Spring term ends June 14 and graduation takes place June 17 — between now and then, a dizzying array of exciting movies are hitting theaters. It’ll be a struggle keeping up with papers and readings while scrambling to make midnight premieres, but with a term so jam-packed with must-sees, it shouldn’t be too difficult to squeeze one or two movie tickets into your budget. The problem is picking your cinematic poison.
“Star Trek Into Darkness,” the sequel to J.J. Abrams’ 2009 “Star Trek” reboot, hits theaters May 17. “Iron Man 3” releases May 3 — the newest trailer shows Tony Stark’s love interest and assistant, Pepper Potts, sporting an Iron Man suit — and “The Hangover Part III” premieres May 24. But if sequels aren’t necessarily your thing, not to worry: Plenty of new ideas are hitting the movie scene within the next three months.
The science fiction flick “Oblivion” comes out April 19, starring Tom Cruise as a drone repairman stationed on Earth, a planet made unlivable after an alien war. The population has looked to space for new dwellings, but members of a resistance (Morgan Freeman included) remain on Earth. If handled with the same smooth, futuristic imagery portrayed in director Joseph Kosinski’s previous film, “TRON: Legacy,” “Oblivion” looks to be a cinematography and CGI powerhouse.
Viewers looking for a more emotionally involved story should catch “42,” releasing April 12. Titled after Jackie Robinson’s uniform number, the film tells the story of the life of the first black Major League Baseball player in the United States. Chadwick Boseman (“Lincoln Heights”) stars as Robinson with Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey, the MLB executive who signed Robinson, and Alan Tudyk (“Death at a Funeral”) as Ben Chapman, the Phillies manager who opposed Robinson’s involvement in the MLB.
Comedy lovers probably already know about the upcoming film “This Is the End.” It’s so unorthodox and bizarre that its likelihood of success is about the same as its chance of failing. It stars James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill as — wait for it — James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill. The actors, along with Jay Baruchel (“Tropic Thunder”), Danny McBride (“Eastbound & Down”) and Craig Robinson (“The Office”), play fictional versions of themselves as they try to survive on a post-apocalyptic Earth. This is Rogen’s first crack at directing, and he’s joined by co-director Evan Goldberg, who produced “Knocked Up,” “Superbad” and “50/50.” The film, out June 14, will be an interesting platform to see how the actors view themselves and their relationships with one another.
Students of all cinematic tastes have options this term for a few hours of procrastination before summer arrives. Be sure to take advantage of them.