Summer movie preview

By Scott Pukos,

Published May 22, 2026 at 2:51 PM EDT

Four people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man front left has a grey beard and is wearing a yellow baseball cap, a white and orange plaid button-down shirt, light purple shirt with white lettering, jeans and sneakers; a woman front right has long red hair and is wearing a black turtleneck sweater, jeans and pink shoes; a man back left has short brown hair and is wearing a white t-shirt with red sleeves; a woman back right has long dark hair and is wearing eyeglasses and a light purple sweater; a man at center has short brown hair, a brown beard and is wearing eyeglasses, a dark green button-down shirt open over a grey t-shirt with a picture of a black cat, black jeans and brown shoes. — (foreground) Adam Lubitow and Johanna Lester, (background) Matt Passantino and Cielo Ornelas MacFarlane with guest host Scott Pukos on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Friday, May 22, 2026

A smiling man with glasses,short brown hair and a beard and wearing a light grey open button down shirt and dark grey t-shirt sits in front of a microphone at a table in a radio talk studio. — Scott Pukos guest hosting "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Friday, August 2, 2024

Summer movie season is officially here with a lineup of blockbusters, horror titles, and indie gems. The summer season will largely be defined by "The Odyssey" — Christopher Nolan's epic follow-up to his Oscar-winning 2023 film, "Oppenheimer."

The father of the summer blockbuster, Steven Spielberg, is also back with "Disclosure Day," a new sci-fi romp.

Another seasonal trend? Summer horror. Indie titles ("Backrooms," "Leviticus") from up-and-coming directors who delight in the dark terrors of the human mind vie to become the year's surprise hits.

Guest host Scott Pukos breaks it all down this hour with his guests:

Johanna Lester, pop culture critic for CITY Magazine
Adam Lubitow, programmer for The Little Theatre and director of programming for the Anomaly Film Festival
Cielo Ornelas MacFarlane, local cinephile and visual artist
Matt Passantino, film critic and writer for CITY Magazine and member of the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association (GWNYFCA)