School has started back, and with it the headaches, late nights, and copious amounts of stress that are notoriously associated with it. An easy source of relief from such strenuous study is escapism, an outlet offered to the overworked student in the form of movies. But the changing of the seasons carries with it a lull of entertaining options during the slow transition from summer to fall. Luckily, a number of this summer’s films are still available for those who wish to tide themselves over before the slow-moving months inevitably begin, both in theaters and home release. A recurring trend one is sure to find with all of these summer flicks is an obsession with recapturing days gone by, specifically the recently arrived influx of nineties nostalgia and, strangely enough, an odd fondness for the 1960s.
The first in this summer’s slew of nineties throwbacks slated to be discussed is the latest installment in the shaky but nevertheless entertaining Men in Black franchise. The most recent edition in the series stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, a duo that was originally paired in the third Thor movie, Thor: Ragnarok, and the fourth Avengers movie, Avengers: Endgame. But we’ll get to that later. The first Men in Black movie paired Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as partners working for a top secret alien policing force. All three movies were bolstered up by Smith’s quick-witted Agent J counteracting Jones’s stone faced Agent K. But with neither Smith nor Jones returning for the fourth one, could the movie have hoped to capture what made the original so great? For those curious to find out, the movie is on it’s way to home release, already on digital and arriving in stores at the beginning of September.
Another revitalization of a profitable nineties brand is the recent plethora of Disney remakes, this summer including Aladdin and The Lion King, joining Beauty and the Beast and the upcoming Mulan remakes in their never ending stampede of live action reimaginings. Helmed by Jungle Book director Jon Favreau, the movie stars a wide array of world famous performers including Donald Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Beyoncé, and James Earl Jones, who is reprising his role of Mufasa from the original. Although some are mad that a remake was made of the much beloved classic, that hasn’t stopped it from becoming the highest grossing animated film of all time, raking in $1.4 billion worldwide. While the movie features impressive visuals, it’s nevertheless been criticized for its lack of emotion and rigid adherence to the original’s story. For those looking to be wowed visually if not necessarily emotionally, this picture is still playing in theaters.
But for those looking for something a bit more visceral, an adaptation of the book series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is there to terrify just as the books likely did for many reading this now. Their eerie illustrations are still seared in the minds of many who grew up reading them in elementary and middle school, but these books also stuck in the brains of a generation before the ones who currently roam this school’s halls, originally horrifying children from the nineties, where it holds the record for being the most challenged book of that decade. Set in 1968 (a holdover from the other noticeable trend of this year), the movie combines multiple short tales from the books into one cohesive plot involving a small town terrorized by an evil from beyond the grave. The movie is boasting fairly well with critics and fans of the books, so those looking for some fun scares without being too traumatized should check this out in cinemas.
These callbacks to the 1960s continue in Quentin Tarantino’s ninth and penultimate film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Tarantino has famously stated many times his intent to direct only ten movies as to avoid becoming stale, a trap that many once celebrated directors have fallen into. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton, a once famous TV Western actor now struggling to stay relevant in the changing landscape of the coming decade. As he works through his growing feelings of inadequacy, his stunt double and personal assistant Cliff Booth has a tense run-in with the soon to be infamous Manson family cult. What the story lacks in forward momentum is forgiven for the phenomenal character work, amazing soundtrack, and Tarantino’s signature ultra-violence. This is the second to last chance to catch one of his flicks on the big screen, and the movie has been out for about a month, so those curious to see it better hurry before it leaves and the long wait before home release begins.
And this April, a large cast of characters who first appeared on the pages of 60s-era comic books became the stars of the largest grossing movie of all time. The conclusion to 11 years of buildup, 21 movies, and the most talked-about cliffhanger of 2018, Avengers: Endgame is now on home release, where it will no doubt continue to consume people’s money like it did in theaters. For any who did not contribute to the film’s whopping $2.796 billion box office, just know that the movie is a three hour long epic conclusion that ties up nearly every loose end in a satisfying and complete way. Those who somehow missed it in theaters will find it well worth the time it takes to watch.
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