Since 1896, movie theaters have been curing boredom (Chavis, Jason). No matter what age you are, or what kind of mood strikes you, the movie theater never fails to entertain. A place for romantic dates, a girls night out, or a babysitter’s savior; your local movie theater is your friend. Overpriced popcorn, candy, and Slurpees make our duffle-bag-sized purses seem useful (wink, wink). When absolutely nothing sounds appealing, and everyone fends for the bar to drown their sorrows, movie theaters provide good, clean fun! Movie theaters in the summertime always feed our routine lives with hot blockbuster hits.
Bridesmaids, premiering May 13th, means it’s chick flick time! In other words, take only your girlfriends, and save your boyfriend the chick-overload. The comedy, starring Rose Byrne (Jackie Q. from Get Him to the Greek), and Kristen Wiig from Saturday Night Live, involves two women who fight over planning their friend’s wedding (International Movie Database). The plot may sound cliché and like your typical, PG-13, romantic comedy, but Bridesmaids is actually rated R, so some raunchy dialog is expected.
Pirates make a comeback on May 20th, with Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz create a duet onscreen for the second time, making the film a must-see this summer. After you thought Johnny Depp threw away his eyeliner, “Jack Sparrow and Barbossa embark on a quest to find the elusive fountain of youth, only to discover that Blackbeard and his daughter are after it, too” (International Movie Database). Disney’s epic tales consistently fill the big screen with tremendous special effects, Oscar winning performances, and classic quotes. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides can bring the whole family together.
Fall in love with Zach Galifianakis all over again on May 27th by watching The Hangover Part II. This time, “Phil, Stu, and Alan travel to Bangkok for Stu’s wedding only to find themselves in another post-blackout misadventure” (International Movie Database). The Hangover, a comedy complete with rated R surprises and hysteria, turned out as Galifianakis’s big break.
Even if action and sci-fi just isn’t your gig, consider your boyfriend’s feelings. Premiering June 17th, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively star in Green Latern, which may be the perfect collaboration. In the superhero film, “A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe” (International Movie Database). To see Ryan Reynolds in anything is a gift. At some point during the film, you’ll wish you were Blake Lively to co-star with a stud like Reynolds.
Bad Teacher, premiering June 27th, blends an all-star cast with Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, and Jason Segal. Bad Teacher is “a comedy centered around a foul-mouthed, junior high teacher who, after being dumped by her sugar daddy, begins to woo a colleague, which is a move that pits her against a well-loved teacher” (International Movie Database). The rated-R film contains sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use. In other words, take your girlfriends and your boyfriend, they’ll both be cracking up and glued to the screen!
Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts pair up for Larry Crowne, which appears in theaters everywhere July 1st. Hanks plays a man who just loses his job, and then recreates himself by going back to college, while Roberts plays his public-speaking professor (International Movie Database). Larry Crowne, which is rated PG-13, should make an excellent movie night with the parents.
Harry Potter fans probably already have July 15th marked on the calendar; the day of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II. To end the series, Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts to seek and destroy Voldemort’s final horcruxes (International Movie Database). For 10 fantastic years, the Harry Potter movies have marveled the entire globe.
On July 22nd, Justin Timberlake makes his second summer appearance at the theaters this year with Friends With Benefits. Co-starring Mila Kunis, the two try to keep their relationship strictly about sex, but later they mean something to each other (International Movie Database). The plot sounds practically parallel with No Strings Attached, starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman. Funny how after Kunis and Portman filmed Black Swan, the two almost 30-year-old women later film a cliché, romantic comedy. On the other hand, Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis together onscreen sounds too intriguing to miss.
James Franco stars in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, premiering August 5th. Franco plays a man whose “own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy” (International Movie Database). The epic setting serves a chance to go to the movies with anyone: your whole family, your boyfriend, or your girlfriends.
Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, and Nick Swardson star in the highly anticipated comedy of the summer, 30 Minutes or Less. August 12th, be sure to watch Eisenberg and McBride “kidnap a pizza delivery driver, and force him to rob a bank within 30 minutes” (International Movie Database). Eisenberg plays the same character in his films, which is usually a virgin-like guy who sometimes appears dorky or like an outcast. In his latest movies, however, like The Social Network, Adventureland and Zombieland, his popularity really emerges.
On August 26th, Final Destination 5 opens in theaters everywhere. Basically, if you saw any Final Destination movie before, then you know exactly what Final Destination 5 is all about. As usual, a cast of unknown actors attempt to cheat death (International Movie Database).
End the summer with a laugh by seeing Our Idiot Brother, also premiering August 26th. The comedy stars Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks (Miri from Zack and Miri Make a Porno) and Zooey Deschanel (Allison from Yes Man). Rudd plays a dreamer who shoves himself into his three sisters’ lives (International Movie Database).
Add excitement to your cinematic life by making a trip to your local movie theater. Check out Rave Motion Pictures, located on Portage Street downtown, or Goodrich Kalamazoo 10, located on West Main Street. If you want to get some shopping done as well, stop by Celebration! Cinema, which is within walking distance of The Crossroads Mall in Portage. Stop sheltering yourself by sitting at home all day browsing Netflix for movies you haven’t seen in forever, and movies you would never see if they weren’t on your live stream. Instead of finding a RedBox machine every Tuesday, see the movies that have yet to be on DVD. Nothing beats the big screen, surround sound, and ditching the couch.
Sources:
Chavis, Jason. “What Is the History of the Movie Theater? | EHow.com.” EHow | How to Videos, Articles & More – Trusted Advice for the Curious Life | EHow.com. Web. 08 Apr. 2011. http://www.ehow.com/facts_4914718_what-history-movie-theater.html.
International Movie Database (IMDb). 2004. 08 April 2011 <