Films to See in 2011: June

I have had a joyfully optimistic entrance into this Summer with May, so it's a rather large disappointment to go from that to the June slate. All of the films that I have been looking forward to in June are coming out in the first two weeks. That leaves a pretty sizable mess of the following two weeks. Jim Carrey is adding yet another pointlessly irritating performance to his repertoire with Mr. Popper's Penguins. Pixar could potentially break their tradition of wonderfully heart filled entertainment with Cars 2. I'm still not sold on Green Lantern, nor do I expect to be so in the following weeks. Luckily, we do have some films waiting to invigorate audiences before this downward slope.

3. Beginners

Directed by Mike Mills

Like most films at this spot, I'm not relentlessly waiting for this film to come out, no pun intended. More can be said of this film than simply saying that it's better than most of what's out there. I'd say that Ewan McGregor, Melanie Laurent, and Christopher Plummer are signs of something great, but everybody has their respective pitfalls. What has me so interested in this film is the witty personal nature of the piece. It's not a broad comedy by any definition, and it focuses on very real and interesting emotions. When you take on a subject such as this, and one that's really never been touched upon, you raise several interesting questions. If director Mike Mills does a good job answering them, he's got something great here.

2. X-Men: First Class

Directed by Matthew Vaughn

I'm not the sort to easily warm up to superhero films, and the X-Men franchise certainly has a bad streak against it. The first two films were merely good, while the next two were abysmal. This installment doesn't entirely take things back to the basics, because the original mythology is still intact, regrettably. However, this may be the origin story that never really worked in the original X-Men. I know that the signing on of so many young respected actors has to evoke some sort of quality in the script. Everything I've seen from it has left me awe struck, because it's as realistic an approach to superhuman beings. There would be prejudice, and they would try to prove themselves by preventing war. The fact that it doesn't work out in the end is looming on the precipice of this film.

1. Super 8

Directed by J.J. Abrams

In the same way that many were anticipating Inception last year, people are anticipating J.J. Abrams' Super 8. Abrams has always done a brilliant job bringing a certain emotionality to his pieces, but he's never really approached a piece from that specific standpoint. All his work up to this point has been franchise material, adding new life to stilted franchises like Mission Impossible and Star Trek. He's attempting his own specific vision of an original story, even if it is a slight homage to Steven Spielberg. The core of the film isn't the monster, but the story of a family moving past an emotional crisis. I can't possibly resist something that relatable.