If men with webbed fingers swing from buildings and giant lizards roam the streets, it can mean only one thing: Summer is here.
When “Amazing Spider-Man 2” opened on May 2, the dark time was officially over. Break out the sunscreen and the snorkel, because Hollywood is on its own schedule when it comes to marking the beginning of the summer movie season.
And the mega-budget “Godzilla” opens today. The Seattle International Film Festival launches this weekend as well, providing variety for the next few weeks.
Looking at the crowded list of films for summer 2014, we see plenty of sequels, as expected. This year’s crop looks a little less imposing than past years, or maybe the sequels just seem smaller in size.
There are plenty of familiar faces on the calendar: Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Wahlberg. And that newly minted star Melissa McCarthy, who is now deemed capable of opening a July 4 release on her own — which she probably is.
Most of these titles are pretty lightweight, but as usual there are a few counter-programming ideas mixed into the smaller releases. We’ll find out how soft-core sensation “Fifty Shades of Grey” does when it shows up in the multiplex.
Also, we’ve got apes. Dragons and ninja turtles and apes.
So keep your head down, and behold. With the usual caveats about release dates slipping a week or two, here are the movies of summer 2014.
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