Your Ultimate Guide to This Summer’s Best Movies

Lightyear (June 17)

This Toy Story spinoff stars Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz Lightyear, the Space Ranger, with James Brolin (81, Marcus Welby, M.D.) as Buzz’s nemesis, Emperor Zurg. The film targets both nostalgic elders and children, 10 percent of whom believe Buzz Lightyear was the first man on the moon, according to one 2010 poll. 

Check it out: Lightyear

Official Competition (June 17)

A billionaire hires a famous director (Penélope Cruz) to make an iconic movie starring two of the biggest egomaniacs in the industry (Antonio Banderas, 61, and Oscar Martínez, 72), who don’t love each other. Let the competition begin!

Check it out: Official Competition

​Elvis (June 24)

The widow Priscilla Presley says Tom Hanks nails the mysterious character of Elvis’ manager, Col. Tom Parker, and Austin Butler is just right as the singer whose wriggly hips and curled lip rocked the world.

Check it out: Elvis

​COMING IN JULY

The Forgiven (July 1)

“Why am I thinking, ‘Harpy?’ ” says a bitter husband (Ralph Fiennes, 59) to his wife as they head from Casablanca to a rich-people’s party in the Morocco mountains. “Why am I thinking, ‘Highly functioning alcoholic?’ ” retorts his wife (Jessica Chastain). Then he hits and kills a local boy on the road, and their story gets darker fast.

Check it out: The Forgiven

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song (July 1)

Leonard Cohen’s life as seen through the lens of his most popular and ambitious tune, “Hallelujah.”

Check it out: Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song

Both Sides of the Blade (July 8)

One winter in Paris, Juliette Binoche, 58, is torn between her lover of 10 years (Vincent Lindon, 62) and his best friend — and her ex (Grégoire Colin). The film won the best director award at the Berlin Film Festival.

Check it out: Both Sides of the Blade

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (July 15)

A widowed, fashion-forward London cleaning lady (Lesley Manville, 66) saves up to buy the Christian Dior haute couture dress of her dreams in Paris, where she meets a marquis who seems sweet on her and the formidably chic Dior gatekeeper (Isabelle Huppert, 69). 

Check it out: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

​Where the Crawdads Sing (July 15)

A woman who grew up on her own in the Carolina marshes (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is accused of murdering her old beau, and defended by an Atticus Finch-like attorney (David Strathairn, 73). 

Check it out: ​Where the Crawdads Sing

​Persuasion (July 15)

Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith’s daughter Dakota Johnson plays Jane Austen’s last heroine, Anne Elliott, who seizes a second chance at love at 27. A rare Austen movie cowritten by a woman, directed by a woman, starring and executive-produced by a woman.

Check it out: Persuasion

Nope (July 22)

In the hotly awaited, no doubt high-IQ horror movie by Jordan Peele, his Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya confronts space aliens on a Black-run California horse farm.

Check it out: Nope

A Love Song (July 29)

Dale Dickey, 60, who played scary people in Winter’s Bone, Justified, True Blood and Breaking Bad, gets her first lead role (and first romantic onscreen kiss), as a widow in the Colorado mountains who reunites with her high school crush (Wes Studi, 74).

Check it out: A Love Song

​COMING IN AUGUST

Bullet Train (Aug. 5)

All the assassin (Brad Pitt, 58) wants to do is quit the business, but his handler (Sandra Bullock, 57) makes him do another mission — fetch a certain briefcase aboard the fast train from Tokyo to Kyoto. Unfortunately, four other assassins are aboard.

Check it out: Bullet Train

​Resurrection (Aug. 5)

In a psychological thriller with a slow fuse, a single mom (Rebecca Hall) who’s finally gotten her life in order confronts a mysterious man from her past (Tim Roth, 60).

Check it out: Resurrection

​Mack & Rita (Aug. 12)

A young woman (Diane Keaton, 76) gets struck by lightning and wakes up to find she’s pushing 70. A comedy that lots of us can relate to.

Check it out: ​Mack & Rita

​Samaritan (Aug. 26)

A boy hunts down a superhero (Sylvester Stallone, 75) who’s been AWOL for two decades.

Check it out: Samaritan

​Breaking (Aug. 26)

In a tale inspired by a true story (and originally entitled 892), a Marine veteran facing poverty (John Boyega) walks into a bank claiming he has a bomb. In the last performance of the late Michael K. Williams (The Wire, Boardwalk Empire), he plays a crisis negotiator.

Check it out: Breaking

Tim Appelo covers entertainment and is the film and TV critic for AARP. Previously, he was the entertainment editor at Amazon, video critic at Entertainment Weekly, and a critic and writer for The Hollywood Reporter, People, MTV, The Village Voice and LA Weekly.