Welcome to the wonderful month of May!

1) Cannes Film Festival — This is the big one.  This is the main thing that I’m looking forward to in May.  I don’t care if anything else happens in May, as long as the Cannes Film Festival takes place.  I won’t be at Cannes this year but, like most of you, I’ll be following all of the reports, dispatches, and rumors from the Festival.

Cannes is going to finally give reviewers a first look at some of the most anticipated films of 2024.  The Apprentice, Bird, Kinds of Kindness, Oh Canada, and Parthenope are all going to be in the competition, along with Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis.  Oh, Megalopolis.  After all the rumors and all the speculation about Coppola’s latest film, it will finally be presented to the world at Cannes.  Megalopolis has been getting a mixed reaction among the studio folk, with many describing the film as being Coppola’s latest folly.  Of course, the execs of the 70s said the same thing about Apocalypse Now before it was released.  It was at the 79 Cannes Film Festival that Apocalypse Now was first honored.  We’re all waiting to see if history will repeat itself.

(And let us not forget that films like Furiosa and the first of Kevin Costner’s Horizon films will be premiering out of competition.)

Victory at Cannes does not necessarily guarantee success at the Oscars but it doesn’t hurt.  With this year’s Sundance Film Festival being an unexpectedly low-key affair, it appears that Cannes will be the true start of this year’s Oscar season.

2) The Fall Guy — Hey, this looks fun!  Seriously, we need more fun films.  Starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, The Fall Guy will be be in theaters at the end of this week.

3) Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes — I have mixed feelings about the idea of continuing the current line of Planet of the Apes films.  I think the filmmakers may be underestimating just how important Andy Serkis was to the success of the previous three films.  That said, I’m still interested in seeing the latest installment for myself.  I hope it’s a success.  I also hope that people will go back and watch the original Planet of the Apes films as well.  Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is a film that feels more relevant with each passing years.

4) Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga — Like Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, I get the feeling that the filmmakers may be underestimating how important Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy were to the success of Mad Max: Fury Road.  That said, I’m still very much looking forward to seeing Furiosa for myself.  Following its Cannes premiere, Furiosa is scheduled to open on May 24th.

5) Hit Man — The latest from Richard Linklater also opens on May24th.  After several months of hearing positive things about this film, I can’t wait to finally watch it.

6) 1992 — Ray Liotta’s final film will open, in limited release, on May 31st.

What are you looking forward to in May?