Lucky 7's: Summer's Leftovers

By Steven Zang

Let’s face it: Summer is halfway over.

At this point, it’s easy to assume that we’ve seen it all. From moral battles between superheroes to sororities getting on Seth Rogen’s last nerve to even the angriest of birds catapulting their way to the big screen… it all seems to be winding down just as we were being told to build ourselves up. Nevertheless, this is still quite a busy season for cinema, pushing the boundaries of the blockbuster towards long-awaited sequels and even longer-awaited creativity.

Hence, don’t give up that movie ticket just yet! There are still some leftovers to be found in the coming few months. If you don’t look hard enough, you just might miss some strong contenders for box office gold.

Without further ado, Lucky 7’s presents the 7 most-anticipated films to fill the space between now and Fall 2016:

7. Ghostbusters

July 15th

Director Paul Feig must really love women. In just the past five years alone, Feig has gone on to direct and even write a bountiful slate of female-driven comedies, from the highly-praised Bridesmaids to 2015’s Spy. Hence, the announcement of a female reboot to the beloved Ghostbusters franchise had his name all over it from the get-go.

With a powerful cast including Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones, all the cards were deemed to be in Feig’s favor. Nonetheless, if the trailer becoming the most-disliked video in YouTube’s history says anything at all, it’s that some classics should be left on the shelves. Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd have even given both their approval and cameos in the upcoming July comedy. However, after such massive backlash from just two minutes of the film, it’s enough to leave you begging for someone else to call.

6. Sausage Party

August 12^th

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have comedy down to a formula. They cover up such an equation with drugs, Kim Jong-il, and a graphic interpretation of the apocalypse. Furthermore, this July’s Sausage Party plans to bring their brand to a whole new visual dimension: computer animation. When Frank (Rogen) and his sausage acquaintances leave “Shopwell’s” behind for a new life in a residential kitchen, they soon discover the awful truth of how humans treat their food.

The trailer plays off like a Pixar movie, but has the humorous grit of a Rogen original. The cast, as usual, carries the weight of Seth, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Paul Rudd, Michael Cera, Edward Norton and other countless celebrities. With this in mind, it might not be the most-anticipated film of the remaining summer season, being that their path to getting the biggest laugh has had a sense of repetition over the past few years. However, Sausage Party certainly promises to be raunchy, violent, and 100% fresh.

5. Star Trek Beyond

July 22^nd

Have you seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens? How about Super 8? Maybe the critically-acclaimed TV show, Lost? What do they all have in common? The sci-fi guru, himself: J.J. Abrams.

When a third installment in the rebooted Star Trek series was announced without the likes of Abrams in the director’s chair, it was enough to worry the hell out of every die-hard fan. Nevertheless, producer Abrams has passed the directing baton to Justin Lin, known for his work on the Fast and Furious series back in its prime heyday.  Additionally, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, and John Cho have all signed on to reprise their memorable roles for Beyond.

As worried as we might be, the trailer for this third outing has held promise, with enough charm and adventure to make Spock’s ears curl. Star Trek Beyond might not be the best out of its refurbished trilogy, but it definitely continues to feel like something out of this world, even for Abrams.

4. Jason Bourne

July 29^th

If there was ever a time to sing to the heavens, it was definitely following the announcement of Matt Damon’s return to the Bourne series. With the unavoidable flop that was 2012’s The Bourne Legacy, the franchise needed a change of pace, ironically for a movie built on nothing but fast-paced realism. And Damon’s return is promising enough to be the change that we’ve been waiting for.

All that we know about this upcoming July release is that Bourne resurfaces from his disappearance at the end of Ultimatum to defend the world from a new kind of terror. Much is under locks, but the release of some footage was nostalgically pleasing in retrospect to its predecessors.

Thus, for better or worse, it’s great to be Bourne again.

3. The Founder

August 5^th

While this next film might not have the budget of a Marvel flick, it certainly carries the depth of reality. And believe me when I say that it doesn’t get more real than this…

The Founder has Academy Award nominated actor, Michael Keaton playing the crookedly-brilliant Ray Kroc, who conquered the fast food industry with his investment in the McDonald’s franchise. It highlights the highs and lows of building a company into an empire, but does so through a name that we all love and adore. Nick Offerman, Laura Dern, and even B.J. Novak have also signed on for this project, making this August release even more compelling.

It might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But, if it’s any consolation, I’m truly lovin’ it.

2. Suicide Squad

August 5^th

DC Comics have been trying to step on the toes of Marvel through countless film projects, especially this past March’s notoriously disappointing Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Nonetheless, this blockbuster pledges to be DC’s “ace in the hole”, their edgy and offbeat attempt at a Marvel-esque film.

Suicide Squad is based around the idea of using supervillains in dangerously classified government missions for the reward of humanity. Expect to see Deadshot (Will Smith), Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and everyone’s favorite: The Joker (fiercely played by the one and only Jared Leto). And if that’s not enough, writer/director David Ayer promises to bring his action expertise into a world resembling the likes of The Dirty Dozen. With that in mind, as well as the impeccable casting and a plotline that bends the rules on its whimsical head, you’ll definitely be left routing for the bad guy.

1. Finding Dory

June 17^th

The sequel we’ve all been looking for…

Finding Nemo is not only arguably one of Pixar’s best films to-date, but it also emphasizes some of our most inept human emotions through a clownfish and his troubled son. It might not seem like much, but it was definitely enough to score the 2^nd highest-grossing animated film of ALL TIME, as well as well-deserved universal acclaim.

All these facts leave one question in mind: Why make a sequel 13 years later? Pixar director Andrew Stanton, whose name is on both the original and the sequel, wanted to wait for a storyline worth telling. And no animated character is more worthy of a continuation than Ellen DeGeneres’s dearest regal tang: Dory.

This time, we find Dory looking for her family up to six months after the original film took place, having spasmodic memories of their whereabouts off the coast of California. We meet new characters, such as Hank the Octopus (Ed O’Neil) and Destiny the Whale Shark (Kaitlin Olson). More importantly, we still get to keep the old ones as well; Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo both make appearances in Dory’s journey home.

If we can take anything from this summer must-see, it’s that keeping it in the family is always a good idea. It will not only create a sense of sentiment towards a troupe of fishes, but it might even lead to more things to find down the road.