With summer quickly approaching, students will have more free time to do things they enjoy. Watching movies is one of many fun things to do while beating the heat. Here’s a list of nine movies coming out this summer.
- The Little Mermaid
Ariel, King Triton’s youngest daughter, is a lively young mermaid who lives for adventure. Curious about the world beyond the ocean, Ariel explores the surface and falls in love with Prince Eric. Then, she makes a deal with Ursula, the villainous sea witch, to experience what life is like on land.
The live action of “The Little Mermaid” stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric and Daveed Diggs as Sebastian. It will be out on May 26.
- Birth/Rebirth
Film director Laura Moss’s spin on “Frankenstein” is unnerving yet darkly funny. Two mothers care for their resurrected daughter no matter what they must go through. With grim body horror and even more gruesome actions, “Birth/Rebirth” has some dark humor to it.
“Birth/Rebirth” stars Judy Reyes, Marin Ireland and Breeda Wool and is coming out on Aug. 18.
- BlackBerry
Before iPhones blew up the cell phone market, a BlackBerry was the phone to have. “BlackBerry” tells the story of how socially awkward, yet brilliant tech inventor Mike Lazardis and combative businessperson Jim Balsillie created the first BlackBerry smartphone.
“BlackBerry” will be available to watch in theaters on May 12.
- Insidious: The Red Door
Leigh Whannell has created many haunted house horrors with scripts for “Insidious,” “Insidious: Chapter 2,” “Insidious: Chapter 3” and “Insidious: The Last Key.” Now, he’s giving the keys to Scott Teems and Patrick Wilson for its final installment: “Insidious: Red Door.”
Wilson has played Josh Lambert – a man afflicted with direful spirits – since 2010, and this will be his first time directing a movie.
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
This sequel to “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” continues the adventures of Miles Morales and his growing spider family.
Journeying into the multiverse with his friend Gwen Stacy, Morales finds an empire of spider people. In whatever evil Morales might face, he still has his mentor Peter Parker to guide him. Plus, they have three new members joining their crew. The film will premier in theaters on June 2.
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Marvel Cinematic Universe got under way earlier this year with “Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantomania.” Next, MCU will provide the return of the Guardians of the Galaxy. They are still recovering from the loss of Gamora; however, the winds of the multiverse has brought another Gamora into their lives – though she seems less enthused about Peter Quill’s quips.
The movie is bound to bring a new storm of battle scenes and humor to start off the summer, and it comes out on May 5.
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
During the seventh segment of the live action “Transformers” franchise, the battle between the Autobots and Deceptions continues. As things start to get crazy, Maximals, Predacons and Terrorcons join the action. This means that Optimus Prime will face off against Optimus Primal, a colossal robot gorilla.
Amidst the battling robots, “Hamilton” actor Anthony Ramos plays the woebegone human in the driver’s seat – just not in control. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” will surely satisfy the desire for flamboyant vehicular action. This Transformer adventure will be in theaters starting June 24.
- Elemental
Pixar has become a beacon for family-friendly movies, including ones such as “Toy Story” and
“Monsters, Inc.” Their latest comes from “Good Dinosaur” director Peter Sohn.
In the splendid world of Element City, residents are made of air, fire, earth and water; these include characters that are soft clouds, clumps of dirt, flames and splashes of water. They live in a place where lighter fluid is used as baby formula, and someone can get trapped in a sponge. In this land, there is only one rule: “Elements can’t mix.”
Knowing that water can quench fire, this makes perfect sense. But when spitfire Ember meets watery Wade, they have a strong bond. Can this collision between cultures lead to something extraordinary? Catch this fun family film starting on June 16.
- Challengers
Tashi, a tennis player turned coach, works to turn her husband into a world-famous tennis champion. To bring him out of his losing streak, Tashi has him play in a challenger event – one of the lowest-level tournaments on the professional circuit. However, tensions grow high as he plays against Patrick, his former best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend.
The “Challengers” cast includes Zendaya as Tashi, Mike Faist as Art – Tashi’s husband – and Josh O’Connor as Patrick. It will be released on August 11.
Vanessa Werner can be reached at [email protected]