There was a time, not that long ago, when the end of May or the beginning of June marked the launch of the summer movie season. However, as with most things, the world has marched on in its ways, and now the starting line for one of the biggest movie seasons of the year has been moved up by quite a bit. So the modern market basically demands that June brings a bigger, better game to the table if it wants to keep itself in the game. Get ready folks, it's time to look at June's best and brightest!
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Dinosaurs are big, they're scary, and they're coming for you and your children! At least, that's what the folks behind Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom want you to believe. With the follow-up to 2015's Jurassic World turning up the creep factor, thanks mostly in part to the Indoraptor hybrid that's set to haunt our dreams for life, there's a chance that this sequel could be as scary as it is fun. Still, at the very least, we get more gigantic dinosaurs threatening the lives of foolish humans, and that's bread and butter when you're playing patron to the summer movie season.
Opens: June 22
Action Point
Anyone else miss the Jackass movies? That's the sort of thought that Action Point has given a lot of people, as it basically looks like Johnny Knoxville and Chris Pontius horsing around with their usual dangerous stunt work. Only this time, it's couched in a comedic narrative loosely based on the infamous New Jersey theme park Action Park. Seeing as its real life inspiration was known as "Traction Park," and everyone's heard that story about Knoxville's "eye trouble" while shooting it, Action Point sounds like a true return to form.
Opens: June 1
Adrift
Ah, summer. It's normally a good time to enjoy the sun and surf, but if one is not careful, it could be a season as dangerous as it is pretty. Adrift serves as a reminder of that very point, as Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin play a real life couple who, after running into a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean, find themselves stranded in the open ocean. There's a lot of human drama on display in what's been shown so far, but it'd be foolish to forget the fact that this film looks to have some of the most harrowing storm sequences we've seen in some time.
Opens: June 1
Hereditary
Every now and then, there's a horror movie that gets talked about in hushed tones. These sorts of movies promise a truly chilling experience, which sometimes pays off, but in other cases fizzles out. It sounds like Hereditary is one of the former camp's successes, as A24's latest would-be horror hit has built some heady buzz around itself as of late. With cryptic trailers that invite you to look deeper into the mystery at hand, it's the sort of film fans will obviously want to keep as cryptic as possible, so as to go in fresh and let the scares really wash over them.
Opens: June 8
Ocean's 8
Sometimes, a woman just has to express her feelings by stealing some priceless items that could fetch a pretty penny on the open market. But to pull off the heist in Ocean's 8, Sandra Bullock's Debbie Ocean is going to need a lot of help. More specifically, seven more persons worth of help, with everyone from Cate Blanchett and Rihanna joining in on the fun. Though, if you're a whiz at math, and if you've been paying close attention, you may just figure out a secret the movie's been hiding under our noses.
Opens: June 8
Hotel Artemis
What if the world of John Wick had a healthcare system run the same way as The Continental? You'd get something much like Hotel Artemis, and just like the hotel that serves as its lodging counterpart, this institution of healing only the finest criminals has an imposing head to keep everything above boards. Showcasing Jodie Foster's return to acting, the film also packs Sterling K. Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Sofia Boutella, and Charlie Day into a promising cast. But if it's ok to play favorites, we have to admit that Jeff Goldblum and Dave Bautista join Foster as the trio of performances we're most excited about in Drew Goddard's directorial return.
Opens: June 8
Incredibles 2
Fourteen years ago, the Parr family started a battle against The Underminer, closing The Incredibles on a hell of a high note. Now, with Incredibles 2 finally heading to theaters, we'll get to see how that battle turned out, as it serves as the sequel's starting point. Though that's only the beginning, as Brad Bird's hotly anticipated follow-up will explore what happens when Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) is called to save the world, while Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) is left home to take care of the kids. The world was promised a sequel if and when Bird had an idea that was worthy, and seeing Incredibles 2 become a reality just might back that promise up with some solid results.
Opens: June 15
Tag
As the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction; which means the truth of Tag may have spawned a fiction that could play even weirder than expected. Based on the true story involving a group of friends, and the same game of the titular playground contest that's been spanning over 30 years, this action/comedy an all-star cast chasing after Jeremy Renner's undefeated champion. That cast is comprised of Jake Johnson, Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, and Hannibal Buress, so those tickets for opening night have basically appeared on the table in front of us at this point.
Opens: June 15
Superfly
Remaking a classic is never easy, especially when it's a film that helps define an era of filmmaking like Superfly did back in 1972. Yet this modern retelling of the underworld adventures of Youngblood Priest already has one asset in its corner that helps separate it from the various reinventions of classic cinema, and that'd be its director. With Director X being a prolific music video director in the world of modern rap, his sensibilities are best suited to help guide a cast of notables, headed by Grown-ish's Trevor Jackson, into a new era of cool.
Opens: June 15
Sicario: Day Of The Soldado
Josh Brolin has been having a hell of a summer, what with Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2 raking in the dough on his behalf. However, that doesn't mean the man has succumbed to merely starring in comic book movies, as he's returning to an indie franchise that he helped build with Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Also returning is Benicio Del Toro, who looks to start out on the same side as Brolin's, only to flip due to a plot twist in the middle. Brolin v. Del Toro is a fight we'd pay to see, and Sicario: Day of the Soldado will give us just the chance to do so.
Opens: June 29
Uncle Drew
Much like Bad Grandpa before it, Uncle Drew is looking to have some fun with prosthetic aging and extreme shows of agility and sportsmanship. And much like the films that came before it, this summer comedy looks to have a lot of fun while telling the story of a rivalry that can only be settled on the court, with a line-up that screams "joint cream" rather than "dream team." With Lil Rey Howery, Tiffany Haddish, and Josh Kroll carrying the non-makeup enhanced side of the laughs, and basketball stars like Kyrie Irving, Shaquille O'Neal, and Reggie Miller aging up to bring the house down, this could be the joke parade that this summer's box office could use.
Opens: June 29
