Friday Releases: The Beekeeper, The Book Of Clarence, & Mean Girls

JANUARY 12, 2024

The Beekeeper

Directed By: David Ayer
Studio: MGM + Miramax

In The Beekeeper, one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers”.

Starring: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad and Jeremy Irons
Genre: Action | Thriller
Rating: R (for strong violence throughout, pervasive language, some sexual references and drug use)
Country: USA | UK (English)
Runtime: 105 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

The Book Of Clarence

Directed By: Jeymes Samuel
Studio: TriStar Pictures

Streetwise but down-on-his-luck, Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) is struggling to find a better life for his family, while fighting to free himself of debt. Captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah and His apostles, he risks everything to carve his own path to a divine life, and ultimately discovers that the redemptive power of belief may be his only way out.

Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, Anna Diop, David Oyelowo, Micheal Ward, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, James McAvoy, and Benedict Cumberbatch
Genre: Adventure | Comedy | Drama | History
Rating: PG-13 (for strong violence, drug use, strong language, some suggestive material, and smoking)
Country: USA | Italy (English & Spanish)
Runtime: 129 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

Mean Girls

Directed By: Samantha Jayne & Arturo Perez Jr.
Studio: Paramount Pictures

From the comedic mind of Tina Fey comes a new twist on the modern classic, MEAN GIRLS. New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls called “The Plastics,” ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her minions Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), she finds herself prey in Regina’s crosshairs. As Cady sets to take down the group’s apex predator with the help of her outcast friends Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school.

Starring: Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auliʻi Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Avantika, Bebe Wood, Christopher Briney, Jenna Fischer and Busy Philipps, Tina Fey and Tim Meadows
Genre: Comedy | Musical
Rating: PG-13 (for sexual material, strong language, and teen drinking)
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 112 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

Soul
(2020 Re-Release)

Directed By: Pete Docter
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures + Pixar Animation

Joe is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn’t quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz — and he’s good. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove, and Angela Bassett
Genre: Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Music
Rating: PG (for thematic elements and some language)
Country: USA (English, Korean, & Inuktitut)
Runtime: 100 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

Lift

Directed By: F. Gary Gray
Studio: Netflix

An international heist crew is recruited to prevent a terrorist attack, and must pull off the heist on a plane mid-flight.

Starring: Kevin Hart, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D’Onofrio, Úrsula Corberó, Billy Magnussen, Jacob Batalon, Jean Reno, and Sam Worthington, Ilfenesh Hadera, and Clifton Collins Jr.
Genre: Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller
Rating: PG-13 (for violence and action, suggestive material and some language)
Country: USA (English & Italian)
Runtime: 104 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

Role Play

Directed By: Thomas Vincent
Studio: Prime Video

Emma (Kayley Cuoco) and Dave (David Oyelowo) have the seemingly perfect life — two kids, suburban house, good jobs — but after seven years of marriage they find themselves in a bit of a rut. For their wedding anniversary this year they are looking to spice things up with a little role play. They plan to meet as strangers in a hotel bar, but before Dave arrives, Emma catches the eye of a mysterious older man (Bill Nighy). The mystery gentleman recognizes Emma — as an international assassin for hire with a bounty on her head. Emma leads a secret life that Dave knows nothing about. Emma’s past comes roaring back into her new life and she is forced to take action to protect the family she loves.

Starring: Kaley Cuoco, David Oyelowo, Rudi Dharmalingam, Connie Nielsen, and Bill Nighy
Genre: Action
Rating: R (for violence and language)
Country: USA | Germany | France (English)
Runtime: 100 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

The Settlers

Directed By: Felipe Gálvez Haberle
Studio: MUBI

Chile, 1901. Three horsemen embark on an expedition, tasked with securing a wealthy landowner’s vast property. Accompanying a reckless British lieutenant and an American mercenary is mestizo marksman Segundo, who comes to realize their true mission is to violently “remove” the indigenous population.

BACK TO THE TOP

The Night They Came Home

Directed By: Paul G. Volk
Studio: Lionsgate

Inspired by true events, The Night They Came Home chronicles the ruthless exploits of the Rufus Buck Gang, a group of outlaws who clashed with the Indian Territory of Middle America at the tail end of the 19th century. The combined force of local lawmen and Indian police aim to take down a coldhearted band of fugitives with vengeance on their minds.

Starring: Charlie Townsend, Danny Trejo, Robert Carradine, Weston Cage, Brian Austin Green, Tim Abell, Peter Sherayko, and Kelsey Reinhardt
Genre: Western
Rating: R (for violence including sexual assault, and some sexual references)
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 105 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

Destroy All Neighbors

Directed By: Josh Forbes
Studio: RLJE Films + Shudder Films

William Brown (Jonah Ray Rodrigues), a neurotic, self-absorbed musician determined to finish his prog-rock magnum opus, faces a creative roadblock in the form of a noisy and grotesque neighbor named Vlad (Alex Winter). Finally working up the nerve to demand that Vlad keep it down, William inadvertently decapitates him. But, while attempting to cover up one murder, William’s accidental reign of terror causes victims to pile up and become undead corpses who torment and create more bloody detours on his road to prog-rock Valhalla. DESTROY ALL NEIGHBORS is a twisted splatter-comedy about a deranged journey of self-discovery full of goopy practical FX, a well-known ensemble cast, and LOTS of blood.

Starring: Jonah Ray, Kiran Deol, Randee Heller, Pete Ploszek, DeMorge Brown, Jon Daly, Thomas Lennon, Alex Winter, and Kumail Nanjiani
Genre: Comedy | Horror
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 85 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

Driving Madeleine

Directed By: Christian Carion
Studio: Cohen Media Group

Madeleine, 92 years old, calls a taxi to take her to the retirement home where she will be living. Charles, a disillusioned driver with a tender heart, agrees to drive by the places that affected Madeleine’s life. Through the streets of Paris, her extraordinary past is revealed. They don’t know it yet, but they will forge a friendship during this drive that will change their lives forever.

Starring: Line Renaud, Dany Boon, Alice Isaaz, Jérémie Laheurte, Gwendoline Hamon, and Julie Delarme
Genre: Drama | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: France | Belgium (French)
Runtime: 91 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

T.I.M.

Directed By: Spencer Brown
Studio: Brainstorm Media

An engineer begins work on her company’s latest product, an A.I. humanoid called T.I.M. — Technologically. Integrated. Manservant. Things take a turn for the worse when T.I.M.’s servient programming leads to a dangerous obsession with her.

Starring: Georgina Campbell, Mark Rowley and Eamon Farren
Genre: International | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Rating: Not Rated
Country: UK (English)
Runtime: 101 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

Bye Bye Tiberias

Directed By: Lina Soualem
Studio: Women Make Movies

Years after leaving her Palestinian village to pursue an acting career in France, Hiam Abbass returns home with her daughter, in this intimate documentary about four generations of women and their shared legacy of separation.

Starring: Hiam Abbass, Um Ali, Nemat Abbass, Said Abbas, and Omaya Younes
Genre: Documentary | Biography | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: Occupied Palestinian Territory | Belgium | Qatar | France (French & Arabic)
Runtime: 82 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

Inshallah A Boy

Directed By: Amjad Al Rasheed
Studio: Greenwich Entertainment

A widow pretends to be pregnant with a son in order to save her daughter and home from a relative exploiting Jordan’s patriarchal inheritance laws. This thriller from the Cannes Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival is Jordan’s Official Entry for Best International Film at the Academy Awards.

BACK TO THE TOP

I Did It My Way

Directed By: Jason Kwan
Studio: Well Go USA Entertainment

As the secretive, complex world of online drug trafficking increasingly targets Hong Kong, the police launch a risky, top-secret sting operation to bring down one of the most notorious drug lords in Asia.

Starring: Andy Lau, Ka-Tung Lam, Eddie Peng, Simon Yam, and Yase Liu
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: Hong Kong | China (Cantonese)
Runtime: 115 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

Laced

Directed By: Kyle Butenhoff
Studio: Dark Sky Films

In a remote cabin on the evening of a record-breaking blizzard, a young woman plots to poison her abusive husband in order to end their toxic relationship once and for all. When the poison fails to kill him, she not only has to quickly concoct a backup plan, but also contend with her husband’s increasing suspicion that his intensifying illness isn’t wholly accidental. And with the unexpected arrival of her brother, her carefully crafted scheme threatens to spiral ever further out of control. Now trapped together as the snow piles up, double-crosses and horrifying secrets threaten to ensnare each of them in their own spiderwebs of deception.

Starring: Kyle Butenhoff, Mel Fair, Hermione Lynch, Dana Mackin, and Zach Tinker
Genre: Thriller
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 95 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

ClearMind

Directed By: Rebecca Eskreis
Studio: Indie Rights

When a grieving mother uses her virtual reality simulation to crash the weekend getaway of her former friends, what begins as an exercise in therapeutic healing, becomes a night of deadly revenge.

Starring: Toks Olagundoye, Jessica Meraz, Rebecca Creskoff, Rob Benedict, Kadeem Hardison, and Jenn Lyon
Genre: Comedy | Mystery | Thriller
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 85 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

Hellhound

Directed By: Joshua Dixon
Studio: Saban Films

In the heart of Bangkok, a seasoned hitman on the cusp of retirement finds himself pulled back into the deadly world he’s yearning to leave behind. Reluctantly accepting a final assignment, he believes it to be a routine job. However, as the intricacies of the mission unravel, he is plunged into a whirlwind of intrigue, danger, and unexpected alliances, causing his last endeavor to spiral into a treacherous odyssey that challenges his skills, convictions, and the limits of his own morality.

Starring: Louis Mandylor, Ron Smoorenburg, Vithaya Pansringarm, Sahajak Boonthanakit, and Van Quattro
Genre: Action | International
Rating: R (for strong violence, language and some sexual material)
Country: Thailand (English)
Runtime: 103 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

Last Things

Directed By: Deborah Stratman
Studio: The Cinema Guild

Last Things looks at evolution and extinction from the perspective of the rocks and minerals that came before humanity and will outlast us. With scientists and thinkers like Lynn Margulis and Marcia Bjørnerud as guides and quoting from the proto-Sci-fi texts of J.H. Rosny, Deborah Stratman offers a stunning array of images, from microscopic forms to vast landscapes, and seeks a picture of evolution without humans at the center.

Starring: Jeff Caperton, Will Donahue, Aimee Michelle, Jason Scarbrough, and Leila Annastasia Scott
Genre: Horror
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA | Portugal | France (English & French)
Runtime: 50 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

First Time Caller

Directed By: J.D. Brynn & Abe Goldfarb
Studio: Buffalo 8

Brent Ziff is an internet shock-jock at the top of his game. Fans and followers tune in from coast to coast to be insulted and enlightened by their favorite online provocateur. But on one very unusual night, Brent’s world is rocked by a long-time listener who calls in with a grave message.

Starring: Abe Goldfarb, Brian Silliman, Rosebud, and Priscilla Goldfarb
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 75 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

The Butterfly Queen

Directed By: Liam O’Connor-Genereaux
Studio: WalrusDice Productions

A small-town cartoonist and their vagabond best friend have to steal back a sketchbook from The Butterfly Queen’s nightmare dimension.

Starring: Kade Pintado, Sophia Anthony, Despoina, Paul Hunt, Dorian Burks, and Eli Conard
Genre: Adventure | Fantasy
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 77 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP

A Place Of Our Own

Directed By: Ektara Collective
Studio: Dark Star Pictures

After sudden eviction by their prejudiced landlord, Laila and Roshni must put their wits together to find a home and reclaim their place in society. Laila is torn between being true to herself and preserving links with the family she was born into. Meanwhile, Roshni treads a fine line between concealing her identity and living the life that she wants but it is not without its dangers. They have a friend in Sharukh but many of their other interactions don’t turn out as expected. As the search for a home continues, it transcends physical spaces and biological bonds. New friendships blossom and help comes from unexpected quarters.

Starring: Manisha Soni, Muskan, Aakash Jamra, Mahima Singh Thakur, and Tanveer Ahmed
Genre: Drama | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: India (Hindi)
Runtime: 88 minutes

BACK TO THE TOP