1. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Yes, this wouldn’t be a must-see summer list without the Avengers. Marvel usually likes to get the summer movie season started with a bang and this one is certainly no exception. The bar for Age of Ultron is ridiculously high but as long as Joss Whedon is involved, I have no doubt this will live up to expectations.
2. Tomorrowland
This one is perhaps the most mysterious entry on my list which has only served to fuel my anticipation. Director Brad Bird may be known for his animated films (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) but he also proved a few years ago with Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol that he’s more than capable of making an entertaining live-action movie.
3. Inside Out
There were plenty of good movies to watch last summer but things just didn’t feel the same without having a Pixar movie to look forward to. Most of the details for Inside Out are being kept under lock and key (a pretty standard thing for Pixar), which is frankly making me more excited. The studio has spent the last few years doing mostly sequels so it should be a refreshing change of pace to see them return to the kind of original stories that made them famous.
4. Ant-Man
I’ll admit my anticipation for Ant-Man dimmed somewhat when Edgar Wright exited the film but given Marvel’s almost perfect track record so far, the studio has more than earned the benefit of the doubt from me. There’s been some understandable skepticism leading up this film’s release but this time last year we felt the same way about Guardians of the Galaxy and that ended up being arguably the best movie of the summer
5. Mission: Impossible- Rouge Nation
I never thought I would say this but between the not-so-bad Jack Reacher, the underrated Oblivion and the undeniably awesome Edge of Tomorrow and Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol, I’ve actually gotten to a point where I’m actually looking forward to a Tom Cruise movie. And how exactly does Tom Cruise plan to top scaling the tallest building in the world? By hanging off the side of a moving plane of course.