Theatrical Releases: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Directed by: Matt Shakman
Studio: Marvel Studios | Walt Disney Pictures

Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” introduces Marvel’s First Family–Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.

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Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Ralph Ineson
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
PG-13 (for action/violence and some language)
USA | UK | Canada | New Zealand (English)
115 minutes

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Happy Gilmore 2

Directed by: Kyle Newacheck
Studio: Netflix

Happy Gilmore was at the top of his game — until a stroke of bad luck changed everything. Can golf’s onetime bad boy make a comeback fit for a legend?

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Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, Ben Stiller, Dennis Dugan, Benny Safdie, Bad Bunny
Comedy | Sport
PG-13 (for strong language, crude/sexual material, partial nudity and some thematic material)
USA (English)
114 minutes

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Oh, Hi!

Directed by: Sophie Brooks
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Iris has met her perfect guy, Isaac, and is enjoying their first romantic getaway together — what could go wrong? This clever and charmingly odd dark comedy takes on the highs and lows of modern dating and the ways it makes us all a little crazy.

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Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, John Reynolds, David Cross
Comedy
R (for sexual content/some nudity, and language)
USA (English)
94 minutes

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The Home

Directed by: James DeMonaco
Studio: Lionsgate | Roadside Attractions

Guns Up follows Ray Hayes (Kevin James), an ex-cop and devoted husband and father who leads a dangerous double life as a mob henchman. On the brink of leaving “The Family” and making his dream of opening a diner with his wife Alice (Christina Ricci) a reality, his final job goes off the rails. With the clock ticking, Ray has one night to get his unsuspecting family out of the city before he gets snuffed out.

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Pete Davidson, John Glover, Bruce Altman, Ethan Phillips
Horror | Thriller
R (for strong bloody violence and gore, language and some sexual content)
USA (English)
97 minutes

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Four Letters of Love

Directed by: Polly Steele
Studio: Quiver Distribution

Nicholas (Fionn O’Shea) and Isabel (Ann Skelly) are made for each other, but fate does not always choose the easiest path to true love. As destiny pulls them together, so do family, passion, and faith drive them apart. Nicholas’ father, William (Pierce Brosnan), comes home one day to shatter his family’s quiet, modest life. He tells them that in a moment of divine intervention, God has instructed him to dedicate his life to painting. He quits his job and sets off for the coast, leaving his shell-shocked wife and son to fend for themselves. Meanwhile Isabel and her family live a charmed existence on a nearby small neighboring island, their house full of music and poetry. When tragedy strikes and her brother suffers a terrible accident, the music stops, and Isabel’s parents (Helena Bonham Carter, Gabriel Byrne) decide in their grief to send Isabel to a convent school on the mainland. The young lovers embark on their own individual journeys of heartache and misplaced love, before fate contrives to pull the threads of their lives together. When they meet, it will be like a miracle.

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Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter, Gabriel Byrne, Dónal Finn, Olwen Fouéré
Drama | International
Not Rated
UK | Ireland (English)
125 minutes

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House of Eden

Directed by: Kris Collins
Studio: RLJE Films | Shudder

Paranormal investigators Kris, Celina, and their videographer Jay expect the usual scares when they set out on their latest case. But after being mysteriously rerouted to an abandoned house deep in the woods, they find themselves facing a force unlike anything they’ve encountered before. As the night spirals into chaos, missing crew members and eerie phenomena hint at an ancient, malevolent presence watching their every move.

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Kris Collins, Celina Myers, Jason-Christopher Mayer, Carrie Kidd, Barb Thomas
Horror
R (for pervasive language, some bloody violent content, and graphic nudity)
USA (English)
78 minutes

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Bambi: The Reckoning

Directed by: Dan Allen
Studio: Seismic Releasing | ITN Studios

After a mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become hunted by Bambi, a mutated grief-stricken deer on a deadly rampage seeking revenge for the death of his mother.

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Roxanne McKee, Tom Mulheron, Nicola Wright, Samira Mighty, Alex Cooke, Russell Geoffrey Banks, Joseph Greenwood
Horror | Thriller
Not Rated
USA | UK (English)
81 minutes

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2000 Meters to Andriivka

Directed by: Mstyslav Chernov
Studio: PBS Distribution

A Ukrainian platoon’s mission: traverse a heavily fortified mile of forest to liberate a strategic village from Russian forces. A journalist accompanies them, witnessing the ravages of war and the growing uncertainty about its conclusion.

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Mstyslav Chernov, Alex Babenko
Documentary | International | War
Not Rated
Ukraine | USA (Ukrainian & English)
107 minutes

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Shoshana

Directed by: Michael Winterbottom
Studio: Greenwich Entertainment

In this edge-of-your-seat thriller inspired by real events, a British police officer and a Jewish woman fall in love amidst the political turmoil of 1930s Tel Aviv. With British control over Palestine precarious and conflict inevitable, everyone is forced to choose a side. From acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom (The Trip, A Mighty Heart).

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Osiris

Directed by: William Kaufman
Studio: Vertical

An elite team of Special Forces commandos (Max Martini, LaMonica Garrett, Linds Edwards) is abducted mid-operation by a mysterious spacecraft and, upon awakening, find themselves prey to a relentless alien race. Now, in a dangerous new environment full of violent creatures, the commandos must work with a ragtag group of survivors led by Anya (Linda Hamilton) and try to get back home before they are all exterminated.

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Max Martini, Brianna Hildebrand, LaMonica Garrett, Michael Irby, Linda Hamilton
Action | Horror | Sci-Fi
Not Rated
USA (English)
105 minutes

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Diciannove

Directed by: Giovanni Tortorici
Studio: Oscilloscope Laboratories

The highs and lows of a restless youth collide headlong into the concrete realities of adulthood when Leonardo, a teenager from Palermo leaves home for the first time. His studies land him in Siena, by way of London, where he clashes with his instructor, the curriculum, and most chaotically, with himself. Produced by Luca Guadagnino, Diciannove (nineteen), marks the feature filmmaking debut of writer-director Giovanni Tortorici, a bold, brash and bemusing filmmaking talent.

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Manfredi Marini, Vittoria Planeta, Sergio Benvenuto, Zackari Delmas, Dana Giuliano, Luca Lazzareschi
Drama | International
Not Rated
Italy | UK (Italian, English)
108 minutes

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Snorkeling

Directed by: Emil Nava
Studio: Buffalo 8

Two teens fall in love while exploring a new hallucinogenic drug called Snorkeling that promises fearless out-of-body experiences, revealing both the allure and perils of substance dependency.

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Kristine Froseth, Daniel Zolghadri, Brian Ioakimedes, Tim Johnson Jr., Craig March, Rosie Sedghi
Drama
Not Rated
USA (English)
74 minutes

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Ghost Killer

Directed by: Kensuke Sonomura
Studio: Well Go USA Entertainment

When college student Fumika stumbles upon the bullet that ended hitman Kudo’s life, his vengeful spirit takes hold of her body. Now possessed by a ruthless assassin’s rage and skills, she becomes an unstoppable force, hunting down those responsible for his death. As the body count rises, the line between Fumika and Kudo begins to blur. From the action director of Baby Assassins, One-Percent Warrior, and Bad City, Ghost Killer delivers a furious tale of supernatural revenge.

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Akari Takaishi, Mario Kuroba, Masanori Mimoto
Action | Crime | Horror | International
Not Rated
USA | Japan (Japanese)
105 minutes

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Ick

Directed by: Joseph Kahn
Studio: Fathom Entertainment

From acclaimed director Joseph Kahn comes his latest film, ICK, a pulpy horror comedy bursting with splattery bedlam starring Brandon Routh, Malina Weissman, and Mena Suvari. For almost two decades, a viscous vine-like growth known colloquially as “The Ick” has benignly crept into every nook and cranny of American life while the residents of small town Eastbrook remain blasé about its existence. The exceptions are former high school football star-turned-hapless science teacher Hank (Routh) and his sardonically perceptive student Grace (Weissman) who are thrown together by Grace’s mom Staci’s (Suvari) closely-guarded secret and a mutual suspicion that the Ick is about to unleash some monstrous mayhem.

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Brandon Routh, Malina Weissman, Harrison Cone, Jeff Fahey, Mena Suvari
Horror | Sci-Fi
R
USA | United Arab Emirates (English)
87 minutes

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Monk In Pieces

Directed by: Billy Shebar & David C. Roberts
Studio: Kino Lorber | Zeitgeist Films

A film about Meredith Monk: composer, performer, visionary. The boundary-breaking artist Meredith Monk overcame a hostile critical establishment to become one of the great innovators of her generation. In the midst of her latest creation, Indra’s Net, Monk faces mortality: can such singular work be performed without her?

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Björk, David Byrne, Ping Chong, Merce Cunningham, Philip Glass
Documentary
Not Rated
USA (English)
94 minutes

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Star People

Directed by: Adam Finberg
Studio: Blue Harbor Entertainment

Inspired by The Phoenix Lights, the largest mass UFO sighting in U.S. history, STAR PEOPLE is a sci-fi thriller that tells the story of a photographer (Kat Cunning) who receives a tip that could finally shed light on her childhood UFO sighting, but a deadly heatwave and unexpected guests threaten to derail her obsessive search for answers.

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Kat Cunning, McCabe Slye, Connor Paolo, Eddie Martinez, Bradley Fisher
Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Not Rated
USA (English)
103 minutes

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Match In A Haystack

Directed by: Joe Hill
Studio: Dangerous Company

When Russia invaded, the women of Ukraine’s leading contemporary dance group struggled to find purpose in their work. A search for resistance ultimately led them back to dance.

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Yuliia Lupita, Gala Pekha, Nadiya Kupets
Documentary
Not Rated
USA | Indonesia (English)
85 minutes

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The Lychee Road

Directed by: Da Peng
Studio: CMC Pictures

The film is adapted from the novel of the same name by Ma Boyong. Set during the Tang Dynasty’s Tianbao era, it follows Li Shande (played by Da Peng), a middle-aged man who grumbles his way through countless tasks and pinches every penny, only to remain an insignificant low-ranking official. However, things seem to take a turn when he’s suddenly summoned–someone has arranged for him to take on the lucrative role of “Litchi Envoy.” If he succeeds, glory and wealth await, a chance to turn his life around. But if he fails….

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Da Peng, White-K, Yuan Chang, Andy Lau, Sunny Sun
Comedy | Drama | History | International
Not Rated
China (Chinese)
122 minutes

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Monster Island

Directed by: Mike Wiluan
Studio: Shudder

Based on Malay Folklore and drawing inspiration from Creature From the Black Lagoon, this creature feature is set in World War II. A Japanese ship transporting prisoners of war to occupied territories for slave labor. After being torpedoed by allied submarines, a Japanese soldier and a British POW are stranded on a deserted island and soon discover that they’re being hunted by a ferocious mythological creature, the Orang Ikan. Both the soldier and POW realize that they must work together to survive the unknown, despite their differences.

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Dean Fujioka, Callum Woodhouse, Alan Maxson, Alexandra Gottardo, Lucky Moniaga
Horror | International
Not Rated
Singapore | Indonesia | Japan | UK (English & Japanese)
83 minutes

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The A-Frame

Directed by: Calvin Lee Reeder
Studio: Dark Star Pictures

A quantum physicist develops a machine that creates a tunnel to a sub-atomic parallel universe. In his quest to prove the machine’s efficacy, he inadvertently discovers an unorthodox cancer treatment when transporting lab rats inter-dimensionally. He now recruits human subjects to legitimize his efforts.

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Johnny Whitworth, Dana Namerode, Nik Dodani, Laketa Caston, Phillip Andre Botello
Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller
R (for some language)
USA (English)
82 minutes

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AJ Goes to the Dog Park

Directed by: Toby Jones
Studio: Doppelgänger Releasing

A surreal and gag-driven comedy about an ordinary man named AJ, who enjoys a simple life in the midwestern haven of Fargo, North Dakota. When his favorite dog park is taken away, it begins a chain reaction that completely upends his existence and sends him on an unforgettable odyssey to fight, fish, scrap, scrape and sap things back into place.

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AJ Thompson, Greg Carlson, Danny Davy, Morgan Hoyt Davy, Owen Dennis
Comedy
Not Rated
Argentina (Spanish)
79 minutes

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Last Swim

Directed by: Sasha Nathwani
Studio: Sunrise Films

It’s summer in London. On her final day of freedom, Ziba, a promising British-Iranian teen, leads her friends on an eventful journey, while secretly grappling with a life-changing decision.

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Deba Hekmat, Lydia Fleming, Denzel Baidoo, Solly McLeod, Jay Lycurgo, Michelle Greenidge, Narges Rashidi
Drama | International
Not Rated
UK (English)
96 minutes

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Summer Wars (2010 Re-Release)

Directed by: Mamoru Hosoda
Studio: FUNimation Films

Kenji is a shy, part-time moderator for OZ, the virtual reality world that powers everyday life, until pretty and popular Natsuki recruits him to be her fake boyfriend. While posing as an affluent suitor to Natsuki’s family, Kenji finds that a rogue A.I. program has stolen his online identity, and Kenji is accused of hacking OZ and causing real-world catastrophes. As the destruction in OZ throws Natsuki’s family into disarray, Kenji must unite his newfound connections to overcome an impending cyber apocalypse.

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Il Dono (2003 Re-Release)

Directed by: Michelangelo Frammartino
Studio: Kino Lorber

A gentle, beguiling hymn to a semi-deserted Calabrian countryside and those who stayed behind, Il Dono is a portrait of depopulation in the village of Caulonia (the filmmaker’s ancestral town), which saw a dramatic decrease in inhabitants from roughly 15,000 in the 1950s to just a few hundred people at the time of the film’s making. In mainly long, static, observational takes and with next to no dialogue, Il Dono pieces together the fragments of a place guided by slow rhythms and which could be described as “old world” with traditions, rituals, charm aplenty, and not a few ruins from the relentless ravages of time. Gorgeously shot on 16mm (then transferred to 35mm, and presented here in a recent digital restoration of superlative color), each frame of Il Dono is like a painting, whether a landscape, portraits of great, weather-worn faces, or still lives reminiscent of Giorgio Morandi’s glass bottles.

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Angelo Frammartino, Gabriella Maiolo
Drama | International
Not Rated
Italy (Italian)
80 minutes

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Folktales

Directed by: Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

In Oscar®-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s life-affirming documentary, teenagers converge at a traditional folk high school in Arctic Norway where they must rely on only themselves, one another, and a loyal pack of sled dogs as they all grow in unexpected directions. In Norse mythology, the three “Norns” are powerful deities who weave the threads of fate and shape humans’ futures. Today, Pasvik Folk High School in northern Norway aims to produce a similar life-changing effect on its students. FOLKTALES tells the timely and heartwarming story of teenagers who choose to spend an unconventional “gap year” learning to dog sled and survive the Arctic wilderness, in hopes of finding connection and meaning in the modern world. Guided by patient teachers and a yard full of heroic Alaskan huskies, they discover their own potential and develop deep relationships with the land, animals and humans around them. Through intimate verité storytelling and exhilarating cinematography, Ewing and Grady examine humans on the cusp of adulthood, finding themselves at the edge of the world.

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Documentary | International
Not Rated
USA | Norway (English & Norwegian)
105 minutes

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Et Tu

Directed by: Max Tzannes
Studio: Buffalo 8

Brent is not a happy director. For weeks, he’s had to watch an awful play — his awful play. Adding insult to injury, he’s convinced his wife is having an affair with his idiot leading man. Fortunately for Brent, the theater’s Janitor has been mopping the stage long enough to know a dark secret that may help rid him of his troubles. That is, so long as he’s willing to get some blood on his hands.

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Lou Diamond Phillips, Malcolm McDowell, Antwone Barnes, Isabella Blake-Thomas, Rachel Alig
Comedy | Horror | Thriller
Not Rated
USA (English)
101 minutes

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The Short Game

Directed by: Frank Sanza
Studio: Abramorama

Jeremy Avery is vying for a college golf scholarship, but his preparation and game are affected by family pressures related to his younger autistic brother Ethan. Jeremy’s path leads him on a journey of discovery both internal and of his brother’s savant-like gifts, that if embraced can create an unstoppable pair. But on the brink of his greatest victory, Jeremy is forced to make a life-altering decision, finally achieving his own personal dreams or standing by his brother.

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Ben Krieger, Mackenzie Astin, Katherine Cunningham, Owen Himfar, Glenn Morshower
Drama
PG (for thematic elements and language)
USA (English)
93 minutes

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Super Volcano

Directed by: Jared Cohn
Studio: The Asylum

When a supervolcano threatens the island of Hawaii, a team of experts must race against the clock to save those in the path of the molten lava and stop the volcano for good.

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McKenzie Westmore, Grant Bowler, Tyler Christopher, William Baldwin, Tori Griffith
Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Not Rated
USA (English)
85 minutes

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Ozi: Voice of the Forest

Directed by: Tim Harper
Studio: Ketchup Entertainment

Separated from her parents when their forest home is destroyed, Ozi is taken in by kind wildlife sanctuary owners who keep her safe and slowly teach her to communicate through sign language. With the combination of her new skills and natural talent for social media, Ozi soon has a worldwide following. When she learns that her parents might be alive, Ozi sets off on a quest to find them and to tell the world what is happening to the rainforest before it’s too late. With help from new friends, cheeky monkey Chance and loveable rhino Honkus, Ozi discovers that one voice really can change the world.

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Amandla Stenberg, Dean-Charles Chapman, Djimon Hounsou, Donald Sutherland, Laura Dern, RuPaul, Hugh Bonneville
Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Not Rated
USA (English)
85 minutes

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Dog On Trial

Directed by: Laetitia Dosch
Studio: Quiver Distribution

Avril, an independently minded lawyer known for taking on lost causes, resolves to secure a victory in her next case. However, when Dariuch another seemingly hopeless client, asks her to defend his faithful canine companion, Cosmos, Avril is unable to resist. She dives into the absurdity of defending a canine client, confronting not only the legal system but also advocating for both women’s and animal rights. A lively and at times comical court case unfolds — where a dog’s life hangs in the balance.

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Laetitia Dosch, François Damiens, Jean-Pascal Zadi, Anne Dorval, Anabela Moreira
Comedy | International
Not Rated
Switzerland | France (French)
83 minutes

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Susan

Directed by: Russ Kirkpatrick
Studio: Isosceles Films Releasing

Set against the backdrop of Oklahoma’s glowing sunsets, a lush ribbon of river in southwest Missouri, and the sugary sands of Panama City Beach, Florida, follow the story of a family’s fascinating history and how the past plays into current-day dynamics that have to exist because of their matriarch’s involuntary life journey, and unorthodox life planning.

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Susan Suchan
Documentary
Not Rated
USA (English)
90 minutes

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Life Of Mike

Directed by: Derick Halliman
Studio: Mountain Park Media

Mike Smith (Miko DeFoor), a thriving real estate tycoon, lives a life devoid of close friends or family. As his birthday unfolds, his wife Celeste (Shareese Ballard) makes a heartfelt attempt to show him love, setting off a chain of events that shatter his expectations. By day’s end, Mike is confronted with the stark reality of who genuinely cares for him and who does not.

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Roberto Sanchez, Jeff Cole, Toni Belafonte, Miko DeFoor, Shaun Mixon
Drama | Mystery | Thriller
R (for language and suicide)
USA (English)
93 minutes

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Magnetosphere

Directed by: Nicola Rose
Studio: Freestyle Digital Media

Maggie experiences a world where sounds burst into colors and images become melodies. Initially thinking this is something she should hide, Maggie finds unexpected strength in her father’s eccentric theater production, newfound friends, and an understanding teacher. Through their support, Maggie learns to embrace her unique perception, discovering that her “different” way of experiencing the world isn’t something to fear–it’s a gift worth celebrating.

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Shayelin Martin, Patrick McKenna, Colin Mochrie, Tania Webb
Comedy
Not Rated
USA | Canada (English)
90 minutes

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