One of the many curious things about the way Hollywood works is that May means the start of “Summer Movie Season” and the arrival of two highly anticipated franchise films bookend this look at the entertainment options headed your way in the month ahead.
Captain America: Civil War (May 6)
The Avengers are taking up sides as the government seeks to register and watch superhumans. Steve Rogers/Captain America doesn’t like it. Tony Stark/Iron Man thinks it’s a necessary step. The question is which side are you: #TeamCap or #TeamStark?
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs (All Month)
This isn’t a Canadian bias thing – the Stanley Cup Playoffs are easily the most captivating of all the championship chases in major North American sports. Between games going to multiple overtime periods and 3-2 series leads becoming 4-3 series exits, the action on the ice is always compelling and is only going to keep getting better as we get closer to the Stanley Cup Finals.
New to Netflix (Various Dates)
There is a little bit of everything on everyone’s favourite streaming platform this month, including a comic book flop (Fantastic Four), an indie gem (Mud), a franchise continuation (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) and an Oscar-winning performance (Bridge of Spies). On the original side of things, Bloodline and Chef’s Table return for their second seasons, while Chelsea Handler’s new talk show debuts.
The Run for the Roses (May 7)
The first Saturday in May means the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown. Last year, American Pharaoh became the first horse since Affirmed in in 1978 to win all three races and now it’s time to find out if we’re going to go another 37 years before another horse accomplishes the feat.
For Your Bookshelves, Real or Virtual (Various Dates)
May doesn’t bring any major titles that are generating a lot of advanced buzz, but there are new offerings from several serial novelists, including Clive Cussler, Danielle Steel and John Grisham. The prolific James Patterson drops a pair of titles, including the latest in the Alex Cross series.
NBA Playoffs (All Month)
A funny thing happened on the way to a boring first round of the NBA Playoffs: MVP Steph Curry tweaked his knee and Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul broke his hand. While Curry’s Golden State Warriors are through, the Clip Show is in tough and the tournament to claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy just got a whole lot more interesting.
In Your Ears (Various Dates)
While the album already dropped on Tidal, the actual physical version of Beyonce’s Lemonade hits stores this month. Joining Bae in bringing new music to your ears are Blake Shelton, Ariana Grande and Meaghon Trainer, both of whom have something to prove after their previous albums did very well.
Chimichanga Time! (Various Dates)
The only thing that really matters in the world of DVDs and On Demand rentals this month is that Deadpool arrives. Everything else is secondary. If you must know, Joy, Zoolander 2 and Triple 9 are the other “major titles” that drop this month, but really, if you’re watching anything, you should be watching Ryan Reynolds in a red body suit killing baddies and talking smack.
UFC 198 (May 14)
The UFC has three events this month and the best of the bunch takes place in Curitiba, Brazil, where 40,000-plus fans will file into Arena da Baixada to watch Fabricio Werdum defend the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic in the main event. Add in the UFC debut of Cris Cyborg, a middleweight title eliminator and countless other quality bouts and this is easily one of the top cards of the year.
X-Men: Apocalypse (May 26)
Picking up where the post-credit scene after Days of Future Past left off, this latest X-Men adventure has Charles & Co. battling the first and most powerful mutant, Apocalypse, and his Four Horseman. A bunch of new comic book favourites arrive/return in this one including Olivia Munn as Psylocke, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler and Ben Hardy as Archangel. Oh yeah, someone else everyone likes shows up too, Bub.
