Iron Man 3 kicked off the 2013 summer movie season right last week, opening the floodgates to an endless stream of CGI-enhanced destruction. More than 100 movies will be released over the next four months, but who can see them all? Here are the 10 I’m looking most forward to catching on a blazing hot summer day.
The Great Gatsby
Director Baz Luhrmann amps up the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic we all pretend to have read in high school. Keeping things far from stale will be the A-list cast (Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire), a hip-hop soundtrack featuring Jay-Z and Beyonce, and Luhrmann’s trademark over-the-top visual panache, which will be getting the full 3D treatment. (Check out Joe Bardi’s review here.) May 10.
Star Trek Into Darkness
Director J.J. Abrams is back (for the last time before jumping spaceship to helm the new Star Wars saga) for a second go-round after successfully reinventing the stale Trek franchise with hefty doses of effects-laden action and sex appeal. This time the crew of the Enterprise matches wits with a genetically engineered baddie (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) who may or may not be beloved Trek villain Kahn. That J.J., always playing coy. May 17.
Before Midnight
I’ve long been obsessed with the Ethan Hawke-Julie Delpy two-fer Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Both films follow a smart, talkative couple as they wander first Vienna, then Paris while sorting through life’s messiness and falling in love. Director Richard Linklater has been toying with the walk-and-talk genre for decades (remember Slacker?) but the Before flicks are among his best. Consider Before Midnight ideal counterprogramming for when the excess of cinematic explosions triggers your Post-Theatrical Stress Disorder. May 24.
This Is the End
The red band trailer sold me: A solid cast (Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Emma Watson, Rihanna) all playing themselves in a movie that looks equal parts Comedy Central Roast and Book of Revelations. Rogen co-wrote and directed with Green Hornet pal Evan Goldberg, so if it sucks it’s on Seth. June 12.
Man of Steel
This may be Superman’s last stand. After original X-Men director Bryan Singer tried and failed to get Krypton’s favorite son back into the hearts of moviegoers, it’s now up to producer Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) and director Zack Snyder (The Watchmen) to get old Supe flying again. The cast (Henry Cavill, Michael Shannon, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Lawrence Fishburne) looks solid, and I’m encouraged by the grittier approach hinted at in the previews. June 14.
World War Z
Brad Pitt’s long-delayed zombie flick finally sees the light. Based on Max Brooks’ 2006 novel about a plague that turns the human race into you-know-whats, World War Z looks to bring some fresh menace to the genre with fast-moving zombies that team up like insects to feast on the non-infected. At a reported cost of $170 million, it better be some banquet. June 21.
Monsters University
This year’s Pixar release is a sequel to 2001’s Monsters, Inc., which featured the voices of John Goodman and Billy Crystal and is remembered as a well-liked but generally second-tier effort from the studio that made Toy Story. I have low expectations for Monsters U, but it does look like the best of a rather tepid assortment of animated features aimed squarely at your child this summer. June 21.
Pacific Rim
This year’s slate of July releases is underwhelming if not wholly disappointing. Some folks can’t wait to see Johnny Depp as Tonto in The Lone Ranger, but I am not among them. In a month that will be dominated by sequels (Grown Ups 2, The Smurfs 2, Despicable Me 2 — they even made Red 2!), I’ll go with Pan’s Labyrinth visionary Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, a movie about mankind using giant robot suits to battle massive monsters. Not convinced? Yeah, me neither. July 12.
Elysium
As a big fan of director Neill Blomkamp’s debut film District 9, I’m excited about Elysium, which stars Matt Damon and Jodie Foster in a futuristic sci-fi morality tale about a class-divided society where the rich live in an orbiting space station while the poor live in the squalor of a ruined earth below. District 9 was made on the cheap and still featured amazing visuals. I can’t wait to see what Blomkamp can do with a budget. August 9.
The World’s End
The Shaun of the Dead guys reunite for the second film on this list to offer a comedic take on the Apocalypse. This one’s perfectly timed, however, since August in Florida usually has me wishing for Armageddon. August 23.
This article appears in May 9-15, 2013.