The summer movie season is a time to see Hollywood’s biggest and most expensive films.
Summer releases are often carefully crafted, thought-out works that enter theaters and minds for a short period of time, aimed at large audiences with big imaginations. While there have been several notable releases in this vein so far this season, it is also important to highlight lesser-known films that are receiving critical acclaim of an unusually high order.
May brought about the theatrical releases of four of the year’s highest-grossing films. “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” the year’s monetary leader at more than $726 million, received a 92 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, including a glowing review from New York Magazine’s David Edelstein.
“Director Bryan Singer… is reborn—deft, elegant, spring-heeled—in ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past,'” Edelstein wrote.
“Godzilla,” the latest reboot on the well-known Japanese monster, grossed more than $489 million and gave “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston one of his first major big-screen roles.
“I thought it was a much better update on the series compared to the last film from 1998,” said Hunter Herrin, senior in landscape design.
June is this year’s home of sequels, as three of the month’s biggest releases, “22 Jump Street,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2” and “Think Like a Man Too,” all fit this category. While the three films received varying qualities of critical response, all outperformed their production budgets by large amounts, receiving interest from a wide range of moviegoers.
June’s most anticipated release, however, was the theater adaptation of John Green’s novel, “The Fault in Our Stars,” starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Engort. The young-adult film follows the course of two cancer patients’ lives as they fall in love through tragedy and triumph.
Carly McGuire, junior in child and family studies, said she truly enjoyed the film.
“It was definitely a tearjerker and very moving,” McGuire said.
July, thus far, has presented viewers with a notable science fiction release in “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” a sequel to 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” Starring Andy Serkis and Gary Oldman, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” received a mass of critical attention up to its release on July 11, gaining a 91 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dana Stevens, movie critic for Slate Magazine, said “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is entertaining despite being grimmer and more violent than its predecessor.
“‘Dawn’ still manages to be one of the most intelligent and entertaining big-studio releases of the summer so far,” Stevens wrote.
Although several praise-worthy films have been released already this summer, many are still yet to come.
The limited release of Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood,” premiered July 11 to widespread critical acclaim. The film received a 99/100 on Metacritic—the site’s highest rating for a limited/wide release ever at time of publication—making it an instant frontrunner for next year’s Academy Awards.
July will also feature “The Purge: Anarchy”—a follow-up to last year’s surprise hit, “The Purge”—as well as Dwayne Johnson’s “Hercules” and Scarlett Johansson’s “Lucy.”
August, the final month of the summer, has one immediate standout: “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the newest Marvel Comics film, starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper.
So far, this summer has been able to pique most moviegoers’ interests. With the roster of remaining films scheduled for release, the box office will not be slowing down anytime soon.
