Film Friday (4/10): This Week's New Movies & Trailers

Metacritic
Updated

Opening this weekend



Nationwide releases .
The Longest Ride PG-13 DRAMA
Trailer(s)

This week's sole new nationwide release is yet another Nicolas Sparks adaptation. Britt Robertson and Scott Eastwood star in a tale of star-crossed romance directed by George Tillman, Jr. (Soul Food).

Notable limited and/or VOD releases .
About Elly NR FOREIGN/DRAMA
Trailer(s)

Released in most countries prior to his widely acclaimed drama A Separation (but only now coming to American theaters), Asghar Farhadi’s About Elly concerns the mysterious disappearance of the title character, a teacher, and how it impacts a group of friends. As with his most recent film, The Past, critics are once again impressed by the director's psychological insight and ability to build complex characters and a narrative that turns on subtle deceptions.

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Clouds of Sils Maria R DRAMA
Trailer(s)

This English-language drama from Olivier Assayas (Carlos, Summer Hours) stars Juliette Binoche as a legendary film actress who returns to the play that first made her famous, only to find her original role taken by a younger actress (Chloe Grace Moretz). Co-star Kristen Stewart, who plays her assistant Val, became the first American actress to win a César (France’s equivalent of the the Oscars) thanks to a strong performance.

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Ex Machina R SCI-FI/THRILLER
Trailer(s)

The directorial debut for screenwriter (and frequent Danny Boyle collaborator) Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine) is an idea-heavy sci-fi thriller about artificial intelligence. Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, and a much-praised Alicia Vikander—whose performance is the highlight of the film for many critics—star.

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The Harvest NR HORROR/THRILLER
Trailer(s)

The first feature film in 14 years from director John McNaughton (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) is a thriller starring Samantha Morton and Michael Shannon.

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Lost River NR FANTASY/DRAMA/THRILLER
Trailer(s)

Ryan Gosling's directorial debut is ... not a good movie. But it's not for a lack of ambition. The film is a dark fantasy starring Christina Hendricks as a mother of two boys struggling to save her home; Saoirse Ronan, Ben Mendelsohn, and Eva Mendes co-star. One highlight: the soundtrack, from Chromatics' Johnny Jewel.

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Below Dreams NR DRAMA

Additional limited and/or VOD releases (in alphabetical order) .
Black Souls NR FOREIGN/DRAMA

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Broken Horses R DRAMA/THRILLER

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Desert Dancer PG-13 DRAMA

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Dial a Prayer PG-13 DRAMA/COMEDY

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Dior and I NR FOREIGN/DOCUMENTARY

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Freetown PG-13 ACTION/THRILLER

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The House Across the Street NR HORROR/THRILLER

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In Country NR DOCUMENTARY

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In the Courtyard NR FOREIGN/DRAMEDY

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Kill Me Three Times NR ACTION/THRILLER

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Rebels of the Neon God NR FOREIGN/DRAMA — First U.S. release of 1993 film

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The Reconstruction of William Zero NR SCI-FI/THRILLER

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The Sisterhood of Night PG-13 DRAMA

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Song From the Forest NR DOCUMENTARY


All movies now in theaters... | Recent DVD/Blu-ray releases... | Recent streaming releases...

New trailers and updates for upcoming films


Preview the Sundance hit Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Winner of both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at Sundance this year—the same two major awards that went to Whiplash the previous year—Me and Earl and the Dying Girl presents its three main characters right there in the title. Thomas Mann (Project X) plays Greg Gaines (the “me” of the title), a movie-obsessed teenager whose only friend is his cinephile buddy, Earl (RJ Cyler), until his mother (Connie Britton) forces him to hang out with Rachel (Olivia Cooke), who is battling leukemia. Also starring Nick Offerman, Molly Shannon and Jon Bernthal, this second feature by director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (The Town that Dreaded Sundown), from Jesse Andrew’s adaptation of his own novel, will come to select theaters June 12th.


Sinister 2: More Sinister

This sequel to the surprise 2012 hit Sinister stars Shannyn Sossamon as a protective mother of 9-year-old twin sons (Robert and Dartanian Sloan) who finds herself in a rural house marked for death as the evil spirit of Bughuul continues to spread. Written by Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, the team behind the original film, and directed by Ciaran Foy (Citadel), Sinister 2 comes to theaters August 21th.

A second look at Hot Pursuit

Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara go on the run in Hot Pursuit, a comedy from director Anne Fletcher (27 Dresses, The Proposal, The Guilt Trip) and TV writers David Feeney (New Girl) and John Quaintance (Undateable). There’s a hint of The Heat in the dynamics between the two leads—Witherspoon plays an uptight cop assigned to protect and transport a valuable witness played by Vergara. But will it prove to be successful enough to generate a sequel? Find out when it hits theaters May 8th.

Recorded on tape, it's ... Live from New York!

Opening the Tribeca Film Festival on April 15th and coming to select theaters on June 12th is Live From New York!, Bao Nguyen’s documentary covering the 40-year run of Saturday Night Live. Using archival footage, candid moments and interviews with cast and crew members, hosts and journalists, the film looks at SNL from its early years as an experimental idea from the mind of Lorne Michaels put on by a cast of unknowns to its place as a comedy institution.

The Human Centipede 3

Director Tom Six finally gets to the final sequence of his Human Centipede trilogy with this story of a prison warden (Dieter Laser of The Human Centipede (First Sequence)) who, along with his loyal right hand man (Laurence R. Harvey of The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)), decides to solve his unruly prisoner problem by creating a 500-prisoner centipede. Yes, the trailer hints at how gross the film could be, but, hey, it’s merely offering a critique of our prison system, right? Well at least Eric Roberts plays the Governor. The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence) arrives in limited release and on VOD May 22nd.

Short takes

Soul Boys of the Western World tells the story of Spandau Ballet. Find it in select theaters and on VOD beginning April 29th.

The first clip from Jurassic World features banter between Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. See the film June 12th (or don’t, if your opinion coincides with Joss Whedon’s).

Here’s the first clip from the well-reviewed Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy and Rose Byrne and coming to theaters June 5th.

Amy Schumer is surprised to get a call from Bill Hader in this clip from Trainwreck, coming to theaters July 17th.

News and notes

  • Olivia Wilde will reprise her role of Quorra alongside Garrett Hedlund in Joseph Kosinski’s sequel to 2010’s TRON: Legacy. - THR

  • Ed Skrein (the new Transporter) will play Ajax opposite Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool.

  • Ryan Gosling is in talks to star in Guillermo del Toro’s supernatural family film movie, Haunted Mansion, based on the Disneyland ride. - TheWrap

  • Vin Diesel and Chris Tucker have joined Joe Alwyn, Kristen Stewart and Steve Martin in Ang Lee’s adaptation of Ben Fountain’s novel Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. - Deadline

  • Julianne Moore will star in Can You Ever Forgive Me, the story of forger Lee Israel, for director Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said). - Variety

  • A remake of She’s All That is in the works. - TheWrap

  • A sequel to Need for Speed will film in China, where the original performed well. - Variety

  • Carl Franklin will replace John Singleton as director of Morgan Creek Productions’ planned biopic of Tupac Shakur. - TheWrap

  • Dane DeHaan and Mia Goth will star in Gore Verbinski’s horror film A Cure for Wellness. - Heat Vision

  • Shia LaBeouf will star in American Honey for director Andrea Arnold (Wuthering Heights). - Variety

  • Rooney Mara has joined Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel in Lion, an adaptation of Saroo Brierley’s memoir A Long Way Home. - THR

  • The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence and screenwriter Peter Craig will helm Lionsgate’s adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey. - Deadline

  • Brie Larson will replace Olivia Wilde and join Luke Evans, Armie Hammer, and Cillian Murphy in Ben Wheatley’s next film, Free Fire. - Variety

  • Spike Lee’s next film, Chiraq (a moniker given to Chicago due to recent violence) will be made for Amazon Studios, and Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Piven, Common, and Kanye West are being courted to star. - TheWrap

  • Alan Arkin has joined Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine in Zach Braff’s remake of the 1979 bank heist comedy Going in Style. - Variety