Finding Dory
Release date: June 17th (US), July 29th (UK)
Since Pixar has had exactly one misfire in twenty years of stratosphere-bursting quality, I’m gonna give the Disney-owned studio the benefit of the doubt regarding the wholly unnecessary Finding Dory. A typhoon of potential muck-ups immediately plague the prospect of this movie – the sequel to arguably Pixar’s most iconic film. Those concerns are not limited to: a repetitive structure and a stale, decade-later revisiting of beloved characters.
But, everything else is in favor of the sequel. Andrew Stanton is back to direct, Ellen DeGeneres is once again slipping into the ridiculously popular role of forgetful Dory, and newcomers-to-the-series, Diane Keaton, Ty Burrell, and Ed O’Neill promise to infuse Finding Dory’s seas, once again, with effervescent life.
– Mitchel Broussard
Independence Day: Resurgence
Release date: June 24th
Since he made the original Independence Day in 1996, it’s seemed that the life’s work of director Roland Emmerich has been to destroy the Earth – or a small section of it – over and over again on film. Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, and White House Down all show that Emmerich just loves destroying precious landmarks. This makes sequel possibilities difficult, because you can’t destroy the same beloved national monuments twice, right? Well, we don’t know yet if they rebuilt the White House for Independence Day: Resurgence, but if they did, its days are now numbered.
Set 20 years after the first film, the aliens are coming back, and as Jeff Goldblum observes of the attacking spaceship, “it’s definitely bigger than the last time.” The plot will find a new generation joining with survivors of the original to once again fight for our freedom against annihilation using salvaged alien tech from part one to augment Earth’s forces. It’s not ordinary that a filmmaker picks up a story more than two decades after the original, but even the people who think of Independence Day as a bit of 90s kitsch, shown ad nauseam on AMC, stood up with eager anticipation for a sequel. And as George Miller proved with Mad Max, it’s never too late for more. Not that I’m comparing Resurgence to Fury Road, of course.
– Adam Donaldson
The BFG
Release date: July 1st (US), July 22nd (UK)
There’s no denying that, even 40 years after striking it big with Jaws, Steven Spielberg is still capable of making quality films, with recent titles like Lincoln and Bridge of Spies as proof. And yet, as someone who discovered and idolized the director as a child in the 90s, my personal favorites include his more imaginative and fanciful titles, such as E.T. and Jurassic Park, so I’m always hoping for him to take on a project along those veins.
This is one of the biggest reasons that I’m incredibly excited for The BFG, which is based on the 1980s book by the legendary Roald Dahl. The source material, chronicling the adventures of a British orphan who ends up in a land of vicious giants with the more friendly title character, contained Dahl’s traditional elements of imagination, humor, and a slight dark streak that seems absolutely perfect for someone like Spielberg to take on.
Spielberg already proved to me, with The Adventures of Tintin, that he could take a property from my childhood and pull off a great adaptation and, hopefully, The BFG will follow in that vein. Add the involvement of talented actor Mark Rylance as the BFG, the final screenplay by the late Melissa Mathison (of E.T. fame), visual effects by Weta Workshop, and a promising teaser trailer that absolutely nails the vibe of the novel’s creepy opening moments, and there are many reasons to get excited for this movie.
– John Fleury
Ghostbusters
Release date: July 15th
There has been much saber-rattling and gnashing of teeth over the prospect of a female-led Ghostbusters movie. I mean, actual human women, donning a proton-pack? Surely only men are allowed to use those? Are we supposed to expect a woman to be able to park the Ecto-1? What if their monthly cycles synchronize and they just go ahead and cross the streams? Most terrifying of all, what if these four women actually speak to each other about something other than men? Goodness, it would be mass hysteria.
If a thrilling premise revolves around the end of the world, then many sections of the internet would have you believe that the apocalypse won’t arrive in the form of a giant Mister Stay-Puft – nor within emotional sludge from the sewer. Instead, it will be ushered in by – horror of horrors – Ghostbusters that are also girls.
But, it won’t, will it? It’s actually a brilliant idea, featuring a brilliant cast, directed by the brilliant Paul Feig, who co-wrote it with the brilliant Katie Dippold. You know, Feig and Dippold – the people who created the giant box office hit The Heat in 2013, which had two female leads. Well, now they’ve made a film with four female leads – Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. Oh, and Chris Hemsworth co-stars as their secretary.
The problem people seem to have is with the idea of someone tampering with the beloved icons of cinema – the Ghostbusters of Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson fame. That’s fine, but this is not a remake. It’s a new story using the central idea of a team of Ghostbusters – and they happen to women, because, why shouldn’t they be women? The original Ghostbusters films are still there to be enjoyed as the classics they are, but such a great idea deserves to be continued – even after all these years. And guess what? Those original menfolk couldn’t get it done, even after years of trying. So, it’s time to pass the proton beam to those that can.
– Sarah Myles
Star Trek Beyond
Release date: July 22nd
Star Trek is all about boldly going where no one has gone before, but if you’ve seen the last several Star Trek movies, it’s seemed like the series is all about boldly trying to stop bad guys that want revenge on the Earth. It’s fitting, then, that on the occasion of Star Trek’s 50th birthday, the third film in the rebooted series is going to get back to basics – heading to a strange new world, and seeking out new life and new civilizations. In other words, it will be Star Trek. Or will it?
Some fans have noted their concerns about the film based on the first, and so far only, Star Trek Beyond trailer. The Beastie Boys music and seeing aliens dirt biking hardly seems like your typical Star Trek signposts, but you can’t really judge a book by its one minute teaser. There are many types of Star Trek adventures, and some of them are about fun and adventure. If there’s one person that can adequately summon those elements it’s Justin Lin, the man behind Fast And Furious 3-6. The cast put together by J.J. Abrams will surely be their typically magnificent selves, and adding Idris Elba as the main villain is an excellent choice. So, let’s trust in those elements, and hope that Star Trek will live long and prosper on its golden anniversary.
– Adam Donaldson
