“Alice Through the Looking Glass”
May 27, 2016
Prepare for a little madness this spring.

Return to Wonderland with the kind-hearted and crazy Alice as she goes on a quest to save old friends and new. To save the Mad Hatter, Alice must literally turn back the hands of time. She meets the Lord of Time (Sacha Baron Cohen, “The Brothers Grimsby”) who has a malicious plot a plot to get the Red Queen, more commonly known as the Queen of Hearts, back on the throne.

Starring Mia Wasikowska (“Crimson Peak”) as Alice and Johnny Depp (“Black Mass”), the world of Wonderland will never be the same. Acting along-side Wasikowska and Depp are Anne Hathaway (“The Intern”) as the White Queen, Helena Bonham Carter (“Cinderella”) as the Red Queen and the late Alan Rickman (“Eye in the Sky”) as the Blue Caterpillar, who is now a butterfly.

This is Rickman’s final movie to be released as well as his seventh film with Carter. Along for the wild ride are the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry, “Love & Friendship”), the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen, “Barbados”), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (both played by Matt Lucas, “Galavant”).

Be there as Alice is thrown into Wonderland through the looking glass.

“Finding Dory”
June 17, 2016

Get ready to once again get lost in the big blue. After a very long wait, “Finding Dory,” the highly anticipated sequel to “Finding Nemo,” will finally be released this summer, staring two of the original cast, Ellen DeGeneres (“Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show”) as the lovable and forgetful Dory and Albert Brooks (“Concussion”) as the neurotic and loving father clownfish Marlin.

In this tale, Dory misses her family and goes on a mission to find them. A commentary on animals in captivity, “Finding Dory” introduces an oceanfull of new characters with a crazy new cast and crew including “Modern Family” stars Ed O’Neill as Hank the angry septopus, an octopus with seven tentacles and Ty Burrell as Bailey the Beluga whale. Also included in the story is Kaitlin Olson (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) as Dory’s childhood friend Destiny the whale shark.

Disney/Pixar’s animated films are typically perceived well, but the sequels to their previous films seem to have a bigger impact on audiences. So return to the sea with Dory, Marlin, Nemo (Hayden Rolence, “Beta Persei”) and all their friends in this tale of finding out who you are and returning home.

“Captain America: Civil War”
May 6, 2016

There’s a civil war coming, but don’t worry, it’s not a battle between the North and South. This battle is between Captain America and Iron Man, who dispute over the Superhero Registration Act (based on the comic book “Civil War”). Steve Rodgers is pursuing superhero independence, while Tony Stark is on the government’s side over the control of superheroes.

“Captain America: Civil War” is the sequel to “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” and it is the thirteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Not only will this film have action-packed scenes and development of heroes with minor roles like Scarlet Witch and the Vision, but it will also feature the debut of T’Challa/Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman (“Gods of Egypt”) and Peter Parker/Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland (“In the Heart Of the Sea.”)

This film has the chance to fix the mistakes of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and that seems to be what Marvel is promising. It looks like the upcoming film will continue the dark mood of “Winter Soldier,” arguably thebest film in the MCU. “Civil War” hits cinemas May 6.

“Independence Day: Resurgence”
June 24, 2016

“Jurassic Park” star Jeff Goldblum reprises his role in the sequel of the famous “Independence Day,” 20 years after the premiere of the original.

The film takes place 20 years after the events of the first film. David Levinson, played by Goldblum, has a new partner-in-crime, Jake Morrison (Liam Hensworth, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2”.)

Sadly, Will Smith (“Concussion”) and Randy Quaid (“Brokeback Mountain”) will not be returning for the sequel. However Bill Pullman (“American Ultra”) will return, this time as a much older, retired and now-former president.

David Levinson and gang will have to gather the world’s army for a fight against aliens stronger than the first film.

Maika Monroe (“The 5th Wave”), Jessie Usher (“Survivor’s Remorse”), William Fichtner (“Empire”), and Sela Ward (“Gone Girl”) are other newcomers who are reported to play big roles in the sequel.

The CGI is promised to be better and more realistic in this film than its predecessor. The destroyed skies, alien ships and military arsenal will all have enhanced upgrades. Comparing “Independence Day” to the trailers of “Resurgence,” the mood is now darker and the film looks to be stronger for viewers.

As the trailer declared, “On June 24 we will find out if July 4 is no longer an American holiday, but instead the day that the world declared in one voice to earn their independence back.”

“X-Men: Apocalypse”
May 27, 2016

After the critical and commercial juggernaut that was “Deadpool,” Fox is set to release yet another mutant-related film, this time focusing on the cast of characters introduced in “X-Men: First Class.” Bryan Singer returns to direct Jennifer Lawrence (“Joy”), James McAvoy (“Victor Frankenstein”), Michael Fassbender (“Steve Jobs”) and plenty of new additions to the franchise. The X-Men face off against the God-like “first” mutant, Apocalypse, played by Oscar Isaac (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”), and his four Horsemen. Some of those new faces include Sophie Turner (“Game of Thrones”) as a young Jean Grey and Olivia Munn (“The Newsroom”) as Psylocke. The film marks the ninth entry in the franchise (including “Deadpool”) and Singer’s fourth as director.

The film marks the latest in Isaac’s string of hits. After his breakout role in “Inside Llewyn Davis” Isaac has starred in crowd and critic pleasers such as “Ex Machina” and the aforementioned “The Force Awakens.” Isaac is Hollywood’s “it” guy right now and it will be fun and unique to see him take on such an anticipated, powerful and important villain in the X-Men franchise.

“Suicide Squad”
August 5, 2016

“Suicide Squad” shows a lot of promise, but anticipation for the film has been lackluster following the miserable failure of Warner Bros. and DC’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” with critics and its dramatic drop at the box office opening weekend. It still has a lot going for it and is worth being cautiously optimistic about, though.

The film is the continuation of DC’s film universe that “Dawn of Justice” introduced, this time focusing on the villans. Will Smith (“Concussion”), Margot Robbie (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”) and Viola Davis (“How to Get Away with Murder”) all star, and even Ben Affleck is set to reprise his role as Batman.

Affleck was the “stand out” in “Dawn of Justice” and hopefully director David Ayer can work his magic with these characters so that this film steps out of that film’s giant, disappointing shadow. The cast is stellar and the trailers present a different type of tone. One note of caution is that reshoots were recently made to make the film more “comedic,” no doubt in response to the backlash against “Dawn of Justice” for being too dark and dreary. Here’s hoping it works in the film’s favor, if this film fails in the same ways “Dawn of Justice” did, then the DC Cinematic Universe is done before it even begins.