2023 summer movie preview: All the biggest films to have on your radar
These are the 25 films to have on your radar this summer.
May 5, 2023
Not since the pandemic hit pause on the box office has a movie summer been so full of potential blockbusters.
Last year at this time, Tom Cruise almost single-handedly saved in-person filmgoing with “Top Gun: Maverick,” a flyboy sequel that not only grossed a zowie $1.4 billion but flew off with six Oscar nominations, including — wait for it — best picture.
Can any summer 2023 epic top that phenomenal first sequel to 1986’s “Top Gun?” Maybe Cruise can step up again with “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One,” though the MI franchise will already be seven movies old.
Of course, there’s also Chris Pratt as a guardian of the galaxy, Vin Diesel going fast and furious in his muscle car, Gal Gadot trading in her Wonder Woman costume to do wonders as a super CIA agent, and freshly minted Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as a warrior who transforms into a peregrine falcon.
But my betting money is on Harrison Ford, who, at 80, is taking his fifth and final run at cracking the whip as Indiana Jones.
For awards buffs, there’s “Oppenheimer,” a big-screen biopic from hitmaker Christopher Nolan on J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the father of the atomic bomb. And never discount Wes Anderson, whose “Asteroid City” is packed with stars such as Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson.
And look for “Lady Bird” directing nominee Greta Gerwig to add a subversive comic edge to “Barbie,” with Margot Robbie bringing the iconic Mattel doll to life and Ryan Gosling — already getting best actor buzz — as a Ken doll you never saw coming.
And never rule out the small stuff. A24, the indie distributor that recently took home a best picture Oscar and three acting prizes for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” is back with “Past Lives,” the dazzling debut feature from Celine Song that reinvents the love story and is head and shoulders above any movie I’ve seen this year.
There’s plenty to excite audiences of all ages and tastes.
Here’s my list of the 25 movies you should be dying to see this summer.
Sept. 1
“The Equalizer 3”
Denzel Washington doesn’t do sequels, except for “The Equalizer.” In this third and final chapter, he’s back as Robert McCall, a retired assassin who dedicates his life to helping the little folks. Part 3 finds McCall at peace in southern Italy until the mob gets in his way. As ever, Washington is the essence of cool. He’s a star, baby, and thanks to him, summer goes out with a bang.
