The Summer Movie Struggle

There's lot of things that our family looks forward to in the summer. Obviously there's the traveling, but there's also the weather, the freedom to do whatever we want (which mainly involves sleeping in) and, of course, the movies. We don't make it to the movie theaters a whole lot during the school year, but when the summer comes around we start making up for lost time. Drive-in movies, IMAX theaters, really run down discount cinemas...wherever we go we're on the lookout for someplace to catch up on the movies we've been missing.

Of course the summer has it's own batch of blockbuster films. From late May right through August, Hollywood rolls out all of it's big name movies in an attempt to lure those of us with a little extra time on our hands into their imaginary worlds. Unfortunately there's no way we can see all of them. Even with our summers free, our movie-going time still has it's limits, so when we do finally get an opportunity to take in a show, everybody tries to make a case for seeing the movie they want to see. This can lead to some awkward moments as we block up the lines at the local multiplex, so in order to speed things along, I'm going to present to you each of our summer movie choices. Let us know which ones you'd like to see, and you might just be casting the deciding vote on one of our outings.

Leeds - Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

You won't get much of an argument from me as I found the first two movies in this series pretty funny, but this is kind of a throwback choice for her. She's moved on to follow in her mother's footsteps with an obsession over superheroes, but I guess once you've invested the time to read the book, you want to see how the movie turns out. By that logic I should be lined up somewhere already just in case they make an Archie movie.

Second choices - Spiderman, Brave, Ice Age: Continental Drift

Neve - Brave

Hmmm...a movie about a strong-willed red-haired girl who's good at archery? How is my daughter not getting royalties from Pixar for this movie?  This is the most likely choice to get unanimous consent as we've all enjoyed everything else that Pixar has put out. Plus, in our spare time we all like to practice our Scottish accents. "Guid mornin! Hou ar ya? Glad ta heer it."

Second choices - Madagascar 3, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Katy Perry: Part of Me

Talon - The Expendables 2

I believe it's some kind of teenage law that you have to pick a movie if Chuck Norris is in it. Even if he wasn't though, this is probably the movie that's going to have the most explosions, the most action sequences, and the most property damage. That's kind of the golden trifecta for teenage boys.

Second choices - Spiderman, Dark Knight Rises, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer

Lori - Magic Mike

Look, I'm not happy that Hollywood can just rip off the story of my college years, then simply change the name of the lead character from Steve to Mike to avoid splitting the profits with me, but apparently that's the way the movie industry is run these days. This of course has zero chance of being chosen as a family outing, but somehow I doubt that Lori will have problems finding some friends to go to this movie with her. However many times they decide to go.

Second choices - Magic Mike x2, Magic Mike x3, Magic Mike x4

Steve - Dark Knight Rises

I'm not as big a Batman fan as some of my friends are. Some of them are already making plans to be at the first showing for the new movie. That seems a little extreme to me, but the last Batman was awesome, and I'm really kind of curious to see where they go with this one. That and the fact that they have the best movie poster ever, even if it's not actually an official one.

Second choices - Rock of Ages, The Bourne Legacy, The Campaign 

So what are you planning on seeing this summer?

Written by Steve Pratt