It is that time again as April comes to a close when we turn our attention to the summer months and the blockbuster films set roll in and clear out the cobwebs of the beginning of the year doldrums. There have been some uncharacteristically strong films early in the year which have kind of thrown things off for the summer. With a strong showing by Deadpool and the Jungle Book getting a jump on summer by a few weeks, we are left with a few sure things a bunch of films that are more interesting than they are exciting. Several of the films on my list below are films that I am not excited about as much as I am just curious to see how they turn out. Last summer offered up a lot of good to great blockbusters and this summer looks to be a bit flat in comparison. As I mentioned in my most anticipated movies of 2016 list, there aren’t a lot of movies this summer that I am chomping at the bit for but there are a bunch I want to see just to know how they pan out.

Let me know what your most anticipated summer movies of 2016 are in the comments. I have included posters and trailers where possible.

 

10. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (June 3)

Otherwise known as the Lonely Island Movie, Popstar follows Andy Samburg as conner4real, a rap/pop star who has fallen onto hard times and is trying to get back on top without reuniting with his now defunct group. This pretty much exactly what I would have thought the Lonely Island Movie would be. If you are  a Lonely Island fan then this is great news. If you aren’t then you have probably rage quit this list already because it is now somehow invalid. I really dig this team’s brand of comedy so it would be a real surprise if I don’t care for the movie.

9. Ghostbusters (July 22)

This is a prickly one. The original Ghostbusters is one of my favorite movies of all time and I know it backwards and forwards so any remake would be a hard sell for me. Paul Feig is pretty much an automatic sell for me since I have never disliked one of his films but the trailers so far have not really done much to instill confidence. The trailers also haven’t been bad enough to make it look like a lost cause either and it is important to remember that Feig’s trailers are not always the best. I am concerned about this one and it could really go either way.

8. Independence Day: Resurgence (June 24)

It has been 20 years since the first Independence Day and I have to kind of wonder why they are going for it again after so long. The original film still has a fair amount of good will and it will be interesting to see what director Roland Emmerich will do with current special effects that he didn’t do with his last batch of disaster movies. Still, the trailers have not done a lot for me so far and I am having a hard time mustering up too much excitement. Add to that the lack of Will Smith and new leads that don’t excite me much and this is another curiosity for which I am not terribly excited.

7. Neighbors 2 (May 20th)

I was a really big fan of the first Neighbors movie and theoretically more of that would be awesome but comedy sequels are tough beasts to master, particularly if all they are doing is rehashing the original premise. On the other hand, director Nicholas Stoller is one of my favorite comedy directors and the trailer looks like they are going to be going in some new directions with this one while still going back to the well for the premise. That kind of thing is really hard to pull off but the talent both behind and in front of the camera gives this one a pretty good shot at panning out. Time will tell and thankfully we won’t have to wait too long to find out.

6. Star Trek Beyond (July 8)

The months since my whole year list has not done a lot to make me feel any better about Star Trek Beyond. The pluses remain Justin Lin and his solid track record with both character driven films and badass action films, and Simon Pegg and his tremendous writing talent. Unfortunately, the trailer that we have doesn’t inspire a lot of hope with some sketchy effects and general flat energy. I really want this one to pan out and I really want it to be a worthy Star Trek film. With Star Wars back on track I would really like to see a back to basics Star Trek movie. This does not look like that film but I hope it at least feels more like Star Trek than Into Darkness did.

5. Jason Bourne (July 29)

The Bourne Series has always been super solid. I am not very fond of what the shaky cam style of the last two films did to action filmmaking in the years since but both of those films were solid and I am excited to see what director Paul Greengrass has in store for us this time. The first trailer looks pretty great and the addition of Tommy Lee Jones to the proceedings has sweetened the pot considerably. This looks like it is going to be a late summer treat that will hopefully live up to Bourne’s legacy better than the Bourne Legacy managed.

4. The Nice Guys (May 20)

Written and Directed by Shane Black, the Nice Guys is a noirish detective story set in the 70’s  starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. I am not really sure how much more I need to say. It looks hilarious and fun while still offering a compelling mystery. I am very excited for this one and it is probably the thing I am most looking forward to with the least amount of worry.

 

3. Suicide Squad (August 5)

Question marks remain for Suicide Squad now that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has come and gone. Trailers suggest that the tone will be more fun than the over-the-top seriousness of Batman v Superman while still delivering on great action. I love David Ayer’s work both as a writer and a director so I am fairly confident that this one will pan out. It is entirely possible that it will completely shit the bed still and frankly Batman v Superman did very little to instill confidence in the DCEU but I still have a lot of hope in Suicide Squad and I am legitimately excited for it.

2. X-Men Apocalypse (May 27)

Okay so look, the trailers have looked pretty bad for X-Men Apocalypse but, as we’ve talked about on this site in the past, X-Men trailers have a real habit of looking bad. So do costumes and characters out of context so a lot of the criticisms for how Apocalypse looks are really not valid until we see the movie. Bryan Singer has not made a bad X-Men movie yet and there is no reason to believe that he will start now. Add in the amazing Oscar Isaac as the titular character and there is a lot to be excited for here.

1. Captain America: Civil War (May 6)

Coming in less than two weeks, Civil War should start the summer off right. With a lot of the same potential problems that Batman v Superman had, Civil War is not a sure bet but it is kind of difficult to imagine the directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier following that up with a piece of muddled shit. I am not really sure how they are going to pull off juggling all of the characters they have in this movie without it feeling crowded given that you have more that a couple that are being introduced here and a lot of ground to cover with some of the others but I have a lot of faith. The Russos will have to deal with a lot more characters than this in Avengers Infinity War so whether or not they are able to pull this off should be a good indicator of what they have in store for us down the line. Also, Spider-man in the MCU. ‘Nuff said.

So there we have it. Leave your lists below!