as personal trainers; Kevin Corrigan plays a wealthy client who comes between them. Good buzz on what is apparently a sneakily subversive attempt to reinvent the romantic comedy.
Saint Laurent -- The other bio-pic of designer Yves Saint Laurent (the other, Yves Saint Laurent, played here last year). Bertrand Bonello directs, Gaspard Ulliel stars as the designer.
San Andreas -- Dwayne Johnson is a helicopter pilot looking to save his estranged daughter (Alexandra Daddario) as California slides into the ocean. Directed by Brad Peyton (Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore).
JUNE 5
Entourage -- Sex in the City for guys follows the template onto the big screen. Paydays all around.
Insidious: Chapter 3 -- The name says it all. In this prequel set before the haunting of the Lambert family, psychic Elise Rainier agrees to contact the dead to help a teenage girl targeted by a "dangerous supernatural entity." Sounds ooky.
Love & Mercy -- Paul Dano and John Cusack play Beach Boy Brian Wilson (at different ages) in this bio-pic.
Spy -- Melissa McCarthy is one. Paul Feig directs. Rose Byrne and Jason Statham show up.
JUNE 12
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl -- Another Sundance hit, this movie is based on a young adult novel by Jesse Andrews, who wrote the script. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon directs. Will play here, maybe close to this date. The buzz is very strong, to the point that some are predicting a Best Picture Academy Award nomination.
Jurassic World -- Set 22 years after the events of Jurassic Park, the now fading dinosaur theme park gets a new attraction and things go horribly wrong. Upside: Chris Pratt is in it.
The Wolfpack -- Wild documentary, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, tells the story of the six Angulo brothers, who spent their childhoods locked away in a Lower East Side apartment, learning about the outside world only through the movies they consumed.
JUNE 19
Aloft -- One I've seen. Early reviews called it indecipherable, but it has been edited into coherence. Most will probably still find this philosophical mystery about a psychic healer who abandons her son a bit of a slog. With Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy and Melanie Laurent.
Dope -- An interesting-sounding coming-of-age film about a geeky kid growing up in a tough gang- and drug-plagued area of Southern California. A pick to click.
Infinitely Polar Bear -- A manic-depressive father (Mark Ruffalo) tries to win back his wife (Zoe Saldana) by taking over custody of their spirited young daughters. Writer-director Maya Forbes has described this emotional comedy as semi-autobiographical -- she cast her own 12-year-old daughter as a version of herself. Expect heart.
Inside Out -- Yea, a Pixar movie! When a little girl moves to a new home, her anthropomorphized emotions -- Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness-- are plunged into chaos. This one sounds like a must-see.
Manglehorn -- Al Pacino plays a small-town locksmith in this low-key drama from David Gordon Green. One to keep an eye on.
The Overnight -- So far the reviews have been good for this breezy comedy about boundaries and sexual identity. Allegedly it's better than the similarly themed The D Train.
JUNE 26
Big Game -- A teenager camping in the woods helps rescue the president of the United States (Samuel L. Jackson) after Air Force One is shot down.
Max -- Boaz Yakin directs this story about a Belgian Malinois working with U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. The anxious should check out the helpful website doesthedogdie.com.
The Outskirts -- A high school comedy about which little is known but many things might be assumed: Mean girls. Outcasts. Nerds. Revenge.
Ted 2 -- You know, I kind of liked the first one.
JULY 3
Magic Mike XXL -- Gregory Jacobs takes over for Steven Soderbergh, but the rest of the elements are all there in this sequel to the enjoyable 2012 hit. In this one Mike (Channing Tatum) and the boys hit the road to Myrtle Beach for one last big blowout show. With Amber Heard, Joe Manganiello and Elizabeth Banks.
Terminator: Genisys -- I think the comic book guys call this "retconning": Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) teams up with Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and an aging terminator (an aging Arnold Schwarzenegger) to try and stop "Judgment Day."
JULY 10
The Bronze -- Foul-mouthed gymnast Hope Annabelle Greggory (Melissa Rauch), who once won an Olympic medal on one leg, finds her status threatened by the rise of a new hope (Haley Lu Richardson).
The Gallows --Horror movie about kids who re-enact a tragic play.
Minions -- Supporting players from the Despicable Me movies get their own film. Probably adorable. With the voices of Sandra Bullock as a super-villain and Jon Hamm as her husband.
Self/less -- A rich guy who doesn't want to die from cancer transfers his consciousness into the body of a healthy young man (Ryan Reynolds). Complications ensue.
JULY 17
Ant-Man -- Paul Rudd gets his turn in the Marvel superhero barrel. He saves the world, probably.
Irrational Man -- Woody Allen's latest -- a noncomedy -- has Joaquin Phoenix as a tortured philosophy professor/auteur surrogate. I want to see it.
Mr. Holmes -- The aged, retired Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) looks back on an unsolved case. Directed by Bill Condon.
The Stanford Prison Experiment -- A lightly fictionalized account of Dr. Philip Zimbardo's famous 1971 psychological experiment. With Olivia Thirlby, Ezra Miller, Tye Sheridan, Nelsan Ellis and Billy Crudup.
Trainwreck -- Highly anticipated (by some, including me) Judd Apatow project that stars Amy Schumer as a commitment-phobic woman who meets a nice guy. With Bill Hader, Brie Larson and Colin Quinn.
JULY 24
Paper Towns -- A romantic mystery about a road trip by young folks looking for a missing friend.
Pixels -- Aliens misinterpret video feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war. Chris Columbus directs.
Southpaw -- Jake Gyllenhaal continues his hot run with a boxing movie. Good buzz on this one.
The Vatican Tapes -- This season's exorcism movie.
JULY 31
Something will open on this date, but nothing has been announced so far.
AUG. 5
Mission Impossible 5 -- Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher and the much better The Way of the Gun).
AUG. 7
Fantastic Four -- Directed by Josh (Chronicle) Trank, this reboot stars Miles Teller as Reed Richards.
Masterminds -- There's a good cast -- Kristen Wiig, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis -- lined up for this heist comedy from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess. It's allegedly based on a true story.
Ricki and the Flash -- Meryl Streep continues to prove she's better than we are; she took six months to learn guitar for this comedy about an aging rock star trying to reconnect with the family she abandoned years before. Jonathan Demme is directing, Diablo Cody wrote the script, and Kevin Kline and Streep's daughter Mamie Gummer play supporting roles. One to which we can look forward.
Shaun the Sheep Movie -- A stop-motion animated comedy produced by Aardman Animations, based on the Shaun the Sheep television series. Awesomeness.
AUG. 14
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. -- Henry Cavill (Napoleon Solo) and Armie Hammer (Illya Kuryakin) star in a Guy Ritchie-directed shot at a TV-sprung franchise.
Straight Outta Compton -- The story of seminal rap group N.W.A. ought to be good. Ice Cube is played by his son, O'Shea Jackson Jr.
Underdogs -- Animated soccer movie.
AUG. 21
American Ultra -- A stoner (Jesse Eisenberg) realizes the government really is out to get him. With Kristen Stewart, Tony Hale and Arkansas' Stuart Greer.
Grandma --Lily Tomlin is Elle, who has just broken up with her girlfriend when her granddaughter shows up desperately in need of cash. Apparently it starts out breezy and turns powerful in the final act. And it's only 82 minutes long. Good buzz.
Hitman: Agent 47 -- Elite assassin videogame high jinks.
She's Funny That Way -- Peter Bogdanovich (!!) directs this romantic comedy about a Broadway director (Owen Wilson) who falls for a hooker-turned-actress (Imogen Poots) despite being married to his star (Kathryn Hahn). With Will Forte, Jennifer Aniston and Joanna Lumley.
Sinister 2-- Allegedly sinister. Again.
AUG. 28
Regression -- Alejandro Amenabar (The Sea Inside) directs Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson: A father is accused of a crime he doesn't remember, uncovering darker secrets.
War Room -- The latest faith-based drama from Alex Kendrick (Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof, Courageous).
We Are Your Friends -- A romance set against the Hollywood electronica scenes, with Zac Efron as a DJ who aspires to become a record producer.
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Style on 05/24/2015