As the weather turns warmer, schools begin to let out, and people head out of town on vacation, another summer slate of movies is being rolled out in theaters across the country. The "summer blockbuster" is now a perennial event, as each year filmmakers and Hollywood studios try to outdo their past offerings, in both attendance records and money earned, if not necessarily in storytelling or spectacle. But more so than previous years, the "summer" movie rollout began earlier than ever this year. As of this writing, I've already missed a number of "must-see" movies that were projected onto screens... back in March.

And by missed, I mean missed the opportunity to go see these films in a theater. Whether I ever actually watch them at all is the bigger question.

The overwhelming majority of this summer's cinema selections are sequels, reboots / reimaginings / retreads, or adaptations. It's like déjà vu all over again... again and again. I definitely feel like I've already paid for and seen these films.

Let's run down the sequels first:

• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
  Marvel's version of The Empire Strikes Back.
   
• Alien: Covenant
  The EIGHTH movie in the Alien "franchise". Did anyone really need multiple prequels to these movies? I liked it when the aliens and their culture were a complete mystery. [grumble, grumble]
   
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
  The FIFTH movie in this sinking "franchise".
   
• Transformers: The Last Knight
  Uh, I've lost count how many Transformers movies there are out there...
   
• Cars 3
  The requisite Pixar summer movie. vroom, Vroom!, VROOM?!
   
• Terminator 2: Judgement Day 3D
  Yup, a re-release of the1992 James Cameron-Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi action film... but now with a jacked-up ticket price for 3D.
   
• Despicable Me 3
  OK, I'm probably going to go see this with my son...
   

Whew! I'm feeling sequel fatigue just from typing all of that out!

Now, how about all those reboots, reimaginings, and retreads?

• King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
  Which, as of this writing, has already laid down its sword and tanked at the box office...
   
• The Mummy
  The beginning of what is supposed to be a rebooted Universal Monster "Dark Universe". Scary, but maybe not for the right reasons...
   
• Baywatch
  Requisite campy reimagining of campy television show? Check! Beach bums bomb? Probably!
   
• Spider-Man: Homecoming
  Another Spidey origin story?!
   

Then there's a film like War for the Planet of the Apes that belongs in both categories above.

Or—wait for it—a movie that defies classification: The Emoji Movie. [insert "speechless" emjoi].


And lastly, some new adaptations of fan fav fiction:

• Wonder Woman
  Can this amazing Amazonian save us from the inevitable summer superhero movie slump? Yes, please!
   
• Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
  Adaptation of Christin Pierre's over-the-top gonzo French YA sci-fi about space rangers who protect the universe in the distant future. I'm game!
   
• Atomic Blonde
  Cold War-set spy shoot'em up based on the graphic novel The Coldest City. Consider me intrigued.
   
• The Dark Tower
  Stephen King's epic tale of good vs immense evil finally plays out larger than life on the silver screen. OK, this may be entering into "must see on opening night" territory. 
   
• Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
  An animated adaptation of the kid-friendly fav book series with funny voice talents from Kevin Hart, Jordan Peele, Nick Kroll, Ed Helms, and Kristen Schaal. Welp, this actually looks like a good film to take in as a matinee with my kid.
   

And yes, there will actually be more movies coming out than the one's listed above (and here is a complete list of summer movie releases this year, for those keeping score at home), so perhaps my only hope to catch something different this long, hot summer may be one of these few flicks:

• The Book of Henry
  This starts off as a Spielbergian kids movie but quickly turns dark...
   
• Baby Driver
  Edgar Wright's new noir-heist-action-music-driven flick!
   
• Dunkirk
  Newest Christopher Nolan film, a WWII suspense-filled drama shot in all-encompassing and immersive IMAX.
   
• Death Note
  Devilish director Adam Wingard's next fright fest, based on the popular Japanese anime and manga series of the same name.
   

Although more than likely, the few flicks above will only be around for a week or so at theaters, so room can be made for—you guessed it—more summer blockbusters.

And honestly, I'm kind of ok with that. With free streaming content everywhere nowadays, exclusive cable shows, and online binge-watchable series as well, I have more than enough to watch and keep up with. My pop culture addiction is constantly being satisfied by more entertainment than I can humanly consume. The Free Library definitely plays into the above equation, as I have a triple-digit to-watch list sitting in my Hoopla account (our awesome streaming digital media service, natch!) and multiple holds on DVDs and Blu-rays to checkout in our vast and ever-growing catalog.

My Free Library card is indeed the only movie ticket I think I am going to need this summer.

And hey, there's always the option to turn away from all those flickering screens and just sit back and settle in with a good book ; )

What movies are you looking forward to possibly seeing this summer? Let us know in the comments below!