May’s Top Movies

May 7

 

• The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part

  It’s been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens are now facing a huge new threat: LEGO DUPLO invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than it can be rebuilt. The battle to defeat the invaders and restore harmony to the LEGO universe will take Emmet (Chris Pratt), Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), Batman (Will Arnett) and their friends to faraway, unexplored worlds, including a galaxy filled with fantastic planets, strange characters and catchy new songs. It will test their courage, creativity and Master Building skills, and reveal just how special they really are. Vitals: Director: Mike Mitchell. Stars: Voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Tiffany Haddish, Stephanie Beatriz, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Maya Rudolph, Will Ferrell, Jadon Sand, Brooklynn Prince, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade. 2018, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 107 min., Family Animation, Box office gross: 105.114 million, Warner. Extras: Fun behind-the-scenes commentary by the filmmakers; “They Come in Pieces: Assembling The LEGO Movie 2” featurette; “Emmet’s Holiday Party: A LEGO Movie Short”: “LEGO Sets in Action” animations of the LEGO product tied to The LEGO Movie 2; “LEGO Designers”featurette; outtakes and deleted Scenes; “Super Cool Music Video” by Beck featuring Robyn and The Lonely Island; promotion spots. Blu-ray adds “Everything is Awesome Sing-along” with trivia, games and more.  

• The Prodigy

  Sarah, a mother, feels that her young son Miles’ disturbing behavior signals that an evil, possibly supernatural force has overtaken him. Fearing for her family’s safety, Sarah must choose between her maternal instinct to love and protect Miles and a desperate need to investigate what — or who — is causing his dark turn. She is forced to look for answers in the past, taking the audience on a wild ride; one where the line between perception and reality becomes frighteningly blurry. Vitals: Director: Nicholas McCarthy. Stars: Jackson Robert Scott, Taylor Schilling, Peter Mooney, Colm Feore. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 131 min., Horror, Box office gross: $14.855 million, Fox. Extras: Commentary by director Nicholas McCarthy, promotional featurettes, gallery.  

• What Men Want

  Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) is a successful sports agent who’s constantly boxed out by her male colleagues. After a wild night out with her girls, she mysteriously gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts. With her newfound power, Ali looks to outsmart her colleagues as she races to sign the next basketball superstar, but the lengths she has to go to will put her relationship with her best friends and new love interest to the test. Vitals: Director: Adam Shankman. Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Aldis Hodge, Richard Roundtree, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Erykah Badu, Max Greenfield, Tracy Morgan. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 117 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $18.232 million, Paramount. Blu-ray extras: Commentary with director Adam Shankman; Deleted & Extended Scenes; Gag Reel; “The Dream Team” behind-the-scenes featurette; “Flipping the Narrative” to discover how the film flips the script on what women must do to succeed in a man’s world; “What DO Men Want?”; “Poker Night” featurette; “Ali + Athletes” with cameos from superstar athletes; “Sister Spills the Tea” infomercial.

 

May 14

 

• Cold Pursuit

  Liam Neeson stars as Nels Coxman, a snowplow driver whose quiet family life is upended after his son’s murder. Nels begins a vengeful hunt for Viking, the drug lord he holds responsible for the killing, eliminating Viking’s associates one by one. As Nels draws closer to Viking, his actions bring even more unexpected and violent consequences, as he proves that revenge is all in the execution. Director Hans Petter Moland here remade his 2014 Norwegian film, “Kraftidioten (In Order of Disappearance).” Vitals: Director: Hans Petter Moland. Stars: Liam Neeson, Tom Bateman, Emmy Rossum, Laura Dern. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 118 min., Action, Box office gross: $31.982 million, Lionsgate. Extras: “Welcome to Kehoe: Behind the Scenes on Cold Pursuit” featurette.Blu-ray adds deleted scenes, interview with Liam Neeson, interview with director Hans Petter Moland.  

• Never Look Away

  In his third feature film, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the writer-director of Academy Award-winning Best Foreign Language Film “The Lives of Others,” returns to his native Germany. Inspired by real events and the life of legendary artist Gerhard Richter and spanning three eras of German history, “Never Look Away” tells the story of young art student Kurt (Tom Schilling), who falls in love with classmate, Ellie (Paula Beer). Ellie’s father and famous doctor, Professor Seeband (Sebastian Koch), is dismayed at his daughter’s choice of a boyfriend, and vows to destroy the relationship. What neither Kurt nor Ellie know is that their lives are already connected through a terrible crime Seeband committed decades ago. Vitals: Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Stars: Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer, Saskia Rosendahl. 2018, CC, MPAA rating: R, 189 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.179 million, Sony Blu-ray extras: Q&A with writer=director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.  

• Fighting With My Family

  A heartwarming comedy based on the incredible true story of WWE Superstar Paige. Born into a tight-knit wrestling family, Paige and her brother Zak are ecstatic when they get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out for WWE. But when only Paige earns a spot in the competitive training program, she must leave her family and face this new, cut-throat world alone. Paige’s journey pushes her to dig deep, fight for her family, and ultimately prove to the world that what makes her different is the very thing that can make her a star. Vitals: Director: Stephen Merchant. Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn, Stephen Merchant, Kim Matula, Nick Frost. 2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 108 min., Comedy Drama, Box office gross: $22.727 million, Universal. Extras: Deleted and extended scenes, gag reel, “A Family’s Passion: A Making Of” featurette, “Learning the Moves” featurette, feature commentary with writer-director Stephen Merchant.  

• Happy Death Day 2U

  It’s déjà vu all over again for Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe), the snarky sorority sister who solved her own murder by repeatedly reliving her death. When the masked campus killer mysteriously returns to terrorize new targets, Tree cycles through another time-loop of clever chills and slick suspense in the genre-bending follow-up to Blumhouse’s hit thriller “Happy Death Day.” Blu-ray adds Vitals: Director: Christopher Landon. Stars: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Suraj Sharma, Steve Zissis. 2018, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 100 min., Horror, Box office gross: $28.051 million, Universal. Extras: Deleted scene, “The Never-ending Birthday,” “Web of Love: Tree’s Nightmare,” “Multiverse 101.”

 

May 21

 

• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

  Nearly 10 years after the first movie wowed audiences around the world, Hiccup and Toothless return for more adventures in the final quest in Dean DeBlois’ trilogy. What began as an unlikely friendship between an adolescent Viking and a fearsome Night Fury dragon has become an epic trilogy spanning their lives. In this next installment, the heroic pair finally fulfill their destinies; Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) as the village chief and ruler of Berk alongside Astrid (America Ferrera), and Toothless as the dragon leader of his own kind. As the Vikings and dragons of Berk face their darkest threat yet, the evil Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham), and Toothless discovers his soulmate, Light Fury — the bonds of Hiccup and Toothless’ friendship are tested like never before. Vitals: Director: Dean DeBlois. Stars: Voices of Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, F. Murray Abraham , Kit Harington, Craig Ferguson, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse. 2018, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 104 min., Family Animation, Box office gross: $156.692 million, Universal. Extras: Alternate opening; two DreamWorks Shorts: “Bilby” and “Bird Karma”; deleted scenes; “How to Voice Your Viking”: “Creating an Epic Dragon Tale”; “How I Learned from Dragons”; “Brave Wilderness Presents: Nature + Dragons = Awesome”; “The Dragon Sheep Chronicles”; “A Deck of Dragons”; “Growing Up with Dragons”; “The Evolving Character Design of Dragons”; “Drawing Dragons”; “Epic Villain”; “Astrid’s Whole Dragon Trilogy in 60 Seconds”; “Welcome to New Berk”; feature commentary with writer-director Dean DeBlois, producer Bradford Lewis and head of character animation Simon Otto.  

• Isn’t It Romantic

  New York City architect Natalie (Rebel Wilson) works hard to get noticed at her job but is more likely to be asked to deliver coffee and bagels than to design the city’s next skyscraper. And if things weren’t bad enough, Natalie, a lifelong cynic when it comes to love, has an encounter with a mugger that renders her unconscious, waking to discover that her life has suddenly become her worst nightmare — a romantic comedy — and she is the leading lady. Vitals: Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson. Stars: Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine, Priyanka Chopra, Betty Gilpin, Brandon Scott Jones, Jennifer Saunders. 2018, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 88 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $48.429 million, New Line/Warner. Extras: “I Wanna Dance!” featurette. Blu-ray adds deleted scenes.  

• The Upside

  Recently paroled ex-convict Dell Scott (Kevin Hart) strikes up an unusual and unlikely friendship with a quadriplegic billionaire, Phillip Lacasse (Bryan Cranston), when he’s hired to take care of him. From worlds apart, Dell and Phillip form an unlikely bond, bridging their differences and gaining invaluable wisdom in the process, giving each man a renewed sense of passion for all of life’s possibilities. Remake of the French film “The Intouchables” (2011). Vitals: Director: Neil Burger. Stars: Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, Golshifteh Farahani, Aja Naomi King, Nicole Kidman. 2018, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 126 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $107.647 million, Universal. Extras: Deleted scenes; gag reel; “Onscreen Chemistry: Kevin and Bryan”; “Creating a Story of Possibility” with Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston; “Bridging Divisions”; “Embracing Positivity”; “Presenting a Different Side of Kevin Hart”; theatrical trailer.

 

May 28

 

• Greta

  A sweet, naive young woman trying to make it on her own in New York City, Frances (Chloë Grace Moretz) doesn’t think twice about returning the handbag she finds on the subway to its rightful owner. That owner is Greta (Isabelle Huppert), an eccentric French piano teacher with a love for classical music and aching loneliness. Having recently lost her mother, Frances quickly grows closer to widowed Greta. The two become fast friends — but Greta’s maternal charms begin to dissolve and grow increasingly disturbing as Frances discovers that nothing in Greta’s life is what it seems in this suspense thriller. Vitals: Director: Neil Jordan. Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Zawe Ashton, Maika Monroe, Colm Feore, Isabelle Huppert, Stephen Rea, Jeff Hiller. 2018, CC, MPAA rating: R, 98 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $10.511 million, Universal. Extras: Deleted scenes, “Greta: Enemies and Friends”look at the film’s three main characters and their intertwined relationships.