In summer 2023, Barbie and Oppenhiemer took cinemas — and social media — by storm. Before that, it was Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse, then Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. Now, there’s a new Marvel film on the rise, and a whole other set of new movies on the table, most of which are now showing in theaters. The world has already responded tremendously to them, including students from our own Seminole High School (SHS).
Deadpool & Wolverine
After roughly five years since the release of Deadpool 2, Ryan Renolds is back with the third movie in the franchise, but he’s not starring in it alone; Hugh Jackman enters the spotlight as Wolverine, and the long awaited duo is born. The movie became a smashing hit, with it being recently rated as the top-grossing R-rated pic of all time.
Last year, it was Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” on everyone’s TikTok page. This year, it’s NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” dance, courtesy of the movie’s opening credit scene, where Deadpool’s performance of the routine went viral. Many fans argue that it was one of the greatest Marvel opening scenes of all time.
Deadpool & Wolverine takes place six years after the events of the second Deadpool movie, where Deadpool’s peaceful life faces an existential threat and he’s forced to partner up with a reluctant Wolverine in order to save his timeline.
“The new Deadpool movie was great,” SHS senior Jordan Ferguson says, who is a big fan of the franchise. “It was really funny, [and] although quite vulgar, it really was worth the wait to see it. I was laughing consistently throughout the whole movie at all of the jokes and references. [However,] you do have to be caught up on all of the previous X-Men and Deadpool movies to understand some of the jokes.”
Twisters
A standalone sequel to the original 1996 movie Twister, Twisters is a thrilling adventure of a movie that immediately became a hit — especially on TikTok, where millions of fans are hyping up Glen Powell, who plays Tyler Owens.
The story follows Kate Cooper (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones), a meteorologist who re-visits the stormy plains of Oklahoma after having gone through a tragic tornado encounter in her past. She meets Tyler Owen, a social media storm chaser, and their opposing teams are forced to work together to survive the terrifying storms that wreak havoc among them.
This action packed summer blockbuster was ranked as one of the top ten movies of the summer, and is even on its way to surpass the earnings of the original Twister movie.
It Ends With Us
Based on the original best-selling novel It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover, this movie adaption is the first of her books to come to life on the big screen, and it likely won’t be the last.
Starring Blake Lively, Brandon Sklenar and Justin Baldoni, It Ends With Us is about the story of Lily Bloom, who moves up to Boston and meets Ryle Kincaid, the man she ends up falling for. When their relationship starts to fall apart due to Ryle’s behavior, Lily’s first love re-enters the picture, and she must decide who she wants to be with.
“I found the movie It Ends with Us to be amazing. From the moment I heard that they were turning my favorite book into a film, I was so excited,” expresses SHS senior Samantha DeVaughn. “There were certain things from the book that weren’t in the movie, but the overall experience was very enjoyable. It also made me cry multiple times.” `
The films covered in this article are only a taste of what’s out there right now, but it’s safe to say that 2024’s top movies are a lineup for the books, and will indubitably continue to entertain audiences long after they leave the cinema.