Howdy y’all! As you might have guessed from the above greeting, I’m traveling this week but still wanted to bring you the best movie and TV news that you might have missed!
This has been a big summer, so instead of focusing on just the first full week of September, I wanted to cover the biggest takeaways (and news!) from the whole of Summer 2016. For the next time you’re gathered around the watercooler, here’s what you need to know happened this summer.
THE BEST
Box Office: In summer 2016, the North American Box Office raked in about $4.5 billion, making for the second highest box office summer on record. Summer movie season is going to live on for a long time while we’re getting results like this!
Feminism: A lot of uber talented ladies rocked the screens this season, defeating all the trolls who tried to bring them down. Ghostbusters inspired a whole new generation of girls (despite the film likely not getting a sequel) and Ellen DeGeneres swam Finding Dory to close to $1 billion at the box office. With every passing summer, we’re seeing more women-led projects succeed amongst audiences and critics. We’re not surprised that we’ll see more of it in the future.
Great TV: Just because it doesn’t last all summer doesn’t mean we shouldn’t recognize how we still are in a Golden Age of Television. Game of Thrones kept us watching through June and Mr. Robot remains the must-watch show of the summer, all while various Emmy news kept us excited for our shows to return in the fall. (Orphan Black! Sherlock! American Horror Story!)
THE WORST
Too Many Sequels: Despite all the box office revenue, many sequels bombed this summer. “Sure hits” like Independence Day: Resurgence, X-Men: Apocalypse, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Huntsman: Winter’s War, and more all bombed – ensuring that there was no way they would be able to recoup their marketing and SFX budgets. Maybe movie execs will start listening to requests for more independent, original movies? Nah, you’re right – we don’t think they will either.
Inhumans: There’s always some sort of drama at Marvel, but it seems to have culminated with the upcoming Inhumans film. It was on, then it was off, then it was on again, and then off. But as of May, after Captain America: Civil War was released, Kevin Feige confirms that there would in fact be an Inhumans film, but that it wouldn’t be part of Phase 3. That’s cool and all, but can we actually trust that knowledge? And who’s to say that it won’t be canceled again? Make up your mind, Marvel!
THE MEH
Suicide Squad: Okay, this is the last column I’ll mention this movie, but what was supposed to be a slam dunk was rife with conflict for the cast, crew, fans, and critics. It made a lot of money, but this was the film that was supposed to bring hope back to the DC Cinematic Universe and it, well, didn’t.
STAR POWER
Jessica Jones: Despite receiving a Critics’ Choice TV Award, a Hugo Award, and a Peabody Award – the Emmys didn’t recognize the critically-acclaimed Jessica Jones series from Netflix. To be fair – the series did get nominated for Outstanding Main Title Design and Outstanding Original Main Title Theme, but that doesn’t recognize the way the show amazingly handled sexual assault, PTSD, abortion, and the other intense themes. Our fingers are crossed for season 2 getting the recognition it deserves.
THE KEEP-AN-EYE OUT FOR
Holiday Movie Season: Aside from Rogue One, there are a lot of films premiering this fall and winter that are geeky, original, and getting us excited. It’s too early to say for sure, but we think the end-of-year films will be a lot better than the summer ones.
Did we miss your favorite piece of news? Tweet me @AlexKnowsWords to send me a scoop, and to tell me what you want from this weekly column!
