The Courier
The Courier is the true story of an unassuming British businessman Greville Wynne (Cumberbatch) recruited into one of the greatest international conflicts in history. At the behest of the UK’s MI-6 and a CIA operative (Rachel Brosnahan), he forms a covert, dangerous partnership with Soviet officer Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) in an effort to provide crucial intelligence needed to prevent a nuclear confrontation and defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Sure, we’ve seen variations on this story and theme before but few better.” – Kim Hughes, Original Cin
“The Courier is almost two films in one: the second half is much darker and more intense than the first, but the shift is so delicately abrupt that at first you barely register it. That’s part of the movie’s edgily engaging artistry; what begins as a shadowy spy adventure ends in a place of mournful resignation.” – Stephanie Zacharek, TIME
“The Courier is a tense, well-executed spy drama that wisely focuses on character and performance more than thrills, knowing that if we actually care about these men it will drastically heighten every narrowed glance, near miss, and frightful chase. It’s not always the freshest adventure, but that’s when the acting carries the piece and breathes life into these unlikely heroes.” – Matt Fowler, IGN
Available Formats [6/1]:
Blu-ray
The Lovebirds
A couple (Issa Rae & Kumail Nanjiani) experiences a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery. As their journey to clear their names takes them from one extreme – and hilarious – circumstance to the next, they must figure out how they, and their relationship, can survive the night.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“The film’s structural frenzy lends itself to lots of comic riffing from the leads that often results in hilarious one-liners.” – Brian Shaer, Film Threat
“The Lovebirds knows how to send out a laugh with a sting in its tail. That’s what they call inspired lunacy.” – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“With a tightly structured script and Nanjiani and Rae’s raucous yet down-to-earth performances, The Lovebirds makes for a delightful and unexpected ride.” – Beandrea July, Hollywood Reporter
Available Formats [6/1]:
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
The World to Come
In upstate New York in the 1850s, Abigail (Katherine Waterston), a farmer’s wife, and her new neighbor Tallie (Vanessa Kirby) find themselves irrevocably drawn to each other. A grieving Abigail tends to her withdrawn husband Dyer (Casey Affleck) as free-spirit Tallie bristles at the jealous control of her husband Finney (Christopher Abbott), when together their intimacy begins to fill a void in each other’s lives they never knew existed.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“It’s as simultaneously chilling and warming as a slug of ice-cold vodka, and just as liable to make your mind swim and eyes prick.” – Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
“The World to Come is at its sharpest when trying to articulate the alchemy that happens when theory and sensation collide with each other and morph into something new.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire
“Scripted with heightened literary cadences by Ron Hansen and Jim Shepard, the film is well crafted in every respect, and marks an acting career high for Katherine Waterston, as well as a fine showcase for the ever more impressive Vanessa Kirby.” – Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily
Available Formats [6/1]:
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
Your Honor
New Orleans judge Michael Desiato (Bryan Cranston) goes to extremes to protect his son (Hunter Doohan) after a hit-and-run accident in this adaptation of the Israeli show Kvodo.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“The show is at its finest when allowing its stellar cast to simmer, stew, and boil over with fury and agony, both alone and in the presence of each other.” – Nick Schager, Daily Beast
“Intriguing and thought-provoking, Your Honor should get families to consider how far they’d go to protect a loved one.” – Bruce Miller, Sioux City Journal
“Your Honor is complicated, but good complicated: The impulses of the players are understandable. And even though the means are ruthless and the ends seemingly inevitable, one can still be startled by how things play out.” – John Anderson, Wall Street Journal
Available Formats [6/1]:
DVD
Endangered Species
Jack Halsey (Philip Winchester) takes his wife (Rebecca Romijn), their adult kids, and a friend for a dream vacation in Kenya. But as they venture off alone into a wilderness park, their safari van is flipped over by an angry rhino, leaving them injured and desperate. Then, as two of them go in search of rescue, a bloody, vicious encounter with a leopard and a clan of hyenas incites a desperate fight for survival.
Description provided by Metacritic.
“Director Bassett (a former wildlife photographer whose credits include such TV workouts as Strike Back, Iron Fist and Ash vs. Evil Dead) stages the movie’s multiple action sequences with energetic punch.” – Carol Cling, Alliance of Women Film Journalists
Available Formats [6/1]:
DVD
Boogie
Alfred “Boogie” Chin is a basketball phenom living in Queens, New York, who dreams of one day playing in the NBA. While his parents pressure him to focus on earning a scholarship to an elite college, Boogie must find a way to navigate a new girlfriend, high school, on-court rivals and the burden of expectation.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Boogie is at times unpolished but it offers a compelling and sympathetic portrayal of the title character and avoids excessive melodrama or a too-facile ending.” – James Berardinelli, Reel Views
“Boogie tries to appreciate its own contradictions, and also to complicate the audience’s expectations. It positions Boogie as an underdog of the underrepresented, a potential breakout star in an arena where the odds are stacked against him. But it also resists the temptation to turn him into an easy emblem of success, while neatly sidestepping the feel-good uplift and predictable, reconciliatory outcomes that tend to hold sway in the sports-movie genre.” – Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
“It’s a solid first film, with a firm grasp on its melancholy but romantic tone, which never gets in the way of its propulsive momentum.” – Inkoo Kang, Hollywood Reporter
Available Formats [6/1]:
DVD
City of Lies
Based on the true story of one of the most notorious and unsolved cases in recent time, City of Lies is a provocative thriller revealing a never-before-seen look at the infamous murder of The Notorious B.I.G. shortly following the death of Tupac. L.A.P.D. detective Russell Poole (Johnny Depp) has spent years trying to solve his biggest case, but after two decades, the investigation remains open. “Jack” Jackson (Forest Whitaker), a reporter desperate to save his reputation and career, is determined to find out why. In search of the truth, the two team up and unravel a growing web of institutional corruption and lies. Relentless in their hunt, these two determined men threaten to uncover the conspiracy and crack the foundation of the L.A.P.D. and an entire city.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Impassioned, engaging and eloquently constructed, City of Lies has much more to offer than first meets the eye.” – Martin Carr, We Got This Covered
“Still, in large part due to the stellar work from Depp and Whitaker, this is a valuable and somewhat illuminating look back at the senseless, stunning killings of two rap icons just six months apart.” – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
“This is a compelling drama with real-world concerns that shouldn’t be ignored…” – John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
Available Formats [6/8]:
DVD
Flashback
Frederick Fitzell (Dylan O’Brien) is living his best life—until he starts having horrific visions of Cindy (Maika Monroe), a girl who vanished in high school. He reaches out to old friends with whom he used to take a mystery drug called Mercury, but realizes the only solution lies deep within his own memories. So Frederick goes on a terrifying mental odyssey to learn the truth.
Description provided by Metacritic.
“…an insane trip… Dylan O’Brien has some serious depth to his acting abilities.” – Samantha Labat, Cinema Blend
Available Formats [6/8]:
DVD
Godzilla vs. Kong
Legends collide as Godzilla and Kong, the two most powerful forces of nature, clash on the big screen in a spectacular battle for the ages. As a squadron embarks on a perilous mission into fantastic uncharted terrain, unearthing clues to the Titans’ very origins and mankind’s survival, a conspiracy threatens to wipe the creatures, both good and bad, from the face of the earth forever.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Godzilla vs. Kong is a crowd-pleasing, smash-’em-up monster flick and a straight-up action picture par excellence. It is a fairy tale and a science-fiction exploration film, a Western, a pro wrestling extravaganza, a conspiracy thriller, a Frankenstein movie, a heartwarming drama about animals and their human pals, and, in spots, a voluptuously wacky spectacle that plays as if the creation sequence in The Tree of Life had been subcontracted to the makers of Yellow Submarine.” – Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
“For the first time, an American Godzilla movie feels like it truly understands what fans of the character want to see. Watching Godzilla and Kong duke it out in a neon-lit Hong Kong had me smiling like a kid watching one of the original Japanese movies on a Video Treasures VHS tape I had picked up for a few bucks from a rack at Jamesway.” – Sean Farrell, AFPL Blog
“The much-hyped battles deliver the giddy thrills we demand but in the moments when the pair aren’t at war there’s also a staggeringly well-built and extensive universe to explore and one that’s barely been teased in the trailers we’ve seen.” – Benjamin Lee, The Guardian
Available Formats [6/15]:
Blu-ray
French Exit
“My plan was to die before the money ran out,” says 60-year-old penniless Manhattan socialite Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer), but things didn’t go as planned. Her husband Franklin has been dead for 12 years and with his vast inheritance gone, she cashes in the last of her possessions and resolves to live out her twilight days anonymously in a borrowed apartment in Paris, accompanied by her directionless son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) and a cat named Small Frank—who may or may not embody the spirit of Frances’s dead husband.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“French Exit easily could have been an unnecessary cliché. Instead, Jacobs’ film provides a polished portrait filled with originality, melancholy, and comedy.” – Michael Frank, The Film Stage
“French Exit allows Pfeiffer free rein to play, and her performance is glorious in a major key of scornful hauteur and a minor key of self-pity.” – Ty Burr, Boston Globe
“The costume design from Jane Petrie creates a timeless elegance. And Pfeiffer’s performance only becomes richer as her character reveals the kindness that’s been buried within her cool, stylish persona all this time.” – Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com
Available Formats [6/15]:
DVD
Voyagers
With the future of the human race at stake, a group of young men and women, bred for intelligence and obedience, embark on an expedition to colonize a distant planet. But when they uncover disturbing secrets about the mission, they defy their training and begin to explore their most primitive natures. As life on the ship descends into chaos, they’re consumed by fear, lust, and the insatiable hunger for power.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Voyagers is a smart and effective little sci-fi thriller about the best-laid plans of scientists crumbling in the face of teenage hormones and human frailty.” – Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
“[D]espite the familiar nature of the themes writer/director Neil Burger is exploring, his film still offers plenty of tension and his trademark visual panache.” – Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com
“Voyagers shows that Burger can still move a story along with craft, pace, and skill…” – Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Available Formats [6/15]:
DVD
Nobody
When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe), is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen), seems to pull only further away. The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary (Aleksey Serebryakov)—and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Nobody is more violent lark than probing satire, but between Bob Odenkirk’s smartly underplayed performance, the surprises in the screenplay by Derek Kolstad (the John Wick series) and the puckishly brutal direction of Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry), it’s a wonderfully paced and consistently clever action movie that ups the ante of a genre that’s been dominated by Liam Neeson clones.” – Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
“Just like the best of the 1980s actioneers, Nobody has just the right mix of brains, brawn, and gut-busting laughs.” – Richard Whittaker, Austin Chronicle
“The film is a winning reminder of the pleasures of the midrange movie, one stylish enough to feel distinct but not too caught up in an effort to sell some startling, singular vision. It’s proudly genre and fills its allotted space with humor and detail.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair
Available Formats [6/22]:
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
The Unholy
After a supposed visitation from the Virgin Mary, Alice, a young hearing-impaired girl, is inexplicably able to hear, speak and heal the sick. As word spreads and people from near and far flock to witness her miracles, a disgraced journalist (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) hoping to revive his career visits the small New England town to investigate. When terrifying events begin to happen all around, he starts to question if these phenomena are the works of the Virgin Mary or something much more sinister.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“The Unholy is a good, tight, scary commercial theological horror film. Its spooks and demons unfurl within a pop version of Christianity, which makes it sound no more exotic than last week’s Exorcist knockoff or last year’s helping of the Conjuring franchise. But The Unholy has a religious plot that actually works for it.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“The film benefits from the fact that it feels more like an investigative journalism thriller with supernatural elements that overtake the narrative during the big climax. Good performances and eerie visuals keep it interesting.” – Joe Friar, Victoria Advocate
“This familiar but absorbing picture from writer-director Evan Spiliotopoulos manages to succeed more than it has any right to.” – Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood
Available Formats [6/22]:
DVD
Hunter Hunter
Hunter Hunter follows a family living in the remote wilderness earning a living as fur trappers. Joseph Mersault (Devon Sawa), his wife Anne (Camille Sullivan), and their daughter Renée (Summer H. Howell) struggle to make ends meet and think their traps are being hunted by the return of a rogue wolf. Determined to catch the predator in the act, Joseph leaves his family behind to track the wolf. Anne and Renée grow increasingly anxious during Joseph’s prolonged absence and struggle to survive without him. When they hear a strange noise outside their cabin, Anne hopes it is Joseph but instead finds a man named Lou (Nick Stahl), who has been severely injured and left for dead. The longer Lou stays and Joseph is away, the more paranoid Anne becomes, and the idea of a mysterious predator in the woods slowly becomes a threat much closer to home.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Hunter Hunter‘s atmospheric, woodland nightmare barrels through like a boulder down a hillside and depicts a ferocious battle between man and beast.” – Jack Wilhelmi, Screen Rant
“Writer-director Shawn Linden skillfully draws us into the narrative before springing a series of startling traps—of both the narrative and literal variety.” – Chuck Bowen, Slant
“The performances are all fine, with Sawa and Stahl providing forceful presences. But Sullivan is particularly memorable, delivering the sort of galvanizing, physically and emotionally demanding turn that would be of the star-making variety if Hunter Hunter were to be seen by a wide audience.” – Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Available Formats [6/22]:
DVD
The Umbrella Academy: Season 1
Luther (Tom Hopper), Diego (David Castañeda), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Vanya (Elliot Page) and Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) are brought back together by the death of their adoptive father (Colm Feore) in this series based on the comics and graphic novels by My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“It’s frankly difficult to think back to how everything began in this crazy show after having buzzed through its 10 episodes, because it’s so full of layered narratives… The Umbrella Academy is incredibly interesting, enjoyable, quirky, and well worth your time.” – Allison Keene, Collider
“The Umbrella Academy is a reminder caped crusader adaptations can be delightful and insightful along with punch-drunk and deafening. It’s as bonkers as anything – but a brolly good show to boot.” – Ed Power, The Independent
“Umbrella looks, feels and sounds different [from other comic book TV adaptations]–music does much of the heavy lifting, and effectively so. It’s a gorgeous-looking production that evokes another world, with both feet still firmly planted in this one.” – Verne Gay, Newsday
Available Formats [6/22]:
DVD
Siberia
A man flees from one world to another that is strange and cold. Furs and fires keep him warm; a cave serves as his shelter. He is a broken man who wants to be alone. But even isolation does not bring him inner peace. Once again, he goes on a journey, this time into the self. He explores his dreams, confronts memories and seeks out visions. The rare encounters with other people are in languages he does not speak, determined by bodies that fascinate him, and by types of love he explores and then loses. His journey becomes a dance with demons, but time and again it flares up: light.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“It is a work that is impossible to forget, impossible to stop thinking about, and is one of the most genuine portraits of isolation and depression in recent film history. After all, sometimes we’ve all felt like there’s nothing left but darkness.” – Logan Kenny, The Film Stage
“Abel Ferrara doesn’t require traditional dream logic, as his grasp of the nitty-gritty quotidian of longing is inherently uncanny.” – Chuck Bowen, Slant
“As a study of a rugged individualist looking back on long-withered connections — to others, to the mainstream world, and indeed to himself — it feels personally invested both as a star vehicle and an auteur piece. If it isn’t, the joke’s on us, and still pretty funny.” – Guy Lodge, Variety
Available Formats [6/22]:
DVD
The Paper Tigers
As teenagers, kung fu disciples Danny (Alain Uy), Hing (Ron Yuan) and Jim (Mykel Shannon Jenkins) were inseparable. Fast forward 25 years, and each has grown into a washed-up middle-aged man seemingly one kick away from pulling a hamstring—and not at all preoccupied with thoughts of martial arts or childhood best friends. But when their old master is murdered, the trio reunites, soon learning that avenging their sifu will require conquering old grudges (and a dangerous hitman still armed with ample knee cartilage) if they are to honorably defend his legacy.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“The realness Tran weaves into his story is welcome, but the smart filmmaking is what makes The Paper Tigers a delight from start to finish.” – Andrew Crump, Paste
“Tran’s debut feature delivers a ton of charm for a kung fu throwback, and kicks a lot of ass for a broad comedy about some old guys relearning how to honor each other and fight for themselves.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire
“It’s a largely harmonious blend of action, comedy and drama which derives much of its buoyancy from three well-cast leads who generate a credible sense of reconnection.” – John Berra, Screen Daily
Available Formats [6/22]:
DVD
His Dark Materials: Season 2
Lyra (Dafne Keen) follows Asriel into a new world and the city of Cittàgaze where she meets Will (Amir Wilson).
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“His Dark Materials finally feels as though it has found its groove in its second season. The series feels more lush, propulsive, and epic than it ever has before, with a tightly paced plot and characters we can actually care about.” – Lacy Baugher, Paste
“Jack Thorne, one of my favourite TV writers (The Fades, currently on BBC iPlayer, is worth your time), revels in punching up Coulter as a combination of Iago and Lady Macbeth with a hint, at her most pantomimic, of Cruella de Vil. In Thorne’s hands, you never know what she might do next.” – Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian
“His Dark Materials feels grander and less cramped than before – finally living up to its epic fantasy ambitions it had from the beginning.” – Hoai-Tran Bui, /film
Available Formats [6/29]:
DVD
Percy vs. Goliath
Percy Schmeiser (Christopher Walken), a third-generation farmer, is sued by a corporate giant for allegedly using their patented seeds. With little resources to fight the giant legal battle, Percy joins forces with up-and-coming attorney Jackson Weaver (Zach Braff) and environmental activist Rebecca Salcau (Christina Ricci) to fight one of the most monumental cases all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“[This] is an involving and inspirational tale, highlighted by a Christopher Walken performance that is remarkably free of any showy tics or mannerisms and is a reminder Walken is a great actor first, a lovable caricature second.” – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
“Walken is magnificent, and the other casting — on the nose as it is (Ricci can still pull off the young activist willing to sleep in her car for the cause) — works.” – Roger Moore, Movie Nation
“Percy vs. Goliath has a solid sense of place—the Canadian prairie—and Mr. Walken gives us a solid sense of Percy, a man whose instincts are so contrarian he sometimes seems unsure whom to disagree with, or what to refuse to do.” – John Anderson, Wall Street Journal