Courtesy Legendary

For the next three months, movie theatres across the globe will be filled with people clamoring to see the biggest films of the year, starring such iconic characters as Iron Man, Superman, Spock and Will Smith’s ego. I’ve sorted out 10 (technically 11) of this summer’s most promising flicks to help viewers sort through them all.  Let us know in the comments which movies look good to you!

10. “Elysium”: Neil Blomkamp, acclaimed director of “District 9”, makes a triumphant return to cinema with this sci-fi flick involving a bald Matt Damon, a dystopian Earth and an epic break-in to the most heavily guarded place in the universe. If “District 9” was an indication, Blompkamp is a filmmaker to keep any eye on, one who is rare in that he has both superb visual and writing abilities, allowing him to perfectly combine spectacle with well written characters.  Hopefully, “Elysium” delivers on it’s potential.

“Elysium” opens August 9.

9.  (tie) “Epic” and “Monsters University”: A rare tie, but I felt it was necessary to give attention to two very different, but still interesting looking animated features. I was hesitant with “Monsters University”, but early word-of-mouth indicates it’s a surprise, a genuine PIXAR masterpiece. “Epic” on the other hand, had me hook, line and sinker since from the first trailer, it’s unusual tone and story making it stand out from the majority of family fare. Neither are slam dunks, but are still superb looking features that I’m anxious to see.

“Epic” opens May 24 in 3D.

“Monsters University” opens June 21 in 3D.

8.   “Red 2”: As a huge fan of the first “Red”, I’m almost giddy with anticipation of Red 2. The trailer has shown that they’re certainly keeping the hilarious tone of the first film. To boot, new cast members Catherine Zeta-Jones and Anthony Hopkins should add some more hilarity to a stupendous cast. But let’s face it; the reason many people are looking forward to this movie is to see what shenanigans John Malkovich is going to get into. If such hijinks are half as funny as the antics we saw in the first “Red”, then we’re in for one of the best films of the summer.

“Red 2” opens July 19.

7.  “The Way, Way Back”: Every summer brings a little independent movie that is beloved by critics and audiences alike for not being counterprogramming to the regular summer movies, but also just because it’s a superb film. There’s a surprisingly large amount of potential candidates this summer (Woody Allen’s next movie, featuring Louis C.K. and Alec Baldwin is likely to be well-regarded), but by far the most promising looking involves a teenagers deplorable parents and the friendships and memories he makes at a water park. A wonderful cast (Steve Carell and the criminally underrated Sam Rockwell) could help elevate this to being one of the summer’s most delightful surprises.

“The Way, Way Back” opens July 5

6.  “The Heat”: It’s a bit shameful that the two-and-a-half minute trailer for this movie is twice as funny than the entirety of “Identity Thief” but it’s the undeniable truth; this movie looks hilarious. Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy team up in this buddy cop movie that looks to bring gigantic laughs through a pairing quite unlike anything previously seen in a cop comedy. Considering the huge laughs this trailer gets whenever it pops up in theatres, I don’t doubt this will be one of the biggest movies of the summer, and hopefully it can live up to it’s hype (considering this has a superb writing team and two terrific leading actresses, I don’t doubt it).

“The Heat” opens June 28

5. “This Is The End”: Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Craig Robinson and other comedians try to survive the apocalypse. Simple premise, but it already looks like one of the funniest movies in recent years. The trailer itself already has given me too many quotes that I already use on a regular basis (“I’m gonna be bummed if I don’t get at least a bite of that Milky Way”) and with all these funny people in a refreshingly high-concept plot, this one looks it could be one of the best times at a theatre this year. Oh, and also, Emma Watson shows up as a violent Apocalypse survivor. Have I mentioned how great this film looks?

“This Is the End” opens June 12

4.  “Star Trek Into Darkness”: Kirk, Spock and crew return four years later for a new adventure in order to fight Benedict Cumberbatch’s antagonistic character. The movie has remained delightfully mysterious (would you expect any less from director J.J. Abrams?) and the film feels like it’s saving all of it’s truly surprising moments for when you watch in theatres. Add in the aforementioned awesomeness of Benedict Cumberbatch as the bad guy of the movie, and it would take a “Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen” sized failure to not make this one of the best movies of the summer.

“Star Trek Into Darkness” opens May 17 in 3D and IMAX 3D

3.  “Pacific Rim”: Guillermo Del Toro, director of “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Hellboy”, is finally given the chance to showcase a film that will show why he’s one of the greatest directors of the modern age; a love letter to the Godzilla pictures of the 50’s-70’s. In this epic sci-fi movie, dangerous monsters force humanity to create equally powerful robots to fight back the monstrous menace. The trailer was appropriately epic, and if the film can deliver on it’s potential, it could join the kind of brilliant, super-fun popcorn movie that consists of the likes of “The Avengers” and “Jurassic Park”. Considering all the brilliance Del Toro has given in the past, I don’t doubt it reaching those heights.

“Pacific Rim” opens July 12 in 3D and IMAX 3D.

2.  “Iron Man 3”: The second Phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe begins with “Iron Man 3”, the third adventure for Tony Stark and what looks to be his biggest journey yet. While “Iron Man 2” was a weaker than usual adventure, “The Avengers” showed how wonderful Iron Man can be if given the chance, and this movie seems to give him such a chance and more. With a superb supporting cast (Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce), plus enough awesome action sequences to fill twenty regular summer blockbusters, “Iron Man 3” looks like one of the best superhero movies ever and early reviews seem to indicate it beats even those massive expectations. Would anyone expect any less from Disney, Marvel or Tony Stark at this point?

“Iron Man 3” opens May 3 in 3D and IMAX 3D

1.  “Man of Steel”: Very rarely do trailers leave the kind of impact that the third “Man Of Steel” trailer did. Full of emotion, action and spectacle, the film feels like the kind of “Superman” film we always imagined, but never thought we’d get. Director Zack Snyder (“300”, “Watchmen”) and producer Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight” and “Inception”) look to have created an interpretation of the character for the modern age, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic about how it looks if I tried. Henry Cavill seems perfect as Superman, and huge actors like Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon round out the cast portraying iconic comic characters in new and wonderful ways. This summer, I won’t just believe a man can fly, I’ll believe I’ll be emotionally invested in the character as well, and that’s something I never thought I’d say about Superman.

“Man of Steel” opens June 14 in 3D and IMAX 3D.

For the next three months, movie theatres across the globe will be filled with people clamoring to see the biggest films of the year, starring such iconic characters as Iron Man, Superman, Spock and Will Smith’s ego. I’ve sorted out 10 (technically 11) of this summer’s most promising flicks to help viewers sort through them all.  Let us know in the comments which movies look good to you!