Friday Releases: Argylle

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Argylle

Directed By: Matthew Vaughn
Studio: Universal Pictures

Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World franchise) is Elly Conway, the reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly’s fictional books–which center on secret agent Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate–begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Accompanied by Aidan (Oscar® winner Sam Rockwell), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly’s fictional world and her real one begins to blur.

Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Henry Cavill, Sofia Boutella, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson
Genre: Action | Thriller
Rating: PG-13 (for strong violence and action and some strong language)
Country: USA | UK (English)
Runtime: 139 minutes

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The Promised Land

Directed By: Nikolaj Arcel
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

In 18th century Denmark, Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) — a proud, ambitious, but impoverished war hero — sets out to tame a vast, uninhabitable land on which seemingly nothing can grow. He seeks to start farming crops, build a colony in the name of the King, and gain a noble title for himself. This beautiful but forbidding area also happens to be under the rule of the merciless Frederik De Schinkel, a preening nobleman who realizes the threat Kahlen represents to his power. Struggling against the elements and local brigands, Kahlen is joined by a couple who have fled the clutches of the rapacious De Schinkel. As this group of misfits begins to build a small community in this inhospitable place, De Schinkel swears vengeance, and the confrontation between him and Kahlen promises to be as violent and intense as these two men.

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh, Jakob Lohmann, Morten Hee Andersen, Magnus Krepper and Felix Kramer
Genre: Biography | Drama | History | International
Rating: R (for bloody violence, language, some sexuality and brief nudity)
Country: Denmark | Sweden | Norway | Germany (Danish, Swedish, German, & Norwegian)
Runtime: 127 minutes

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Suncoast

Directed By: Laura Chinn
Studio: Searchlight Pictures

Inspired by Chinn’s life experience from the early 2000s, follows a teenager (Nico Parker) living with her strong-willed mother (Laura Linney), who must take her brother to live at a specialized facility. There, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric activist (Woody Harrelson) amidst protests surrounding one of the most landmark medical cases of all time.

Starring: Laura Linney, Nico Parker and Woody Harrelson
Genre: Drama
Rating: R (for teen drug and alcohol use, language and some sexual references)
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 109 minutes

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How To Have Sex

Directed By: Molly Manning Walker
Studio: MUBI

Three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday — drinking, clubbing and hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives.

Starring: Mia McKenna-Bruce, Lara Peake, Samuel Bottomley, Shaun Thomas, Enva Lewis and Laura Ambler
Genre: Drama | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: UK | Greece (English)
Runtime: 91 minutes

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Scrambled

Directed By: Leah McKendrick
Studio: Lionsgate

Quintessential eternal bridesmaid Nellie Robinson (Leah McKendrick) constantly finds herself between weddings, baby showers, and bad dates. When she begins to feel like the clock is ticking and is faced with bleak romantic prospects, Nellie decides to freeze her eggs — setting her on an empowering journey to a brave new world where she ultimately discovers “the one” she’s looking for might be herself.

Starring: Ego Nwodim, Andrew Santino, Adam Rodriguez, Laura Cerón and Clancy Brown
Genre: Comedy
Rating: R (for sexual content, nudity, language throughout and some drug use)
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 97 minutes

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Calamity Jane

Directed By: Terry Miles
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

After Wild Bill (Stephen Amell) is killed in a poker game, Calamity Jane (Emily Bett Rickards) must break out of prison and seek revenge before the Deadwood’s Sheriff (Tim Rozon) can arrest them.

Starring: Emily Bett Rickards, Stephen Amell, Tim Rozon, Priscilla Faiam and James Drew Dean
Genre: International | Western
Rating: Not Rated
Country: Canada (English)
Runtime: 95 minutes

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Fitting In

Directed By: Molly McGlynn
Studio: Blue Fox Entertainment

Jaycen “Two Js” Jennings (Snoop Dogg) is a washed-up ex-professional football star who has hit rock bottom. When Jaycen is sentenced to community service coaching the Underdoggs, an unruly pee-wee football team in his hometown of Long Beach, California, he sees it as an opportunity to rebuild his public image and turn his life around. As Jaycen works to transform the foul-mouthed Underdoggs into top-notch champions, he reconnects with his past, including an old flame and few of his ex-teammates and rediscovers his love of the game.

Starring: Maddie Ziegler, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Djouliet Amara, and Emily Hampshire
Genre: Comedy | Drama | International
Rating: R (for sexual content, language throughout, drug use and drinking – all involving teens)
Country: Canada (English)
Runtime: 105 minutes

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Skin Deep

Directed By: Alex Schaad
Studio: Kino Lorber

Picking up where Beautiful Disaster left off, Abby and Travis wake up after a crazy night in Vegas as accidental newlyweds. With their best friends in tow and Abby’s six-figure poker winnings, they travel to Mexico, where they can enjoy a wild, lavish honeymoon. But as chaos follows “Trabby” at every turn, they must decide if they belong together — or if this marriage is another disaster waiting to happen.

Starring: Mala Emde, Jonas Dassler, Dimitrij Schaad, and Maryam Zaree
Genre: Drama | Fantasy | International | Romance
Rating: Not Rated
Country: Germany (German)
Runtime: 103 minutes

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The Monk and the Gun

Directed By: Pawo Choyning Dorji
Studio: Roadside Attractions

The Monk And The Gun captures the wonder and disruption as Bhutan becomes one of the world’s youngest democracies. Known throughout the world for its extraordinary beauty and its emphasis on Gross National Happiness, the remote Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan was the last nation to connect to the internet and television. And if that weren’t enough change, the King announced shortly afterwards that he would cede his power to the people via their vote and a new form of government: Democracy.

Starring: Tandin Wangchuk, Deki Lhamo, Pema Zangmo Sherpa, Tandin Sonam, Harry Einhorn, Choeying Jatsho, Tandin Phubz, Yuphel Lhendup Selden and Kelsang Choejay
Genre: Drama | International
Rating: PG-13 (for some nude sculptures and smoking)
Country: Bhutan | Taiwan | France | USA | Hong Kong (English & Dzongkha)
Runtime: 107 minutes

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Bosco

Directed By: Nicholas Manuel Pino
Studio: Peacock

In 2006, Quawntay “Bosco” Adams plans an ingenious escape from a federal maximum-security prison for the chance to be at his first child’s birth.

Starring: Aubrey Joseph, Nikki Blonsky, Tyrese Gibson, Theo Rossi, Thomas Jane, and Vivica A. Fox.
Genre: Drama | Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 99 minutes

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The Greatest Night In Pop

Directed By: Bao Nguyen
Studio: Netflix

On January 25, 1985, dozens of the biggest names in music convened at a studio in Los Angeles, checked their egos at the door and recorded a song to benefit African famine relief that would alter global pop culture history. The Greatest Night in Pop chronicles the massive undertaking to assemble the world’s most impressive supergroup in a world before cell phones and email. That group of artists — led by the song’s co-writers and two of the most significant musicians of the 20th century — Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie — came from different worlds but united to record “We Are the World.” Featuring never-before-seen footage, the film details the early planning stages, including the writing sessions with Richie and Jackson, and goes inside the famed Henson Studios where “We Are the World” was recorded. Many of the artists who were there that legendary evening — Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Smokey Robinson, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Loggins, Dionne Warwick, and Huey Lewis — reminisce alongside musicians, engineers, and production crew about one of the most storied nights in music history.

Starring: Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis, Dione Warwick, and Cyndi Lauper
Genre: Documentary | Music
Rating: TV-MA
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 96 minutes

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Somewhere Quiet

Directed By: Olivia West Lloyd
Studio: Vertical

Months after escaping a brutal kidnapping, Meg travels with her husband, Scott, to his family’s isolated compound in Cape Cod, hoping the early winter quiet will give her space to recover and for them to reconnect. Shortly after they arrive, however, the couple discovers they are not alone on the property. Scott’s charming but overbearing cousin, Madelin, is staying next door. To Meg’s surprise, the two are quite close and soon Madelin’s presence is inescapable. With each passing day Meg and Scott’s already fragile relationship begins to fracture, while Meg is haunted by vivid nightmares, visions of an old woman lurking in the woods, and a growing suspicion that Scott and Madelin are hiding something from her. As the tension in the house grows, Meg begins to act out in increasingly reckless ways, setting into motion a series of disturbing events that shatters the thin barrier of civility between her and the cousins. Subtle manipulation gives way to violent confrontation as Scott and Madelin reveal their troubling history and Meg learns the truth about her abduction.

Starring: Jennifer Kim, Kentucker Audley, Marin Ireland and Micheál Neeson
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 102 minutes

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Disco Boy

Directed By: Giacomo Abbruzzese
Studio: Big World Pictures

After a painful journey through Europe, Alex, the Belarusian, joins the Foreign Legion in France and clings to a confused hope of a European identity. Jomo, the Nigerian, fights for the survival and durability of his people in the Niger Delta and is ready to die to defend his ideas. These two young people who are sacrificed and smashed together will, against all odds, meet and their destinies will merge to continue across borders, bodies, life and death…

Starring: Franz Rogowski, Laetitia Ky, Leon Lucev, Matteo Olivetti, and Robert Wieckiewicz
Genre: Drama | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: France | Italy | Belgium | Poland (French, English, Ibo, Russian, & Polish)
Runtime: 92 minutes

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Orion And The Dark

Directed By: Sean Charmatz
Studio: Netflix

The thing Orion fears the most is the dark. When the embodiment of his worst fear pays a visit, Dark whisks Orion away on a roller-coaster ride around the world to prove there is nothing to be afraid of at night.

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She Is Conann

Directed By: Bertrand Mandico
Studio: Altered Innocence

Traveling through the abyss, underworld dog Rainer recounts the six lives of Conann, perpetually put to death by her own future, across eras, myths and ages. From her childhood, a slave of Sanja and her barbarian horde, to her accession to the summits of cruelty at the doors of our world.

Starring: Elina Löwensohn, Julia Riedler, Claire Duburcq, Christa Théret, and Nathalie Richard
Genre: Action | Fantasy | International
Rating: Not Rated
Country: Belgium | France | Luxembourg (French, English, & German)
Runtime: 105 minutes

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Departing Seniors

Directed By: Clare Cooney
Studio: Dark Sky Films

Mexican-American and queer, high school student Javier doesn’t exactly fit in with the popular kids. But he might be the only one who can save them. After an act of bullying sends Javier to the hospital, he begins experiencing visions that foresee glimpses of shocking murders at his school right before they happen. Now, in between navigating the social hierarchies and prejudices of clique culture, Javier (Primo’s Ignacio Diaz-Silverio) and his best friend Bianca (Candyman’s Ireon Roach) must try to unmask a serial killer before he strikes again.

Starring: Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Yani Gellman, Ireon Roach, Cameron Scott Roberts, Sasha Kuznetsov, and Lorena Diaz
Genre: Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 85 minutes

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The Jungle Bunch: Operation Meltdown

Directed By: Laurent Bru, Yannick Moulin, & Benoît Somville
Studio: Viva Kids

When a mysterious toxic foam starts spreading in the jungle, there’s only one team brave enough to stop it. The Jungle Bunch! With no time to spare, it’s time to stop cracking jokes and starting sailing boats on their journey across the world to find the antidote. Will their arch-nemesis Henry the Beaver stop our heroes, or will the Jungle Bunch find a way to save the day?

Starring: Gauthier Battoue, Paul Borne, Wyatt Bowen, Philippe Bozo, and Pascal Casanova
Genre: Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | International
Rating: PG (for action, rude material and brief language)
Country: France (French)
Runtime: 89 minutes

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The Tiger’s Apprentice

Directed By: Raman Hui
Studio: Paramount+

A young boy in San Francisco meets a talking tiger named Mr. Hu and discovers he’s the latest in a long line of guardians who protect an ancient phoenix from evildoers.

Starring: Henry Golding, Brandon Soo Hoo, Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Leah Lewis, Sherry Cola, Jo Koy, and Greta Lee
Genre: Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Thriller
Rating: PG (for action/violence, thematic elements, some language and suggestive references)
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 84 minutes

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Bushman
(1971 Re-Release)

Directed By: David Schickele
Studio: Kino Lorber

In 1968, Peace Corps veteran David Schickele enlisted his friend Paul Eyam Nzie Okpokam to star in a light-hearted comedy about the adventures of a young Nigerian intellectual in San Francisco. Using a docu-fictional style reminiscent of Cassavetes’ Shadows, the film observes the foibles of late 1960s African-American culture with an outsider’s incisive eye. The result is a vibrant snapshot of the nation’s racial politics, from interracial romance to cross-cultural misunderstandings and countercultural joy. The film morphs into a documentary when the director’s voice abruptly intrudes to narrate its star’s enraging fate: Okpokam was accused of a crime he did not commit and was thrown in prison before being expelled from the country.

Starring: Paul Eyam Nzie Okpokam, Mike Slye, Elaine Featherstone, Lothario Lotho, and James Earl Garrison, and Jack Nance
Genre: Drama
Rating: Not Rated
Country: USA (English)
Runtime: 73 minutes

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