AUGUST 25, 2023
<Click film’s poster to see info/trailer>
Gran Turismo
Directed By: Neill Blomkamp
Studio: Sony Pictures
Based on the unbelievable, inspiring true story of a team of underdogs – a struggling, working-class gamer, a failed former race car driver, and an idealistic motorsport exec – who risk it all to take on the most elite sport in the world.
Starring: Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Darren Barnet, Emelia Hartford, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon Hounsou
Genre: Action | Adventure | Drama | Sport
Rating: PG-13 (for intense action and some strong language)
Country: USA | Japan (English)
Runtime: 135 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Jurassic Park
(30th Anniversary)
Directed By: Steven Spielberg
Studio: Universal Pictures
In Steven Spielberg’s massive blockbuster, paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are among a select group chosen to tour an island theme park populated by dinosaurs created from prehistoric DNA. While the park’s mastermind, billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), assures everyone that the facility is safe, they find out otherwise when various ferocious predators break free and go on the hunt.
Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, BD Wong, Samuel L. Jackson, and Wayne Knight
Genre: Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Rating: PG-13 (for intense science fiction terror)
Country: USA (English & Spanish)
Runtime: 127 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Vacation Friends 2
Directed By: Clay Tarver
Studio: 20th Century Studios + Hulu
Picking up a few months after the end of “Vacation Friends,” this uproarious sequel finds newly married couple Marcus (Lil Rel Howery) and Emily (Yvonne Orji) inviting their uninhibited besties Ron (John Cena) and Kyla (Meredith Hagner), who are also newly married and have a baby, to join them for a vacation when Marcus lands an all-expenses-paid trip to a Caribbean resort. His reason for traveling there in the first place is to meet with the owners of the resort to bid on a construction contract for a hotel they own in Chicago. But when Kyla’s incarcerated father Reese (Steve Buscemi) is released from San Quentin and shows up at the resort unannounced at the worst possible moment, things get out of control, upending Marcus’ best laid plans and turning the vacation friends’ perfect trip into total chaos.
Starring: Lil Rel Howery, John Cena, Yvonne Orji, Meredith Hagner, Robert Wisdom, Lynn Whitfield, and Andrew Bachelor
Genre: Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime
Rating: R (for pervasive language, some sexual references and drug use)
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: — minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Retribution
Directed By: Nimród Antal
Studio: Lionsgate
Liam Neeson stars in Retribution, an immersive ticking clock thriller that straps audiences in for a high-octane ride of redemption and revenge. When a mysterious caller puts a bomb under his car seat, Matt Turner (Neeson) begins a high-speed chase across the city to complete a specific series of tasks. With his kids trapped in the back seat and a bomb that will explode if they get out of the car, a normal commute becomes a twisted game of life or death as Matt follows the stranger’s increasingly dangerous instructions in a race against time to save his family.
Starring: Liam Neeson, Noma Dumezweni, Lilly Aspell, Jack Champion, Embeth Davidtz, and Matthew Modine
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller
Rating: R (for some language and violence)
Country: France | Germany | Spain | USA (English)
Runtime: 91 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Bottoms
Directed By: Emma Seligman
Studio: Orion Pictures
BOTTOMS, a refreshingly unique raunchy comedy, focuses on two girls, PJ and Josie, who start a fight club as a way to lose their virginities to cheerleaders. Their bizarre plan works. The fight club gains traction and soon the most popular girls in school are beating each other up in the name of self-defense. But PJ and Josie find themselves in over their heads and in need of a way out before their plan is exposed.
Starring: Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine, Dagmara Domińczyk, and Marshawn Lynch
Genre: Comedy
Rating: R (for crude sexual content, pervasive language and some violence)
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 92 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Golda
Directed By: Guy Nattiv
Studio: Bleecker Street
Golda is a ticking-clock thriller set during the tense 19 days of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (Helen Mirren), faced with the potential of Israel’s complete destruction, must navigate overwhelming odds, a skeptical cabinet, and a complex relationship with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Liev Schreiber), with millions of lives in the balance. Her tough leadership and compassion would ultimately decide the fate of her nation and leave her with a controversial legacy around the world.
Starring: Helen Mirren, Camille Cottin and Liev Schreiber
Genre: Biography | Drama | History | War
Rating: PG-13 (for thematic material and pervasive smoking)
Country: USA | UK (English, Hebrew, & Arabic)
Runtime: 100 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Scrapper
Directed By: Charlotte Regan
Studio: Kino Lorber
This vibrant and inventive father-daughter comedy follows Georgie (Lola Campbell), a resourceful 12-year-old girl who secretly lives alone in her flat in a working class suburb of London following the death of her mother. She makes money stealing bikes with her best friend Ali (Alin Uzun) and keeps the social workers off her back by pretending to live with an uncle. Out of nowhere, her estranged father Jason (Harris Dickinson; Triangle of Sadness, Beach Rats) arrives and forces her to confront reality. Uninterested in this sudden new parental figure, Georgie is stubbornly resistant to his efforts. As they adjust to their new circumstances, Georgie and Jason find that they both still have a lot of growing up to do. Winner of a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Scrapper is full of spirit, humor, and formal inventiveness that sets it apart from much of British working-class cinema. Dickinson and remarkable newcomer Campbell imbue irresistible charm into this moving and frequently hilarious story of two emotionally tangled people: a grieving kid thrust into adulthood and a father in over his head.
Starring: Harris Dickinson, Lola Campbell and Alin Uzun
Genre: Comedy | Drama | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: UK (English)
Runtime: 84 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Piaffe
Directed By: Ann Oren
Studio: Oscilloscope Laboratories
After losing the woman of his dreams, Merlin moves to Las Vegas to pursue work as a magician, only to get hired as the front man in a revival of the notorious Black male stripper crew, The Chocolate Chips. Led by Luther — now broke and broken — the old, domesticated, out-of-shape Chips put aside former conflicts and reunite to save the hotel they used to perform in while helping Merlin win back his girl.
Starring: Simone Bucio and Sebastian Rudolph
Genre: Drama | Fantasy | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: Germany (German & English)
Runtime: 86 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
Directed By: Sammi Cohen
Studio: Netflix
Stacy and Lydia are BFFs who’ve always dreamed about having epic bat mitzvahs. However, things start to go comically awry when a popular boy and middle school drama threatens their friendship and their rite of passage.
Starring: Sunny Sandler, Samantha Lorraine, Idina Menzel, Jackie Sandler, Adam Sandler, Sadie Sandler, Dylan Hoffman, Sarah Sherman, Dan Bulla, Ido Mosseri, Jackie Hoffman, and Luis Guzmán
Genre: Comedy
Rating: PG-13 (for some crude/suggestive material, strong language and brief teen drinking)
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 103 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
The Hill
Directed By: Jeff Celentano
Studio: Briarcliff Entertainment
Growing up impoverished in small-town Texas, young Rickey Hill shows an extraordinary ability for hitting a baseball, despite being burdened by leg braces from a degenerative spinal disease. His stern, pastor father (DENNIS QUAID) discourages Rickey from playing baseball to protect him from injury, and to have him follow in his footsteps and become a preacher. As a young man, Rickey (COLIN FORD) becomes a baseball phenomenon. His desire to participate in a try-out for a legendary major league scout divides the family and threatens Rickey’s dream of playing professional baseball.
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Colin Ford, Joelle Carter, Randy Houser, Jesse Berry, Bonnie Bedelia and Scott Glenn
Genre: Biography | Drama | Sport
Rating: PG (for thematic content, language, and smoking throughout)
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 126 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
The Dive
Directed By: Maximilian Erlenwein
Studio: RLJE Films
A deep-sea diving trip at one of the world’s most remote spots becomes a fight for survival for sisters Drew and May when a catastrophic landslide sends rocks tumbling into the sea. After being struck by the rockfall, May now lies 28 meters below the surface, trapped by debris and unable to move. With dangerously low levels of oxygen, it is up to Drew to fight for her sister’s life. She must put her own life in jeopardy and risk paying the ultimate sacrifice. But with no help in sight, time is quickly running out….
Starring: Louisa Krause and Sophie Lowe
Genre: International | Thriller
Rating: Not Rated
Country: Germany (German)
Runtime: 91 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Our Father, The Devil
Directed By: Ellie Foumbi
Studio: Cineverse
Nominated for the 2023 “Best Feature” Independent Spirit Award, Ellie Foumbi’s elegant moral thriller and debut feature OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL (“Mon père, le diable”) stars a riveting Babetida Sadjo as Marie, the head chef at a retirement home in small-town France. Her easy day-to-day life spent caring for residents, hanging out with her co-worker and best friend Nadia (Jennifer Tchiakpe), and teasing a potential new romance is disrupted by the arrival of Father Patrick (former Spirit Award nominee Souleymane Sy Savané, GOODBYE SOLO), an African priest whom she recognizes from a terrifying episode in her homeland. As he further endears himself to the residents and staff, Marie is forced to decide how best to deal with this reminder of her troubled past.
Starring: Babetida Sadjo, Souleymane Sy Savane, and Jennifer Tchiakpe
Genre: International | Thriller
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA | France (French)
Runtime: 107 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Bank of Dave
Directed By: Chris Foggin
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Based on the true-life experiences of Dave Fishwick; ‘Bank of Dave’ tells the story of how a working class Burnley man and self-made millionaire fought to set up a community bank. Dave Fishwick (Rory Kinnear) sells vans in Burnley, Lancashire. Once the world’s most productive and profitable mill town, Burnley is now one of the most deprived and neglected towns in the UK. Dave, however, through a combination of hustle and hard work, has done well for himself — so well that in the wake of the last financial crisis he started lending money at reduced rates to his customers and local businesses. When some of those businesses start making money they ask Dave to reinvest it for them. This gives Dave an idea. Why not set up a tiny local bank that uses local money to fund local enterprise? He will call it: The Bank of Dave. The elite, London based financial authorities however, haven’t granted a new bank license for over 150 years and they’re not keen to grant one to a van salesmen from Burnley. Dave must enlist the help of London lawyer, Hugh (Joel Fry), junior doctor Alexandra (Phoebe Dynevor) and some local rock legends (Def Leppard) to help fight the good cause.
Starring: Joel Fry, Phoebe Dynevor, Rory Kinnear, Hugh Bonneville, Paul Kaye, Jo Hartley and Cathy Tyson
Genre: Biography | Comedy | Drama | International
Rating: PG-13 (for some strong language)
Country: UK (English)
Runtime: 107 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
The Admirer
Directed By: Martin Makariev
Studio: FilmRise
A woman searches for answers when her life is hacked by a mysterious person from her past harboring a dangerous obsession.
Starring: Roxanne McKee, Richard Fleeshman, Tina Casciani, Christina Bennington, Jordan Ford Silver, and Jack Parr
Genre: Thriller
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 89 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Fremont
Directed By: Babak Jalali
Studio: Music Box Films
Donya works for a Chinese fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, she struggles to put her life back in order. In a moment of sudden revelation, she decides to send out a special message in a cookie.
Starring: Anaita Wali Zada, Gregg Turkington, Jeremy Allen White, and Hilda Schmelling
Genre: Drama
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 91 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
The Elephant 6 Recording Co.
Directed By: C.B. Stockfleth
Studio: Greenwich Entertainment
An inside look at The Elephant 6 Recording Co., the ’90s rock collective that launched Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Apples in Stereo, and other bands. Around 1985, a group of Louisiana high schoolers began experimenting with whatever random instruments and gear they could find. Influenced by psychedelia, and with little to distract them, they birthed a musical revolution.
Starring: Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples In Stereo, Elf Power, Of Montreal, Beulah, The Gerbils, Dressy Bessy, The Minders, The Music Tapes, Great Lakes, Elijah Wood, James Mercer, Danger Mouse, and David Cross
Genre: Documentary | Music
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 93 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Before, Now, & Then
Directed By: Kamila Andini
Studio: Film Movement
Set amid the political violence of late-1960s Indonesia, Kamila Andini’s intoxicating film BEFORE, NOW & THEN follows Nana, the beautiful wife of a wealthy plantation owner whose inner life remains with her deceased first husband, murdered in the civil war a decade prior. A survivor, Nana values her safety and material comforts, but carries out a haunted existence, dreaming of her lost love. Forced to confront her husband’s blatant infidelity, Nana makes an unusual connection with his younger mistress, Ino. The two women, sharing their secrets and desires, discover a newfound freedom and intimacy withheld from them both by the strictures of patriarchal society. Framed by elegant cinematography and a lush score, BEFORE, NOW & THEN is a lyrical, transporting character study in the lineage of Wong Kar-wai and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, “wreathed in poetic melancholy and never less than beautiful” (Deadline).
Starring: Happy Salma, Laura Basuki, Arswendy Bening Swara, and Ibnu Jamil
Genre: Drama | History | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: Indonesia (Indonesian)
Runtime: 103 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Megalodon: The Frenzy
Directed By: Brendan Petrizzo
Studio: The Asylum
The stakes have never been higher when a frenzy of five Megalodons, spawn of the original, terrorizes the open ocean.
Starring: Eric Roberts, Diana Prince, Caroline Williams, Jessica Chancellor, and Alex Trumble
Genre: Action | Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 90 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Lo Invisible
Directed By: Javier Andrade
Studio: Buffalo 8
When Luisa, 45, returns from a psychiatric clinic after a bout of severe postpartum depression, she enters a new confinement in her dazzling home, surrounded by family members and a brigade of servants who expect her struggles to remain invisible. Unable to continue playing the role of the perfect housewife, Luisa’s only escape is to waltz elegantly into madness.
Starring: Anahí Hoeneisen, Matilde Lagos, Juan Lorenzo Barragán, Gerson Guerra, and Cristina Marchan
Genre: Drama | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: Ecuador (Spanish)
Runtime: 85 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
Warrior King
Directed By: Lu Qi
Studio: Cineverse
This Chinese animated epic fantasy is based on the true story of King Gesar. born to a divine lineage and destined to become a great hero and ruler. As a young man, the future king grew up exiled in a realm overrun by menacing demons and monsters. When evil forces threaten his home, he embarks on a heroic journey to save his people and fulfill his destiny as a legendary leader. The story of Gesar is considered one of Central Asia’s literary classics and was passed down in oral tradition for some 1,000 years, as well as literary, poetic and stage play versions. Its Tibetan iteration may now be the most prominent; it is certainly one of the longest, running to over 100 volumes and a million verses, according to some calculations.
Starring: Katie Leigh, Brandon Hunt, Marisa Blake, Blake Talley, and Olivia Springer
Genre: Animation | Fantasy | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: China (English)
Runtime: 114 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
That’s A Wrap
Directed By: Marcel Walz
Studio: Quiver Distribution
A mysterious villain from a new horror film appears at the cast’s wrap party, and begins to stage their own kill scenes. One by one, the cast disappear until the true nature of the evening is revealed.
Starring: Cerina Vincent, Gigi Gustin, Dave Sheridan, Monique Parent, and Sarah French
Genre: Horror
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 94 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
BS High
Directed By: Travon Free & Martin Desmond Roe
Studio: HBO Originals + Max
The Bishop Sycamore Centurions find themselves playing a nationally televised football game on ESPN in 2021. However, questions after the game reveal that Bishop Sycamore isn’t a real school at all.
Starring: —
Genre: Documentary
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 95 minutes
BACK TO THE TOP
