It's time for things to get a little trippy this summer in the movie theatre. From monkeys taking over the earth to a new joint by cult favorite Alejandro Jodorowsky, there's a lot of weird stuff to see this month at movie houses all over the Valley that will, like, totally blow your mind, man.
See also: Scottsdale International Film Festival to Return in October
Boyhood Opening: July 18
Imagine working on the same movie over the span of 12 years. Well, that's just what director Richard Linklater (Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly), along with the cast of Particia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, and Ellar Coltrane, did in Boyhood. The film examines an adolescent's ever-changing relationship with his parents as he matures. With almost universal acclaim and a heafty number of awards already won at different film festivals, this one-of-a-kind experiment in filmmaking is not to be missed.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Opening: July 11
Although the Rise of the Planet of the Apes' leading man James Franco has been traded for Gary Oldman in the film's sequel, we're honestly most excited to see Andy Serkis completely kill it as the motion-capture CGI ape, Caesar. Mostly, we want to know how Planet of the Apes happened, and this installment in the series will show that as man and ape war to be the dominant species.
The Dance of Reality Opening: June 27
Weird doesn't even begin to describe Alejandro Jodorowsky's movies, and his newest film, which is now screening at FilmBar, is no exception. The autobiographical, but still very mystical and surreal, movie explores the Chilean director's upbringing. Let's just say, it certainly explains a lot.
Lucy Opening: July 25
This may very well be the summer of Scarlett Johansson with the uber creepy sci-fi flick Under the Skin, her return as Black Widow in the latest Captain America installment already out, and Lucy on its way. The latter shows what happens when you take a mild-mannered woman, force her to be a drug mule, and cram her belly full of weird brain-enhancing chemicals. Apparently, that's how you become a badass super-genius assassin, according writer and director to Luc Besson, but it also doesn't make you very human.
Broken Leg Opening: July 26
Karla is stuck babysitting her immature brother-in-law with a broken leg that renders him incapacitated, but still very annoying. With familiar scenery and even some local music, this is about as Phoenix a film as you can get this July. Local filmmaker Kieran Thompson's movie sold out at Phoenix Film Festival screenings this year, so if you didn't get a chance to see it then, go to FilmBar at the end of the month and check it out.
