Friday Releases: Novocaine, Black Bag, The Electric State, & Opus

Novocaine

Directed by: Dan Berk & Robert Olsen
Studio: Paramount Pictures

When the girl of his dreams is kidnapped, a man incapable of feeling physical pain turns his rare condition into an unexpected advantage in the fight to rescue her.

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Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Betty Gabriel, Jacob Batalon
Action | Comedy | Thriller
R (for strong bloody violence, grisly images, and language throughout)
USA (English)
110 minutes

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Black Bag

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Studio: Focus Features

When intelligence agent Kathryn Woodhouse is suspected of betraying the nation, her husband – also a legendary agent – faces the ultimate test of whether to be loyal to his marriage, or his country.

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Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Pierce Brosnan
Drama | Thriller
R (for language including some sexual references, and some violence)
USA (English)
93 minutes

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The Electric State

Directed by: Anthony & Joe Russo
Studio: Netflix

An orphaned teen hits the road with a mysterious robot to find her long-lost brother, teaming up with a smuggler and his wisecracking sidekick.

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Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Giancarlo Esposito, Stanley Tucci, Colman Domingo, Rob Gronkowski
Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi
PG-13 (for sci-fi violence/action, language and some thematic material)
USA (English)
128 minutes

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Opus

Directed by: Mark Anthony Green
Studio: A24

A young writer (Ayo Edebiri) is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star (John Malkovich) who mysteriously disappeared thirty years ago. Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.

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Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder, Young Mazino, Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means
Drama
R (for violent content including a grisly image, language, sexual material and brief graphic nudity)
USA (English)
103 minutes

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Borderline

Directed by: Jimmy Warden
Studio: Magnet Releasing

COCAINE BEAR writer Jimmy Warden makes his twisted directorial debut in this edge-of-your-seat thriller that follows a dangerously persistent stalker (SMILE 2’s Ray Nicholson) who invades the home of a ’90s pop superstar (READY OR NOT’s Samara Weaving) with grand delusions of a wedding. With her life on the line and help from her loyal bodyguard, she must escape the stalker’s sinister grip before they tie the knot.

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Samara Weaving, Ray Nicholson, Eric Dane
Comedy | Horror | Thriller
R (for violence and language)
USA (English)
94 minutes

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The Day the Earth Blew Up:
A Looney Tunes Movie

Directed by: Peter Browngardt
Studio: Ketchup Entertainment | Warner Bros. Animation

Plankton’s tangled love story with his sentient computer wife goes sideways when she takes a stand and decides to destroy the world without him.

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High Rollers

Directed by: Randall Emmett
Studio: Saban Films

Master thief Mason (John Travolta) is living the criminal’s dream: island-hopping with his crew and the love of his life, Decker (Gina Gershon), while floating on a sea of stolen cash. But his dream is shattered when his nemesis, the ruthless Salazar, kidnaps Decker and forces Mason and his crew to attempt a near-impossible casino heist in exchange for her return. Hedged in by Salazar’s equally ruthless rivals, and with the FBI on his tail, Mason gambles everything in pursuit of both the big score and the ultimate jackpot: Decker’s life.

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John Travolta, Gina Gershon, Lukas Haas, Quavo, Kelly Greyson, Alex Hurt
Action
R (for language and some violence)
USA (English)
101 minutes

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The Actor

Directed by: Duke Johnson
Studio: NEON

Based on the novel Memory by Donald E. Westlake, The Actor finds Paul Cole (André Holland) stranded in a mysterious small town with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Without a sense of identity or purpose, he starts from scratch and begins courting a local costume designer Edna (Gemma Chan). As bits and pieces of his past slowly emerge, he attempts to find his way home, but time is slippery, appearances can’t be trusted, and it’s unclear which of his identities is real.

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André Holland, Gemma Chan, May Calamawy, Joe Cole, Toby Jones, Youssef Kerkour, Simon McBurney, Tanya Reynolds, Tracey Ullman
Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller
R (for language)
USA | Hungary (English)
98 minutes

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The Parenting

Directed by: Craig Johnson
Studio: HBO Max

A hilariously terrifying comedy, THE PARENTING follows young couple Rohan and Josh as they plan a perfect weekend getaway in the country to introduce their parents. As tensions begin to flare between the more traditional Sharon and Frank and the laid-back Liddy and Cliff, the families soon realize that their rental — managed by eccentric local Brenda — is haunted by the presence of a 400-year-old poltergeist. When one parent becomes thoroughly possessed, it’s up to the young couple and their meddlesome BFF Sara to unite the families and stop the evil entity once and for all.

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Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn, Parker Posey, Vivian Bang, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris, Brian Cox, Edie Falco
Comedy | Horror
R (for language, sexual references and some drug use)
USA (English)
94 minutes

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The World Will Tremble

Directed by: Lior Geller
Studio: Vertical

On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family, in filmmaker Rungano Nyoni’s surreal and vibrant reckoning with the lies we tell ourselves.

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Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Jeremy Neumark Jones, Charlie MacGechan, Gilles Ben-David, Tim Bergmann
Drama
Not Rated
UK | USA (English)
109 minutes

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October 8

Directed by: Wendy Sachs
Studio: Briarcliff Entertainment

The emergence of anti-Semitism on college campuses, in social media and on the streets since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel.

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Debra Messing, Michael Rapaport, Noa Tishby, Kirsten Gillibrand, Scott Galloway
Documentary
Not Rated
USA (English)
100 minutes

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Control Freak

Directed by: Shal Ngo
Studio: Hulu

A motivational speaker, plagued by an uncontrollable itch on her head, becomes infected with a parasitic demon from her homeland.

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Kelly Marie Tran, Callie Johnson, Miles Robbins, Kieu Chinh, Zack Gold, Scott Takeda
Horror
Not Rated
USA (English)
104 minutes

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An Unfinished Film

Directed by: Ye Lou
Studio: Film Movement

An aging convict serving out a life sentence alone on a distant planet is forced to confront his past when a new prisoner shows up and pushes him to remember his life on earth.

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Hao Qin, Xiaorui Mao, Xi Qi, Xuan Huang, Ming Liang
Drama | International
Not Rated
Singapore | Germany | USA (Chinese)
105 minutes

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Young Hearts

Directed by: Anthony Schatteman
Studio: Strand Releasing

Elias (14) feels attracted to his new neighbour Alexander (14). Soon he realizes that he’s truly in love for the first time. The interactions with his friends and family bring more questions than answers. Confused by his burgeoning feelings, Elias tries to sort out his inner chaos to prove that he is worth Alexander’s heart.

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Lou Goossens, Marius De Saeger, Geert Van Rampelberg, Emilie De Roo, Dirk van Dijck
Drama | Family | International
Not Rated
Belgium | Netherlands (Dutch & French)
97 minutes

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The 8th Day

Directed by: Alexandra Chando
Studio: Vertical

Two small-time thugs, an old woman living with a dark secret, a young woman desperate to get out, and a check-cashing store full of money will all intersect in a small Texas town… in eight days.

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Darren Mann, Phoebe Tonkin, Mustafa Speaks, Valerie Mahaffey, Tanner Beard
Crime | Drama
Not Rated
USA (English)
90 minutes

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Pet Shop Days

Directed by: Olmo Schnabel
Studio: Utopia

In a nation where educating girls is seen as rebellion, a visionary woman dares to teach young minds to dream. When their innovation draws global attention, their success sparks hope–and opposition. As threats loom and sacrifices are made, their courage and unity ignite a movement that could forever transform the world.

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Meanwhile

Directed by: Catherine Gund, Jacqueline Woodson, Meshell Ndegeocello, & Erika Dilday
Studio: Abramorama

MEANWHILE is a docu-poem in six verses about artists breathing through chaos. In dynamic collaboration, Jacqueline Woodson (text), Meshell Ndegeocello (soundscape), Erika Dilday (support), M. Trevino (structure), and Catherine Gund (direction), combine artists’ expressions with historical and observational footage to unveil a rare cinematic mediation about identity, race, racism and resistance as they shape our shared breath. Centering breath as a symbol of resilience, Meanwhile captures raw, unfinished moments–dancers in rehearsal, artists midway through their work–focusing on the act of creation. Rooted in the upheavals of 2020, the film uses breath as its through-line to symbolize collective survival. It invites viewers to witness the process of liberation and be present in the “meanwhile”–a moment of creation, struggle, and hope that transcends fixed identities.

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Ching-I Chang, Mel Chin, Dána-Ain Davis, LaFredia Davis, Natalie Diaz
Documentary
Not Rated
USA (English)
88 minutes

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The Last Supper

Directed by: Mauro Borrelli
Studio: Pinnacle Peak Pictures

In the days leading to betrayal, a gathering of disciples unravels into a web of secrets and hidden motives. As tensions simmer beneath the surface, trust is tested, and loyalty is questioned. The Last Supper becomes a night where nothing is as it seems, and every glance hides a deeper truth.

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Jamie Ward, Robert Knepper, Henry Garrett, James Faulkner, James Oliver Wheatley, Mayssae El Halla
Drama | History
PG-13 (for violent content, bloody images and suicide)
USA (English)
114 minutes

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Raging Midlife

Directed by: Rob Taylor
Studio: Level 33 Entertainment

Two friends embark on a series of thrilling and comical heists to retrieve a tank top worn by their 80s wrestling hero, “Raging Abraham Lincoln,” after a grieving daughter outbids them to satisfy her father’s final wish.

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Danielle Vasinova, Walter Koenig, Eddie Griffin, Paula Abdul, Emily Sweet
Comedy
Not Rated
USA (English)
97 minutes

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Witch Watch: Watch Party

Directed by: Hiroshi Ikehata
Studio: GKIDs

Morihito Otogi, a high school student who comes from a lineage of ogres, enjoys a peaceful, ordinary life until his childhood friend, Nico, moves in with him. Nico is a witch-in-training, and chooses Morihito to be her familiar. While Nico is thrilled to reunite with her old friend and crush, Morihito is tasked with the perilous duty to protect her from a foretold calamity. Between the unpredictable chaos caused by Nico’s magic, and the awkwardness of sharing a home, their lives become a whirlwind of supernatural hijinks and threats.

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Beginning Of A New Era

Directed by: Olli Ylinen
Studio: Buffalo 8

Mayan elder Marzo Quetzal shares a vision of a New Era, highlighting humanity’s inner struggle between good and evil–a journey revealing our light and true self to anchor new consciousness on Earth.

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Marzo Yuk Quetzal, Matthew John Dorman
Documentary | International
Not Rated
Finland (English & Spanish)
108 minutes

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Ride Above

Directed by: Christian Duguay
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

A teenager is raised with horses at her parent’s racehorse stable who has a deep exceptional bond with young horse. An accident threatens to bring racing careers to an end but they battle together to achieve victory.

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Mélanie Laurent, Pio Marmaï, Danny Huston
Drama | International
Not Rated
France | Canada (French)
109 minutes

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Into the Gravel Pit

Directed by: Colin Bressler
Studio: Buffalo 8

Miley, Carter, and Isaiah, best friends since childhood, share a bond and a love for exotic drugs. For years, they’ve pushed boundaries, experimenting with substances and chasing the next big high.

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Lisa Wilcox, Paul T. Taylor, Samantha Makley, Rylie Rodriguez, Bobbie Grace
Horror
Not Rated
USA (English)
88 minutes

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Warden

Directed by: Marcus Alqueres
Studio: Freestyle Digital Media

A young man with superpowers emerges, astonishing the city as he tackles crime and corruption. But some sense a tyrant’s rise.

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Giovanni de Lorenzi, Alli Willow, Brian Townes, Antonio Saboia, James Turpin
Drama | Fantasy | International | Mystery
Not Rated
Canada (English)
90 minutes

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Who By Fire

Directed by: Philippe Lesage
Studio: KimStim

Seventeen-year-old Jeff stays at film director Blake Cadieux’s wilderness lodge after being invited by friend Max’s family. When strange events occur, Jeff suspects something is amiss with the director and his retreat.

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Noah Parker, Arieh Worthalter, Aurélia Arandi-Longpré, Paul Ahmarani
Drama | International
Not Rated
Canada | France (French)
161 minutes

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Leila and the Wolves

Directed by: Heiny Srour
Studio: Several Futures

A film that weaves together re-enactments, archive footage and fairy-tale sequences to create a testament to the history of Lebanese and Palestinian women to the political struggles of the twentieth century.

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Rafik Ali Ahmad, Nabila Zeitouni
Documentary | International
Not Rated
UK | Lebanon | Belgium | Netherlands (Arabic)
90 minutes

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Papa

Directed by: Philip Yung
Studio: Illume Films

Café owner Nin’s mundane but contented life is shattered forever when his fifteen-year-old son Ming slashes his mother and younger sister to death one evening. Diagnosed with acute schizophrenia, Ming is remanded to a psychiatric prison indefinitely until full recovery. Aside from visiting his son twice a month, Nin continues to lead a pedestrian existence, while memories of his wife, daughter, and son keep flooding into his head. As time passes, Nin has given up on knowing the reason behind the misfortune. He only wishes that one fine day, Ming, his sole remaining family but also the murderer of his family, will come home again.

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Ching-Wan Lau, Jo Koo, Dylan So, Lainey Hung, Fai-Hung Chan
Biography | Crime | Drama | International
Not Rated
Hong Kong (Cantonese)
131 minutes

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Throuple

Directed by: Greyson Horst
Studio: The Film Collaborative

A lonely gay singer-songwriter learns how to ask for what he wants in life through a newfound romance with an honest and communicative married couple. All the while, he fears he is losing his best friend to her girlfriend.

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Jess Gabor, Bethlehem Million, Taylor Turner, Tommy Heleringer, Michael Doshier
Comedy
Not Rated
USA (English)
92 minutes

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Prisoners Of Fire

Directed by: Scott Briggs
Studio: Purdie Distribution

June 26, 1990, the Dude Fire rages across Zane Gray country in the towering ponderosa forests below the Mogollon Rim in Central Arizona, killing five prison crew members and a female supervisor on her first fire. Follow along with the survivors and firefighters as they share their experience as inmate firefighters and their harrowing story of courage, loss and redemption.

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Bobby Scopa, Jason Ruffoni, Sandra Bachman, Bill Davenport, Steve Emery
Documentary
Not Rated
USA (English)
90 minutes

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Goodbye Horses:
The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus

Directed by: Eva Aridjis
Studio: Dark Night Pictures

An intimate journey through the life of singer Diane Luckey aka Q Lazzarus, narrated through her own words and music. Q sang the cult hit song “Goodbye Horses” before mysteriously disappearing for 25 years.

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Q. Lazzarus
Documentary
Not Rated
USA | Mexico (English)
103 minutes

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