Summer Culture Calendar: Summer Movies

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. We'll end our show with the next installment of our Summer Culture Calendar pledge miniseries. Did I say Summer Culture Calendar? Easy for me to say. Today, we'll look at some of the exciting new movies coming to the big screen over the next few months. We'll have another wild Barbenheimer-esque weekend, perhaps, where excited moviegoers hit the theaters for a doubleheader experience. Let's see if we will. Joining me now to share what film she's anticipating this summer season is Dana Stevens, film critic at Slate, co-host of the Slate Culture Gabfest podcast, author of the 2022 book Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century. Dana, hi, welcome back to WNYC.

Dana Stevens: Hey, Brian, nice to be here.

Brian Lehrer: I'll start off with the question I posed in the intro. Back in the summer of '23, the box office got its groove back post-COVID with the same-day releases of the Barbie movie and Oppenheimer. How's the film industry now? Do you anticipate a similar Barbenheimer-type phenomenon happening this year?

Dana Stevens: As I heard you saying that, Brian, I was scanning the release dates, trying to see if any of the big anticipated blockbusters are coming out the same weekend. It doesn't seem like it. It seems like rather than try to have a Barbenheimer weekend, they're trying to avoid competition because they're pretty spaced out, but there are some biggies on the way.

Brian Lehrer: Movies coming out for kids is one of the categories. Two Disney live actions, Lylo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon, a Karate Kid remake-- Oh, Lilo & Stitch. Sorry, and a new Pixar film, Elio. Am I saying that one right? Is there a must-see for parents with young ones or adults who still like those kinds of films?

Dana Stevens: To me, the most must-see of those would probably be the new Pixar, Elio, because it is the first original Pixar IE, one that isn't a sequel to some previous Pixar movie to have come out in a while. The last original film they did, Elemental, was not a hit at all and was not a very good movie, but I still do think that studio does unique stuff in animation and kids movies, so I would look forward to that.

Also, a Disney live-action adaptation of a cartoon is not usually something that's up my alley, but both of these seem interesting for different reasons. Lilo & Stitch is an adaptation obviously of the animation, but it's directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, who made Marcel the Shell a few years ago, that wonderful stop-action animation with Jenny Slate as a tiny shell. I think he might do something creative with it.

Brian Lehrer: Obviously, I have not seen the previous Lilo & Stitch work since I mispronounced the name. What about big action blockbusters? I know you've already seen Mission: Impossible - Final Reckoning. How was it? What else in that genre, always a summer genre, are you looking forward to?

Dana Stevens: Yes, that one is coming out this weekend. That's one of the earlier big summer movies. The last Mission: Impossible movie of what's nearly a 30-year-long franchise, which is amazing, having the same star and, essentially, the same world. No reboots, no prequels, just Tom Cruise doing crazy stunts for almost 30 years. It closes with Mission: Impossible - Final Reckoning, which, as I just finished writing in my review moments before calling you, I would not say, would turn you on to the franchise if you didn't already like Mission: Impossible and the crazy things that Tom Cruise has done over the years. If you are familiar with that universe, it's a sweet nostalgic ending to it. Nearly three hours long, so definitely make sure that you've got your popcorn and take a bathroom break at some point.

Brian Lehrer: There is a special kind of joy in a sequel, isn't there? Whether it's just the first sequel or a movie in a series that's been going on for a while, where you're so familiar with the characters, you care about the characters, and, "Oh, I get to hang out with them again."

Dana Stevens: Yes, and I think Tom Cruise specializes in that, right? He made it happen with the Top Gun: Maverick movie a few years ago. Who would have thought that that movie would have brought people back for a sequel? I don't know. I think close to 30 years also after the original. People loved it. It was a huge hit. It packed theaters all summer, so maybe he'll be able to do it again.

Brian Lehrer: Wes Anderson enthusiasts will be excited to learn that he's got a film coming out next Friday. What is The Phoenician Scheme about?

Dana Stevens: You've got me because they've been very cagey about exactly what The Phoenician Scheme is about. It just opened at Cannes. I think it screened at Cannes a few days ago, was very divisive as Wes Anderson movies tend to be. Some people loved it. Some people thought it was one of his weakest movies. All I know about it is it stars Benicio del Toro as some sort of tycoon businessman. From the look of the trailer, it has that same elegant, schematic, extremely aestheticized layout that Wes Anderson movies tend to have. As with all his movies, I'm not sure if I'll love it, but I can't wait to find out.

Brian Lehrer: Spike Lee, who may be better known these days as the 12th New York Nick, is coming back with the film Highest 2 Lowest. I see that release date is August 22nd. What do you know about Spike Lee's latest New York City-set film?

Dana Stevens: Yes, that's the last probably big-name release of the summer, like you say, at the end of August, and maybe the one I'm most excited about just because these three names together, Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, and Akira Kurosawa. This is a remake of High and Low, the great thriller from Akira Kurosawa from, I believe, the late '50s, early '60s. One of Kurosawa's best movies, I think. Just a great movie. Spike is doing a loose reinterpretation of it. It's about the kidnapping of Denzel Washington's character, who's some sort of powerful businessman. He's kidnapped for ransom, and it's all about the negotiations to get him out. I think the combination of those three big power players could make for a really exciting remake.

Brian Lehrer: How about horror films? Final Destination Bloodlines is already in theaters. Any other hair-raising films that'll complete a summer night for people into the horror genre?

Dana Stevens: Yes, there are some big horrors. Let me look at what the big horrors are. I'm not a horror genre person myself.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, nor I.

Dana Stevens: I see those when I have to see them for work, but I tend to cower away from them.

Brian Lehrer: Okay, so we'll see about those. Yes, Brooke Gladstone has a horror movie--

Dana Stevens: Oh, 28 Years Later. That's the one I was trying to think of. Yes, maybe Brooke Gladstone will have the courage to sit down in 28 Years Later. Actually, this one does seem really fun because, again, it's remake land. It's Danny Boyle coming back to the zombie series. He's now made 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, and now, it's 28 Years Later that zombies have been ravaging the globe. Even though I do sometimes steer away from horror movies, I'm sure I'll see that one.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, to me, I never wanted to spend my time going and sitting down somewhere to be scared a lot, but I know that there are deep psychological themes and sociological themes to good horror films. Yes, acknowledging that. Last thing in our last 30 seconds or so. How about indie films that might not make it on people's radars? We've talked about a lot of the mass moviegoer genres. I know you want to talk about two that are directed by women. Real quick, what are they?

Dana Stevens: Oh yes, I'm glad we have time for these. Yes, Celine Song, who had a big breakthrough with her movie Past Lives a few years ago, has made a romantic comedy, which seems kind of fun. It's called Materialists. It's about a love triangle among Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal. It's Celine Song moving from indies to the big time, to big names. There's also a first-time director named Eva Victor, who has a movie called Sorry, Baby coming out July 8th that, from the trailer, looks really original and interesting. It was, I think, a big hit at festivals. I want to see that one. Sorry, Baby.

Brian Lehrer: Dana Stevens, film critic at Slate, co-host of the Slate Culture Gabfest podcast, and author of Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century. Thanks for all this. This was great.

Dana Stevens: It was a pleasure. Bye, Brian.

Brian Lehrer: That's The Brian Lehrer Show for today. Stay tuned for All Of It. Alison's got legal analyst Catherine Christian going over the latest from the Sean Diddy Combs trial. Little Island's producing artistic director Zack Winokur talks about the summer events and performances being hosted, that great space on the Hudson. Lincoln Center's vice president of artistic programming, Jordana Leigh, previews their annual Summer for the City series. Sportswriter Jacqueline Powell previews the upcoming WNBA season, including the prospects for the New York Liberty, and Scott Dwyer and Lisa Goulet from the Fraunces Tavern Museum about their role in the Revolutionary War. Alison after the news.

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