Last weekend was all about the Guardians of the Galaxy. Now Bennifer grabs the spotlight.
Married A-listers Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck both have fresh flicks arriving this Mother’s Day weekend. Lopez’s is the most mom-friendly – it’s called “The Mother,” for goodness sake! – playing an assassin dead set on keeping the daughter she left behind safe in a new Netflix action thriller. Meanwhile, Affleck plays a Texas detective grieving the loss of a child who has to deal with a mind-controlling menace.
Here’s a guide to new movies that will satisfy every cinematic taste, plus some noteworthy theatrical films making their streaming and on-demand debuts:
If you live for 1980s action movies: ‘Hypnotic’
Director Robert Rodriguez channels his inner Christopher Nolan for a film that’s both fun throwback and go-for-broke mind-twister. An Austin cop (Affleck) with a missing (and considered dead) daughter goes back into the field to investigate a series of bank robberies, so he’s not ideally prepared to deal with a mystery man (William Fichtner) able to bend people’s sense of reality and mind-control them. The lawman teams with a fortune teller (Alice Braga) but no one’s really who they seem in a sci-fi movie more interested in thrills than logic.
Where to watch: In theaters
‘I had no idea’Ben Affleck shocks internet with fluent Spanish interview
If you want to see Jennifer Lopez kill a bunch of people: ‘The Mother’
In case you forgot, Lopez isn’t just a rom-com queen, and director Niki Caro (“Mulan”) utilizes her action-movie intensity in this solid, bullet-riddled thriller. Lopez plays a former military sniper and black-ops assassin who gave up her newborn daughter years ago and went into hiding in Alaska to protect the kid. Twelve years later, the mom is forced back into action – and finally gets to know the girl (Lucy Paez), plus passes on some sweet survival skills – when her two dangerous ex-lovers (Joseph Fiennes and Gael García Bernal) re-emerge as threats to their safety.
Where to watch: Netflix
Ranked:Jennifer Lopez’s romantic comedies (from ‘Shotgun Wedding’ to ‘Gigli’)
If you grew up watching ‘Family Ties’: ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’
A generation of folks raised on Fox’s seminal works – “Back to the Future,” “Teen Wolf,” “Family Ties” – will adore director Davis Guggenheim’s humorous and moving chronicle of the beloved actor’s life. From the Canadian native’s quick ascent to superstardom to dealing with his debilitating Parkinson’s disease, Fox tells stories about his most famous projects, his dive into alcoholism and the pains of everyday life, exhibiting the same comedic charm that made us fall in love for him in the first place.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
‘There’s no way out’:Michael J. Fox says he became an alcoholic, hid Parkinson’s diagnosis
If you yearn for best buds and great scenery: ‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’
Die-hard fans of the 2018 hit “Book Club” will want to check out the next adventure when best friends Vivian (Jane Fonda), Carol (Mary Steenburgen), Diane (Diane Keaton) and Sharon (Candice Bergen) go international. A long-planned vacation to escape for the old pals turns into a bachelorette trip for Vivian when she gets engaged to Arthur (Don Johnson). Bonding moments, the reappearance of an old flame and high jinks ensue, from a car breakdown on the way to Tuscany to getting tossed in jail.
Where to watch: In theaters
‘Book Club’:Candice Bergen would ‘rather die’ than wear Sharon’s passport belt in real life
If you miss the days of ‘Wonderful World of Disney’: ‘Crater’
After the death of his miner father (Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi), a boy (Isaiah Russell-Bailey) living on a lunar colony is set to be transported to a far-off planet when he steals a rover with his pals in order to honor a promise he made to his dad and visit a mysterious crater. (Did we mention there’s a nasty meteor storm coming, too?) The family-friendly futuristic tale is mostly “coming-of-age shenanigans in space,” with a subtle theme of class warfare underneath the teen-movie tropes.
Where to watch: Disney+
If you’re down for a Bible-tinged coming-of-age film: ‘The Starling Girl’
The insightful drama about youth, identity and religion stars Eliza Scanlen as Jem, a 17-year-old rural Kentucky girl raised in a Christian fundamentalist community. She begins to find the church to be a repressive force, is forced to weigh her hormones and sexuality with what’s considered sinful by her family and fellow parishioners, and yearns to find freedom amid the influences of her born-again ex-addict dad (Jimmi Simpson) and a charming pastor (Lewis Pullman) with his own progressive ideas.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you had a cellphone in the ’90s: ‘BlackBerry’
In 1996, a couple of Canadian tech guys (Jay Baruchel and Matt Johnson, who also writes and directs) have an idea for an all-in-one phone/text/email device with a keyboard, they hook up with a hotheaded businessman (Glenn Howerton) and the rest is smartphone history. This tale of the rise and fall of the BlackBerry, with oddballs and bad decisions aplenty, is a wild biopic with a darkly comedic streak that works primarily thanks to the showings from a painfully awkward Baruchel and intensely gonzo Howerton.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you adore inclusive international tales: ‘L’immensita’
Set in 1970s Rome, the drama centers on a 13-year-old Italian girl who begins to identify as a boy (newcomer Luana Giuliani), enough that she tells her mother (Penelope Cruz) she feels like an alien from another galaxy. From meetings with a crush to musical fantasies, Adri tries to find herself even as the dynamic with her mom, abusive dad and siblings becomes more unstable. Cruz brings a steady presence – plus some song-and-dance skills – though it’s Giuliani who really dazzles with a touching, honest performance.
Where to watch: In theaters
Also on streaming:
