Summer blockbuster hits promise excitement

With summer on her way, it’s time for the summer blockbusters to hit the screen. Each week this summer will bring at least one new and exciting adventure to the screen. Starting with Maleficent and A Million Ways to Die in the West, both coming out May 30, and ending with The Giver, The Expendables 3 and As Above, So Below set to all be released on Aug. 15, around the week students come back for the 2014-2015 school year.

Other movies include sequels to some pretty big hits, like Transformers: Age of Extinction, 22 Jump Street, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and many, many more. Along with the sequels, some single movies will debut such as Maleficent, which is a spin off and darker set of Disney’s famous dark queen from Sleeping Beauty, and Hercules, which stars the one and only Dwayne Johnson in the Greek hero tale of none other than its namesake, Hercules.

Besides sequels, prequels and single movies, there are a couple of movies coming out this summer based upon well-known and liked books. The Fault in Our Stars hits the screen this year on June 6. Based off John Green’s highly praised and greatly reviewed book about two teenagers who battle cancer while falling in love. Another movie hitting the screen this summer Aug. 15 is none other than The Giver, based on the same name title by Lois Lowry about a young teenager, Jonas, who lives in a world, much like ours, but the government controls everything in life: who one marries, who one’s children are and even when one receives one’s own bicycle. Citizens don’t even have their own birthdays; everyone born in a single year is issued the same birthday. For Jonas, this isn’t right, and he begins to open his eyes and comes up with his plan for escape.

What are students looking forward to watching this summer

“Expendables 3 and 22 Jump Street. The Expendables 3 has my favorite action actors, like Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and Jason Statham. And nonstop action. I saw the first [21 Jump Street] and really want to see the second one, because the first was hilarious.”

-Bennett Schons, junior

“Fault in Our Stars, 22 Jump Street, How to Train your Dragon 2, The Purge: Anarchy, and Guardians of of the Galaxy. I want to see Guardians of the Galaxy because Marvel does such a great job with their movies. All of Marvel’s movies stories blend together. [Plus] I watch and read comics all the time.”

-Brittany Moffatt, junior

“I want to see Maleficent, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Hercules and How to Train Your Dragon 2, ‘cause they all seem like good movies. I like Disney stuff and Maleficent is based off a Disney story and is a Disney throw off of the evil queen. Transformers is basically about the autobots. Transformers has prequels. If I hadn’t seen the others, I wouldn’t want to see this new one.”

-Cayla Rasmussen, sophomore

Summer movie calendar

May 30

• Maleficent
• 100 Ways to Die in the West

June 6

• Edge of Tomorrow
• The Fault in Our Stars

June 13

• 22 Jump Street
• How to Train Your Dragon 2

June 27

•  Transformers: Age of Extinction

July 2

• Deliver Us From Evil

July 11

• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

July 18

• The Purge: Anarchy

July 25

• Hercules

August 1

• Guardians of the Galaxy

August 8

• Into the Storm

August 15

• The Giver

What old movies would you bring back?

“Predator is a good classic film with a great cast and start of an excellent series. The Breakfast Club, any Mel Brooks movie, the original Star Wars trilogy [four through six] and Indiana Jones are all great movies [to rewatch and watch for the first time].”

-Bennett Schons, junior

“I would recommend any classic and old Disney movie. They’re so happy.”

-Brittany Moffatt, junior

“Spider-Man, the Amazing Spider-Man, it’s a good movie. You can get a laugh out of it and waste two hours, and watching movies with friends is fun.”

-Cayla Rasmussen, sophomore