Memorial Day is coming up and America’s summer movie season is starting to pick up.
With major releases like Marvel’s "Spiderman: Brand New Day," Christopher Nolan’s "The Odyssey," and Steven Spielberg’s "Disclosure Day," there’s a lot to look forward to.
What are some of the movies that might not see the reception studios expected and what are some of the biggest trends in the film industry this year?
We're getting a preview of the summer movie season on this hour of All Sides.
Guests:
- Scott Mantz, film critic, entertainment journalist and producer
- Mel Starker, film critic, writer of Screen Addiction
- Hope Madden, author and film critic with Madd Wolf
Transcript
This transcript is generated with AI. To ensure its accuracy, review the audio file.
Amy Juravich: Welcome to All Sides with Amy Juravich. The summer movie season is just around the corner, but that doesn't mean that some of the year's best films haven't already been released. The drama starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya was a record-breaking success for A24. "Project Hell Mary" was a welcome return to the solo sci-fi project. And "The Devil Wears Prada 2" reconnected us with some old favorites.
Before we get to what we're excited about for the rest of the summer and the rest of the year, let's look back at what's already made the box office special this year. Joining us now, we have Scott Manz, film critic, entertainment journalist, and producer. Welcome back to the show, Scott.
Scott Mantz: Oh, great to see you, Amy. Happy summer.
Amy Juravich: And Mel Starker, film critic and writer of Screen Addiction. Welcome to the Show, Mel.
Mel Starker: Thank you.
Amy Juravich: And Hope Madden, author and film critic with Mad Wolf. Welcome to The Show, Hope. Starting us off before we get to the summer movies, I wanted to talk about some favorite movies that have come out in the past few months since 2026 started, and I've heard a lot about the drama. Mel, let's just start with you. What did you think of the drama?
Starker: I thought it was a really interesting film, and part of the reason why I found it interesting is the variety of different responses that it got from audiences. I feel like any film that. That challenges in that way is definitely worth seeing if you're a movie lover.
I did have a couple of issues with it and that felt, there were a couple things about it that felt a bit forced to me, but at the same time, by the end I was just, I mean, I was physically reacting in the theater to what was happening. And again, I feel like a good, a strong reaction is a good one.
Juravich: Yeah, Scott, were you surprised with the reaction people gave to the drama?
Mantz: I agree 100,000% with Mel. The drama was an interesting movie, and interesting is a word and a half for it. The biggest surprise was the sort of twist that happens early on in the film. I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't seen it yet, but it has done really, really well at the box office, overperforming.
But the movie that was advertised was not the movie the drama turned into. And what it turned into. Was something that was really provocative and held my attention all the way to the end, even as it kind of fell apart tonally towards the end. Robert Pattinson's performance got a little too comical than I was expecting it to go.
But there's no question that the movie was different. It was something that was not advertised in the trailer. And I heard a lot of people complaining saying, oh, that's not what I expected. That's not when it was sold to me in the trail. Someone actually said A24 owes me an apology because that's not the movie we saw, but I was like, bravo for not showing us everything in the trailer and giving us a big surprise early on that kept us hooked all the way through.
Juravich: Okay, I'm going to admit I haven't seen it. I've seen the trailer. So Hope, you were nodding there. Do you feel like, because when I watched the trailer for the drama, I felt like, oh, this is a movie that you can wait till it comes to streaming. You don't need to go see it in the theater. But now I'm like, so intrigued. Go ahead.
Hope Madden: Yeah, there's, there is zero chance that you're going to predict where this goes, zero chance. And I think, you know, what is fascinating is that, yeah, the twist comes so early in the film, and then you just watch how everything falls apart afterwards.
And I love, I love any movie, this is maybe a weird thing to love. I love when there are really no entirely likable characters. Like I find that to be a very brave choice to make. And I like that about this film. And I thought the entire ensemble was just amazing.
Juravich: Well alongside the drama a 24 also released "Marty Supreme" and both movies had this massive unorthodox advertising campaign "Marty Supreme" notoriously was like theaters only Mel do you think more Hollywood studios are going to shift to this like the way they're promoting movies I mean it seemed to work here with the drama and with "Marty Supreme"
Starker: Yeah, I mean, they got to do something to cut through the noise and to add a little something extra for that audience to get them out to the theater, especially in that first couple of weeks. I think you're definitely seeing it more, especially from studios like A24 that have Always take in the somewhat novel approach to their film marketing.
Um, you know, another good example, I was just talking to hope about this is the new movie that's coming out this weekend. "I love boosters" and it's about, um, it's, it' about fashion. It's also about fashion co-option. And they did a, um an event, a marketing event on canal street in New York, which is known for its counterfeit fashion. That's where you go. If you want to buy a pair of fake Chanel's and so, you know, um and, and so really kind of thinking of clever ways. Because you know.
Juravich: Because "Booster's" about stealing clothes, basically. Right, right.
Starker: Right, right. And also about stealing designs. And so, yeah. So I think that, yeah, there's just so much out there that is, you know, vying for people's attention. You're definitely going to see more of this.
Juravich: Okay, so one of the big, "The Devil Wears Prada 2" had a pretty big opening. Here's a brief clip from the film. I'm going to make something of this job. You could write a book. The definitive Miranda Priestly experience. What was I? May the bridges I burn light my way. Wait, wait. Hope that's not what you're wearing to the dinner. Oh, that's all.
Alright, so Scott, what did you think of this? We're getting into this trend of legacy sequels, you know "The Devil Wears product" coming back after all these years back on the big screen Are you fans of them or are they just a cash grab to you?
Mantz: In this case it does, I hate to say it, it does feel like a cash grab because the first movie that came out in 2006 was a great film and it's become a modern classic, a modern Cinderella story, you know, where Anne Hathaway's character, you know, transforms. It's a great character arc. Miranda Priestly played by Academy of Workwin and Meryl Streep was such a great character, of course, based on Anna Wintour.
But it was a good, solid story. It had a great arc, fully realized characters, and it was breakthrough performance from Emily Blunt. And I feel like "Devil Wears Prada 2," even though it is already up to $548 million worldwide, compared to, by the way, and counting, compared to the first movie, which made 326 million worldwide in its entire run. The story. Was not inspired, the characters were not fully realized, and it kind of undid a lot of what the first movie set up, was a step back character wise for a lot of those characters and I was really, honestly I was bored, I was disappointed.
Juravich: Oh no, bored and disappointed. Scott, what about you?
Madden: Yeah, I think that I mainly agree. I thought it was kind of funny that Anne Hathaway's character after allegedly 20 years as an international reporter is still quite so wide-eyed and easily hurt by whether or not her boss likes her. I thought, no, I don't buy that. But yeah, I thought that ensemble is insane. It's crazy to think that they got all those people. Together in the first place, and then to have them come back.
It's fun to see it, but they started off with this idea of the disappearance of journalism, and then they didn't do anything with it. It was just like, oh, here's a great way we can get these guys all back together again. Let's get the band together. And then it just disappears quickly. So I was pretty disappointed as well. All right, Mel, you're.
Juravich: Thoughts on and also like tie in the idea of the legacy sequel. I mean this coming back after 20 years, yeah.
Starker: I mean, you know, sometimes there's a reason to bring back a sequel. Sometimes someone finally came up with a great idea for how to bring these characters back. But you know too often that's not the case and I would say that's the same with "Devil Wears Prada 2." It's just, yeah, the fact that it takes this really important issue about the decimation of journalism. And the ultimate takeaway seems to be that, you know, well, yes, she was a monster boss, but at least she's not a venture capitalist. That's not, that's not great. That's a great takeaway.
Juravich: Um, okay. Well, will Hollywood ever stop producing these legacy sequels? I mean, was there no new ideas? Or like, tell me about this idea of bringing a band back together.
Mantz: Well, first of all, the cast members of "Devil Wears Prada" had really been resistant to a sequel for many, many years. So it makes me kind of wonder, you know, if they did this, you know, what were the ideas that they actually turned down? But the point is, is that they've been wanting to make a sequel to studio, you know, Fox and Disney, because Disney owns Fox now, wanted to make a sequel for years.
So the idea of doing legacy sequels, you know years and years after the fact That is never going to go away. Look at, I mean, not that if the movie did great box office-wise, but in 2017, "Blade Runner 2049," directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, I didn't think it was possible because I loved the original "Blade Runner," it's my favorite movie ever, until 2049 came along. That movie was brilliant and even better than the original.
But to your point, Amy, You have a film this year that we haven't talked about yet that has done gangbusters, that is based on a book, that is doing really well, and I think it's a real Oscar contender for best picture and best actor, among many other things. "Project Hail Mary" did amaze, amaze amaze with critics and box office. $668 million worldwide and counting. That movie is fantastic. A lot of people went back to the movies to see that. That hadn't been to the movies in a really long time. And we haven't even talked yet about Michael, the Michael Jackson movie, which is overperforming more than $700 million worldwide. It could even hit $1 billion worldwide.
Juravich: You're listening to All Sides on 89.7 NPR News. We're talking about summer movies, What's Out Now, What's to Come with Scott Mance, film critic, entertainment journalist and producer, Mel Starker, film critic and writer of Screen Addiction, and Hope Madden, author and film critic with Mad Wolf. All right, so Hope, do you wanna talk about "Project Hail Mary" or Michael Jackson? We can do both. "Project Hail Marry." Yeah, all right, you pick that one. Yeah.
Madden: It's a great IP, it's a beloved book, and I think Ryan Gosling was so ideal for that character. First of all, he's endlessly likable, but he's also an incredibly good actor. And I don't think it's often that you get both of those things in somebody who's like a prime-grade movie star at the same time. So he carried the film just effortlessly, and it didn't matter what.
Stretch your imagination to buy this scenario, you put him in, you absolutely put him, but then to have Sarah Holler back on Earth. For me, her grounding presence is what made that movie. It absolutely is what- That's literally grounding. Is what made the movie. All right. Yeah, I thought it was, and you know, the world is really tough right now and the idea to give us just a good movie that we can all just be happy while we're watching.
Juravich: Perfect timing okay so then Mel that means you get Michael Jackson so do you agree with Scott that it's gonna make a billion dollars here so I will say I have not seen Michael. Okay.
Starker: But I mean, the fan base for Michael Jackson has been enduring and strong for decades. So and international. So I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to make
Juravich: So I haven't seen Michael either. Have you seen Michael? No. No. So Scott, who's making a billion dollars? We haven't seen it.
Mantz: Making it. Michael Jackson fans are turning up in droves to see this movie. I had seen the movie at a press screening and then I was really, really curious so I went opening weekend to the world famous Chinese theater in Hollywood because I figure the freaks come out at night, right? And that was definitely a wild screening because during some of the musical performances. There were fans dressed up as Jackson who got up in front of the theater during the movie and started dancing, you know, his signature moves.
Those are the super fans who are really, really supporting this movie. And you know I get it. And the movie is like, if you look at the film like as a jukebox musical, like a "Bohemian Rhapsody," you know and because of the period of time that this movie covers. Which is really just between off the wall and the release of "Thriller" and the aftermath of Thrilla. The movie works as a snapshot of a particular moment in time and a celebration of the man's talent.
Does it get into all the other controversial stuff? It doesn't because time-wise the movie doesn't go there. It certainly caused a lot of controversy because it didn't go there and, you know, I always, uh, take heed to what Roger Ebert said about movies, judge the movie for what it is, not for what it's not, and for what it is it works. And that's why, that's why it's doing so well.
Juravich: All right. And then one other movie before we take the break that I did want to bring up and just get brief thoughts on is "The Sheep Detectives" because I was like delighted by the trailer, but then I haven't seen it yet because I thought, do I need to see it or did I just see the whole thing in the trailer? Have you either of you saw the Steve Detectives.
Starker: Yeah, I saw it this weekend and it's funny, my husband is a big fan of British murder mysteries.
Juravich: Yeah, same.
Starker: So if you like that and you liked the movie, "Babe," then go.
Juravich: Okay, so it combines British crime drama and the movie "Babe," basically.
Starker: A little bit. It's it's there's definitely some some connections to the babe kind of genre and it's
Juravich: I mean, Scott, "The Sheep Detectives" is doing better than anyone really thought it would for it being what it is, right?
Mantz: It's wonderful. It's delightful. It's a feel-good crowd pleaser in every sense of the word. And you know, you really hit the nail on the head. It's "Babe" meets "Only Murders in the Building."
Juravich: All right, I can get behind that. All right. So before we take the break and we move on We're gonna talk about the summer movies to come in the next segment But before we move, on what is one movie that is in the theater right now that listeners should go see it Maybe even you know before they see some of the big blockbusters coming out. Hope what's in the theater right now?
Madden: I'm not going to steal Melissa's because we talked about this a minute ago, so I am going to say go see "Obsession."
Juravich: It is a horror movie and I stay away from horror movies, but it's fun that I was concerned to
Madden: It's one that I was concerned about because it's an old horror trope where like the wish gone wrong and he wishes that she falls in love with him and I saw the trailer and thought oh a dude wrote this? It's great. It's an amazing film. It's so well written. The performances are incredible. It's very unnerving and smart and I loved it. Okay. I will stay away from that. Yeah
Starker: So, I would say Go See "Is God Is." It came out this past weekend. It's a revenge drama about two twin sisters that are basically ordered by their mother on her deathbed, played by Vivica A. Fox, to kill their father because he is responsible for the house fire that left them all permanently disfigured.
And that sounds super heavy. But I basically compared it to "Reservoir Dogs" in the sense that it treads in a lot of the same genres that Tarantino did. It's a first-time filmmaker, award-winning playwright, Alicia Harris, but she has a perspective entirely her own and this film should be getting the attention that reservoir dogs did.
Madden: I second that.
Juravich: All right. So you wanted to say that one too, but I got it. So, and I would also say obsession, obsession is God is all right, Scott, you're up. What should people see right now? That's out.
Mantz: Okay, well, since two of my choices have just been stolen, they are great, great choices, ladies. I mean, seriously, those are, they just opened last weekend. The movie I'm going to recommend, if you haven't already seen "Project Hail Mary," or if you have seen it, it opens next weekend.
It's called "Pressure." It stars Brendan Fraser, Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser as Dwight D. Eisenhower, and he's planning the D-Day invasion, but he needs the help of meteorologists to determine if the weather Will be good for the invasion on the beaches of normandy and it is a gripping riveting thriller And guess what ladies and gentlemen in a world where movies are two and a half to three hours long This one is only an hour and 40 minutes
Juravich: Oh, the jaws are on the floor in here. Okay. Who knew meteorologists could be so dramatic, right? Incredible. It's so
Mantz: I cannot recommend.
Juravich: Okay, our guests are staying with us and coming up We're going to talk about which movies are going to be the biggest and the best movies of the summer That is what all sides continues on 89 7 and PR news
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You're listening to All Sides. I'm your host, Amy Juravich. With Memorial Day coming up very soon, it feels like the summer movie season is already starting to pick up. With "Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu" set hitting theaters tomorrow. That's not the only big release.
As we go further into the summer, Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" adaptation will certainly be a crowd-pleaser and a box office breaker. And with "Toy Story 5" and the "Moana" adaptation, Disney is looking to dominate the box office this summer as well. Will they succeed? Still with us is Scott Mance, film critic and entertainment journalist and producer. Thanks for being here, Scott.
Mantz: Thanks for having me, Amy.
Juravich: Mel Starker, film, critic and writer of Screen Addiction. Thanks for being here. Mel.
Starker: Thank you.
Juravich: And Hope Madden, author and film critic with Mad Wolf. Thanks for being here Hope.
Madden: Sure.
Juravich: Star Wars. Is releasing tomorrow and it is finally closing a seven-year gap of Star Wars in the movie theaters after "The Rise of Skywalker." Here is a brief clip from the movie. Mandalorian, you will suffer, then it will be his turn. Monsters. We ought to protect the young. I'm the young man. Protect the Old. So Scott, are you excited for Star Wars to come back? Oh no, there's a pause and a sigh.
Mantz: Here it is. I am going to burst everybody's bubble with the Star Wars thing because full disclosure, I am an OG Star Wars fan. I saw all the first three movies in theaters. I love those films. I cherished those films, did not like the prequels, thought the sequel trilogy was okay, you know, they were kind of hit or miss.
Some of the shows have been great. The Mandalorian, the first two seasons were great. Both seasons of Andor were great. First Star Wars movie in seven years and the first Star Wars movie to open over Memorial weekend in 21 years since Star Wars Episode 3 "Revenge of the Sith."
My feeling is the longer you make mediocre content, whether it's a film or a TV show the more you are diluting the brand of Star Wars. There was a time when the release of a Star Wars movie was a seismic cinematic event and I just don't feel that way about the new film. I feel as much as I love the characters, I love The Mandalorian, you know, baby Yoda, Grogu is absolutely adorable and irresistible, but it breaks my heart to say that the movie did not measure up to the greatness that we think about when we hear the word Star Wars. The visual effects, the CGI was too much. The dialog was like awful at times. The story just was not inspired. Not really worthy of being the first new Star Wars movie in seven years.
Juravich: So you, you've already seen it? You got to see it. Okay. All right. So Hope or Mel, thoughts. Uh, well...
Starker: I mean, you know, so it's directed and co-written by Jon Favreau, who we know very well on screen and off. And I was thinking about this and I was also thinking about "Supergirl" coming out June 26th and other, you now, big intellectual property. That's directed by Craig Gillespie. Jon Favreau and Craig Gillespie have both made very good films, but they're not necessarily visionary directors. If you're going to reboot something like this after a certain amount of time, then it feels like you need somebody like maybe a J.J. Abrams, somebody that has a little bit more of a personal vision.
Juravich: Hope, are you a Star Wars or a James Gunn?
Starker: Or that's James Gunn, yes, for sure.
Juravich: Are you a Star Wars?
Madden: I like Star Wars. I saw it was the first movie I ever saw in the theater was Star Wars, I saw at the drive-in in Tiffin, Ohio. It was, as you might imagine, life-changing as it was for all of us that day. I mean, everybody was like, oh my God, what is this? So yeah, it was a huge, and Han Solo, come on, get out. Forever Han Solo's girl.
But I've never seen any of the TV shows, Disney TV shows of any film on earth. So I have never seen an episode of this. It looks adorable, and Sigourney Weaver's in it, and you know what I mean, like I'm pro, but I'm worried to go, because it's gonna go right over my head. I've never seen the show.
Juravich: Oh, I see. Okay. All right. Well, Scott, you're being a little downtrodden on the Star Wars, but are there super fans out there who are going to just go and love it and it's okay?
Mantz: Are. And by the way, again, I am a Star Wars fan. Yeah. And I you know,
Juravich: But you're also a critic, so you're a different type of star, yeah.
Mantz: Yeah. It's a gift and it's a curse. I do think that the Star Wars super fans are going to be excited to go back and see a Star Wars movie in theaters. The Mandalorian is a great character. I just wish the movie was worthy of the character. And Baby Yoda, Grogu, if that's his name, is adorable and irresistible. I wish there was more of him.
There's a great scene in the middle of the film where it's just Grogu for like 15 minutes. And I was like, Now, there's a movie, but then, I just... It broke my heart that I didn't like it as much as I was really, really hoping to.
Juravich: Alright, so are you going to tell Hope over here that she should watch the TV show The Mandalorian? Because I loved it, yeah.
Mantz: I think, well, for two reasons. One, the first two seasons of The Mandalorian are among the very best of any Star Wars, whether it's big screen or small screen.
But if you didn't see the shows, how are you gonna really get the character of the movie? I mean, that's kind of the problem is it really, it's not standalone enough for you to just go in and see the movie and appreciate it. Like, well what is Grogu? How did that relationship start? You You know, knowing the backstory is kind of important.
Juravich: Yeah, you got to get the backstory on the relationship.
Madden: You know, I don't read comic books either and I've done pretty well with those films, so I'm hoping that I'm not
Juravich: Well, yeah, all right, don't I hope you're not lost to I have no idea if you will be though. All right, I want to talk about one I want to pivot to another heavy hitter of the summer Christopher Nolan's adaptation of "The Odyssey" is being released in a couple of months here is a brief clip from it. This is a household waiting for a master. I want you to choose me. No, he's not. What would he do if he came back here and find all these suitors in his house? You're pining me for a daddy you didn't even know
Okay, Hope, we have a stacked cast here. Matt Damon is in it, Robert Pattinson, who we already talked about today, and Hathaway, who we've already talked about today. What are you thinking whenever you saw the preview for "The Odyssey?" I'm very excited.
Madden: About "The Odyssey." I love Christopher Nolan. This cast is nuts. But, you know, we said that about "Oppenheimer." We're like, look at all of these people in this movie. So I'm, yeah, I'm really, really excited to see this. Okay. And Mel?
Starker: I did not 100% love "Oppenheimer," so I am cautiously optimistic given the strength of the cast.
Juravich: OK, so Scott, are you nervous? Is this going to live up to the hype that it has right now?
Mantz: Imagine the hype of this being Christopher Nolan's 13th feature film in a body of work where he literally is batting a thousand and his first movie since winning the Academy Award for best picture and best director and also the very first movie to be filmed from start to finish Using IMAX cameras the entire film is is with IMAx cameras. So there's the height.
Christopher Nolan is one of the few directors whose name above a film is actually worth more than the cast members in the film because of his body of work. That's a lot of hype. And Homer's "The Odyssey" was a book that I was forced to read at school like so many other people. It was not pleasant experience. I didn't get it. Having said that, I'm still very excited for this movie.
Juravich: There's people out there who are going to be turned off and be like, oh, "The Odyssey."
Madden: I read, I read a complaint about a spoiler the other day. Dude, this story's 2,700 years old. There's no such thing as a spoiler. What are you saying?
Juravich: Do you think you need to know the Homer story to be able to watch this movie?
Madden: No, I'm sure you don't, I mean, not in the hands of somebody like Nolan, you know, and again I do, I think that because of who he is and because of the cameras and everything, I mean it's going to be gorgeous no matter what, it's gonna be I think a breathtaking epic to look at. I read the
Juravich: that there's already IMAX theaters that are sold out, even though this doesn't come out for a while, where people already have their seats.
Starker: Yeah, IMAX is kind of a whole thing in terms of like just jockeying for space for IMAG screens. So I'm sure they paved a lot of room for that.
Juravich: You're listening to All Sides on 89.7 NPR News. We are previewing some summer movies and we are talking with Mel Starker, film critic and writer from Screen Addiction, Hope Madden, author and film critic with Mad Wolf, and Scott Mance, film, critic, and entertainment journalist and producer. Alright, I want to talk about "Toy Story 5," which will be released soon, and I am so excited for Toy Story V. Hope, let's start with you. It better I don't think it can disappoint me to be honest with you because I I want to see.
Madden: Yeah, I'm I'm incredibly excited to see "Toy Story 5" I remember when four came out and I was so mad about it because I think I'm not sure if anybody else agrees with me that "Toy Story" one through three the greatest trilogy in the cinema and I mean that sincerely I think "Toy Story 3" is a perfect film and the way it closed the arc with Andy I just thought it was a masterpiece and I didn't want to go see four and I wasn't angry and I loved it I loved "Toy Story 4," I laughed harder in that than any of the other three before it. I thought it was great, so I'm just like, yeah, I'll bet you're off. As long as, you know, as long as Sheriff Woody has existential dread, everything's going to be great. All right, Scott, you were...
Juravich: By giving us a thumbs up, you.
Mantz: Not agree more. I mean, the first three movies, by the way, the first "Toy Story," when it opened in 1995, was the first ever computer animated feature. And so here we are 31 years later, people are now going to take their, their kids, if not their grandkids to see "Toy Story 5."
And having, you know, this build up from one, two and three, three is the best of them all, could have been the best trilogy ever. And it is. They made "Toy Story 4," I thought, oh my gosh, no, don't do that. You're going to ruin it. You are going to dilute it, but it was still pretty great. So you got four great, great, great computer animated films.
So what's not to love about expecting "Toy Story 5" to be great? The previous four "Toy Story" films made $3 billion worldwide. And now if you want existential dread for Woody, how about the toys facing the threat of AI artificial intelligence? Not be any more timely. Come on.
Juravich: Yeah, Mel, what do you want to add anything about "Toy Story 5?" Um, just, um,
Starker: Like we were talking about, this is a good example of a legacy sequel that has a new novel idea that is relevant and goes with it. So yeah, I am definitely looking forward. And I agree about the first three being a perfect trilogy.
Juravich: So as long as the iPad is the villain in the whole thing, right? And then they don't abandon it like "The Devil Wears Prada" abandoned the journalism thing, Which I can't imagine, you know, "Toy Story 5" messing this up, right now. I'd be surprised. Yes.
All right. Well, alongside the new "Toy Story," Disney is also, Disney's hoping to have a big summer here. Disney's also releasing another one of its live action adaptations of an animated film with "Moana." Do you think that Mel, what do you think of doing a live-action "Moana," and what critical reception it's gonna get? Because some of the live actions have gotten good reception and some have not. I can't say on the...
Starker: One obviously but I I mean I have had my own very mixed reactions to the live action remakes and I do kind of wonder why you know did this especially for Disney that has a long history pre home video of re-releasing their classics they used to re- release them every seven to eight years And that's how I saw "Fantasia" in theaters when I was a kid, in a re-release. And so I just kind of loved that idea of parents being able to share on a big screen the things that they loved with their kids. And the continuous remakes seem like they would, you know, cut that opportunity off.
Juravich: Yeah, Scott, "Moana" didn't come out that long ago, so I don't even know if I can call it a legacy, anything, because they were just like, "Moana" was just a few years ago and now we're doing the live action. Is that just... Yeah. I just gotta say, first of all...
Mantz: Mel and Hope, this is like the best panel conversation I've ever had. I wish I was there in person. No, look, you bring up very, very, valid points. The live action versions of the Disney animated classics like "Beauty and the Beast," "The Lion King," "Aladdin," those movies came out 1989, you know, in the 90s and, and you know they were, there was distance.
Between the animated version and the live-action version and those movies the live action versions did really well "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin" and "The Lion King" like made like, you know about a billion dollars each. "Snow White" not so much. There was a lot of controversy with that movie That's an example of it and that goes back to like 1930, you, know, whatever seven Uh, that did not do well Uh creatively, I don't think the live actions offered anything better that we got in the animated versions.
And to your point, Amy, "Moana" is only 10 years old, too soon for a lot of hype to be worthy of a live action remake of this movie, even though you have, you know, Dwayne Johnson reprising his role and singing along to the first movie made $643 million worldwide. You know, this is not a movie really I'm excited to see, but of course I am gonna see it.
Juravich: All right, Hope, what do you think of bringing "Moana" into the live action space?
Madden: Yeah, I agree. I mean, I just don't think because the "Moana 2" was just like two or three years ago. It's really it's not
Juravich: Yeah, I mean, I feel like I just watched "Moana 2." I don't know, I have no concept of time. But anyway.
Madden: Anyway, you know, I remember "The Jungle Book." I remember "The Jungle Book," speaking of Jon Favreau, not really like being angry that they were making it and just being delighted by it. I really loved that particular live action. Well, that's what you're gonna call it. Update of a Disney classic, but I haven't liked most of them.
I have, I will say "Lilo & Stitch," because it was set in Hawaii. It's like the rare movie you're like, you know what, this is actually as pretty as the cartoon. And so "Moana" at least has that going for it. Like it visually. Might rival an animated version, but in almost every instance, you're like, but the cartoon looked better, you know? Like, ugh, I don't wanna watch this.
Juravich: I watched the "Lilo & Stitch" live-action remake as my daughter's birthday party. We rented a theater and so and so some of the girls because of their ages had never seen the original "Lilo & Stitch" so they were this was their first time seeing it was as the live action and some of them had I mean a few of them they they cried it was so emotional and I agreed with them it was more emotional with the real people and I don't know if that was because of the style of animation from "Lilo & Stitch" maybe I'm not sure I just it was very I thought it I was very emotional. That's really interesting.
Starker: And yeah, that's a really great point. The animation style for the original film was so exaggerated.
Juravich: Yeah, so maybe, so I remember, I mean, I was younger, so I remembered being sad for Stitch in the animated one, but I was like, I wasn't in a room full of girls all crying with the live action one, yeah.
Madden: Impressed by it I didn't expect to be and I thought oh this is this is quite good
Juravich: All right. So are we going to be impressed with "Moana?" I guess is what we'll end on here. Who knows? Who knows. I want to say I hope so, because I do enjoy. I do enjoy the rock, you know, in that character. All right, staying with us, our panel, we're going to talk about more summer movies when All Sides Continues on 89.7 NPR News.
You're listening to All Sides. I'm your host, Amy Juravich. Just like last year, this summer is gonna be dominated by superheroes in the cinema, with Marvel's Spider-Man and DC's Supergirl both making major film appearances. Steven Spielberg also has a new movie in the works. And this summer isn't always going to be about the biggest blockbusters. There are also some hidden gems and independent movies that might slide under the radar. We'll try to get to all of it in the last few minutes we have.
Still with us, we have Hope Madden, author and film critic with Mad Wolf. Thanks for being here, Hope. And Mel Starker, film critic and writer of Screen Addiction. Thanks for being here, Mel. Thank you. And still with us also is Scott Mantz, film critic, entertainment producer, and journalist. Thanks for bein' here, Scott.
Mantz: Thanks so much, Amy.
Juravich: All right, so last year we were talking about James Gunn's "Superman," and this year we're gonna talk about DC Studios' "Supergirl" when it hits the theaters. You know, we've seen the preview. What do we think of Mel's Supergirl so far?
Starker: Um, talk about a movie that gives too much away in the trailer. Um, that's, that my biggest issue with it, but, um, I really, really enjoyed, um James Gunn's "Superman." Um, I, and the fact that, uh, he is basically in control of the DC universe films at this point, um. Gives me a lot of hope for, for the new super girl, um that said. I do have an issue with movies that put animals in peril as a major plot point because I feel like that can be kind of cheating.
Juravich: We were talking off the air that I watched the trailer yesterday in preparation for this show and I was not expecting the dog to play such a vital role. So that was my takeaway from the trailer where I was like, oh, this is about the dog. It's the "John Wick" of superhero movies. Which was not what I was expecting. Scott do you want to weigh in just quickly? We're gonna try to get through a few other here to here. Yeah
Mantz: You know, between the trailer trailers and you know, I was at CinemaCon in Las Vegas last month and they showed an extended clip from the movie "Supergirl." I am not really blown away by what I've seen so far. And Amy, if you remember last summer, we were talking about "Superman" and I didn't really like "Superman." And I thought it was too-
Now, I know I'm in the minority of it, but, you know, I digress on it, but I think of the superhero films opening this summer, "Supergirl" is unfortunately the one that I'm least excited about.
Juravich: I hope the dog's okay. Thank you. Bye. All right, well then, speaking of superheroes, let's go to another one that a lot of people are excited about. Spider-Man will be making a return to theaters after five years. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." Let's listen to a clip. My name is Peter Parker. You don't remember me, but we used to know each other. Something bad was gonna happen, and the only way to stop it was to make everyone forget about me. Because I'm not just Peter Parker, I'm Spider-Man.
Okay, so who wants to start? Hope, would you like to start with Spider-Man? Sure, I- What do you think?
Madden: You know, of all the franchises, I think that Spider-Man, especially since Tom Holland has taken over the role, they're always delightful. I think they never bite off more than they can chew. I think, they don't weigh a film down with too many characters.
I think Tom Holland is a doll, and he's incredibly easy to root for. And I also think Spider-man is just of the, he's always kind of been, except for the Hulk, my favorite, because. Since I was a kid. He wears a whole outfit, so you really don't know who he is. When I was kid, I'd be like, who doesn't know that Superman? I don't understand it. So, I'm excited for it.
Juravich: And Scott, do we, is this a continuation of where we left things five years ago? Because unfortunately for me, I, you know, time is a construct and I don't remember five years ago, so do I need to know, do I need to have remembered five years ago to understand this movie?
Mantz: Well, actually, you don't, Amy. The reason is because at the end of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which is the highest grossing of all the Spider-man films with one point nine billion dollars worldwide, that was the film that brought Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland together. Which if you're a Spider-man fan, like I am, it was Spider Nirvana.
But at the end of the film, Peter Parker had to make a choice. And he basically erased his existence. The world. So all of his friends like M.J. And and Ned Leeds and and everybody who knew Peter Parker don't know who he is anymore. Although Spider-Man is still out in New York fighting crime.
So the answer Amy and everybody listening if you haven't seen any of the Spider-man movies and I love those films. This is the one to say this is the one to see. Yes. It opens on July 31st and this is movie I am very much most excited about this summer.
Juravich: All right, Mel, do you wanna add any Spider-Man?
Starker: No, just that I've been a fan of almost all of the Spider-Man films as well, and so, and Tom Holland and Zendaya, such a cute couple, so, yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
Juravich: Alright, let's move on to Steven Spielberg "Disclosure Day" I felt like it flew a little bit under the radar like I didn't even realize Steven Spielberg had a movie coming out until I sat Down to read what my student producer wrote for the show So did I just miss it because I don't pay attention to things that everyone knows Steven Spielberg has a movie
Starker: Yeah, I think so, but at the same time, they're being very cagey about the farm and what it is. And so I think, which I love, I love going in as cold as possible.
Juravich: So is this one in the trailer maybe doesn't give it away?
Starker: It gives very little away. I will say that he's paired again. Is it David Koepp who wrote this one? Really great screenwriter and the amazing Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor who was in at least two of the best films of last year So so yeah, I think that I think they figure it's Spielberg. They don't have to necessarily do that much hype
Juravich: And then Scott, this film from Spielberg, the film deals with whether or not we're alone in the universe. It asks the question, why would he make such a vast universe to save it only for us here on earth? So what are you expecting from "Disclosure Day?" Okay, well first.
Mantz: First of all, this is Steven Spielberg's 35th feature film as a director, which is incredible. Steven Spielberg, of course, changed the game back in the 70s with movies like "Jaws" and "Close Encounters" about UFOs, and then in the 80s with Raiders and "E.T.," another film about an alien.
So this film, his fourth dealing with aliens after "War of the Worlds" in 2005, kind of brings him back to his roots. And honestly, Steven Spielberg... Is one of the most famous, one of most successful and groundbreaking directors of all time and he is still at it, making movies, directing films. I look at a brand new Steven Spielberg movie the way I would look at a brand-new album from The Beatles. We're not gonna get that, so let's get excited about Steven Spielberg's 35th feature film.
Juravich: Well, before we run out of time, I'm gonna have each of you pick a movie that is coming up that you don't want people to miss out on. Maybe it's something that actually flown under the radar because it's not made by James Gunn or Steven Spielberg or one of those big names. Hope, do you wanna go first?
Madden: It's not coming out until a little bit later in the summer, and it is a fairly small movie, but "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma" is gonna be the new one from Jane Schoenbrunn, who I love, she's made two other films before. They're so surreal and interesting and incredibly original. And this one also stars Gillian Anderson, who I adore.
Juravich: And Mel, what one do you have?
Starker: Okay, I just have to do a quick plug. I love "Booster's" new Boots Riley opening tomorrow. Looks amazing, first show, first day for me. But the other thing, aside from "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma," is a movie coming in July called "Gale Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass."
And basically it's about a young couple that's getting ready to get married. And like a lot of couples, they have that celebrity pass. And the guy and the couple actually manages to pull it off. And so, in order to save their union, the woman is, and I'm sorry, I'm totally spacing on who plays it, is told that she has to pursue her celebrity sex pass, which is Jon Hamm.
And the reason I'm cited about this is that it's the people behind "Wet Hot American Summer," so they've made some very funny films. And I don't know if you've ever seen Jon Hamm in a comedic role. He is flat out hilarious. So I'm really excited.
Juravich: All right, Scott, your turn. What do you think people should see this summer?
Mantz: Okay, so just FYI, I saw that movie at Sundance and I can tell you the movie is great. If you're excited about it, you're gonna love it. So that's good news. I actually have some good news about a film. The movie I'm most excited about is another movie I also saw at Sundance. And it was probably the movie that made the biggest splash there. Sold to A24, of course it did.
The movie is called "The Invite," directed by Olivia Wilde. It's about these two couples that get together for a night and of course, complications. Ensue and so does the awkwardness and the hilarity. The movie stars Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde is also in the film, also Edward Norton and Penelope Cruz and it is a squirm inducing good time. It's hilarious. It opens on June 26th and I think A24 has another hit on hands.
Juravich: So we have about two and a half minutes left. I wanted to also ask each of you to make a prediction. Will a movie eclipse a billion dollars in the box office this summer? Is something coming out that's gonna, that's really gonna blow us away? Scott, a billion dollar, what do you think? You mentioned a billion a few times here, yeah.
Mantz: Okay, well, I mean, Michael will have already made a billion dollars by the time summer really gets going. But I think the movie that's going to get to a billion dollar's the fastest is going to be "Spider-Man: Brand New Day."
Juravich: All right. Hope and Mel, anything else going to make a billion dollars?
Madden: Now that's where my money would be as well for the stuff coming out this summer, sure.
Starker: Yeah, dat sounds, I mean, you know, it's possible with Toy Story, but I feel like Spider-Man's a better bet.
Madden: I don't know, I mean, "Toy Story 4" made a billion dollars, so. Right. It did, all right. It did. Good for it. See ya.
Juravich: I'm a Toy Story fan. Okay. Um, and I guess we still have a minute left so someone can have one more movie Who wants to take it back rooms?
Madden: Oh, but you brought up so the Wexner Center for the Arts has Bleak Week.
Starker: Yes. Okay. So I'll just mention this very quickly, because it is actually part of a national initiative by the American Cinematheque. And this is something that actually some theaters had done last year, where they do a week of films that are, you know, unabashed downers, but that there's, you know something sort of pleasant in immersing yourself in that kind of energy.
And so the Wexner Center is participating in that national program, June 4th through 10th here. And they're gonna be showing films like "Mysterious Skin" by Gregg Araki, which is amazing. I've never seen it on a big screen. I'm really looking forward to it. They've also got "Menace II Society" and the 1970 film "Beneath the Planet of the Apes."
Juravich: So, it's called Bleak Week? Bleak week. All right. All right, all right. Well, I want to thank you all for joining us. Thanks to Mel Starker, film critic and writer of Screen Addiction. Thanks, Mel.
Starker: Thank you.
Juravich: And also Hope Madden, author and film critic with Mad Wolf. Thanks, Hope.
Madden: Sure.
Juravich: And we also had with us Scott Mantz, film, critic, entertainment journalist, and producer. Thanks, Scott.
Mantz: Thanks, Amy.
Juravich: And thank you, Mel and Hope, for an amazing conversation. You've been listening to All Sides on 89.7 WOSU News. I'm Amy Juravich. Thanks for joining.