April is here at long last, which means that soon the flowers will be in bloom and the movie theaters will erupt with summer blockbuster after summer blockbuster. But with so many movies coming your way in the months ahead, you’ll need some help deciding what’s actually worth your time and what was a waste of good popcorn. So on today’s episode of The Dan Cave we’re diving into blockbuster season with a Summer Movie Guide. And yes, summer now legally includes the end of April and all of May, so deal with it.

Super Troopers 2

Image: Fox Searchlight

Release date: April 20, 2018

Why you should see it: Let’s face it — you’d probably wind up “accidentally” drinking an entire bottle of maple syrup on 4/20 anyway, so why not have it at least feel like a thematic snack for the Super Troopers sequel? This time, the state trooper shenanigans are escalating into an international incident as the kooky cops try to set up a new highway patrol station on the U.S.-Canadian border. Will it be a staggering condemnation of modern foreign policy? Probably not, but I still want to see it right meow

Avengers: Infinity War

Image: Disney/Marvel

Release date: April 27, 2018

Why you should see it: Will Thanos get the cosmic mancala beads? Will the movie just be a series of people meeting each other for the first time before dying horrifically? Are you lowkey dreading the fact that this movie is longer than two and a half hours? The answer to all of these questions is yes, but who cares? I’ve waited a goddamn decade to see how this saga ends, so like so many Buckys in so many Wakandan hospitals, my body is ready.

Deadpool 2

Image: 20th Century Fox

Release date: May 18, 2018

Why you should see it: There’s very little that I can say about Deadpool 2 that isn’t better said by its official description:

“After surviving a near fatal bovine attack, a disfigured cafeteria chef (Wade Wilson) struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Mayberry’s hottest bartender while also learning to cope with his lost sense of taste. Searching to regain his spice for life, as well as a flux capacitor, Wade must battle ninjas, the yakuza, and a pack of sexually aggressive canines, as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and flavor – finding a new taste for adventure and earning the coveted coffee mug title of World’s Best Lover.”

I sure hope he gets that mug. Plus we’ll finally see how Josh Brolin became Josh Swole-in to play Cable. And by that I mean swole as in jacked, not swollen as in he’s allergic to bees. Although Josh Brolin did once tell me I was “pink like a rat,” so I don’t really give a hoot what he thinks I said.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Image: Disney/Lucasfilm

Release date: May 25, 2018

Why you should see it: For everyone what exactly happened when Han Solo made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, everyone who wondered just how spicy those mines were anyway, and everyone who wanted to know why the way the way to make wine glasses look futuristic is to slap a tin can on them, Solo: A Star Wars Story is for you. Mostly, though, I’m excited to see Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. He should win an preemptive Oscar for his mustache alone, and yes, this is the hill I plan to die on.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Image: Focus Features

Release date: June 8, 2018

Why you should see it: When Fred Rogers passed away on February 27, 2003, one of the brightest lights on this Earth went out. For three decades, he made the children’s television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which was a beacon of positivity, optimism, and hope for kids all over the world. Now Rogers is the subject of a new documentary that uses a wealth of archival footage and interviews that paint an intimate portrait of a man who dedicated his life to making the world feel like a better, more inclusive and welcoming place. And I think we can all agree that is something the world sorely needs right now.

Hereditary

Image: A24

Release date: June 8, 2018

Why you should see it: Multiple people have told me that this is the scariest film they have seen in ages and as what scientist call “a huge coward,” I am dreading the thought of seeing it. But as a fan of seeing good movies, I can’t wait. It’s about the Graham family who begins to unravel at the seams in the wake of the family matriarch Ellen’s death. In the wake of her demise, they learn all manner of horrific secrets about their ancestry, and it’s up to Ellen’s daughter, Annie, played by the incredible Toni Colette, to save her family from the supernaturally terrifying fate that they have seemingly inherited. So remember that the next time you dread going to family dinner, it could always be worse.

Ocean’s 8

Image: Warner Bros

Release date: June 8, 2018

Why you should see it: Normally I roll my eyes at long-delay sequels and reboots, but Ocean’s 8 looks genuinely delightful. I’m a sucker for a good heist movie, and Ocean’s 8 boasts an all-star cast including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Sarah Paulson, Helena Bonham Carter, and Rihanna as a hacker named 8-Ball. If you saw Valerian, you already know that Rihanna was the best part. It looks like exactly the right blend of intrigue and action-comedy to start the summer off on a high note.

Incredibles 2

Image: Disney/Pixar

Release date: June 15, 2018

Why you should see it: If you’re exhausted by the surfeit of superhero films, then perhaps Brad Bird’s Incredibles 2 is more up your alley. This time around, the family dynamic is totally flipped with Helen stepping into the limelight to help make superheroes popular again, and Bob taking a backseat to be a stay-at-home dad, trying to help his superpowered kids lead normal lives. One kid, though, the wee baby Jack-Jack may prove more difficult than most because he seemingly has more powers than everyone else in the family combined. And if Jack-Jakc doesn’t kill him first, then Bob and the gang are going to have their hands full with a new villain who has a plot that threatens the world as we know it that DOESN’T involve bedazzling a golden glove. Now imagine that…

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Image: Legendary/Universal

Release date: June 22, 2018

Why you should see it: Is there a good reason that Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are going back to the world’s most misguided theme park yet again? Probably not. But is it worth it to see Jeff Goldblum grace the big screen as Dr. Ian Malcolm again? You bet your sweet, prehistoric butt it is.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Image: Disney/Marvel

Release date: July 6, 2018

Why you should see it: People like to give Ant-Man a lot of grief, but the first film was a nice little self-contained story that added a whole new sense of scale to the typically epic superhero action that dominates multiplexes. Now we’re getting the big-screen team up that I never thought I’d see: Ant-Man and the Wasp headlining their own movie. What a time to be alive. And hopefully we’ll get to see Luis (Michael Peña) return to give us even more unnecessarily convoluted “heist tips.” Mostly I just need to see this movie to see if my theories about the Quantum Realm and Avengers 4 are going to work after all.

Sorry to Bother You

Image: Annapurna Pictures

Release date: July 6, 2018

Why you should see it: In a weird, alternate reality version of Oakland, a telemarketer named Cassius Green discovers the key to success in business, overcomes his self-esteem issues, and climbs the corporate ladder at an alarming rate. What follows is a bizarre, macabre, and scathing satire that tells a dystopian story about the horror show that is the modern American workplace. I sure hope that secret is ending your show with overwrought movie mash-up puns. Because then, boy howdy, I might just be sitting on a gold mine.

Eighth Grade

Image: A24

Release date: July 13, 2018

Why you should see it: One of the most excruciatingly funny experiences I’ve ever had in a theater, Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade expertly captures the awkwardness, anxiety, and feeling of soul-crushing importance of every little thing that happens in middle school. It’s the uncomfortable, touching, and genuinely sweet story of 13-year-old Kayla who is nursing a crippling social media addiction and trying to get through the final days of middle school. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, and it’ll give you horrifying flashbacks to that one time you puked while giving a presentation in Mr. Jefferson’s seventh period social studies class.

Teen Titans Go! To The Movies

Image: Warner Bros

Release date: July 27, 2018

Why you should see it: Deadpool isn’t the only superhero who can break the fourth wall. In Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, the Teen Titans discover that they’re the only DC superheroes who don’t have films in the works, so they set out on a quest to find the perfect director for their big screen debut. Unfortunately for them, their archnemesis Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke, has other ideas for them. Which if we’re drawing parallels to real life is a live-action TV series? Who knows? All I know is that I’m on board for some balls-to-the-wall Hollywood satire starring the goofballs of Teen Titans Go! And it features Nicolas Cage as Superman. That’s right. Despite all his rage, he’s still just the Last Son of Krypton.

Mission Impossible: Fallout

Image: Paramount

Release date: July 27, 2018

Why you should see it: Three words: Tom Cruise running. Three more words: Henry Cavilk’s mustache. ‘Nuff said.

Replicas

Image: Entertainment Studios

Release date: August 24, 2018

Why you should see it: When you kill someone very close to Keanu Reeves, one of two things will happen:

1) He’ll go on a murderous killing spree to take revenge on Theon Greyjoy

2) He will violate the laws of science in order to resurrect his family after they’re killed in a car accident.

Replicas is definitely scenario #2 as Reeves plays a distraught biologist who finds himself at odds with the government, the police, and science itself when grief drives him to try and resurrect his dearly beloveds. Even if it winds up being terrible, it’s an excuse to se Keanu Keanu as hard as he possibly can on the big screen. And that, dear viewers, is why I go to the movies in the first place.

And those are some of the best movies that you need to see this summer. Which of these are you most excited for? What would you add to this list? Let me know in the comments below!

Featured Image: Disney/Marvel

The biggest movie news right now

• Who should John Boyega play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
• Did Benny the Jet actually steal home at the end of The Sandlot?
• How 2001: A Space Odyssey is actually a comedy

Was Snoke stronger than Palpatine?

• Want to watch The Dan Cave before anyone else? Join Alpha and get it 48 hours early!
• Don’t miss a single episode of The Dan Cave! Subscribe to this playlist.
• Tired of getting kicked out of restaurants for being topless? Buy a The Dan Cave t-shirt!

Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCasey).