We’re five months into 2023, and cinematic offerings don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. This selection may involve some superheroes, action and comedy, so maybe you’ll find something worth heading to the theatre for.
Starting us off is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Closing the trilogy of films, all written and directed by James Gunn, the movie wraps up the story of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and his ragtag group of misfits as they deal with a new enemy and the mysterious past of Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper). Although Gunn was fired from production early on, he was later rehired and filming appears to have run as smoothly as possible. One of Marvel’s most cohesive set of films, largely due to a singular voice being in charge, the third volume will hopefully bring the trilogy to a satisfying end when it hits theaters on May 5.
For an action thriller, look no further than The Mother. The story follows an ex-assassin, Jennifer Lopez, who comes out of hiding to protect her daughter – whom she cut contact with much earlier in her life. The trailer gives the impression that Lopez is a no nonsense killer ready to take down any person who gets in her way. It will be released to Netflix on May 12, but if you need a holdover film featuring Jennifer Lopez as a U.S. Marshall chasing down a thief played by George Clooney, make sure to watch the 1998 film Out of Sight!
If exploding cars and nonsensical plots are your thing, then you already know about Fast X. The tenth film in the Fast and Furious franchise of ever-changing names, the plot involves Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew dealing with Cipher (Charlize Theron) and newly added bad boy of the week, Dante (Jason Momoa). My guess is that it will be a convoluted, laughably fun/comically stupid reworking of past films to invent new reasons for “plot” to happen. The trailer is bonkers and full of fight scenes, explosions and breaking of the laws of physics. It’ll be all about family when it crashes into theaters on May 19.
If you need some comedy after all that action, check out About My Father. Written by and starring Sebastian Maniscalco, the semi-autobiographical story centers around Maniscalco, playing a loose version of himself, and his imminent proposal to his girlfriend. Issues arise when his father, played by Robert De Niro, wants to tag along for the weekend retreat … and his traditional Italian values clash with everything else. The film looks sweet and charming, with some of Maniscalco’s signature bits from his standup career mixed in. It releases on May 26.
Lastly, don’t sleep on Confess, Fletch. Released last year and starring Jon Hamm, the soft reboot of the franchise that originally had Chevy Chase in the titular role is an excellent crime comedy with good laughs, a great cast and an engaging mystery to solve. It’s now streaming on Showtime.
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