SUMMER ESCAPES
By Lori Vernon
**Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker
returns to his normal teenage life and tries
to balance his secret identity with his life
as a teenager, including the pursuit of love
interest, MJ (Zendaya), on a school trip to
Europe. After watching a new “superhero”
called Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) save the
day, Peter begins to wonder what he really
wants in life and where he fits into the
grand scheme of things. Despite his uncer-
tainty, Spider-Man must step up to take on
new threats in a world that has changed
forever.
Midsommar
Directed by Ari Aster
Rated: R • July 3
An American woman invites herself to
join her boyfriend and his friends on a trip
to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival
in a remote Swedish village. What begins
as a carefree summer holiday in a land of
eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when
the villagers invite their guests to partake
in festivities that render the pastoral para-
dise increasingly unnerving and viscerally
disturbing - and nothing is what it seems.
The Farewell
Directed by Lulu Wang
Rated: PG • July 12
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
S
ummer has taken forever to arrive,
but along with the July heat comes a
crop of films that offer a variety of
options no matter what your taste. Perfect
for a rainy day, or a hot and humid night,
you’ll love being tucked away in a cool
14 illinoisentertainer.com july 2019
theater with one of these new releases.
Spider-Man: Far from Home
Directed by Jon Watts
Rated: PG-13 • July 2
After the world-altering events of
In this funny, uplifting and touching
tale, based on an actual lie, Chinese-born,
U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) returns to
Changchun when her grandmother, Nai
Nai, is given only a few weeks to live.
Unfortunately, Nai Nai has no idea, and
the family wants to keep it that way. They
gather under the joyful guise of a family
wedding, uniting family members scat-
tered all over the world. As Billi navigates
a minefield of family expectations and pro-
prieties, she finds there’s a lot to celebrate:
a chance to rediscover the country she left
as a child, her grandmother’s wondrous
spirit, and the ties that keep on binding
even when so much goes unspoken.
Stuber
Directed by Michael Dowse
Rated: R • July 26
When a mild-mannered Uber driver
named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) picks up a
passenger (Dave Bautista) who turns out
to be a cop hot on the trail of a brutal killer,
he’s thrust into a harrowing ordeal where
he desperately tries to hold onto his wits,
his life, and his five-star rating.
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Rated: R • July 26
It’s 1969 in Los Angeles, and every-
thing is changing. Fading TV star Rick
Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), who found
fame and fortune as the star of ’50’s west-
erns, and his longtime stunt double Cliff
Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way through
an industry they hardly recognize any-
more. Rick also happens to live next door
to Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate – the
filmmaker and budding actress whose
futures will forever be altered by members
of the Manson Family. The ninth film from
the writer-director features a large ensem-
ble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute
to the final moments of Hollywood’s gold-
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