The Movie Guru's Top Ten Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2015

Okay, I know what you're going to say. Summer has kind of already started. Furious 7 debuted last weekend and completely wrecked the box office, grabbing $147.1 million in its debut frame and its total will be past $250 million by the end of this weekend. Summer box office season has arrived, but for the rest of the month, I wouldn't be surprised to Furious 7 win every weekend. There's nothing to really get excited about for the rest of April, so that's why I held off on making this list. May, June, July and August will see the release of some pretty sweet titles and there's a lot to be excited about. Here are the ten movies that I'm looking forward to the most in the summer months along with some honorable mentions:

Honorable Mentions

SPY- The early word on the latest from Melissa McCarthy is strong, but I'm still a bit skeptical. The trailers haven't been great and with two other spy movies this year, how will McCarthy and director Paul Feig's take compete? JUNE 5

ENTOURAGE- Although it appears that every single person in Hollywood is in this movie, I'm still hoping that there can be a fun story with Entourage. Plus, I love movies about Hollywood and this is going to be another fun adventure into the studio system. JUNE 5

FANTASTIC FOUR- It looks like a decent origin story, but the production has been plagued with rumors of erratic behavior and crazy add-ons to the script. This could be good, but Josh Trank and his team have a lot to overcome. AUGUST 7

TRAINWRECK- Another very funny looking comedy that received great reviews out of SXSW. Trainwreck looks to be a return to form for Judd Apatow and the debuts of Amy Schumer and Bill Hader as major, major stars. JULY 17

MINIONS- The trailers have been hysterical, but can the Minions carry their own film? That question has yet to be answered. JULY 10

10. PAN- July 24

This one has potential. It looks visually stunning and I like the cast. Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard is a stroke of genius and Garrett Hedlund appears to be having a lot of fun as Hook. The action looks great and I'm really excited that an auteur director like Joe Wright is handling this material. I'm just waiting for one final trailer to fully hook me for good.

9. TOMORROWLAND- May 22

The latest film from Brad Bird has been looked at with a lot of intrigue from the start, thanks to a mysterious marketing campaign and some truly vague teaser trailers. And while I'm definitely looking forward to the film, there's something about it that just seems off. Whether it's Hugh Laurie as the villain or the kids movie feel, Tomorrowland just doesn't seem like what I'd hoped for it to be. It could still surprise me, but my anticipation has been deflated in recent months.

8. THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.- August 14

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is 2015's third spy flick and it comes from Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie. The first trailer for this film premiered with Kingsman and I immediately thought that it looked like a blast. Henry Cavill seems to be hamming it up and Armie Hammer gets to do a Russian accent. This just looks like a truly fun ride and I can't wait to see how it turns out. The August date would have been concerning a few years ago, but now, I don't believe that really matters at all.

7. TERMINATOR: GENISYS- July 1

Terminator: Genisys is another film that has suffered from a lot of negative attention, with Paramount seemingly choosing all of the worst marketing materials to release. And the plot does certainly appear to be a bizarre deep dive into the Terminator universe. Yet there's something that just seems really inventive about Genisys. The look is very slick and the actors involved range from bad (Jai Courtney) to Oscar-winners (J.K. Simmons). However, the action looks astonishing and I'm just intrigued by the whole premise of the film. Genisys might end up being the trainwreck that everyone is predicting, but I'm holding out hope.

6. INSIDE OUT- June 19

Inside Out is going to be Pixar's return to form. I just know it. This movie is going to save Pixar from mediocrity. It has so much going. It features an original concept. Pete Docter is directing. The voice cast is great. And early word is that the first two acts are as good as anything that Pixar has done in the past. This is the animated movie to watch out for this summer and I'm really excited to see what Pixar will bring to the table.

5. STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON- August 14

You're probably wondering why I'm so high on this film. #5? Really? When there are so many other blockbusters out there? I know it seems like a weird choice, but the trailers for Straight Outta Compton have been astounding. The N.W.A. biopic looks to standout in a sea of music flicks and the trailers have featured a completely fresh and interesting vibe. This is going to be a violent, sexual and profane (I wouldn't be surprised to see it break the F-bomb record- "**** tha Police" has 66 f-bombs alone) film and a very unique ride that I'm incredibly pumped to see.

4. JURASSIC WORLD- June 12

For the first time in a very long time, Jurassic World is running into a roadblock on its way to theaters. The film debuted its first clip last week and it was thrashed by critics for being both boring and sexist. However, that isn't going to dim my excitement for what looks like one of the most promising movies of the summer, a big, scary and bold action horror flick. The new trailer is set to debut this week and at that point, I'm hoping to be 100% sold on Colin Trevorrow's first big blockbuster.

3. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD- May 15

Mad Max: Fury Road has benefited from one of the best marketing campaigns in the history of modern blockbusters. Seriously, this movie had nothing going for it until Comic-Con last year, and now, it's on everybody's most anticipated list. My only worry now is that the trailers have been so good that the movie won't have anything left to offer. That's a small concern but it still is keeping Mad Max from being higher on my list. But with George Miller, Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, I seriously believe that this has the potential to be a fantastic movie.

2. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE- ROGUE NATION- July 31

Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation feels like a gift. It wasn't supposed to hit theaters until late December, but it smartly moved away from the Star Wars juggernaut and has the July market cornered. The first trailer debuted some spectacular stunts and this franchise is running off the buzz of Ghost Protocol, the amazing fourth installment that reinvigorated the series. Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg are back in what I hope will be one of the summer's most exhilarating rides.

1. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON- May 1

I'm actually kind of disappointed that my most anticipated movie of the summer is the first movie of the summer. But nonetheless, Avengers: Age of Ultron is my most anticipated movie, simply because it looks like the perfect mix of The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Plus, The Avengers is my favorite Marvel movie and there's no reason why I wouldn't be pumped for the sequel. Even if the story is less cohesive, Marvel always delivers the spectacle and Age of Ultron will likely be one of the biggest films that the studio has made.

Early buzz has been universally good, but across the board in terms of how good. I was truly sold last night when the film debuted a spectacular new clip at the MTV Movie Awards. Age of Ultron should be able to deliver the action, humor and drama in equal measure and I can't wait to see how it all works out.

Those are the ten movies that I'm looking forward to the most this summer. Come back later this week for a full preview of the independent and smaller films that will be debuting over the summer frame.

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