We're nearly halfway through 2019 and I've already had enough guns, explosions, spacecraft, old Captain Americas and fat Thors to last a lifetime, let alone a summer. And the only blockbuster I've seen this year is Avengers: Endgame.

"But Dave," you say, "isn't your job as a movie critic to see as many movies as you possibly can? To serve the public trust?"

Nominally, yes. But I have news for you, public: The big-swingin'-dick blockbusters such as the aforementioned Endgame are critic-proof, so who cares whether I see them? The only way for blockbusters these days to bomb is if they're so bad audiences actually stay away in droves, as if they're being paid to skip a movie instead of watch it (see: the D.C. universe movies except for Wonder Woman).

But because we're keeping score, Avengers: Endgame was fine, I guess, for two hours until the final 62 minutes of battle scenes made me long for a kabob skewer to the eyes. Ugh. Watching strong people get slammed into rubble is really dull (see also: Man of Steel), especially when it's been done in 21 previous films. The screenwriters and the Flying Russo Brothers even pulled a super-duh moment during what should have been a slam dunk: Remember when most of the surviving Marvel universe women came together near the end to ... come together near the end and then do fuck-all? What a wasted opportunity! It was an exciting gathering for a moment, at least.

Anyspray, movies like that are why I'm rewarding myself with an indie summer. I've had so much fun watching documentaries and microbudget features for the last five months that I've decided to focus on the artsy-fartsy and namby-pamby stuff.

(You should know, of course, that if you think independent cinema is, by nature, artsy-fartsy and namby-pamby, you're a terrible person and I hope you fall asleep in the sun and someone draws a sunscreen dick on your forehead.)

So let's take a little tour of this summer's upcoming indie flicks. I'll be your Lyft driver—you know, the kind who won't shut up—and you'll be my passenger on our trip down Indie Lane. Don't fret; we'll make some stops on Blockbuster Highway, though there's likely nothing on it you haven't seen before. (Here's the great thing about the Indie Lyft: It's widely available on movies' opening days and your driver has studied his routes.)

Remember to keep your hands, arms and sunscreen dicks inside the car, and take heed: All release dates—especially concerning indies—are subject to change.

Our first stop on Indie Lane is Olivia Wilde's feature-directing debut Booksmart. And what better way to begin the summer movie season than with a high school graduation flick? I mean, I love high school flicks! Most of them, anyway.

I came of age during the so-called golden era when John Hughes was firing on all thrusters and no one realized he was a Republican, a racist and a homophobe. ("Racist" and "homophobe" seem redundant next to "Republican" in 2019, don't they?) I've wanted a truly great high school flick for ages, and now we have it.

(Read this next bit in your best Stefon voice.) Booksmart has everything: Teen angst, the desire to fit in, FOMO, best friends, best friends fighting, awkward parents, awkward sex talk, a secret serial killer, a kid who tries to buy friends, a weird drug trip, and best of all—there is not one gay joke, race joke, you're-poor joke, nothing ...

Hang on a second. I just got pinged for a fare ... OMG IT'S OLIVIA WILDE. BE COOL SHE'S TOTALLY GETTING IN MY LYFT. (Not really; I spoke with her on the phone last week.)

"[Those types of derogatory jokes are] something I thought a lot about," Wilde said. "I thought, 'We don't have to be cruel to be funny.' It's a real problem when movies perpetuate that behavior and language and it's damaging. Cruelty isn't necessary for comedy."

She added, "We're telling a story where there's no villain. My take is that when we grow older, we realize all the assumptions we make when we're young—everyone is much more complex and nuanced. The idea was that where you're expecting a villain you won't find one."

It's like someone (namely writers Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman and director Wilde) took all the good bits from the best high school films, tossed out the crud, and then upped the game another 100%.

The characters in Booksmart feel authentic. Leads Kaitlyn Dever (Amy) and Beanie Feldstein (Molly) carry the shit out of this picture. To make their relationship on screen feel as lived in as two kids who have known each other their entire lives—kids who know literally everything about each other—Wilde had Dever and Feldstein live together during pre-production and production.

"It was essential to create a chemistry that felt as though it had depth and history. We wanted a story about a friendship developed over years," Wilde noted. "[Dever and Feldstein] happened to love each other from the moment they met so that helps. [Screenwriter] Katie Silberman focused on creating the texture of the friendship and we worked with Beanie and Kaitlyn on it."

It's not just the leads that stand out. Each character, no matter how small, has a backstory that feels real, not like tacked-on bologna. The supporting cast is every bit as vital as Dever and Feldstein.

If it reads like I'm gushing, I am. Booksmart is smart, funny, empathetic, charming, compassionate, a total winner. Don't miss it when it opens May 24 (read this week's review here).

Over on the Blockbuster Highway, also opening May 24, you'll find the live-action Aladdin. You know, the one with falling star Will Smith as the genie and, if the trailer is to be believed, the greatest hits from the animated version. What I don't understand is how (and why) it's about 38 minutes longer than its cartoon predecessor.

Opening the same weekend is Brightburn, a sort-of superhero movie with a twist: What if a kid crash landed on Earth, Superman-style, but he turned out to be evil? The trailer is kinda creepy, and star Elizabeth Banks makes anything better than it should be. (See: People Like Us, Man on a Ledge)

If you missed the excellent 2016 documentary De Palma, you really missed out, because it's the one good movie Brian De Palma's been involved with since roughly 1993, when he gave us the underappreciated Carlito's Way. But opening May 31, there's Domino, starring Jaime Lannister as a cop searching for the person who killed his partner. De Palma has already more or less disowned this flick (shocker?) but one thing De Palma doesn't do is make boring movies, even when they're bad (see: Dressed to Kill, Raising Cain).

Maybe instead of a brooding cop drama, you'd prefer giant lizards and whatever-the-hell-else beating the shit out of each other while they destroy large CG-rendered metropolitan cities. Take a gander at Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Or don't. (Eff kaijū movies). Instead maybe see Ma, in which the always-wonderful Octavia Spencer plays a total psycho in the guise of the cool older woman with a secret teen drinking club. Rocketman, an Elton John biopic, also opens, but if Bohemian Rhapsody taught me anything, it's that music biopics should take a powder.

The highly anticipated The Last Black Man in San Francisco opens June 7. At Sundance, it won Best Director and a Special Jury Award. And while I'll always be suspect of Sundance because it validated The Brother McMullen, TLBMISF looks like something special. Jimmie Fails stars as himself (he's also a co-writer), and the story chronicles the changes in a city, and what happens to the people who live there. If the buzz (and I hate that word) is true, this movie is something special.

Late Night likewise premiered at Sundance, and like TLBMISF, it was a big deal. The final product will have to be better than the trailer, though, as leads Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, as the host of a failing late night talk show and its first female writer, respectively, don't get the laughs—those belong to Denis O'Hare and the erstwhile Vinnie Delpino. That's hardly Kaling's or Thompson's fault, just the people who cut trailers.

For a little adult action, there's This One's for the Ladies, the NC-17 documentary cousin of Magic Mike (it looks like a hoot), and over on Blockbuster Highway, they've removed Louis C.K. and replaced him with Patton Oswalt in The Secret Life of Pets 2. And just to prove there's nothing 20th Century Fox won't do to hold on to a franchise, there's the latest X-Men flick, Dark Phoenix, in which we, much too late in the X-Men franchise, get a story fully devoted to Jean Grey (Sophie Turner, not Famke Janssen). This movie originally wrapped in October 2017 and has been stuck in re-shoot hell, for what it's worth.

Let's start June 14 on Blockbuster Highway. I'm mildly excited for Men in Black: International, if only because leads Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth (aka "Early Man") worked so well together in Thor: Ragnarok. Sure, they did squat as a duo in Avengers: Endgame, but how could anyone possibly squeeze more story into that 182 minutes? Maybe by cutting battle scenes? What does a humble Lyft driver know?

On Indie Lane the big brouhaha has to be The Dead Don't Die, a zombie flick written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. Normally, I avoid zombie flicks with the same zeal I avoid zombies, but Jarmusch made vampires relevant again with Only Lovers Left Alive and followed it with the touching and funny ode to poetry Paterson. This guy can do anything. And for those of you who speak German, there's a sort-of romantic comedy called In the Aisles, about two co-workers at one of those faceless box stores who start a romance. Looks goofy in a good way. (Germans are known for comedy. And genocide.)

On June 21, there's a cornucopia of big releases: Anna is writer-director Luc Besson's latest probably-weird fetish pic about a young woman (see also: Lucy, The Professional, The Messenger, La Femme Nikita, the Taken series, and his personal relationship with Maïwenn). There's the Child's Play remake, which frankly looks creepy as hell. (Creepier still: Aubrey Plaza playing it straight in a horror movie.) And there's the movie that will kill everything else at the box office: Toy Story 4. (This piece might be the only time you see "kill" and "Toy Story" in the same sentence, by the way.)

On Indie Lane, there's Wild Rose, the story of a Glaswegian ex-con who moves to the U.S. to become a country singer (I swear I'm not making that up), and Them That Follow, a religious thriller starring Kaitlyn Dever from Booksmart.

Normally I wouldn't recommend a movie from The Conjuring universe, especially after The Nun (barf). But Annabelle: Creation more than made up for the snot trail that was Annabelle, and I kinda like Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as the Warrens, so I'm all in for Annabelle Comes Home. (No one has ever addressed just why Annabelle the doll was designed to look like Satan's favorite minion, so I'll borrow a favorite phrase of my uncle's: Because it's in the script.) Expect jump scares and hopefully real scares on June 28.

Back on Indie Lane you'll find Maiden, a captivating-looking doc about Tracy Edwards, who led the first all-women team in the Whitbread Round the World race (it's now called the much more self-explanatory "The Ocean Race"); Ophelia, with Daisy Ridley (from some sci-fi series I can't remember the name of), reimagines Hamlet from Ophelia's point of view, which I would imagine is a short movie because she offs herself in Act IV (spoiler!); and Danny Boyle's Yesterday, about a world in which one struggling singer-songwriter remembers Beatles songs but no one else does. I WONDER HOW IT PLAYS OUT? It was written by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually), so expect maximum sentimentality to go along with the sex jokes.

Wisely, most studios aren't touching July 2 with a 10-meter cattle prod, because that's the day Spider-Man: Far from Home hits just about every screen across the country. Because I'm divulging Endgame spoilers, let it be known that Peter Parker (Tom Holland) was snapped back into existence by the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and will probably spend part of Far from Home mourning Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Will this new Spider-Man be good? I don't know. As much as I liked the first Tom Holland Spider-Man flick, I'm a little burned out on Marvel. Here's hoping for more Aunt May (Marisa Tomei).

So if spiders and bad guys ain't your bag, Midsommar parks itself on Indie Lane July 3. Its producer, A24 Films, fears nothing, not even the fact that its big summer release strongly resembles Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man (totes intentional). That said, Midsommar is Ari Aster's follow-up to Hereditary, the best three-quarters (ugh, that final 20 minutes) of a horror movie I've seen since The Witch. And horror movies that appear to take place almost entirely in the daylight, as Midsommar does, must be pretty confident in their abilities to scare the piss out of you.

As I work for Lyft (not really; it's a half-clever conceit I'm beating to death), I'm hesitant to write about Stuber, opening July 12, a buddy movie in which cop Dave Bautista recruits his Uber driver (Kumail Nanjiani) for some reason, probably something that isn't contrived in the slightest. Maybe it's like Collateral, the Tom Cruise-Jamie Foxx crapfest in which hitman Cruise recruits cab driver Foxx to drive him to all his kills—but funny. Except Collateral was pretty funny, albeit unintentionally. Anyway, I'm willing to give Stuber a look because Bautista has shown some comedy chops in the Guardians of the Galaxy series. Also, he has big arms and I don't want to piss him off.

Not that Jesse Eisenberg's particular nebbish qualities haven't been put to good use before (see: To Rome with Love, The Squid and the Whale, and everything else he stars in), but The Art of Self-Defense seems to get right to the guts of it, as Eisenberg's character Casey describes himself as being "afraid of the dark, afraid of other men." So that's why he signs up for karate classes and apparently discovers a whole seedy underbelly of Fight Club-type violence (I'm guessing without David Fincher's humorless sledgehammer approach). Looks fun, with some dry gags. We need more dry movie gags.

Also on Indie Lane you'll find The Farewell, starring Awkwafina in her first dramatic role, as an American woman traveling to China to visit her dying grandmother ... only her grandmother doesn't know she's dying and her family doesn't want to tell her. The Farewell was a big deal at Sundance and Awkwafina's performance has been widely acclaimed.

Rounding out July 12 on Blockbuster Highway is Crawl, a movie about bad weather and a big alligator. Or maybe it's a crocodile. Who gives a shit? It chomps people. (Actually, we should give a shit, because crocodiles generally don't reside in the United States, except in zoos. And also, I did look it up; the movie features an alligator. What a waste of word count, Dave.) There's also 21 Bridges, starring Chadwick Boseman in a non-Black Panther non-biopic role. Here he's a cop who tracks cop killers and shuts down Manhattan's 21 bridges (and the tunnels and trains, too) to catch a couple guys who murder eight police officers. (I lived in Manhattan for a dozen years and I have no idea whether there are actually 21 bridges off the island.) Boseman's big plan: "We flood the island with blue." But it sounds like he says "blow" which makes me wish this were a movie about cocaine.

On July 19, the only thing opening is Jon Favreau's "live action" (I use quotes because can it reeeeeeeally be live action?) remake of The Lion King. SNORE. The cynic in me just fell asleep. WHY WHY WHY the live action remakes?!! I mean, I know they make money, but don't you movie executives have souls, or an original idea that has a chance to make money so the market isn't poisoned with this half-baked shit? (I haven't seen it; maybe it's great. But it probably stinks like a hyena's ass! I'll stop now.)

On July 26, we get the sequel we never asked for to a movie no one liked. That's right! It's Brahms: The Boy II. Yeah, you don't care.

But maybe you do care about Quentin Tarantino gracing us with his ninth film. Rant alert! (I really hate that marketing line that's been with us since his fourth film, Kill Bill. NO ONE GIVES A SHIT WHICH FILM IT IS. THEY JUST WANT TARANTINO TO STOP BEING SO PRECIOUS, FINALLY GET OFF HIS ASS, AND FINISH A FUCKING MOVIE.)

Ugh.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood resembles a comedy, with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio starring. However, Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate, and if you know who Sharon Tate is, I can't imagine what's funny about her role. But hey, Tarantino is the same guy who indulged a child's fantasy to go back in time and shoot Hitler in the face, so maybe Robbie turns the tables on the Manson family and makes them eat their own entrails or something.

That leads us to August and the dregs of the film summer. That is, August used to feature the dregs until Marvel and Disney decided to totally screw with traditional releasing schedules (I've griped about that before and will therefore refrain.)

On Aug. 2, Blockbuster Highway dead-ends at Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (HA, SEE WHAT I DID THERE). I watched five of the eight Fast & Furious films, enjoyed two of them, and I couldn't tell you who Hobbs & Shaw are, though I know I've seen the movies they're in. All I know is the ampersand suggests they're a team. Whoop-dee-freakin'-doo! God, I wish I was drunk.

I'll be driving my beater 2006 Honda Civic for the rest of this ride, but don't worry: the cleaning surcharge was put to good use. Totally got the blood stains out after that kebab skewer incident I mentioned earlier. So let's stop on Indie Lane to take in Luce, starring Tim Roth and Naomi Watts in a non-Funny Games sequel. Here, they adopt a young boy from a war-torn African country and he matures into a dream kid, excellent student, nice guy, nearly universally adored. Except for that one teacher. (There's always one, right? I'm looking at you, Mrs. Bergendahl) This Sundance favorite has been described as a drama that plays like a thriller. I don't know what that means, but it sounds good, and Watts, Roth and Kelvin Harrison Jr. have been praised for their performances.

The last release of Aug. 2 is The Nightingale, Jennifer Kent's follow-up to The Babadook. A critic friend saw The Nightingale, and parents ... know that something bad (bad, bad, bad) happens to a child in this movie. It's kind of the film's catalyst. And if that isn't warning enough, the poster features a woman's bloody face. So, just a guess, The Nightingale isn't for everyone. But Jennifer Kent knows how to make movies, and The Nightingale has received a lot of good press.

Who's up for a horror anthology? No one? What if it was co-written by Guillermo del Toro, who inexplicably won a bunch of awards for The Shape of Water? And did you forget about Mimic? Whatever. On Aug. 9, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark arrives from del Toro, a bunch of other writers, and director André Øvredal. The movie is based on Alan Schwart's books, and—no kidding—they're children's stories. The books, I mean. The movie looks like it's for no one.

Perhaps more for the kids than the scary stories is the live action Dora the Explorer movie Dora and the Lost City of Gold. She probably doesn't ask the audience questions like on the animated show. But this is a kids' movie. And who can control a 6-year-old at a Saturday morning screening?

All I know about The Kitchen is that it has a heavy-duty cast (Elisabeth Moss, Tiffany Haddish, Domhnall Gleeson, and Melissa McCarthy), it takes place in the 1970s, and the women in it take over their husbands' illegal businesses when they get sent to the slammer. It's based on the book (or would you call it a graphic novel?) by Ollie Masters and written and directed by Andrea Berloff. I'd see a movie with this cast even if gangster pictures in this day and age leave me cold.

Also on Aug. 9, there's Brian Banks, the Greg Kinnear-starring story about Banks. Worth noting: Kinnear does not play Brian Banks. Aldis Hodge does. Yet Greg Kinnear is the star. Huh. This based-on-a-true story follows high school football star Banks as he's wrongfully convicted of a crime, has his conviction overturned, and then seeks to resume his football career. And did I mention it stars Greg Kinnear but it's about Brian Banks? And it's directed by Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Bruce Almighty genius Tom Shadyac. Sign me up! Just kidding. Draw and quarter me.

Frankly, I feel like skipping the rest of August and getting to the local stuff, but on Aug. 16, there's Good Boys, from the guys who brought you Sausage Party (what's my limit on using "ugh" during this thing?). The Lyft will not stop at Blockbuster Highway for this one.

In The Informer, still-trying-to-become-a-movie-star Joel Kinnaman plays an ex-con who goes back to prison to infiltrate the mafia. My two favorites genres, mafia movies and prison movies, are combined into one! Yippee! Wait, those are my least favorite two genres. Your Lyft ain't stoppin' here, either.

I have hope that Richard Linklater's Where'd You Go Bernadette will be worth watching. It stars Cate Blanchett as Bernadette, and Linklater's last film, the underappreciated Last Flag Flying, features all-time performances from Steve Carell and Laurence Fishburne. Linklater even restrained consummate overactor Bryan Cranston. In Bernadette, Bernadette disappears (it's all there in the title!) and her daughter Bee goes after her. To borrow a phrase from All the President's Men, Bee uncovers a rat's nest of shit. It's a comedy, by the way.

Rounding out Aug. 16 is two documentaries. Cold Case Hammarskjöld follows filmmaker Mads Brügger as he investigates the death of UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld. This premiered at Sundance. The other documentary is Aquarela. It's about water. No, really! I'd make jokes, but the trailer reminds me of Koyaanisqatsi if Koyaanisqatsi featured water as its main series of images. Aquarela also features a loud score by Apocalyptica. Emphasis on loud.

It wouldn't be August without a bad Gerard Butler movie, and even though it's unfair to assume Angel Has Fallen will be bad ... it features Gerard Butler. That guy just doesn't make good movies. And yes, it's a sequel to his two other Fallen flicks—Olympus Has Fallen and My Arches Have Fallen. I really hope Morgan Freeman was paid a lot of money for this thing. It opens on the recently renamed Dregs of the Blockbuster Highway on Aug. 23.

Also opening that weekend are Overcomer, a faith-based sports movie by the Kendrick brothers, and Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles, a documentary about the origins of Fiddler on the Roof. Totally. Waiting. In. Line. In. The. Hot. Sun. For. Those.

Locally, it's a whole different story. The Salt Lake Film Society presents its fourth "Greatest" series beginning Friday, May 31. This year's focus is documentaries, and not just any documentaries—no Sleep by Andy Warhol here! These are life-changing documentaries.

Take Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, which screens during the series' second week. It's the first of three films directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky made about Jessie Misskelley, Damien Echols, and Jason Baldwin, the so-called West Memphis Three, teens who were accused and convicted of killing three young boys in West Memphis, Ark. The case fascinated the country—"Satanic panic" was all over the news in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the murders occurred, and Misskelley, Echols and Baldwin fit the profile of the kinds of young men who would worship Satan and kill children: they listened to Metallica and wore black.

For Tori A. Baker, the Salt Lake Film Society President & CEO, Paradise Lost was life-changing. "I saw it at Sundance at its premiere," Baker says in a phone interview. "I'm not a true-crime person, generally, but this was long before anyone was thinking about these concepts in telling crime stories: Where does poverty come into play? And the music angle? That's one of the things I thought was fascinating about it."

Paradise Lost was certainly life-changing for the West Memphis Three. My incredibly reductive description of it aside, it changed the lives of Misskelley, Echols and Baldwin. They were freed from prison, Echols from death row, in 2011 by taking an Alford plea when it seemed a retrial was imminent.

The other documentaries are life changers in other ways (not that it matters to you, but when I saw How to Survive a Plague, I re-dedicated myself to fighting for LGBTQ rights after several too-complacent years on the sidelines). Which of the films in the program changed your life? And which film that's new to you will you see with the hope of changing your worldview. It's a lofty concept, but it's exciting, and it's a spectacular lineup.

But alas, we've arrived at our final destination. I took my contacts out a few miles back (there was a cat hair or something on one of them), and I'm not entirely sure whether we're still on Indie Lane or whether we drove across the median and onto Blockbuster Highway.

So hear me, dear moviegoers: Your humble Lyft driver has taken you partway on your journey; the final choices are yours. But please, I implore you, view the correct movies this summer. Remember, I have your phone number, I know where you live and I have a lifetime's supply of sunscreen (you know, to draw a dick on your forehead). Kisses!

---

But Wait, There's More!

The ride ain't over. Let's talk movies as an outing. As you know from reading the last several summer previews (or from living in the Salt Lake area), there are beaucoup family film programs to choose from each week.

For example, Friday Night Flicks returns to different SLC parks. This year's theme: "Build it Up, Tear it Down." It's free, the screens are inflatable (ooh!), and you can show up any time after 7:30 p.m. to secure a spot. There will be food from the Food Truck League and movies begin around 9 p.m. Here's what's playing and where you can watch it:

Friday Night Flicks
June 7: Wreck It Ralph (Liberty Park)
June 14: Big Hero 6 (Lindsey Gardens)
June 21: The Astronaut Farmer (Jordan Park
June 28: Evan Almighty (Reservoir Park)
June 29: World War Z (Liberty Park)
July 5: Apollo 13 (Riverside Park)
July 12: Lego Batman Movie (Fairmont Park)
July 19: Twister (Wasatch Hollow)

Monday Night Movies
Friday Night Flicks' sort-of cousin, also returns. At the Gallivan Center starting Monday, July 1, and continuing through July 29, you'll find Will Ferrell-themed movies.

July 1: Anchorman
July 8: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
July 15: The Other Guys
July 22: Blades of Glory
July 29: Zoolander

My one quibble with Monday Night Movies: No Casa de mi padre?!

To make life simpler for you (and for me), the remainder of the local movie hot spots are listed alphabetically by town. Forgive me if I left your burg out, but some towns don't have final lists yet.

Draper
Movies screen at the Draper City Amphitheater beginning outdoors at dusk

June 21: Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
July 18: Ralph Breaks the Internet

Layton
Movies play at the Kenley Amphitheater and begin at 7:30 p.m. There are some pre-movie activities beginning at 6:30 p.m. which are noted along with the film. Bring your own food. Leave the alcohol at home.

June 7: The Muppet Movie; coloring pages
June 14: 101 Dalmatians (the one with Glenn Close); face painting
June 21: Over the Hedge; outdoor games
June 28: The Goofy Movie; a goofy photo booth
July 5: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
July 12: The Greatest Showman; carnival games
July 19: Tangled; pictures with Rapunzel and Flynn
July 26: A Night at the Museum; tours of the Leyton Heritage Museum
Aug. 2: The Emperor's New Groove; a llama party
Aug. 9: Matilda; free kids' books for children under 12
Aug. 23: You've Got Mail
Aug. 30: Guardians of the Galaxy

Magna
Music & Movies at Pleasant Green Park. Events begin at 8 p.m., movies begin at sundown.

June 14: Music: The Blushing Violets; Movie: Aquaman
June 21: Music: Marusso; Movie: Bumblebee
June 28: Music: Deep Red Dirt Band; Movie: Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
July 5: Music: TBD (I hear they're great); Movie: Captain Marvel
July 12: Music: Robyn Cage; Movie: The Incredibles 2
July 19: Music: The Back Yard Revival; Movie: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
July 26: Music: Michelle Moonshine; Movie: Avengers: Infinity War
Aug. 2: Music: WEY; Movie: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
Aug. 9: Music: Act of Denial; Movie: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Aug. 16: Music: Nathan Spencer Review; Movie: TBD (just as good as the band)

Ogden
Monday Night Movies at the Ogden Amphitheater; bring your own food or get snacks at the Backstage Bistro. Movies begin at 7:30 p.m.

June 10: Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
June 17: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
June 24: How to Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World
July 1: Jurassic Park at the Ogden Eccles Dinosaur Park
July 8: Shrek and Shrek 2 (both in Spanish)
July 15: Maverick
July 22: Crazy Rich Asians and Dirty Dancing
July 29: Hearts Beat Loud and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar Aug. 5: Ralph Breaks the Internet
Aug. 12: Remember the Titans
Aug. 19: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Park City
International Summer Film Series. Films begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Ave., Park City; admission and popcorn are free, all the films are presented in English. Country of origin appears after the title.

June 18: Selena - USA
June 25: Mary and the Witch's Flower - Japan
July 2: The Fox and the Child – France
July 9: Capture the Flag – Spain/USA
July 16: Bend it Like Beckham – UK/Germany/U.S.
July 23: March of the Penguins – France
July 30: Castle in the Sky – Japan
Aug. 6: He Named Me Malala – U.S./United Arab Emirates
Aug. 13: Children's Film Festival Seattle Shorts Program No. 1: Through the Rainbow –International

Riverton
Movies in the Park & Food Truck Frenzy. Films start at 6 p.m. There will be food truck and market vendors. Bring blankets.

June 8: Despicable Me 3 (Note: This movie plays at Intermountain Riverton Hospital, all other movies will be shown at Riverton City Park)
July 3: Leap!
July 13: Coco
July 20: Sleepless in Seattle
July 27: Wonder
Aug. 3: The Princess and the Frog
Aug. 10: Descendants 2
Aug. 17: Remember the Titans
Aug. 24: A Wrinkle in Time

Sandy
Summer of Movies. Entry is free at dusk; popcorn, candy and drinks will be for sale.

June 14: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (River Oaks Golf Course)
June 21: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Flat Iron Park)
June 28: Megamind (Wildflower Park)
July 12: Hocus Pocus – Halloween in July (High Point Park)
July 19: Moana (Alta Canyon Pool – Splash & Bash)
July 26: Mary Poppins Returns (Bell Canyon Park)

St. George's "Sunset on the Square"
Bring a blanket and food, leave the booze at home. Check the town website for start times.

May 24: Field of Dreams
June 14: Ralph Breaks the Internet
June 28: Bernie the Dolphin (not to be confused with Bernie the Socialist)
July 12: Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero
July 26: How to Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World
Aug. 9: Footloose (the Kevin Bacon version)
Aug. 23: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

Springville
Free Family Movies at Spring Acres Park, admission is free, gates open at 7 p.m. Movies start around dusk. Seating is general admission, bring your own blankets and folding chairs. There will be food trucks!

June 3: Ralph Breaks the Internet
June 17: A Dog's Way Home
June 24: Wonder
July 1: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
July 8: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
July 15: How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Vernal
This is a hike, but maybe you'll find yourself in Vernal on a Friday night? Movies screen outdoors at the Uintah Community Center starting at dusk. For more info, click here.

June 7: Mary Poppins
June 21: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
July 12: How to Train Your Dragon II
July 26: The Incredibles 2
Aug. 9: Captain Marvel

Snowbird
Family movies, free, outdoors at the Snowbird Center plaza deck. Seating is provided, but you can bring lawn chairs, too. Movies begin at dusk. The Birdfeeder will sell popcorn and other goodies. More info here.

June 21: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
July 5: The NeverEnding Story (Spoiler: It ends)
July 12: Up
July 19: How to Train Your Dragon
July 26: Angels in the Outfield
Aug. 2: Grease
Aug. 9: The Goonies

Till next year, friends!