Your guide to summer blockbuster season for June 2014
The Fault in Our Stars (June 6)
Right now, every author is wishing they could experience half of the success John Green has had with The Fault in Our Stars. With his intensely loyal and ever-growing fanbase, I fully expect this YA adaptation to be a success. And while I wasn’t overly impressed with the book, there’s something about seeing it play out on the big screen—I admit, I was moved the first time I saw the trailer. Will I be fangirling in the theater before the midnight premiere? Probably not.
Edge of Tomorrow (June 6)
Looking for more proof that Tom Cruise is really into aliens? Look no further! If you can bear the trailer’s cheesy dialogue and timeworn plot (think Groundhog Day, only with a dystopian future where humans war with aliens), then Edge of Tomorrow is probably your cup of tea. You’ll be guaranteed a healthy dose of carnage, extraterrestrials, and–you guessed it–Tom Cruise. How will it perform at the box office? Let’s just say . . . director Doug Liman hasn’t made a decent movie since 2002’s The Bourne Identity. I wouldn’t expect any huge results.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (June 13)
As the only family film coming out this summer that isn’t Planes: Fire and Rescue (ugh), How to Train Your Dragons 2 is likely to be one of this summer’s highest-grossing films. Whether it holds up to its predecessor, however, is a different story. The first film is one of DreamWorks’ most loved animated features, so the studio had their work cut out for them in making a sequel. Yet with the addition of bigger names like Cate Blanchett and Kit Harrington (from HBO’s Game of Thrones), DreamWorks clearly hopes to raise the bar.
22 Jump Street (June 13)
There’s a stigma against comedy sequels in the film industry, as the same joke is rarely as funny the second time. But with the undeniable success of 21 Jump Street, executives couldn’t help but bite into a 22 Jump Street. And even though there’s a good chance they’ll play it safe, this movie just looks like the definition of summer. Anticipate a large crowd of predominantly male twenty-somethings to make this one yet another hit.
Jersey Boys (June 20)
Don’t know what Jersey Boys is? Then chances are you weren’t alive when Clint Eastwood played in his first western. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but the audience clearly skews towards an older generation. However, if you happen to be interested in Broadway musicals and have a thing for 60’s music, you might also be interested in Eastwood’s adaptation for the big screen. Just don’t go in expecting your typical blockbuster fare.
Transformers: Age of Extinction (June 27)
Not halfway through the third installment of Michael Bay’s Transformers franchise, I remember thinking to myself how exhausting it was. I’m all about explosions and giant robot aliens battling each other, but we’d seen that so many times before in the first two movies. It just never stopped. And now here we are, a fourth movie set to release, and Lord knows it’ll be the biggest movie of the summer. But does that mean I have to like it?
