For me, some of the best times of the summer have always been when I could watch movies. No homework to stress about, nowhere else to be, just laying back in the theater or on my couch with some snacks and watching “cinema.” There’s truly nothing like the movies, and this summer delivered some incredible ones. So, below are reviews of all the new movies I watched this summer, in chronological order of when I watched them. It’s as spoiler-free as possible, but I do highly recommend watching the films before reading.
K-Pop Demon Hunters 10/10
After deciding to watch this from a friend’s suggestion, I really didn’t know what to expect. I just thought it’d be a K-Pop group hunting demons. I expected some music, I expected some fight scenes, it all really came from the name. For the most part, I was right, but wasn’t expecting all those parts to be as great as they were. The music was incredible, and even after finishing the movie three times, I still listen to its soundtrack. The animation is also incredible, and really has that unique Sony element to it that other pictures from the studio does. It’s unique in the best way possible; It definitely cemented itself as the most memorable movie I watched this summer.
F1: The Movie 8/10
I really enjoyed this one. Seeing it in theaters was awesome, having the high-quality speakers made this incredible to see. It feels real, like you’re in the back of the car during the races. Damson Idris exuded confidence in his acting, and Brad Pitt added to the movie’s star power in the best way possible. In my opinion, this is one of the best representations in film of racing, and one of the best ways to explain why people love it. Also, the soundtrack? Incredible. While a lot of people loved the movie due to its stunning visuals, I loved it most for its sound.
Superman 9/10
For the surprisingly high expectations I had for this, it exceeded all of them. I’m a big fan of James Gunn. The Guardians of the Galaxy movies are some of my favorites from Marvel, so when I heard he would direct a Superman movie which would reboot the entire DCU, I expected a lot. David Cornsweat’s representation of Superman is just right, giving that sense of raw power but also a strong feeling of hope. My brother specifically referred to his “aura farming moments” as pure cinema, and I wholeheartedly agree. It just put a huge smile on my face. I’m incredibly excited for this new cinematic universe, especially for the upcoming movie about Supergirl!
Fantastic Four: First Steps 6.4444/10
While I don’t feel like I had incredibly high expectations for this one, I definitely thought it would’ve been more of an action movie than what it ended up being. Maybe it would still technically be an “action” movie, but I compared it more to a superhero based drama. Despite this, I thought it was actually a good movie for what it was. The retro-60’s vibe was spot on, and the family aspect of the film I thought was complex and well done.
The Naked Gun 6.7/10
For what it is, it’s kinda funny. I’m glad this didn’t really take on a bunch of new humor to make it funny, I feel like it really stuck to its roots. Liam Neeson is probably the perfect casting choice for this role, the way he acted with such a straight face seriously shouldn’t be possible. I don’t think it was an awesome movie, but I don’t think it was supposed to be. The movie doesn’t really have a plot, but then again, it’s not really supposed to, it’s just supposed to have a bunch of dumb jokes that are so dumb it makes you laugh. I genuinely had a good time watching this, it’s just that it feels incredibly unfair to compare it to all the other movies on this list like they’re the same. Other movies here tried to be great movies, The Naked Gun didn’t really care.
