The fifth month of the year has shuffled its way down the line, and I may or may not have some movies for you to check out! (Sorry, writing differing intros gets difficult so you may just have to deal with these puns for now … maybe.)
Starting with another Marvel tent-pole film, the month opens with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The sequel to Doctor Strange and the 28th film in the apparently ceaseless Marvel Cinematic Universe, this story finds Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) entering the multiverse with allies old and new to face off against his latest foe. With an impressive cast including Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Rachel McAdams, the film looks to tackle the insane crossover chaos that Spider-Man: No Way Home started. Directed by Sam Raimi, who helmed the original Spider-Man trilogy, the film releases on May 6.
Next up, a horror film with a lot of heat, titled Firestarter. Based on the Stephen King novel, the story centers around Charlie, a young girl who develops pyrokinesis and must go on the run with her father Andrew (Zac Efron) to avoid capture by government agents. The trailer indicates there will be an awful lot of screaming and fire to go around, along with, perhaps, a campy sensibility. I can’t tell if this one will be good fun or bad fun, but we’ll see when it’s released on May 13 in theaters and on the streaming service Peacock.
If you’re looking for an even darker take on children with superpowers, look no further than The Innocents. A Norwegian horror film, The Innocents focuses on a group of children who show each other their mysterious powers, which is followed by what I assume is a series of very, very unfortunate events (with absolutely no sign of Lemony Snicket). The trailer looks grim, foreboding and absolutely original. It hits select theaters and video-on-demand on May 13.
If you’re looking for a documentary, check out Hold Your Fire. The film focuses on Harvey Schlossberg, a former NYPD officer and psychoanalyst, during a botched robbery that took place in 1973 in Brooklyn, where four men held eleven people hostage for 47 hours. Schlossberg’s actions helped to further define and develop modern hostage negotiation tactics. It will hit theaters and video-on-demand on May 20.
Shifting gears to something lighter, The Bob’s Burgers Movie is finally releasing! Based on the animated series of the same name, the movie/musical features all the original voice actors reprising their roles, and focuses on a giant sinkhole that appears directly in front of Bob’s Burgers, effectively blocking customers and ruining their summer plans. If you’re a fan of the show, this will be exactly what you’ve been looking for, and it seems to retain all the humor of its TV counterpart. After a nearly two year delay, it hits theaters on May 27.
Lastly: Top Gun: Maverick finally comes out on May 27 after ten billion delays and will, in all likelihood, be a six out of ten … if that.
