GenreOnline.net 2015 Summer Preview.

Yes there are a lot of great summer genre films to look forward to seeing this year and I look forward to giving my thoughts on some as I attend a screening, but today I am presenting a group of films that may not yet be on your radar, but never the less, maybe they should be.

The Connection Release Date: May 15, 2015 Cast: Academy Award® winner Jean Dujardin, Gilles Lellouche, Céline Sallette, Mélanie Doutey, and Benoît Magimel Directed by: Cédric Jimenez Written by: Audrey Diwan and Cédric Jimenez Genre: Crime Thriller Distributor: Drafthouse Films Directed and co-written by Cédric Jimenez, THE CONNECTION was entirely shot on 35 mm and is the European flipside to William Friedkin's The French Connection. A stylish, 70's-period crime thriller inspired by true events, it tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection. In his crosshairs is charismatic and wealthy kingpin, Gatean "Tany" Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), who runs the largest underground heroin trade into the States. Though the fearless and tenacious Michel, aided by a task force of elite cops, will stop at nothing--including boldly orchestrated drug raids, devastating arrests, and exacting interrogations--to ensure the crime ring's demise, Zampa's "La French" always seems one step ahead. As La French mounts its retaliation, Michel will be forced to make the most difficult decision of his life: to continue waging his war, or ensure his family's safety, before it's too late. THE CONNECTION is director and co-writer Cédric Jimenez' second feature film following Aux Yeux de Tous. A native of Marseilles, a city long known for its drug trafficking activities, Jimenez brings a keen knowledge of the place to his latest film.
	Pitch Perfect 2 Release Date: May 15, 2015 Cast: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Katey Sagal, Anna Camp, Ben Platt, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, John Hodgman, Jason Jones, Joe Lo Truglio, Reggie Watts with John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks  Directed by: Elizabeth Banks Written by: Kay Cannon Genre: Comedy Distributor: Universal The Barden Bellas are back in Pitch Perfect 2, the follow-up to 2012's smash hit.  The comedy is helmed by Elizabeth Banks, co-star and producer of Pitch Perfect, and produced by Paul Brooks, Max Handelman and Banks.  Writer Kay Cannon returns to the team to pen the next chapter.
	Self/less Release Date: July 10, 2015 Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode, Victor Garber, Derek Luke, Michelle Dockery & Ben Kingsley Directed by: Tarsem Singh Written by: Alex Pastor & David Pastor Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller Distributor: Focus Features In this provocative psychological science fiction thriller, an extremely wealthy man (Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley) dying from cancer undergoes a radical medical procedure that transfers his consciousness into the body of a healthy young man (Ryan Reynolds). But all is not as it seems when he starts to uncover the mystery of the body's origin and the organization that will kill to protect its cause i
	The Look Of Silence Release Date: July 17, 2015 Directed by: Joshua Oppenheimer Genre: Documentary Distributor: Drafthouse Films The Look of Silence is Joshua Oppenheimer's powerful companion piece to the Oscar®-nominated The Act of Killing. Through Oppenheimer's footage of perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide, a family of survivors discovers how their son was murdered, as well as the identities of the killers. The documentary focuses on the youngest son, an optometrist named Adi, who decides to break the suffocating spell of submission and terror by doing something unimaginable in a society where the murderers remain in power: he confronts the men who killed his brother and, while testing their eyesight, asks them to accept responsibility for their actions. This unprecedented film initiates and bears witness to the collapse of fifty years of silence.
	Cop Car Release Date: August 2015 Cast: Kevin Bacon,  Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Welford Directed by: Jon Watts Genre: Thriller Distributor: Focus World Kevin Bacon (The Following, HBO's Taking Chance, Mystic River) stars in director Jon Watts' delightful throwback thriller Cop Car. When two good-natured but rebellious young boys (James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford) stumble across an abandoned cop car hidden in a secluded glade they decide to take it for a quick joyride.   Their bad decision unleashes the ire of the county sheriff (Kevin Bacon) and leads to brutal consequences.
	The Diary Of a Teenage Girl Release Date: August 7, 2015 Cast: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig Written & Directed by: Marielle Heller Genre: Drama Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics Like most teenage girls, Minnie Goetze (Bel Powley) is longing for love, acceptance and a sense of purpose in the world. Minnie begins a complex love affair with her mother's (Kristen Wiig) boyfriend, "the handsomest man in the world," Monroe Rutherford (Alexander Skarsgård). What follows is a sharp, funny and provocative account of one girl's sexual and artistic awakening, without judgment.   Set in 1976 San Francisco, THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL begins at the crossroads of the fading hippie movement and the dawn of punk rock. News commentary of the Patty Hearst trial echoes in the background, as Minnie's young expressive eyes soak in a drug-laden city in transition- where teenage rebellion and adult responsibility clash in characters lost and longing. Minnie's hard-partying mother and absent father have left her rudderless. She first finds solace in Monroe's seductive smile, and then on the backstreets of the city by the bay. Animation serves a refuge from the confusing and unstable world around her. Minnie emerges defiant- taking command of her sexuality and drawing on her newfound creative talents to reveal truths in the kind of intimate and vivid detail that can only be found in the pages of a teenage girl's diary.   THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL is based on Phoebe Gloeckner's novel of the same name, hailed by Salon as "one of the most brutally honest, shocking, tender and beautiful portrayals of growing up female in America." Writer/Director Marielle Heller unlocks this diary with a richly comedic and deeply personal vision. In her feature film directorial debut, Heller brings Gloeckner's book to life with fearless performances, a stirring score, inventive graphic novel-like animation sequences, imagination, humor and heart. It is a coming of age story that is as poignant as it is unsettling.
	Grandma Release Date: August 21, 2015 Cast: Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, Judy Greer, Laverne Cox, Sam Elliott Written & Directed by: Paul Weitz Genre: Comedy Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics Lily Tomlin is Elle Reid. Elle has just gotten through breaking up with her girlfriend when Elle's granddaughter Sage unexpectedly shows up needing $600 bucks before sundown. Temporarily broke, Grandma Elle and Sage spend the day trying to get their hands on the cash as their unannounced visits to old friends and flames end up rattling skeletons and digging up secrets.