It’s Blockbuster Season: A look at 30 summer movies

Arts and Culture

It’s Blockbuster Season: A look at 30 summer movies

Ah, summer, when a young person’s fancy turns to superheroes and space opera, romantic comedies with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore (the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan of their era?) and goofy Westerns from the guy who brought you “Family Guy.”

Nick Stoller directs Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as new parents who have Zac Efron’s fraternity move in next door in this ne-plus-ultra of the semi-improvised/”are they just making this up as they go?” genre.

Here is the big question for this, the second reboot inside of 20 years for this classic kaiju franchise. Is it just me or does Godzilla keep getting bigger? Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche and Ken Wantanabe star.

Jon Hamm stars as sports agent J.B. Bernstein based on the true tale of baseball pitchers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, whom Bernstein discovered after they won a reality show. With Bill Paxton, Alan Arkin, Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal.

This highly anticipated sequel unites the contemporary “X-Men” and “X-Men: First Class” storylines into one big continuity, starring the whole gang: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and franchise newcomer Peter Dinklage. It deals with a war of survival across two time periods, hence the “future past” subtitle.

The third romantic comedy pairing Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore (see also “the Wedding Singer” and “50 First Dates”), “Blended” concerns two single parents who find themselves at a family resort together after a lousy blind date. Cuteness likely ensues.

Angelina Jolie plays the titular villain with the epic cheekbones who curses Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning). Think “Wicked” using “Sleeping Beauty” instead of “The Wizard of Oz” as source material. Visual effects expert Robert Stromberg tries his hand at directing.

Seth MacFarlane writes, directs and stars in this Western comedy set in 1882 Arizona. What’s your over-under on how many minutes before the first sex-with-sheep joke? With Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried and Liam Neeson, who does not seem to be turning down any part at all anymore.

Two teens meet and fall in love at a cancer support group. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, who played siblings in “Divergent,” star. New drivers and their dates will be lining up soon to swoon.

Doug ‘The Bourne Identity” Liman directs Tom Cruise — who just seems to play sci-fi/action heroes now — and Emily Blunt as future soldiers stuck in a time loop of fighting and dying in the same battle over and over again.

A sequel to the excellent 2010 animated feature about vikings who figure out how to ride dragons, pits the dragonriders against an external, possibly-also-dragon-based threat. Stars Jay Baruchel, Kristen Wiig, America Ferrera and TJ Miller, that guy who plays the incubator dude on HBO’s “Silicon Valley.”

Nobody expected “22 Jump Street” mostly because nobody expected the 2012 movie “21 Jump Street” to be as funny as it was. But Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill were great as undercover cops infiltrating a high school. Now they are undercover cops at a college. Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the dudes behind both the first “Jump Street” and the smash hit “The Lego Movie.”

Austin director Kat Candler tells a gritty tale story of a decent-hearted, teen-age troublemaker and motocross obsessive (Josh Wiggins), whose family is in danger of total collapse following his mother’s death. With Aaron Paul and Juliette Lewis.

Tony-award winning Broadway musicals don’t always make a smooth transition to the big screen, but this one has Clint Eastwood at the helm (not known as a song-in-his-heart director) and Christopher Walken’s singular presence.

One of the most powerful horror flicks ever made and a crucial movie in the development of Austin film, Tobe Hooper’s classic turns 40 this year. See the restored version with someone you love (to hang on a meathook).

Director Michael Bay slots Mark Wahlberg (who starred in Bay’s weirdly entertaining “Pain and Gain”) into the now-departed Shia LaBeouf’s slot as the human POV character. Co-stars Stanley Tucci, Nicola Peltz, Kelsey Grammer and a bunch of Autobots, Decepticons and yes, nerds, Dinobots.

Like many people who used to watch “Gilmore Girls,” I wish Melissa McCarthy all the success humanly possible. Here, she and husband Ben Falcone co-write and co-direct a comedy about a woman who decides to split on her no-good husband. Her only option out of town? A road trip with her grandmother (Susan Sarandon).

Apes and humans battle for Earth domination, and you can probably guess who’s gonna win. Andy Serkis stars as Caesar, who is pictured in one still holding a short-barrel shotgun. So know that this movie has apes with shotguns and act accordingly.

In “Boyhood,” an early contender for movie of the year (or decade?), iconic Austin director Richard Linklater followed his cast for 12 years, chronicling the life of a boy named Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and his family (mother Patricia Arquette, father Ethan Hawke and sister Lorelei Linklater). One of the great cinematic achievements of the age and one of the best movies about Texas ever made —no kidding.

This plant-hopping, sci-fi/fantasy blowout by Andy and Lana Wachowski (“The Matrix,” etc.) looks to be the best kind of bonkers space opera. Turns out that Russian maid Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) has the genetic makeup to be the next Queen of the Universe. Channing Tatum (and his abs) star as gene-spliced warrior Caine Wise, and Sean “Ned Stark” Bean plays the scoundrel Stinger.

A sequel to the animated “Cars” spin-off “Planes.” Stars Dane Cook. So, yeah, that happened.

When a movie makes $87 million worldwide on a budget of $3 million, as the creepy dystopian thriller “The Purge” did, a sequel is not surprising. Writer-director James DeMonaco returns. Stars Frank Grillo, Zach “Matt Saracen” Gilford and other victims.

The fifth of the “Step Up” dance movies. This one is directed by Trish Sie, who created that now-legendary video for OK GO’s “Here It Goes Again,” a.k.a. the one with the treadmills.

The always-likable Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson stars as the demigod of myth. Directed by Brett “Rush Hour” Ratner. If it’s a hit, everyone will smell a franchise. If it bombs, well, Johnson still has the “Fast and Furious” movies. Co-starring John Hurt, Irina Shayk and Ian McShane.

A true test of the juggernaut power of Marvel comic book movies. Unlike the Spider-Man and the X-Men, the Guardians are a true B-list franchise, space-faring superbeings who fight intergalactic menaces. Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan and Vin Diesel. Think “cosmic Avengers” — at least, Marvel hopes you think as much.

This is a guts move, a biopic about the almighty James Brown, one of the most important and charismatic people in the history of American popular music. Will it work? Directed by Tate “The Help” Taylor, Chadwickj Boseman, who starred as Jackie Robinson in “42,” plays the Godfather of Soul.

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Nick Stoller directs Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as new parents who have Zac Efron’s fraternity move in next door in this ne-plus-ultra of the semi-improvised/”are they just making this up as they go?” genre.

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