13 Awesome Movies To Watch This Summer (Which Aren't Blockbusters)
McDonald's gets The Social Network treatment.
As blockbuster season kicks off with the likes of Captain America: Civil War, The Angry Birds Movie, Alice Through The Looking Glass and X-Men: Apocalypse in the coming weeks, it's important to remember that the summer isn't just about superheroes, CGI-driven action and $200 million budgets.
For every fantastic blockbuster, there's at least one great movie that maybe only cost a few million dollars and perhaps doesn't star Jennifer Lawrence, but is most certainly worth your time (more than the majority of the tentpoles shoved down our throats in fact).
From early awards contenders to hysterically off-kilter comedies, these lower-flying projects have the potential to steal the summer away from the bigger movies if not in box office dollars then certainly in critical acclaim. If you end up feeling exhausted by all the blockbuster insanity, these films will surely provide some respite.
Here are 13 awesome movies to watch this summer (which aren't blockbusters)...
13. War Dogs
Release Date: August 19
The Plot: The true story of David Packouz (Miles Teller) and Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill), two arms dealers who, in 2007, won a $300 million contract with the government to supply weapons to U.S. allies in Afghanistan. Naturally, it had catastrophic repercussions both at home and abroad.
Why It's Going To Be Awesome: If he pulls it off, this could be a real step up for director Todd Phillips (Road Trip, Old School, The Hangover trilogy), and given his prior successes, there's a pretty great chance he'll nail the right mixture of absurdist, R-rated comedy and manic action.
Teller and Hill, the latter of whom put on a ton of weight for the role, look like they're having a blast, and their bromantic chemistry could easily paper over any narrative hiccups. Hopefully it'll come to the screen loaded up with a ton of political satire to boot - you've got all the makings of a late-summer cult hit here.