It’s a good week to be a movie lover! This week’s Staff Picks feature 3 films: 1 in theaters and 2 you can watch at home! Plus, we’re highlighting a fun fantasy/mystery novel and a useful local app!

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Comic book movies have been having a rough go of it of late, but Marvel’s Spider-Man remains a crowd pleaser. Early buzz has been good, with critics largely praising the film and ticket sales indicating a massive hit. No matter who plays him Spidey has always been one of my favorite superheroes and Tom Holland has proven to be one of the best at playing the role, so I’m looking forward to checking it out this weekend. Rodrigo Perez of The Playlist says of the movie: “Dark, grounded, vulnerable, and unexpectedly moving, it finds the heart and soul of Peter Parker and understands that his humanity—his compassion, decency, empathy, and instinct to reach toward others—is as essential to his heroism as anything the mask or his powers can give him.” I’ll have a full review up after I watch it, but suffice it to say that it’s unlikely to disappoint me. – Sean Farrell

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

Book two of the Shadow of the Leviathan series. We continue the adventures of stoic Dinios Kol and eccentric Ana as they uncover yet another locked-room murder mystery in this fantastic world. It’s like if Sherlock lived in the complex fantasy world of H.P. Lovecraft. Part mystery, part science fiction, part fantasy, part political commentary, and part adventure; despite being a longer read at over 450 pages, this story never falters and stays interesting until the very last. This is one of my favorite authors, and each book in this series so far has had me thinking about it long after I closed the back cover. Book 3 in this series is due in August. – Kara Buono

Cold Storage

Written by David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man), based on his novel of the same name, this comic horror is a campy blast. When a dangerous fungus escapes its containment in a secret facility hidden deep below a self-storage complex, it’s up to the night security team (Joe Keery & Georgina Campbell) and a retired government bioterrorism expert (Liam Neeson) to contain the situation before it can threaten humanity’s very survival. Funny, thrilling, and satisfyingly gross, it plays like a blend of Slither and Contagion. The low budget means the special effects aren’t always the best, but fans of these kinds of movies will have a lot of fun regardless. – SF

NorCast Weather App

There’s lots of weather apps to choose from but none is quite as good for your local forecast as NorCast Weather. All of them, including this one, offer up long-range forecasts generated by computers, but this one stands apart by also adding actual human input by local weatherpeople with an understanding of the unique geographic features affecting our region, like the notorious “Cape May Bubble”. There is no such thing as a perfect forecast, but this is about as close as you’re likely to get. Add in access to the multiple videos they put out throughout the day and severe alerts that claim to be faster than anyone else (especially useful since tornados appear to be a growing possibility in our area), and there really isn’t any reason for you not to download this free app. – SF

Blue Heron

This spare but striking family drama blends traditional storytelling with documentary-like techniques to examine the unreliability of memory via a story about mental illness and its effects on families. Following young girl Sasha and her family after a recent move to Vancouver Island, we watch as her parents contend with the increasingly troubling behavior of her older brother, only for a mid-film flash forward to upend what we thought we were watching. This quietly sad coming-of-age story is unlike any you’ve seen before and is a movie you’ll long remember, at least as much as is truly possible anyway. – SF

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Cover photo by Rafael Garcin on Unsplash.