Most Anticipated Summer Movies 2013

I know that the summer movie season started a month ago, but it really is one of my favorite times of year.  This is like Christmas for a movie fan.  Most of the movies that come out during the summer are even on my Christmas list to own on Blu-ray.  In anticipation of a continued summer movie season, I'll talk about some of the movies that I've anticipated.

Man of Steel
This has been at the top of my list for a while.  My first movie to see in a theatre was Superman.  Granted, I don't remember that well, but it must have made an impact because I've been a Superman fan ever since.  I love watching Christopher Reeve's classic to this day.  This may not be a popular opinion, but I liked Superman Returns.  Perhaps, it was the nostalgia of it.  However, I also felt Returns was not the Superman movie that I truly wanted it to be.  It wasn't one that I felt I could watch over and over again for 30-plus years.  Last year I was fortunate to attend the Man of Steel panel at the San Diego Comic Con.  Everything that I saw and heard there made me excited to see this movie.  Since then, I can not help to get more excited by the trailers and news.  I already have my tickets for Wal-Mart's showing on Thursday night.  I've also planned to take a vacation day to go see it a second time on Friday in IMAX.

Iron Man 3
I've already seen this, so it's not "anticipated." Since I loved it so much though, I can't help but include it here.  I did anticipate it at one time, so I guess that counts.  This was a great movie.  While I understand some fans of the comics didn't enjoy it, I thought it had everything:  action, humor, a good plot, and even more action.  I hope RDJ decides to continue playing Tony Stark, but if not, this was the perfect end to his run.

Star Trek Into Darkness
This falls into the same category as Iron Man 3: anticipated it, saw it, loved it.  Again, fans of the original movies had some complaints, but I didn't care.  I thought it was beautifully done.  It was everything I was hoping for.  I saw it in IMAX 3D and it was worth every penny.  Go see it in 3D if you can.  The opening action sequence alone makes it worth it.

Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger was another childhood favorite of mine.  I remember sitting in front of the TV watching reruns of him and Tonto saving the day.  This movie has me a little worried.  I think that Johnny Depp is a great actor, but I feel like so many of his characters lately are more or less the same character.  It doesn't mean that I don't enjoy some of his movies, and I'm still interested in seeing this one.

Red 2

I loved the first movie.  My wife wants to watch it anytime she sees it on one of the movie channels.  It's just good fun.  If you haven't seen the first one, make sure you watch it soon.  There's no doubt I'm seeing this one.

Despicable Me 2
Okay, I love the minions.  I really enjoyed the first movie.  It wasn't the best movie, but I had a lot of fun watching it.  Then, I watched it again with the Minion Movie Mode app offered from Best Buy.  Fun stuff.  I don't have a lot of high hopes for this, but I'm going to see it nonetheless.

This is the End

"Hermione just stole all of our $#^%!" What little I've seen of this looks like it may be hilarious.  The cast looks great.  I'm just hoping it's not a lot of inside jokes.

Pacific Rim
Giant robots!  Giant monsters!  Fighting!  'Nuff Said!

The Millers
I love Jason Sudekis.  I think he deserves a shot at leading this movie.  I can't wait to see him and Jennifer Aniston pretend they're the heads of a family to smuggle drugs into the country.  Between this and Elysium, I'm choosing this as my birthday weekend movie.

Kick Ass 2
I almost put The Wolverine in this spot.  It'll have to take honorable mention though, because I can't wait to see this sequel.  Jim Carrey looks like a great addition to the movie.  Every trailer I've seen looks good.  If you haven't seen the first, give it a try.  It's probably not for everybody, but I enjoyed it.


Honorable Mention (I'll probably see these on opening weekend or shortly after):
The Wolverine - I hope it's better than X-men Origins
Elysium - Other than a battle against the 1%, I'm not entirely sure I understand what this movie is about.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters - I loved the books and I'm hoping this movie sticks to them better than  first.
R.I.P.D. - Looks like a fun concept.  Never read the comic.
Now You See Me - This already came out.  If not, it would have made the list.  I haven't seen it yet.
The Great Gatsby - Again this already came out, but I've been lagging on this one.  Not your typical summer movie, but I still want to see it.