O say, can you see? By the dawn’s early light, July and the typical high temperatures are here. Believe it or not, those were the original lyrics to our national anthem. Indeed, the time has come to frolic about during this month named after a Roman dictator. (I guess you can thank me if certain months start getting canceled . . . or Kanceled.) Obviously, entertainment venues have noticed the abundance of fun, or the funbundance, so get ready to mark up your calendars!

Thanks to a pair of bad boys (meaning foul-mouthed cops, not bratty toddlers) and some eclectic emotional characters, June’s string of film releases brought a recovery to the box office following a slow start to Hollywood’s monetary summer. The accounting department should be further pleased when Despicable Me 4 sends a horde of Minion-dressed families to the ticket counter. The latest installment in Illumination’s ultra-popular franchise finds ex-supervillain Gru enjoying an ideal life with his family. A classic case of bad-guy-turned-good-guy syndrome. But that’s not going to cover a 1.5 hour-long animated movie, so cue a new threat! Gru will launch another mission with an army of new-and-improved minions to eliminate fancy criminal Maxime Le Mal, our oddly accented protagonist’s biggest challenge yet. Featuring returning voice actors Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig, along with new recruits Will Ferrell and Sofía Vergara, DM4 has reserved that widely sought-after 4th of July weekend slot (don’t be jealous, Disney). Prepare to get Despicable on July 3.

Why do all movies about America’s Apollo missions have to be so melodramatic? Sure, sending a crew of astronauts into outer space at thousands of miles-per-hour in a literal rocket has some emotional potential, though it seems that the time has come to proclaim “down with the sentimentality!” Luckily, it looks like Fly Me to the Moon will avoid what I dub “the Apollo 13 factor.” Just to clarify, it’s not a Sinatra biopic. Instead, the semi-fictional ’60s romantic comedy follows two NASA employees played by Channing Tatum (ChanTum) and Scarlett Johansson (ScarJo); one is coordinating the launch mission to the moon and the other has been recruited to produce a confidential backup fake landing. Spoiler alert: they fall in love. At least that’s the vibe the trailer gives off. So Houston, there is no problem when Fly Me to the Moon lands in cinemas on July 12. Beware: unlike what some Facebook posts may inevitably claim, Stanley Kubrick did not actually direct the Space Race flick.

Filling the void one year after Barbenheimer’s debut is the sequel to a ’90s film in which a cow was sucked up by strong winds. As usual, Universal Pictures said, “We’ll take it!” Twisters is a continuation of the cult classic Twister, expanding the tornado-verse through the magic of plurality. Helmed by Academy Award-nominee Lee Isaac Chung, Twisters plunges the audience into severe-weather-land, known more colloquially as Oklahoma, where leads Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell will chase a variety of crazy, dangerous and probably unscientific storm cells, because that’s definitely what smart people do. Including some brand-new country songs and wild action, the disaster blockbuster may not add any brain cells, but let’s be honest: how many movies really make you smarter? (Christopher Nolan films aside.) In spite of my usual contempt for much of the weather film genre, Twisters has somehow captured my Must-See Movie of the Month (MSMM) stamp, reversing everything I thought I knew about logic. Rotation begins on July 19.

All concepts of a generally family friendly cinematic summer are prepared to be shattered by Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth. Returning to the screen in Deadpool & Wolverine, savage and snarky anti-hero Wade Wilson will be sent on a rollercoaster journey through the complex Marvel multiverse with an old, taloned friend: it’s Wolverine. As evidenced by his not-so-subtle presence in the title. And Hugh Jackman is back to play him! Again! This is Deadpool’s first official appearance in the MCU, following two previously acclaimed installments that were set within 20th Century Fox’s X-Men realm . . . I think I got that right. Maybe just YouTube it for more clarity. Director Shawn Levy, a favorite filmmaker of mine, will steer Walt Disney Studios into the mature R-rated belt of the cinematic landscape. Very R-rated. To the point that if parents bring their children, it wouldn’t be shocking if CPS showed up. I can’t necessarily recommend you enjoy some onscreen profanity and gore, but there is unfortunately something called viewer choice. Deadpool & Wolverine hopes to break the Marvel mold and make some green paper (meaning money, if you didn’t catch on) when it claws its way into theaters on July 26.

Given the excess of hot dogs and hamburgers that abound throughout these months, it’s outright offensive that the federal government refuses to sign a National Grilling Day into law. For the grill  owners who are repeatedly forced to barbeque for the benefit of friends and family while their kin demand an abrasive number of special requests, Boonies Bar & Grill in Millersburg has your back. With a mouth-watering selection of palatable prizes, from salads to pizza pies to wraps to their absolutely exemplary burgers, Boonies is the place to order from whether you’re hoping to venture to their patio or grab some fare to go during an intense game of bean bags (cornhole does not qualify, however). Thus, I grant my formal Restaurant of the Month (ROTM) pick to Boonie himself, if he exists.

This is just a small portion of the populated Southern Minnesota calendar this month. Plenty of local events are gearing up for the spotlight, including Northfield’s iconic Vintage Band Festival. So, this Independence Month, take a moment to recognize the phenomenal fact that we have the liberty to enjoy all varieties of entertainment in the greatest country on Earth.