HomeFilmSummer movie preview 2016

Summer movie preview 2016

It may still feel like winter outside, but in the cozy world of your local cinema, the summer heat is about to arrive. Yes you guessed it, blockbuster season is upon us, ready to bathe us in its warm and comforting glow.

Everything you could possibly want from this year’s batch of block-busting behemoths is present and correct. We’ve got superheroes, we’ve got Pixar, we’ve got sequels, we’ve got reboots, hell…we’ve even got The Rock.

As always, Entertainment Focus has got it covered. So you can just relax, grab yourself a giant bucket of popcorn, and treat yourself to one of those fancy VIP seats as we preview the films you need to see this summer.

Bad Neighbours 2 – May 6th

Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) are once again at war with college kids, only this time it’s worse. This time….it’s girls. Led by Chloë Grace Moretz, a sorority has moved in next door, and they are even wilder than the frat boys from the first film. Mac and Kelly have no choice but to team up with their old nemesis Teddy (Zac Efron) to help battle these little harpies. Looks to be a complete retread of the original, but Rogen and Byrne make a hilarious screen couple and are always worth watching.

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X-Men Apocalypse – May 19th

The world’s first mutant – En Sabah Nur – also known as Apocalypse, has awoken in the modern world. With his four horsemen – Magneto, Storm, Psylocke and Angel – he sets out to destroy mankind and create a new world order. Professor X and Mystique put aside their differences to reunite in an attempt to save humanity. This should prove to be one of the biggest hits of the year. Oscar Isaac and Sophie Turner are excellent additions to the cast, and the most recent trailer has confirmed that old Weapon X himself is set to cameo.

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The Nice Guys – May 20th

Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe star in this 70s set action-comedy-thriller, written and directed by Shane Black – the man responsible for some of the best buddy cop movies of all time (Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). Expect snappy dialogue, a twisty plot, plenty of violence, and a lot of laughs. This could be the sleeper hit of the summer.

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Money Monster – May 27th

Jodie Foster directs an all-star cast including George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Jack O’Connell in this financial thriller. Clooney plays Wall Street guru Lee Gates, a TV personality who provides stock market advice on his hit show “Money Monster”. When one of his tips leads to a man losing all his money, the man turns up at the studio brandishing a gun and takes Gates hostage live on television.

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Warcraft: The Beginning – June 3rd

Slightly worried about this one. I’m a big fan of director Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code), but this one is setting the “John Carter” alarm ringing. It was originally scheduled for December last year, but was wisely bumped to avoid The Force Awakens. Since then we’ve seen the trailers, and they don’t exactly quicken your pulse. Based on the World of Warcraft MMORPG, this $100m epic fantasy will do well to find an audience outside of the gaming community.

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The Conjuring 2 – June 17th

Prepare to pee your pants all over again – Ed and Lorraine Warren are back. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as the paranormal investigators who ain’t afraid of no ghost. This time all the scares are taking place in the London Borough of Enfield, with a script based on the true story of the Enfield Poltergeist. With James Wan returning to direct, this could do huge business.

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Independence Day: Resurgence – June 24th

It’s been twenty years since those pesky landmark destroying aliens first turned up to wreak havoc on planet earth, and now they’re back…from outer space. Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman both reprise their roles from the original, but sadly Will Smith is a no show. Apparently he was too expensive, which on a rumoured budget of $200m is really saying something. The trailers so far have been fantastic, and I would expect nostalgia for the original to drive people to see this in their droves. ID2 could well be this year’s Jurassic World.

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Central Intelligence – July 1st

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as a CIA Agent who teams up with an old school friend played by Kevin Hart for a secret mission. From the director of Dodgeball and We’re The Millers, this film has a strong comedy pedigree and with The Rock in the lead role, looks certain to be a big hit. Even if it isn’t, it takes home the award for best tagline of the year – Saving the world takes a little Hart and a big Johnson. Genius.

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The BFG – July 1st

Steven Spielberg and Roald Dahl together at last. This is such a perfect combination of source material and filmmaker, I think we can all afford to be a little excited for this. Adding to the pedigree of this production is the script by ET writer Melissa Mathison (written before she sadly passed away last year) and Oscar winner Mark Rylance as the Big Friendly Giant himself. Expect an enchanting adventure, and a whole new generation being introduced to the wonderful world of Roald Dahl.

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Now You See Me 2 – July 4th

A sequel to 2013 thriller Now You See Me, the ridiculously titled Now You See Me 2 (it surely should have been called Now You Don’t) reunites most of the original cast and a few new ones for more magical capers. This time they are joined by Lizzy Caplan and the world’s most famous wizard, Daniel Radcliffe. Probably won’t be whipping out his patronus in this one though.

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The Legend of Tarzan – July 8th

Put that pint down gentlemen, wipe the pork pie crumbs off your belly, and prepare to feel very bad about yourselves. Swedish Man-God Alexander Skarsgård, with his mass of muscular muscly muscles is playing Tarzan, in this latest adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs famous novel. Directed by Harry Potter stalwart David Yates, and co-starring Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Djimon Honsou, the film follows Lord Greystoke (Skarsgård) as he returns to the jungle where he was born. Expect gym memberships to increase in the weeks after release.

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Ghostbusters – July 15th

If there is a more controversial film released this year it would be quite a surprise. Ever since it was announced that the popular 1984 supernatural comedy would be remade with a female led cast, certain pathetic sections of the internet have been spewing hate and bile into comment sections and message boards. The film (that they haven’t seen) has been decried as an abomination that constitutes nothing less than the “rape of childhood”. I honestly hope the film is terrific, and it shuts up these disgusting little misogynists for good. Director Paul Feig has shown with Bridesmaids and Spy that he is more than capable of delivering a great comedy film. And if it turns out to be rubbish, well the original will always be there. This is not erasing it from existence.

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Star Trek Beyond – July 22nd

After breathing new life into the Star Trek movie franchise, director J.J. Abrams left to make some small personal project that no one saw – something about wars in the stars? Anyway, this left a black hole in the franchise, that has been closed by Fast and Furious veteran Justin Lin. Little is known about the plot at this time, but we do know that the script was co-written by Scotty himself, Simon Pegg, and that Idris Elba (in his fifth film of 2016) is the villain. Will this finally sate the desire of hardcore fans for a more thoughtful and traditional Star Trek film? With Lin at the helm, it is unlikely. Expect another fast-paced and action-packed space extravaganza.

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Jason Bourne – 28th July

Having wisely skipped The Bourne Legacy, Matt Damon is finally back as his most famous character. Having said he would only return to Bourne if Paul Greengrass came back as director, he was true to his word, with star and director reuniting for more black ops action. The plot sees Bourne resurfacing after years in hiding, with his memory now fully restored. This will no doubt put him in the crosshairs of the CIA. If Damon and Greengrass can recapture the magic of Supremacy and Ultimatum, then this should be an absolute cracker.

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Finding Dory – July 29th

In an amusing piece of scheduling, cinemas other favourite amnesiac is back in the same week as Jason Bourne for an adventure of a more fishy kind. Suddenly recalling her childhood memories, Dory (along with Marlin and Nemo) set out to find her family. Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks both return, and there are plenty of new additions too, including Idris Elba and Dominic West lending their voices to a pair of sea lions. If that doesn’t sell the film to you, I don’t know what will.

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Suicide Squad – 5th August

The worst heroes ever – The Joker, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Enchantress, Killer Croc and more – are brought together by a secret government agency to execute dangerous black ops missions. DCs biggest gamble now doesn’t seem quite so risky. In the aftermath of Batman v Superman – the dumbest and dullest superhero movie of recent times – any sort of franchise building expectation that was resting on Suicide Squad has gone. All it has to do now is be fun. If it’s fun, no matter what else, I think we’ll all be happy.

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The Shallows – August 12th

Blake Lively stars in this high-concept horror, directed by Spanish filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra. Lively plays Nancy, a young surfer who becomes stranded on a rock 200 yards from the shore, when she is attacked by a great white shark. Mixing the horror of Jaws with the high-tension seclusion of Gravity, Cast Away and 127 Hours, this promises to be a nerve shredding experience.

[brid video=”36209″ player=”531″ title=”The Shallows Official Trailer Starring Blake Lively”]

 

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping – August 26th

From The Lonely Island (aka comedians Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone), comes this comedy about a successful rapper Conner4Real (Samberg) whose career takes a nosedive. Desperate to make it back to the big time he reforms his old boy band The Style Boyz. It boasts a terrific cast, with plenty of big name cameos too. Based on the hilarious first trailer, this could be amazing.

[brid video=”36208″ player=”531″ title=”POPSTAR NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING RESTRICTED TRAILER (HD)”]

author avatar
John Parker
John is a freelance writer and film reviewer for Entertainment Focus.

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