Summer means more time to relax, and for most people, it means seeing more movies than they do the rest of the year because of the extra free time. Hence, the Summer Blockbuster was born. They may not usually be Oscar winners, but summer movies are the ones people outside of the movie buffs talk about. There are a ton of movies I want to see over the summer, but I’ve managed to narrow it down to the 5 that I am most excited about. Here are my top 5 must-see summer movies:
1. The Great Gatsby
We all read the book in high school, and even though the 1974 movie was not as popular, there are high hopes for this version. Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan star as Gatsby and Daisy, the story’s tragic couple, and Tobey Maguire plays Nick Carraway, the Midwesterner intrigued by Gatsby’s wealth. The movie opens in theaters May 10 and is one of the most buzzed about movies of the summer. Plus, who doesn’t love a good Leo DiCaprio moment?
2. The Heat
Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in a buddy cop movie; need I say more? This is the comedy duo you always dreamed about but never imagined would actually make a movie together. Actually, the pair almost didn’t work together because McCarthy was filming Identity Theft at the time (see my previous entertainment blog), and the producers didn’t think they had a chance of getting her for the role. McCarthy read the script and immediately accepted, and the comedy was filmed in the short time before Mike and Molly resumed filming. Bullock stars as uptight FBI special agent, and McCarthy plays a Boston cop in her usual crazy funny way. Check out the duo on June 28.
3. The Bling Ring
Sofia Coppola directed the based-on-a-true-story movie starring Emma Watson as a member of “The Bling Ring”, the group of fame-obsessed teenagers who famously robbed celebrities like Lindsay Lohan in 2008 and 2009. Part documentary, part crime drama, this buzzed-about movie is sure to be interesting, and if you’re anything like me, the name Sofia Coppola had you hooked from the beginning. The movie opens June 14, so it’s a great midsummer drama to see with your girlfriends.
4. The Internship
Vince Vaughn and Own Wilson reunite for the first time since Wedding Crashers, and the big buzz about the movie is that they got permission from Google to use exterior shots of the building and, or course, the name itself. Wison and Vaughn are two frustrated salesmen who intern at Google and find themselves in competition with much younger, more tech savvy interns. Carnegie Mellon students, anyone? The movie opens June 7, and if Wedding Crashers was any indication, The Internship is sure to be hilarious.
5. Monsters University
John Goodman and Billy Crystal return as Sully and Mike in the prequel to Monsters, Inc. We all saw them as best friends, but that wasn’t always the case, especially in their college days. The two are in the same fraternity, and of course they eventually become friends. Pixar rarely fails to deliver, so Monsters University is sure to be great and bring out your inner child. Check it out in June.