"Mad Max" is the Movie the Summer Needed

Movies that come out during the summer get a lot of undeserved flack. Despite being some of the most anticipated films being released in the year, they've gotten a reputation for being brainless, loud, big budget affairs that are meant to entertain the masses and nothing else (as if that's such a bad thing). Then again, when the marketplace is flooded with seemingly endless Marvel sequels, it's sort of hard not to get bored with what feels like the same thing over and over again.

Enter "Mad Max: Fury Road", a film that's buzz has been deafening since it premiered out of competition at Cannes at the start of the festival. Though technically it is the fourth installment in the "Mad Max" series, there hasn't been a film in 30 years, so it wouldn't be incorrect to say that this is a reboot of sorts. Though it checks every 'summer film' box (huge budget, action/explosions, etc) this is not your average summer film. Though "Mad Max" provides nonstop thrills throughout its brisk two hour running time, there are underlying themes of female empowerment that challenge what we've come to expect from a standard blockbuster, and the medium of film in general.

Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl" Follow Up: 'Dark Places' Trailer

On the heels of the explosive success of "Gone Girl", author Gillian Flynn's second novel "Dark Places" has a film adaptation that is being fast tracked for release. Headlined by Academy Award winner Charlize Theron, the film also stars Nicholas Hoult, Chloë Grace Moretz and Christina Hendricks.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer

The first real trailer for Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past is here (I say, first real trailer because a teaser appeared on the web a few months ago), and it's chock full of action, explosions, and stoic cutaway shots.

The film stars some actors from the most recent addition to the X-Men franchise (Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence) and some from the old series (Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Ellen Page, Patrick Stewart) in a story stemming from the acclaimed comic book of the same name. The film will blend the past and present incarnations of the characters (for example, Ian McKellan and Michael Fassbender will play Magneto, while James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart will play Charles Xavier/Professor X).