Thursday Movie Picks: Summer Blockbusters

For the second week of August 2017 as part of the Thursday Movie Picks series hosted by Wanderer of Wandering Through the Shelves. We venture into world of summer blockbusters as it’s become a phenomenon since Jaws hit theaters in the summer of 1975 and changed the face of cinema forever as it would get bigger two years later with Star Wars. More than 40 years later, the summer blockbuster has offered all sorts of films whether it’s escapist and grand films or something different as this year so far has been a really good blockbuster season that has offered so many different kind of films. Here are my three picks:

1. Wonder Woman

Superhero films and franchises is often the norm of the summer blockbuster as they offer a sense of excitement to comic book fans and casual movie audiences. This year didn’t just offer a couple of entries from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming but also a film from the DC Extended Universe that is a real game-changer. Patty Jenkins’ film about the Amazonian princess who wants to save the world without any kind of compromise is the film comic book-adapted films and superhero films need. Most of all, it’s a film that gives women and young girls someone they can root for as it’s managed to exceed all sorts of expectations as well as give Gal Gadot a major step into superstardom.

2. Baby Driver

While the summer always offer movies from studios that are meant to be the big spectacles, there is always an alternative as this year did offer that from such noted auteurs as Sofia Coppola with The Beguiled and this film from Edgar Wright. A blend of the musical with comedy and high-octane action inspired by the car movies of the 1970s is really unlike anything out there as it features a kick-ass soundtrack that help drive the story as well as present something that is different. It’s got all sorts of things yet it remains something simple about a getaway driver who listens to music in his job.

3. Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan has been sort of synonymous with the summer blockbuster with such films as his Batman trilogy and 2010’s Inception as he offers audiences the real alternative to the blockbusters that are all flash and no substance. Yet, his newest film is totally different in not just being a war film but an unconventional war film that doesn’t play by the rules of traditional narratives. In this dramatic re-telling of the real-life Dunkirk evacuation, Nolan creates a war film that is directly into the action set in three different areas in different frames of time as it is pretty much a daunting task in the world of film.

© thevoid99 2017