The summer of 2024 was highly-anticipated in the world of cinema with lots of sequels and adaptations. Now that this summer of packed theaters has ended, we can see that some films weren’t as prominent as others. A few of these were Borderlands, Despicable Me 4, A Quiet Place: Day One, Maxxxine, and Trap. Three movies stuck out from the rest.
We kicked off the summer with Inside Out 2, the long-awaited sequel to everyone’s childhood favorite. We return to Riley Andersen’s head, where Joy, Anger, Sadness, Fear and Disgust are keeping things running smoothly. Now that Riley is thirteen, new emotions are showing up. This includes Anxiety, whose methods of keeping Riley safe are questionable.
Inside Out 2 is the highest grossing film of 2024, which is unsurprising based on the hype leading up to its release. The film was reminiscent of what it was like to be newly thirteen, cringy in a way that was painfully relatable. Anxiety is portrayed in a way that is great for a children’s film and meaningful to the older generations watching. Many reviews claim the movie was rushed and predictable, but I believe this is due to the largely adult audience watching a film made for kids.
Twisters is the sequel to the popular disaster film Twister, and it’s only 28 years late. Twisters follows storm chaser Kate Cooper who is returning to Oklahoma after a bad experience with a tornado five years ago. There, she meets Tylar Owens, a social media superstar who posts about his reckless storm chasing experiences. Tylar and Kate’s storm chasing teams clash as they investigate a tornado outbreak and risk their lives chasing twisters across Oklahoma.
Twister was the highest grossing movie of summer 1996. It is praised for being a family friendly action film, full of traditional horror tropes. Twisters has been accused of being less fun than the original, but still worth the hype. The movie has the same 1990s action film formula, a refresher from the modern blueprint we’re used to. In the words of Hellgate junior CJ Gimpelson, “The soundtrack was good, but it’s only worth watching for Glen Powell.”
It Ends With Us has been a controversial read since it was released in 2016, being accused of romanticizing domestic abuse. Since the release of the book’s movie adaptation on Aug. 9, this discussion has reached new heights. According to our very own Ms. Bacon, Blake Lively, who plays the main character Lily Bloom, has been acting “not very demure” in the aftermath of the movie’s release.
In a TikTok ad promoting the film, Lively says “grab your friends, wear your florals and head out to see it!” This has come across as insensitive because Lively has been brushing over interviewers’ questions about the sensitive topics discussed in the movie.
Bacon tells me that she would not recommend the movie and gives it 3 out of 10 stars. She said Lively was outacted by her co-star Justin Baldoni, who has been promoting the movie separately from Lively, adding to the circulating gossip that the two fell out on set. This, as well as her nonexistent response to sensitive themes, has caused negative responses to the movie as a whole.
Most of the excitement surrounding these three movies was due to the fact that they were made with fan bases already intact. This doesn’t mean they were all terrible and couldn’t be enjoyed; these movies might have hit the spot for old fans or viewers looking for an easy watch.
