Kyle Patrick Alvarez directs the American science fiction drama, Crater, written by John Griffin.
A young boy named Wes, played by Isaiah Russell-Bailey, lives in a lunar colony on the Moon with his father, played by Samuel Caleb Hunt, and other residents. Wes has almost reached the age where he’s sent to Earth for medical testing. Before he leaves, he and his friends explore the Moon, notably a crater near the colony.
During their exploration, Wes and his friends encounter distinct challenges and obstacles to test their strength, loyalty and courage.
The film touches on tropes like coming of age, friendships, family and the human desire for exploring and discovery.
Other cast members include Mckenna Grace, Billy Barratt, Orson Hong, Thomas Boyce and Scott Mescudi. From the producers of Stranger Things, the movie will stream on Disney +.
Set in war-torn Afghanistan in 2018, Guy Richie directs The Covenant. The film follows U.S. Army Special Forces Sergeant John Kinley, played by Gyllenhaal. Kinley leads an elite unit tasked with finding Taliban munitions. “He has been deployed numerous times and has a tremendous amount of experience. He has relied on many different Afghan interpreters and has found himself in many different situations,” says Gyllenhaal. “His unit is constantly under threat and in very dangerous situations, and at the beginning of the movie, he seems to be striking out over and over. He’s going through a lot of red tape and is struggling to find any munition sites.”
On a mission with a new interpreter, Ahmed, Dar Salim, after an I.E.D. kills his regular interpreter. Kinley’s unit is all but wiped out by Taliban fighters when they raid an abandoned mine to house explosives.
Only Kinley and Ahmed manage to escape the attack, the pair stranded in Taliban territory with dozens of armed men after them. Ahmed carried John, who had been shot and seriously wounded, to safety through the desert and over a mountain.
But that’s only half the battle.
The Taliban forced Ahmed and his family into hiding, putting a heavy price on his head as Kinley returned home to the U.S.
Feeling an overwhelming sense of obligation to get Ahmed the visas the U.S. government promised his family, Kinley finds himself mired in bureaucracy and red tape. With his wife’s blessing, he returns to Afghanistan to find Ahmed and his family and bring them back to the U.S.
Guy Ritchie also directed Sherlock Holmes and its sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the live-action adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin, had always wanted to make a war film. “It’s probably my favorite genre of movies, but we couldn’t find a story that appealed for a long time,” he says.
Ironically, while developing another war movie, Ritchie watched several documentaries about the conflict, and one about interpreters and what they go through struck a chord. “I’d heard various anecdotes about Afghanistan that all sounded, in equal measure, horrifying and inspiring,” says Ritchie. “That was the genesis of the idea that you could see humanity in this traumatized environment, and it still managed to express itself. And this was an amalgam of the different stories, documentaries, anecdotes that I was aware of. And, obviously, the story of one man’s selflessness for another was what I found inspiring about the premise.”
“He thought it was an important story to tell and thought he could tell it through his lens,” says producer John Friedberg, “so he came up with this idea.” Gyllenhaal’s character in The Covenant is on his last tour of duty, trying to make a difference in Afghanistan but also desperate to get home to his wife and family in Santa Clarita, CA. “He represents the boots on the ground, the practical reality of the disparity between how we think things work at an administrative level and how they work at a practical level,” says Ritchie. “He is a good, old-fashioned classical, decent, brave soldier who’s loyal to his country and loyal to his men.”
“What I loved about John Kinley is he’s a good man,” says Gyllenhaal. “Over the past number of years, I’ve tended to move towards characters people would define as ‘complex’ in how they walk the line between good and bad. I don’t know if I fully believe in that. I think we are all very complex, very fascinating human beings put in many different trying circumstances. To me, John Kinley is a character who, through those trials, pulls out morality and humanity, despite himself.”
Francis Lawrence returns to direct the next Hunger Games movie based on Suzanne Collins’s prequel novel. Taking the story from Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt’s screenplay, Lawrence helms the story that began 64 years ago. It was before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as a tribute. And decades before Coriolanus Snow became the authoritarian President of Panem.
Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow, Photo Credit: Murray Close
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes follows a young Coriolanus, played by Tom Blyth. He is the last hope for his failing lineage. The once-proud Snow family has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.
Snow’s need to ensure the necessities of life requires him to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, portrayed by Rachel Zegler, a tribute from the deprived District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. He becomes infatuated with Lucy Gray and helps her prepare for the Tenth Annual Hunger Games. He helps her develop a public image and hone her skills to win.
Yet, all does not appear picture-perfect because Coriolanus and Lucy Gray become entangled in personal ambition and political intrigue.
With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor.
Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveals if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.
Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius ‘Lucky’ Flickerman Photo Credit: Murray Close
The film provides a richer look into the origins of the Hunger Games and the history of Panem. The story explores the themes of love, corruption and power.
Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul Photo Credit: Murray Close
Other supporting actors include Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés, Rivera, Jason Schwartzman and Viola Davis.
Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Photo Credit: Murray Close.
Sean McNamara directs this incredible true story, On A Wing and A Prayer. A family’s faith and survival come head to head as a group of strangers unite in a life-saving race against time.
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McNamara’s other credits include faith-based films Soul Surfer and The Miracle Season. His familiarity with spiritual phenomena brings an inspiring battle against the odds of saving the lives of a family.
Doug, played by Dennis Quaid, has to fly a plane without the knowledge or experience to save himself and his family. He discovers the miracles that simple faith can achieve.
Doug and Terri White, played by Heather Graham, and their two daughters, played by Jessi Case and Abigail Rhyne, lead an ideal life in their small town. They are deeply involved in community and church affairs.
Doug and his brother, played by Brett Rice, look forward to the town’s annual barbecue cook-off, where they handily take home first place, distributing the leftovers to the homeless afterward.
When his brother unexpectedly dies, the grieving family travels to Florida for his funeral. Shaken by his brother’s death, Doug questions his long-held faith, distressing Terri, who urges him to hold fast to their beliefs.
After an emotional service, the family boards a private plane to take them home to Louisiana. But within a few minutes of takeoff, disaster strikes. Their pilot suffers a fatal heart attack.
Despite having no experience flying the twin-engine Beechcraft Super King Air 200, Doug has to take control of the aircraft and try to guide it to a nearby landing strip. Rough weather rolls in as he frantically contacts air traffic control for guidance, with Terri as co-pilot.
They put their faith at the forefront. The couple is unaware that officials on the ground are already sending ambulances and emergency vehicles to the tarmac, anticipating the worst.
With time running out, an aspiring air traffic controller breaks protocol and contacts experienced pilot Corey, played by Jesse Metcalfe.
Corey contacts Doug directly from his Connecticut home and provides step-by-step advice as Doug struggles to save his family from seemingly inevitable tragedy. If anyone is to survive, it’s going to take a miracle.
Leo Russo, played by Ray Romano, lives a simple life in Queens, New York, with his wife Angela, played by Laurie Metcalf, their shy but talented son “Sticks,” played by Jacob Ward, and Leo’s close-knit network of Italian-American relatives and neighborhood friends.
Romano directs Somewhere in Queens. Happy enough working at the family construction business alongside his father, played by Tony Lo Bianco, and younger brother, played by Sebastian Maniscalco, Leo lives each week for Sticks’ high-school basketball games, never missing a chance to cheer on his only child as he rules the court as a star athlete.
When the high-school senior gets an incredible and life-changing opportunity to play basketball in college, Leo jumps to provide a plan for his future away from the family construction business.
But when sudden heartbreak threatens to derail Sticks, Leo goes to incredible lengths to keep his son on this ideal path.
Inez De La Paz, played by Teyana Taylor, kidnaps six-year-old Terry, played by Aaron Kingsley Adetola, out of the foster care system. She committed the bold and one last act, convinced it’s a necessary crime on her path to redemption. Holding onto their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their home and their identity. They hope they’ll maintain stability in a rapidly changing New York City.
Inez De La Paz is an orphan, shuffled through New York’s foster care system and nurtured by the streets. She lives a spectrum of emotions, from volatile, impulsive, and unpredictable to deeply caring, determined and fiercely loyal. At her core, she’s a survivor.
The formidable character is the central presence in writer-director A.V. Rockwell’s impressive feature film debut A Thousand to One. The story traces Inez’s struggle as an inner-city woman of color. She navigates the responsibilities of motherhood and wrestles with the secrets of her past. Over two decades, the intimate drama unfolds. Inez attempts to create a better life for herself and six-year-old Terry.
Making the impulsive decision to kidnap the boy from his foster home, Inez flees with him to Harlem. She does whatever she can to build a safe and stable home there. Still, New York City rapidly changes all around them.
Inez and Terry mature and develop. Societal changes affect them in countless ways. Their colorful neighborhood becomes unrecognizable and transforms them into outsiders in the community. They can no longer call it home.
Rockwell grew up in Queens, New York and has sought to speak of the gentrification she witnessed by centering the city close to her heart as part of her identity.
Her observations of mother and son relationships inspired her to shape the screenplay. Through Inez, she wanted to shine a light on women of color. Women faced unimaginable adversity yet persevered, undaunted, and committed to caring for the people they love. Yet society didn’t always see or acknowledge their efforts. “Inez and her experiences were based on a combination of different women who have been in my life,” Rockwell says. “She’s also the type of heroine I wanted to see more of on-screen. I wanted to see a woman of color who lives life on her own terms, no matter what society throws at her.”
Taylor is a superstar R&B performer and choreographer who has rocketed to a global celebrity after working with mega-selling artists, including Beyoncé.
Taylor choreographed the singer’s “Ring the Alarm” video when she was just 15 years old and subsequently directed many of her music videos while continuing to work with other artists. More recently, she branched into acting, appearing in such films as the 2021 comedy Coming 2 America.
Searching for a young actor to play opposite Taylor as six-year-old Terry, the casting director landed on Aaron Kingsley Adetola. He impressed Rockwell with how well Adetola took direction and the subtlety of his creative choices.“I thought Aaron was right because of his physical likeness to what I had in mind,” says the filmmaker. “He’s really smart and intentional when it comes to crafting his performance.” Aven Courtney plays him at age 13, while Josiah Cross plays the character at 17.
Inez De La Paz, played by Teyana Taylor, kidnaps six-year-old Terry, played by Aaron Kingsley Adetola, out of the foster care system. She committed the bold and one last act, convinced it’s a necessary crime on her path to redemption. Holding onto their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their home and their identity. They hope they’ll maintain stability in a rapidly changing New York City.
Directed by Jalmari Helander, Sisu takes place during the final desperate days of WWII in northern Finland. A solitary prospector, played by Jorma Tommila, crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat. The Nazis steal his gold and soon discover they have just tangled with no ordinary miner.
I am not sure what these young ladies are about in the movie. They look tough.
There is no direct translation for the Finnish word “Sisu,” but this legendary ex-commando embodies what Sisu means. He’s a white-knuckled form of courage and incredible determination in the face of overwhelming odds.
And no matter what the Nazis throw at him, the one-person death squad goes to outrageous lengths to get his gold back.
He will if it means killing every Nazi in his path.
Santiago Mitre directs Argentina, 1985, inspired by a true story. The film follows public prosecutors Julio Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo, who dared to investigate and prosecute Argentina’s bloodiest military dictatorship in 1985.
Undeterred by the military’s still considerable influence within their fragile new democracy, Strassera and Moreno Ocampo assembled a young legal team of unlikely heroes for their David-vs-Goliath battle.
Under constant threat to themselves and their families, they raced against time to bring justice to the victims of the military junta, a government led by a group of military leaders.
Coming-of-age films are rampant. Having one based on June Bloom’s popular classic book for over fifty years is refreshing. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Rachel McAdams as Barbara Simon, Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon, and Benny Safdie as Herb Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.
You know you’re in for some honest entertainment. Bloom’s book has affected generations with its timeless coming-of-age story, insightful humor, and candid exploration of life’s biggest questions.
Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, the film follows 11-year-old Margaret, played by Abby Ryder Fortson. Her mother uproots her from her life in New York City to the suburbs of New Jersey.
Kathy Bates as Sylvia Simon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.
She goes through puberty’s messy and tumultuous throes with new friends in a new school. She relies on her mother, Barbara, played by Rachel McAdams, who struggles to adjust to life outside the big city, and her adoring grandmother, Sylvia, played by Kathy Bates. Sylvia isn’t happy they moved away and likes to remind them every chance she gets.
Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon, Amari Price as Janie Loomis, Elle Graham as Nancy Wheeler, and Katherine Kupferer as Gretchen Potter in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.
