“Booksmart” – May 24
Every generation is raised on its own brand of comedy, from the gross-out antics of the Farrelly Brothers to the sweet but immature man-babies of Judd Apatow. Thankfully, we currently find ourselves in the midst of a female comedy renaissance (hello “Bridesmaids,” “Eighth Grade,” and “Lady Bird”). This summer, Olivia Wilde is looking to re-energize the teen comedy with her SXSW hit “Booksmart.” The film has already earned comparisons to “Superbad,” although the tone here seems gentler and – do we even need to say it? – noticeably more female. Kathryn Newton and Beanie Feldstein star as two overachieving high school students who discover that they’ve spent the best years of their lives buried in their studies instead of socializing and having sex. Annapurna is pulling out all the stops for this one after it’s a rapturous audience reaction at SXSW, and it looks like they need this one to be a hit in the wake of some expensive awards-friendly bombs last year (The Playlist called it “something just shy of a sensational masterpiece and miracle, a coming of age classic for the Thank U, Next generation”.) – NL [Our review]
“Brightburn” – May 24
Director David Yarovesky‘s “Brighburn,” produced by filmmaker James Gunn, is very much a superhero movie. But it’s one with a major twist. “Brightburn” essentially retells the Superman origin story, replete with allusions to Zack Snyder’s “Man Of Steel” in its first trailer, and gives it a horror edge with graphic violence. Elizabeth Banks plays a mother who finds a baby, much like the Kent family in the Superman mythology and raises him as her own. But when that boy comes of age and his powers begin to sprout, watch out. All hell breaks loose. The boy sports a mask too and it’s one that Gunn says he tried to evoke a Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, and Jason from the “Friday The 13th” films feel to it. “[We] tried to create something with that same sort of feel that is instantly scary [and] plays with the superhero-ness of it all but at the same time is most definitely rooted in horror,” he told EW recently. “Brightburn,” and the story of a child hero growing up all wrong opens May 24.
“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” – May 31
The last two major entries in the ubiquitous “Godzilla” franchise were met with a shrug at best, and outright disdain at worst. The notorious 1998 fiasco debuted with a smashing trailer that sold audiences on a much better film than director Roland Emmerich ended up delivering. Almost 20 years later, “Monsters” director Gareth Edwards rebooted the waning franchise, with mixed results, after what promised to be a visually stunning reinvention of everybody’s favorite giant green lizard. Are audiences still willing to throw money at this stalling cultural property? As it turns out, yes. “Krampus” helmer Michael Dougherty is the man behind “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” – which, like the Gareth Edwards reboot, arrived on our radars through a dazzling, action-packed teaser trailer. This looks like a goofier, less self-serious “Godzilla,” and Dougherty has a minor cult following from his 2007 debut “Trick r’ Treat.” With that said, we’re remaining cautiously optimistic. And of course, bringing in franchise staples like Mothra – along with rising stars like “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown and O’ Shea Jackson Jr. alongside seasoned vets Kyle Chandler and Ken Watanabe, returning from the last movie – can only enhance the movie’s prospects. – NL
“Rocketman” – May 31
Hot off the heels of the ridiculous success of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the Taron Edgerton-driven, Elton John biopic, “Rocketman” hopes to reap the same monetary benefits. The movie has been in development for almost a decade (Tom Hardy was set to star in the project, at one point) but it certainly appears that the insane box office gross and number of Oscars won by the Rami Malek led film – that earned the “Mr. Robot” a trophy – possibly affected how quickly the Elton John movie found a release slot. It’s pretty telling that Bryan Singer’s replacement director, Dexter Fletcher, was also hired to bring another iconic performer’s life story to the big screen. Paramount would unquestionably love a piece of the concert movie cake that raked in so much money for Fox last year. And sadly, like the movie about Queen, there is already queer controversy. We’re just praying that Fletcher’s new film won’t be as troubled as the Academy Award-winning atrocity. – AB
“Domino” – May 31
It’s no secret that suspense maestro Brian De Palma didn’t exactly have the greatest time making “Domino.” The director said of the project: “I have never experienced such a horrible movie set” and “this is my first experience [shooting] in Denmark, and most likely my last.” Yikes. All bad press aside, “Domino” looks to be a flashy, violent throwback to De Palma nail-biters like the original “Mission: Impossible” and the deliciously twisty “Femme Fatale,” and any new De Palma in 2019 is worth getting excited about (for what it’s worth, the director’s last effort was the smoldering, Rachel McAdams-starring erotic thriller “Passion”). Starring Jamie Lannister – er, sorry, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – “Domino” is the story of a Copenhagen cop who’s tracking a deadly ISIS agent responsible for the murder of his former partner. Also in the mix is a conniving CIA operative (played by Guy Pearce) who’s hot on both their tails. While “Domino” hardly looks like classic De Palma, there are enough of the legendary director’s trademarks here – namely split-diopter shots, bravura set pieces and oodles of style – to make this one worth seeking out. – NL
JUNE
“Dark Phoenix” – June 7
Set to be Fox’s first comic book property released under its new Disney banner – unless, with “The New Mutants” being pushed back, again, they announce tomorrow that they’re also moving ‘Dark Phoenix’ further down the calendar to reshoot the climax one more time – a subset of fans has been waiting for “Dark Phoenix” for a while. Seasoned scribe, Simon Kinberg (who’s written 3 other X-films, and produced almost all of the rest) finds himself sitting in the director’s chair for the first time, and he’s gone on the record to describe the 4th film in the mutant prequel quadrilogy as a “culmination” of all the films that have come before it. Presumably, that means the ‘we like to forget they were directed by Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner movies’ too. The purported final installment reunites Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), James McAvoy (Professor X), Nicholas Hoult (Beast) and Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique). Soon, fans shall finally know if Sansa Stark will sit on the Iron Throne! Wait… wrong Sophie Turner franchise. – AB