By Lori Vernon

Chewbacca, obtains the Millennium Falcon, meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian( Donald Glover), and sets the course for his journey to become one of the saga’ s most unlikely heroes. Co-written by Lawrence Kasdan( The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens) and his son Jon, and directed by Ron Howard, the film is more of a space western with speeding trains, daring heists, and cool droids. Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton and Paul Bettany co-star.

Overboard is a reboot of the 1987 Goldie Hawn / Kurt Russell comedy, with a twist. This version focuses on selfish, rich, spoiled, Mexican playboy Leonardo( Eugenio Derbez), and working-class single mom of three Kate( Anna Faris), hired to clean his luxury yacht. After unjustly firing Kate and refusing to pay her, Leonardo falls off his boat while partying and wakes up in the hospital with amnesia. To get payback, Kate convinces Leonardo he is her husband and puts him to work- for the first time in his life.

Alden Ehrenreich in Solo: A Star Wars Story

he credits have barely rolled on the debut of Avengers: Infinity War( as of press time) and we’ re already looking at the highest domestic single-day opening of all time, second only to Star Wars: Force Awakens. According to BoxOfficeMojo. com, the film is also tracking to have the highest April opening ever and could eventually overtake The Force Awakens’ top spot. Can the Star Wars universe’ s latest release knock those pesky superheroes off the charts when * Solo: A Star Wars Story opens this month, or will Deadpool 2 foil them both? Fandango recently reported that Deadpool 2 has been their biggest R-rated advance ticket-seller in history, so the competition

is fierce. Who will come out on top- and are any of these films even any good? Prepare for the box office battle; summer movie season is here!

Solo: A Star Wars Story Directed by Ron Howrd Rated: NA • May 25

Smuggler. Scoundrel. Hero. With a logline like that, how can you go wrong? The latest release in the Star Wars universe, this prequel tells the story of young Han Solo( Alden Ehrenreich) who, through a series of harrowing encounters with a dangerous criminal underworld, befriends his beloved co-pilot

Deadpool 2 Directed by David Leith Rated: NA • May 18

Deadpool aka Wade Wilson( Ryan Reynolds), the scarred, wise-cracking mercenary with accelerated healing powers forms a team of mutants called the X-Force to protect a young mutant( Julian Dennison) from the time-traveling, cybernetic mutant soldier Cable aka Nathan Summers( Josh Brolin) in this 11th installment in the Marvel X-Men series. The quirky list of superheroes with unusual powers that comprise X-Force includes Shatterstar( martial arts), Bedlam( EMP generation), Zeitgeist( acidic breath), Domino( luck manipulation) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead( power to detonate atomic bursts from her body). The film also features Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz, Jack Kesy, Terry Crews and Bill Skarsgard. With the first R-rated superhero film being a surprise smash in 2016 and generating $ 783.1 million globally, this one is bound to be another hit- although you might want to leave the kids at home.

Overboard Directed by Bob Fisher Rated: PG-13 • May 4

Life Of The Party Directed by Ben Falcone Rated: PG-13 • May 11

Dumped by her jerky husband, dedicated middle-aged housewife Deanna( Plainfield’ s Melissa McCarthy) decides to change her life and go back to college to complete her degree. She ends up at the same school as her daughter, who’ s not entirely sold on the idea of having her mom around. Plunging headlong into the campus experience, Deanna— now known as Dee Rock— embraces her newfound freedom, fun and frat boys on her own terms while finding her true self. McCarthy’ s husband and Carbondale native Ben Falcone directs. The film also stars Debby Ryan, Gillian Jacobs, Julie Bowen and Stephen Root.

How To Talk To Girls At Parties Directed by John Cameron Mitchell Rated: R • May 18

Adapted from a short story by Neil Gaiman, this British / American science fiction romantic comedy( yes, it’ s all those rolled into one) tells the story of Enn( Alex Sharp) a shy suburban London teenager in 1977 who likes to sneak out with his best friends to attend after-hours punk parties.

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16 illinoisentertainer. com may 2018