Summer is finally upon us! With this Friday’s release of “Iron Man 3”, the 2013 Summer Movie season officially begins!
The summer season is defined by big budget, high-profile releases, and this summer is no exception. We’ll cover what’s coming out in May and June today, and then look at July and August tomorrow.
Click through to check out what the first half of Summer, 2013 has in store!
May 3rd
“Iron Man 3”
Directed by: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, James Badge Dale, Ashley Hamilton, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, Paul Bettany
What better way to kick off the summer than with a kick ass superhero movie? It’s at 90% in the early going on Rotten Tomatoes, so hopes are high that this will be another great adventure of RDJ’s Iron Man.
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May 10th
“The Great Gatsby”
Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke
I’m looking forward to this. Great cast, great book, looks as though it’s been directed with style to spare. Will it all come together, or will it just be a silly spectacle? We’ll see. Wont have to wait long now though!
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“Tyler Perry Presents Peeples”
Directed by: Tina Gordon Chism
Starring: Craig Robinson, Kerry Washington, David Alan Grier, S. Epatha Merkerson
Good grief. Isn’t one Tyler Perry movie a year enough? I guess he’s just “Presenting”, but that doesn’t make this movie look any funnier. At least Robinson is in “This is the End”, too. I would hate to think he was just wasting his talent on stuff like this.
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May 17th
“Star Trek Into Darkness”
Directed by: J. J. Abrams
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Alice Eve, Peter Weller, Benedict Cumberbatch
Flashy. Slick. Action packed. I hope this film adds a bit of soul to the rebooted franchise, though, I’d hate to think it’s just going to be big, glossy spectacles. Still, the first was a fun film, let’s hope JJ and co. pull off the encore.
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May 24th
“Epic”
Directed by: Chris Wedge
Starring (the voices of): Beyoncé Knowles, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Chris O’Dowd, Steven Tyler, Blake Anderson, Judah Friedlander
“Honey I Shrunk the Kids” meets “Ferngully”.
Looks pretty bland, to me.
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“Fast and Furious 6”
Directed by: Justin Lin
Starring: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Luke Evans, Joe Taslim, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Gina Carano
Hell yeah!
Wahhhhh Wahnnnnnn Wahhrhrrrrr. REEEEE…. Pow, pow, pow! [Diesel voice] You don’t leave family behind [/Diesel voice] Wahhhhhh, wahnnnnn, wahrrrr…
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“The Hangover Part III”
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Mike Epps, Mike Tyson, Heather Graham, John Goodman
The concluding chapter of the comedic trilogy. Some say good riddance, others are crying in their beer. Can we hope for a movie as funny as the first? Let’s hope so. When this crew is on their game, they’re hysterical!
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May 31st
“After Earth”
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Isabelle Fuhrman, Zoe Kravitz
Two things give me pause about this movie. 1) M. Night Shyamalan, although his career trajectory is overdue for an uptick) 2) What’s with the dumb accents? *Sigh* Oh well, never underestimate the power of Will Smith, this is bound to be a big hit.
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“Now You See Me”
Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine
I have high hopes for this one. Love the cast, and the idea of crossing magic with a bank heist is fantastic. Is it too much to hope for that this turns out to be a slick, smart, entertaining heist movie? Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
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June 7th
“The Internship”
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Dylan O’Brien, Rose Byrne, Jessica Szohr, Max Minghella, Aasif Mandvi, John Goodman, Will Ferrell
As much as I’d love to see this comedic pairing score another huge success, my initial impressions of this aren’t favorable. Sure, it could still surprise, but I have a feeling that it’s due to be a dud.
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“The Purge”
Directed by: James DeMonaco
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Edwin Hodge, Rhys Wakefield
New excuse for a home invasion movie! Just add high concept! LOL Gotta say, the premise sounds ridiculous, and then when you get down to the nitty-gritty, this is just another movie about home invaders wearing masks. Hopefully it’ll turn out to be more than that!
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June 14th
“Man of Steel”
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Christopher Meloni, Laurence Fishburne
The movie that everything is riding on for Warner/DC. Will Superman take flight? This most recent trailer suggests “Yes”. Superman deserves a kick ass movie. Will this be the one?
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“The Bling Ring”
Directed by: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Emma Watson, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Claire Julien, Taissa Farmiga, Leslie Mann, Gavin Rossdale, Paris Hilton
I anticipate Coppola giving us a great movie here. This is perfect for her. Glitzy high life wanna bes turned socialite burglars? It’s the perfect opportunity to give a flashy, fun story with an underlying social commentary.
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“This Is the End”
Directed by: Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, Emma Watson, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd, Michael Cera, Rihanna, Kevin Hart, David Krumholtz, Mindy Kaling, Aziz Ansari, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
If nothing else, we’ll get an entire movie’s worth of celebs poking fun of themselves and each other. There’s no downside to that.
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June 21st
“Monsters University”
Directed by: Dan Scanlon
Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Charlie Day, Frank Oz, Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Nathan Fillion, Aubrey Plaza, John Krasinski
My only issue is that Pixar seems to be making sequels quite a bit these days, and I’d love to see them do an original offering annually. That said, who wouldn’t love to get another adventure of Mike and Sully? C’mon!
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“World War Z”
Directed by: Marc Forster
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, Daniella Kertesz, Matthew Fox, David Morse
WWZ sets off my stinker alarm. 1) It’s had a troubled production 2) It was pushed back from last Dec 3) The zombies in the trailers look ridiculous. Does this virus turn everyone into sprinters and longjumpers? It’s the Zombie Olympics fer godssakes…
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June 28th
“The Heat”
Directed by: Paul Feig
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Kaitlin Olson, Tony Hale, Demian Bichir, Michael Rapaport
I liked Bridesmaids quite a bit. Seeing Paul Feig putting out another female-centric comedy is good news, in my book. The first time I saw the trailer for this in theatres, I literally laughed out loud. I have hopes that he can get a hysterical movie out of this duo.
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“White House Down”
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Joey King, Jason Clarke
Just as soon as they get the White House rebuilt (“Olympus Has Fallen”), they go and blow it all up again. I don’t know if I can take two movies with that theme within months of each other. The first was preposterous enough.
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Well, there you have it, folks! The first half of summer, 2013!
What do you think? Some winners there? Some that you can’t wait to check out? Which ones look like this year’s bombs to you?
You know the drill, let us hear it! What are your thoughts on this batch of Summer flicks?!
Fogs' Movie Reviews 
Really looking forward to most of these but man, The Great Gatsby. CANNOT WAIT.
They’re been building that one up a long time for you, too. LOL. Since it got bumped from last year, it must seem like they’ve been promoting it forever! 😀
Yes! Luckily it’s only a few days away! I hope it doesn’t disappoint.
Now you See Me looks like it may be pretty cool actually. Saw a trailer for it last night. I am not too worried about Shamylan, we know he has potential and perhaps his string of flops has forced him to re-evaluate and find that potential again.
I wonder how similar Bling Ring and Spring Breakers will be?
“we know he has potential and perhaps his string of flops has forced him to re-evaluate and find that potential again.” Lets hope, right? I do think his ego got a little out of control for awhile there, not that that was his primary issue… I just hope he’s settled down and this turns out to be a good movie!
My guess is “not very” on the Bling Ring/Spring Breakers thing. Spring Breakers was SO stylized that its going to destroy comparisons, even though both movies feature young female criminals. 😉
Thanks, as always, for sharing the previews. I’m playing catch-up on posts right now, and have been going through and checking out the trailers. My thoughts on this batch of films:
Iron Man 3: Cautiously looking forward to it. Saw you had some complaints about it, I’ll swing by after I’ve seen it to see if I agree or not; I’m holding off any reading any reviews until I watch it.
Star Trek into Darkness: Looks all right, not sure if it’ll have any more soul than the prior one either. In a “flush with cash” year I’d see it in the theatre, but I imagine I’ll wait right now, at least until it hits the second-run theatre.
Epic: It looks pretty, I’ll give it that much.
After Earth: Smith may not be the super-draw he once was (we’re talking what, about a decade back for his big big hits?) but he’ll still get people in the seats for opening weekend. After that, we’ll see if Smith saves Shyamalan’s career, or if Shyamalan kills Smith’s.
Now You See Me: Looking forward to this one. Has great potential.
Man of Steel: The most recent trailer and poster are both a lot better than what has come before. Still worried that it’ll have the wrong tone — the newest trailer still feels very self-important — but at least now I can believe there’s a chance it’ll be good.
Monsters University: It looks like fun. I’d like to see more non-sequels too, but considering Pixar’s third feature film was Toy Story 2, I think this is just something we have to get used to.
World War Z: Looks like a stinker to me as well.
I understand the whole “holding off on reviews til after youve seen it” I do that too. I will advise to lower your expectations on Iron Man 3 though, as much as it pains me to do so.
You’re right, I think its probably going to be “Glossy, Action Stuffed Star Trek II”. If they do it well, though, I’ll be alright with that.
I’m not even that enamored of the visuals in “Epic”, honestly, bro. :shrugs:
LOL at the Smith saves Shyamalan’s career, or if Shyamalan kills Smith’s. I dont think a flop here CAN “kill” Smith’s career, but it could damage his track record some!
Dont get me started on the tone of “Man of Steel” 🙄 LOL
Hard not to take that stance on WWZ given the material presented so far… it’s just the sensible reaction. Looks as if Pitt and Enos are giving their all, but then those zombies… Good grief! 😯 😦
Well, after Iron Man 2, which I thought was just “OK”, I’ve been considering Iron Man 3 would probably just be “OK” as well. I’m not one of those who figured it’d be up to the level of The Avengers just because it is the first film after it.
I don’t really think a flop here would kill Will Smith’s career, but I think it could do a lot of damage to it, considering it’s been so long since he’s had an unqualified hit. People are still mocking Hancock…
I can’t wait to see The Bling Ring. Can’t say I’m terribly excited about the rest you mentioned.
No love for Before Midnight?
Limited release.
Plus, in all honesty, I’m sick of copping to the fact that I’ve never seen any of those movies. Lol.
Booooo. Well, if you’re ever looking for repeat Readers Recommendations suggestions, I know exactly what I would pick. 🙂
You can pick it, as long as you don’t mind waiting. I’ve got a bit of a backlog, but as long as you don’t mind…
Alright, fair enough. I figured you would have a huge batch of new suggestions as is. I’ll throw my hat in the ring for whenever you clear through them.
Ok, man, cool. I’ll be glad to finally nail at least one of them down.
I’ll give you a heads up when it’s time!
Great line up. I just don’t know how many I’m able to catch. Only so much downtime to watch movies.
Gotta prioritize, man! 😀 Cut down on those SyFy shows!