Phil Elam figures he’s been acting since he was 6 years old, in a church holiday production.
Now he’s making his feature film debut in “Bob Trevino Likes It,” opening in metro area theaters this weekend after winning two dozen awards on the festival circuit, including two top prizes at last year’s South By Southwest Film & TV Festival.
Ferndale’s Phil Elam is making his feature film debut in “Bob Trevino Likes It,” opening in metro area theaters this weekend after winning two dozen awards on the festival circuit. (Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions)
Elam, a Ferndale resident who also performs music under the name Coco Bean, considers the role an arrival, but is quick to note that “so much of it is all (from) the training and classes and studying. I couldn’t have gotten here without it.”
The Florida-born Elam, who moved to Detroit when he was 4 years old, has a number of independent film credits, including his own “Swing Low.” He’s been studying at the 1st Team Actors Studio in Cleveland and filmed his audition for “Bob Trevino” with his partner, in the basement of their house. Director-writer Tracie Laymon chose him from more than 50 finalists and was happy enough with his performance — as “an office manager who’s having a really, really bad day” — that she added another scene for him in the film.
“It was a great experience,” Elam says of his one-day shoot in Kentucky. “The energy and sincerity and the loving vibe on the set was great. You didn’t feel like you were working at all. It felt like you were creating a piece of art.”
The film, based on Laymon’s own life, stars Barbie Ferreira as a woman trying to connect with a distant father (French Stewart) who, in her search for him connects with another Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo) for a relationship that’s more genuinely loving and rewarding.
“Bring your Kleenex,” Elam advises.
As the film opens, however, Elam is on to his next project, another feature called “Last Shop on Walnut” that’s starring Peter Lawson Jones (“A Man Called Otto,” “Detroit 1-8-7”), who’s one of his instructors in Cleveland.
Phil Elam (Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions)
The Midnight Lamp is burning for the Experience Hendrix Tour again.
The all-star package, paying tribute to the music of Jimi Hendrix, returned to the road last fall for the first time since the pandemic pause and is back on the road this spring. According to John McDermott, catalog manager for the family-owned Experience Hendrix LLC, the break gave the outing a chance to refresh itself after 15 years of mostly annual touring.
“It’s been fun,” says McDermott, who curates the lineup and set lists for the tour. “I missed the camaraderie and the hang. It’s a lot of work logistically, but I do enjoy it. I think after the five years off, there was a demand from promoters and interest from the artists and the audience, and we finally said: ‘OK, sure. Let’s give it a go.”
This year’s Experience Hendrix features longtime regulars such as Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson, Dweezil Zappa, Mato Nanji, Ally Venable and Detroit sacred slide pioneer Calvin Cooke with newcomers such as Marcus King, Devon Allman and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. It also features a fresh set of drummers (Tony Beard and Sam Bryant) as well as some fresh songs in the repertoire such as “One Rainy Wish,” Burning of the Midnight Lamp” and “Love or Confusion” alongside well-worn favorites such as “Stone Free,” “Foxy Lady,” “Purple Haze” and the Shepherd showcase “Voodoo Chile.”
Ally Venable, a regular member of the Experience Hendrix Tour, is set to play again now that the show is back on after taking a five-year break due to the pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Experience Hendrix LLC)
“Some of these songs, Jimi didn’t ever play live,” McDermott notes, “so that’s really part of the fun, to sneak that stuff in there, too. So you’re hearing what we hope is a full representation of his legacy.”
Experience Hendrix’s main other project recently was “Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision,” a documentary and box set chronicling what was the first artist-owned recording studio and Hendrix’s work there. The film is headed to PBS, according to McDermott, while the company is starting to consider its next projects.
“Going forward, we just have to look at the remaining music we have and say, ‘OK, how does this add to the story?’ or ‘What does this bring to a fan in terms of understanding why it’s important?'” he says. “I think we’re grateful that we’ve been able to put out all the music we have. I can’t say we’ve got anything immediately on the runway to say, “OK, this’ll be in stores in June,’ but we have a few things we’re looking at now.”
The Experience Hendrix Tour, featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Marcus King, Eric Johnson, Devon Allman and more, plays at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 22 at the Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-471-7000 or 313Presents.com. For more Hendrix, the Kris Kurzawa Group plays a tribute show at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.
The Experience Hendrix Tour, which pays tribute to the music of Jimi Hendrix, is set to perform March 22 at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. (Photo courtesy of Chuck Boyd/Experience Hendrix LLC)
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, a regular member of the Experience Hendrix Tour, is set to play again now that the show is back on after taking a five-year break due to the pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Kristin Forbes)
• Taylor Tomlinson: Jan. 10, Fox Theatre, ticket prices vary.
On sale 10 a.m. March 28
• John Legend: Nov. 11, Fox Theatre, Detroit, ticket prices vary.
Note: Events are subject to change; check with venues for updates. Tickets on sale at 313Presents.com, LiveNation.com, Ticketmaster.com or the XFINITY Box Office at Little Caesars Arena.
Beats
• RAIN-A Tribute to the Beatles: 7:30 p.m. March 21, Fox Theatre, Detroit, 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.
• Burton Cummings: March 21, Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, 350 Madison St., Detroit, www.hollywoodgreektown.com/entertainment, $69+.
• Ben Sharkey: 8 p.m. March 21, at 20 Front Street, Lake Orion, 248-783-7105, www.20frontstreet.com, doors at 7:30 p.m., $20+.
• Harmony in the Hills Lenten Concert Series: Wendy Chu, piano, is noon March 21, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 620 Romeo St. Rochester, https://stpaulsrochester.org.
• Tales from the D-Dennis Coffey: March 21, Detroit Historical Museum, 5401 Woodward Ave., Detroit, hosted by Detroit musician Tino Gross, featuring performance by Spyder Turner, Ronnie Nelson Band, detroithistorical.org, $35.
• STOMP: 7:30 p.m. March 20-21, Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Twp., www.macombcenter.com, 586-286-2222, $63-$89.
• Sebastian Maniscalco: 7 p.m. March 22, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.
• Experience Hendrix Tour: 7:30 p.m. March 22, Fox Theatre, Detroit, featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Marcus King, Eric Johnson, Noah Hunt, Devon Allman, Ally Venable, (and more, lineup subject to change), Fox Theatre, Detroit, 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.
• The Spinners: March 22, Andiamo Celebrity Showroom, 7096 E. 14 Mile Road, Warren, andiamoshowroom.com, doors at 7 p.m., $35-$79+.
• Tusk-Fleetwood Mac tribute: March 22, Flagstar Strand Theatre, 12 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac, ticketmaster.com, ticket prices vary.
• Old Days – A Chicago Tribute: 8 p.m. March 22, Younger’s Showroom, 120 S. Main, Romeo, ages 21+, www.youngersromeo.com, $25+
• Cooper Alan: March 22, Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W 4th St. Royal Oak, www.royaloakmusictheatre.com, 248-399-3065, ticket prices vary.
• Steinway Piano Recital-Ravel Festival: 6:30-8 p.m. March 22 and 3-5:30 p.m. March 23, Cranbrook House, 380 Lone Pine Road, Bloomfield Hills. Register for tickets at https://housegardens.cranbrook.edu/events/steinway-piano-recitals, $50 general admission each day, $25-full time students.
• Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October: March 23, Flagstar Strand Theatre, Pontiac, www.flagstarstrand.com, ticket prices vary.
• Newberry & Verch: March 23, The Ark, 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor, https://theark.org/event, $20+.
• Dwele, Conya Doss: 7:30 p.m., March 23, Sound Board at MotorCity Casino, Detroit, 313presents.com, ticket prices vary.
• Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass: March 25, Masonic Cathedral Theatre, 500 Temple St., Detroit, www.themasonic.com, doors at 7 p.m. ticket prices vary.
• Sarah Shook & The Disarmers: March 25, The Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, www.themagicbag.com, doors at 7 p.m., all ages, $20+ adv.
Opera
• Mozart’s “Così fan tutte”: April 5-13, Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St., Detroit. Tickets start at $30, available at https://detroitopera.org, tickets@detroitopera.org, 313-237-7464.
Shows
• Backyard Pool & Spa Show: March 21-23, Suburban Collection Showplace, 46100 Grand River Ave., Novi, www.backyardpoolshow.com, gen admission is $14, free for children under 12.
• 2nd Annual Spring Arts & Crafts Show: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. March 29, White Lake Oaks, 991 N. Williams Lake Road, White Lake, admission is free, concession items available for purchase. For information, call 248-698-2700 or email rowleyd@oakgov.com, OaklandCountyParks.com.
• Davison High School Spring Craft Show: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 5, Davison High School, 1250 N. Oak Road, Davison. The annual event is hosted by the Davison wrestling boosters. Admission is $3 for ages 14+, https://smetankacraftshows.com.
Theater
• “Vanities-The Musical”: March 19-April 13, Meadow Brook Theatre, on the campus of Oakland University, 248-377-3300, www.mbtheatre.com, ticket prices vary.
• “The 39 Steps”: Through March 21, Oakland Community College Orchard Ridge Campus – Building T Smith Theatre, 27055 Orchard Lake Road Farmington Hills, www.oaklandcc.edu/calendar, tickets are $10 for general admission, $5 for seniors and students, and free for OCC students, employees and alumni, www.eventbrite.com/e/the-39-steps-tickets-1109564660769?aff=oddtdtcreator.
• “The 39 Steps”: Through March 22, presented by Clarkston Village Players, at The Depot Theatre, 4861 White Lake Road, Clarkston, clarkstonvillageplayers.org, 248-425-5842, $17.
• “Double Takes”: Through March 22, Planet Ant Black Box, 2357 Caniff St., Hamtramck, planetant.com/events for $25 or $30 at the door.
• “Alice Through The Looking Glass”: March 22-April 19, The Boardwalk Theatre, 109 S. 3rd St., Saint Clair, www.thumbcoasttheaters.com, 810-278-1749, $38.
• “Kimberly Akimbo”: Through March 23, Fisher Theatre, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit. 313-872-1000, broadwayindetroit.com, ticket prices vary.
• “Laughter on the 23rd Floor”: Through March 29, Avon Players Community Theatre, 1185 Washington Road, Rochester Hills, 248-608-9077, www.avonplayers.org, $28.
• “Steel Magnolias”: Through March 30, Birmingham Village Players, 34660 Woodward Ave, Birmingham, $30 (including ticketing fee), 248-644-2075, www.birminghamvillageplayers.com.
• “English”: Through April 6, Tipping Point Theatre, 361 E Cady St., Northville, www.tippingpointtheatre.com, ticket prices vary.
• Meadow Brook Theatre Guild Costume Show: 3 p.m. March 27, Rochester Community House, 816 Ludlow, Rochester. Guild members will model costumes from previous theater productions, for information, email AAUWLinda@gmail.com, no tickets required.
• “Dress Rehearsal”- The Show: March 28-April 5, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Planet Ant Black Box, 2357 Caniff Street, Hamtramck, planetant.com/events, $30+ or $35+ at the door.
• “Groundhog Day”-The Musical: March 28-April 6, presented by Grosse Pointe Theatre, Pierce Middle School, 15430 Kercheval, Grosse Pointe Park, $35 including fees (weekends) $25 including fees (weeknights), gpt.org/groundhog, 313-881-4004.
• “The Prom” musical: March 28-April 6, Hilberry Gateway, 4715 Cass Ave, Detroit, https://theatreanddance.wayne.edu/about/hilberrygateway, ticket prices vary, parking fees.
• “White Rabbit Red Rabbit”: 7 p.m. March 30, Tipping Point Theatre, 361 E Cady St., Northville, featuring TPT Artistic Director Julia Glander, the performance unfolds with the premise that the performer sees the script for the first time on stage, and performs it only once.
• Open Auditions: Grosse Pointe Theatre is holding open auditions for its Ten-Minute Play Festival, 10 a.m.-noon April 5, at Grosse Pointe Theatre’s Rehearsal Studio, 315 Fisher Road, Grosse Pointe. Adult actors of various ages are needed for ten short plays. Register at www.gpt.org/auditions.
Art
• Drawing in the Galleries: European-Medieval & Renaissance is 6-8:30 p.m. March 21, noon-4 p.m. March 23; Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, www.dia.org.
• “Building an Artistic Life: Arts Career Forum 2025 is 11 a.m.-4 p.m. March 21, at Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E. Huron River Drive, www.wccnet.edu/succeed/entrepreneurship-center/events-workshops, free.
• “Acrylic Paintings of Family at Home and Abroad”: Opens March 24, Farmington Hills City Hall, 31555 W. Eleven Mile Road, Farmington Hills, opening reception and artist talk is 6-8 p.m. March 28, featuring paintings and poetry by artist Elizabeth Hull, www.fhgov.com, 248-699-6709.
• Public Lecture Series: Mike Cloud, 6 p.m. March 27, Cranbrook Art Museum, 39221 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, https://cranbrookart.edu/event/public-lecture-mike-cloud, 248-645-3300, free and open to the public at Cranbrook’s deSalle Auditorium. Cranbrook Art Museum is open late and free to all on Thursdays, arrive early to explore exhibitions.
• “Anti-Inflation Art Show”: Through March 28, Color | Ink Studio, 20919 John R Road, Hazel Park. Gallery is open 1 to 5 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday, and at other times by appointment, ColorInkStudio.com, 248-398-6119.
• Art Leaders Gallery Young Artist Scholarship Competition: Submission deadline is 6 p.m. March 31, at Art Leaders Gallery, 33086 Northwestern Hwy, West Bloomfield Twp., www.artleaders.com/young-artist-juried-exhibition, $10 entry fee.
• Artists invitations: The Northville Art House invites artists for two upcoming art fairs. The Young Artist Art Fair for ages 7-18 is May 10, apply by May 1 at https://northvillearthouse.org/yaaf/registration. The Northville Art House Art Market is June 13-15, with a March 31 deadline to apply at www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=13318. Both fairs charge booth fees, www.northvillearthouse.org, 248-344-0497.
• Deck Art 2025: Downtown Rochester is calling all artists, youth and adult, to participate in downtown Rochester’s annual Skateboard Art Competition & Exhibition Deck Art 2025. Artists are asked to provide their unique work on a blank skateboard deck. Winning pieces will be picked in each category by a panel of judges, and prizes awarded. Registration is open through April 11 (while supplies last), and the event takes place on May 15-16, www.downtownrochestermi.com/deck-art.
• Anthony Brass “Breath”: Through April 11, Ferndale Area District Library, 222 E 9 Mile Rd, Ferndale, www.fadl.org.
• NOXX Cannabis Mural Contest: Submissions are due by April 15. The design should celebrate what makes Detroit unique. Artists can submit up to five designs for consideration. From April 21 to May 4, the public will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite design. The 430-square-foot mural will be featured on the covered parking lot wall at NOXX’s dispensary, 23622 Woodward Ave. Pleasant Ridge. The mural will be painted between May 13 and May 22, weather permitting, https://noxx.com/noxx-woodward-mural-contest.
• Warp and Weft-Technologies within Textiles: Exhibit through May 3, The Shepherd, 1265 Parkview St., Detroit. Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, https://lscgallery.com/the-shepherd-bio.
• Downtown Rochester Makers’ Market: Vendor registration is open until April 18, vendors will be notified if selected by April 23. The market is scheduled for 10 a.m.-6 p.m. June 21, at W. Fourth Street in downtown Rochester. Artisan vendors, makers, and handmade crafters are welcome to purchase a vendor space at the market. Registration forms and prices are at Downtownrochestermi.com.
• Tiff Massey-“7 Mile + Livernois”: Exhibit through May 11, 2025, Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, dia.org.
• Painted with Silk-The Art of Early American Embroidery: Through June 15, Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, https://dia.org/events/exhibitions/painted-silk.
• Henry Ossawa Tanner-“Flight into Egypt”: On view in African American, Level 2, West Wing, D, Detroit Institute of Arts, Art-Making Studio, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, www.dia.org.
• Thursdays at the Museum: 1 p.m. Thursdays, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, self-guided visit of our collections for adults 55 and older. Groups of 25 or more in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties can receive free bus transportation, www.dia.org/events/thursdays.
• University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 South State St., Ann Arbor, 734-764-0395, umma.umich.edu, ticket prices vary.
Beats, continued
• Mike Zito: 7:45 p.m. March 28, Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Road, Westland. Doors at 7 p.m. 734-513-5030, okenlounge.com, $20+.
• Lily Rose, Payton Smith: March 28, District 142, 142 Maple St., Wyandotte, doors at 7 p.m., ages 21+, district142live.com, $20-$30+.
• Dueling Pianos: 8 p.m. March 28, Younger’s Showroom, 120 S. Main, Romeo, ages 21+, www.youngersromeo.com, $25+
• The War and Treaty: 7 p.m. March 29, Saint Andrews Hall, 431 E Congress St., Detroit, livenation.com, ticket prices vary.
• The Taxpayers: March 29, The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 248-820-5596, thelovingtouchferndale.com, all ages, doors at 7 p.m., $30+.
• The Miracles: 7:30 p.m. March 29, Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Twp., www.macombcenter.com, 586-286-2222, $53-$79, ages 12 and under- $50-$69.
• The Used: April 3, 5, 6, The Fillmore Detroit, www.thefillmoredetroit.com, ticket prices vary.
• Candlelight-Classic Rock on Strings: Tribute to Queen and The Beatles is April 4, Sanctuary Church Birmingham, 300 Willits St, Birmingham, https://feverup.com/m/250445, ticket prices vary
• Dueling Pianos: 8 p.m. April 5, The Roxy, 401 Walnut Blvd., Rochester, 248-453-5285, www.theroxyrochester.com, doors at 7 p.m., ages 21+, $30+.
• Hawaiian artist Maoli: April 5, Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit, www.majesticdetroit.com/calendar, doors at 7 p.m., 29.50+.
Books
• Author Dagnija “Daggie” Lacis: 2 p.m. March 23, Clarkston Public Library, 6495 Clarkston Road, Clarkston. Dagnija “Daggie” Lacis, author of memoir, “The Wall Falls, A Woman Rises”, in-conversation with former WDIV reporter Mara MacDonald about her memoir, followed by a book signing, register at www.cidlibrary.org/event-calendar#/events.
• Author Amy Piper: Book signing events for “Secret Michigan-A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure:” 6:30-8 p.m. April 2, at Milford Public Library, 330 Family Drive, Milford, 248-684-0845; 2-4 p.m. April 6, at Brighton District Library, 100 Library Dr, Brighton, 810-229-6571; Noon-5 p.m. April 13, at Super 8, 6951 Newark Road, Imlay City, 810-683-9079; and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 26, Northfield Area Library Spring Fest, Northfield, (Whitmore Lake). The events are free and open to the public.
Classical/Orchestra
• Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony: March 21-23, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit, concert performance of the opera, dso.org, $20+.
• Classical Series: University of Michigan Chamber Music is 7 p.m. March 21, Hawk Theatre, 29995 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, TheHawkTheatre.com, 248-699-6709, all ages, free, advance registration required.
• Beethoven & Brahms: March 21-23, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit, dso.org, $20+.
• Prism Strings: 11 a.m. March 27, Hawk Theatre, 29995 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, TheHawkTheatre.com, 248-699-6709, all ages, concession, $15 adv., $20 at the door.
• Jader Conducts Brahms’s Third Symphony: March 27-29, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit, concert performance of the opera, dso.org, $20+.
• The Ferndale Community Concert Band: 3 p.m. March 30 at Orchestra Hall in Detroit, www.fcconcertband.org/event-calendar, free admission.
Comedy/Magic
• Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle: Matt McCusker-March 20-22; John Caparulo-March 27-29; at 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak, www.comedycastle.com, 248-542-9900, ages 18+, ticket prices vary.
• One Night Stans: Aries Spears-March 20-22; Hip-Prov with Tam White-March 28; Chris Barnes-March 27-29; at 4761 Highland Road, Waterford Twp., www.onenightstans.club, 248-249-1321, ages 18+, ticket prices vary.
• “Comedy Night at The Crofoot”: 8-11 p.m. March 22, featuring Councilwoman Melanie Rutherford’s Stand-Up Debut, The Crofoot, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac, tickets at the door and online at https://thecrofoot.com/events, $15+.
• Michael Carbonaro: March 22, Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit, www.musichall.org, $30+.
Dance
• Hula Palooza: 2 p.m. March 22, Unity East of Clinton Township, 23057 N Nunneley, Clinton Twp. Polynesian Dance Workshop, includes light snacks/refreshments, $30 per adult, $15 per child 10-17. Register via email by March 19, to uec.hulapalooza@gmail.com. Pay by cash or check at door, proceeds benefit Unity East of Clinton Township and Polynesian Arts Advocacy Council of Michigan.
• Fred Astaire Dance Studios Youth Dance Program: Ballroom Stars Youth Dance Program audition for dancers ages 6-17, and information event for parents/caregivers, 9 a.m.-noon April 12. Advance registration is required. Contact Fred Astaire Dance Studios: call or text 248-773-9392 or email bloomfieldhills@fredastaire.com.
Film
• AMC Theatres: AMC Forum Sterling Heights, 586-254-1381; AMC Star Gratiot Clinton Township, 586-791-2095; AMC Star Great Lakes Auburn Hills, 248-454-0314; AMC Star John R Madison Heights, 248-585-4477, amctheatres.com.
• Cinemark Southland Center, Taylor, 734-287-0629, www.cinemark.com/theatres.
• Detroit Film Theatre at Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, dia.org, ticket prices vary.
• Emagine Theatres: Birmingham 8, 248-723-6230; Emagine Palladium in Birmingham, 248-385-0500; Canton, 734-787-3002; The Riviera in Farmington Hills, 248-788-6572; Hartland, 810-207-5757; Macomb, 586-372-3456; Novi, 248-468-2990; Rochester Hills, 248-378-2991; Royal Oak, 248-414-1000, emagine-entertainment.com. Winter Kids Film Series is offered through March 20, with $3 tickets. Open caption showtimes are Sunday and Wednesday afternoons throughout March at select Emagine Theatres, ticket prices vary.
• Farmington Civic Theater: 33332 Grand River Ave., Farmington, www.theFCT.com.
• St. Pat’s Party for Lost Voices Concert: 7 p.m. March 22, in the Wilcox Theater at the Plymouth Arts and Recreational Center (PARC), 650 Church Street in Plymouth, featuring Kitty Donohoe & Friends, Gretchen Pleuss and Mike Ball. Beer, wine, soft drinks, and sandwiches available for purchase. Proceeds to support Lost Voices, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing healing to kids who have experienced severe trauma through the power of music and storytelling, lostvoices.org, 313-405-7664, doors at 6 p.m., $25-$75+.
• Laugh Out Loud 4: 5:30-9 p.m. April 25, Dinner and Comedy Night with Jonnie W, at Lakeside Assembly of God, 46155 Schoenherr Road, Shelby Township, www.lakesideag.org/events/event/743/lol-4/2025-04-25, 586 726-1120. Net proceeds benefit Project Rescue, $25+ show only, (show at 8 p.m.), $35+ dinner and show.
Misc.
• “Elevate Your Well-Being” Seminar: 5-7:30 p.m. March 26, Emagine Palladium, 209 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, www.LiveWellLeadWell.us, $50+.
• Holistic Mystic Market & Meet Up: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. March 29, CenterPeace Healing and Events, 2609 Crooks Road, Troy. Immersive healing experiences including gallery readings, sound baths, meditation and mindfulness groups, www.centerpeacehealing.com, $7.
• Live cooking demonstration: 6:30 p.m. April 10, with Chef Jim Oppat at Andiamo Warren, 7096 E 14 Mile Road, Warren. Guests will watch as Chef Jim creates a spring menu of the evening’s dishes. Following the demo, guests will be served a four-course meal complete with a sommelier-curated wine pairing. Reservations required at www.AndiamoItalia.com, $59+ per person.
Museums
• Founder’s Day is 2-4 p.m. March 23, The Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, presented by the Rochester Historical Commission, includes a presentation on Indigenous people in Oakland County presented by Carol Egbo, Oakland County’s Historian. starting with an Irish Bagpiper and ending with entertainment from Irish Dancers. Light refreshments provided. Register at www.rochesterhills.org/musprograms, free event.
• Spring into Science: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. March 26-28, Cranbrook Institute of Science, 39221 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, explore Michigan’s ecosystems and natural world through hands-on, environmental fun, 248-645-3200, cranbrook.edu, activities free with general admission, $14 for adults and $10.50 for children ages 2 to 12 and seniors ages 65+. The museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. March 26-27 and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. March 28.
• Meadow Brook Hall: Guided House Tours and Self-Guided Tours, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester. Visit meadowbrookhall.org/tours for tour times and ticket prices. Downton Abbey-inspired Servant’s Life Tours are 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on select Saturdays and Sundays through March, tickets are $45 per person, advance purchase at meadowbrookhall.org/servantslife. Flashlight Tours are on select Tuesdays through April 4, tickets are $30 per person, advance purchase at https://meadowbrookhall.org/flashlight.
• Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm presents Cabin Fever Lecture Series, 7-8 p.m. Fridays in March, at the Calf Barn. Admission is $8/adults, $5/seniors and students; free for museum members. Register at www.rochesterhills.org/musprograms, includes light refreshments.
• The Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm is open for drop-in hours, Fridays and Saturdays, from noon-3 p.m. with guided tours of the Van Hoosen Farmhouse and Red House starting at 1 p.m.
• Detroit Arsenal of Democracy Museum: Seeks volunteer groups from veteran and military groups to assist with restoration. The museum is also seeking building materials and equipment to support the ongoing restoration of its vintage industrial space at 19144 Glendale Ave., Detroit, including floor grinders, clear epoxy and Thinset products for floor repairs, www.detroitarsenalofdemocracy.org.
• Detroit Historical Museum: 5401 Woodward Ave. (NW corner of Kirby) in Midtown Detroit, detroithistorical.org. Permanent exhibits include the famous Streets of Old Detroit, the Allesee Gallery of Culture, Doorway to Freedom: Detroit and the Underground Railroad, Detroit: The “Arsenal of Democracy,” the Gallery of Innovation, Frontiers to Factories, America’s Motor City and The Glancy Trains, regular museum general admission is $10. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. “Detroit Lions: Gridiron Heroes,” exhibition featuring the history of the Detroit Lions, detroithistorical.org.
• Dossin Great Lakes Museum: 100 Strand Drive, Belle Isle, Detroit, detroithistorical.org.
• Ford Piquette Plant Museum: 461 Piquette Ave, Detroit. Open Wednesdays through Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10-$18. Optional guided tours take place daily at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m., www.fordpiquetteplant.org, 313-872-8759.
• Ford House, historic home of Eleanor and Edsel Ford, 1100 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Shores, www.fordhouse.org, 313-884-4222, www.fordhouse.org/events. Ford House to Host Free Community Appreciation Day on April 5, guests can choose between two free admission options: Grounds Admission or House + Grounds Admission.
• Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society: Open 1st/2nd/4th/5th Sundays of the month and 3rd Fridays, 1-4 pm, (holidays excluded) with exhibits including “Four Communities” exhibit at The Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road, Orchard Lake. Admission is free, donations welcome, www.gwbhs.org, 248-757-2451.
• The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village: 20900 Oakwood Blvd., Dearborn, Ford Rouge Factory Tours Monday-Saturday, purchase tickets online, prices vary, thehenryford.org.
• Michigan Science Center (Mi-Sci): 5020 John R St., Detroit, 313-577-8400, www.mi-sci.org. Regular museum gen. adm. is $17+. Standard Mi-Sci films are available as a $6 add-on to general admission tickets. Mi-Sci is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday and until 8 p.m. the first Friday of each month. Kids Town exhibit provides a tinkering space for children 5 and under to explore creativity as part of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) concepts – while under the supervision of parents and caregivers. “Tyrannosaurs – Meet the Family” exhibit is open through May, (collection of tyrannosaur skeleton casts, fossils, and life-size displays).
• Monroe County Museum: 126 S Monroe St., Monroe, monroemi.gov.
• Motown Museum, 2648 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, motownmuseum.org, 313-875-2264.
• Pontiac Transportation Museum: 250 W. Pike St., Pontiac. Admission to the museum is $10, $8 for seniors and veterans, $6 for children ages 6-12, free for children ages 5 and younger. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, www.pontiactransportationmuseum.org. First Thursday Lecture Series is 7-8:30 p.m., first Thursday of the month, free.
• Royal Oak Historical Society Museum: Hours are 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, 1411 W. Webster Road, Royal Oak, royaloakhistoricalsociety.com, 248-439-1501, $10+ suggested donation. The Underground Railroad in Oakland County traveling exhibit. Royal Oak Historical Society Speaker Series by local historian and Executive Director of Selfridge Military Air Museum, Steve Mrozek.
• Westin Book Cadillac at 100 Exhibition: Westin Book Cadillac, 1114 Washington Blvd., Detroit, presented with Detroit Historical Society, exhibit explores the 100-year history of the Book Cadillac hotel, https://detroithistorical.org.
• The Wright: The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren Ave., Detroit, 313-494-5800, open Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and open until 7 p.m. on Thursday, closed on Mondays, reserve timed tickets at thewright.org, $30+ gen adm., $20 for seniors 62+, $15 for youth, ages 5-17, free for under 5. Bank of America and The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History are partnering to provide free admission to all museum visitors on the second Sunday of each month from March through June 2025.
• The Zekelman Holocaust Center: 28123 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills. “The Evidence Room”, exhibit is through June 15, at The HC, 28123 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, $10 per person or free with membership, www.holocaustcenter.org, 248-553-2400.
Birmingham Village Players production of “Steel Magnolias” runs Thursday through Sunday, March 14-30, in Birmingham. (Photo by Joseph Lease Photography, Mary Magyari)
Carnival Corp. is putting the finishing touches on a new destination for cruise passengers.
Beginning in July, Doral-based Carnival will send ships between PortMiami and Celebration Key, a private development in the Bahamas.
Described by the cruise ship company as “a new destination from the ground up,” Celebration Key is on the southern side of Grand Bahama island and about 17 miles northeast of Freeport.
When finished, the resort will have its own pier with two berths where Carnival’s largest ships can dock. In 2026, the pier at Celebration Key will add two more berths so a total of four Carnival ships can dock at the same time.
The resort will feature water slides for kids, scuba diving and other sports, and excursions. And there will be restaurants and bars that passengers can reach by walking or swimming.
Costing $600 million, the destination is the latest in major cruise carriers betting big time on private islands or resorts built from the ground up. The new stops give cruisers more beach time, expand group activities and bring in more money.
Royal Caribbean, also based in Miami, is developing a third private space in Mexico that’s expected to be ready in 2027. The company’s other two private resorts are in Labadee, Haiti, and Coco Cay in the Bahamas. Norwegian Cruise Line has Great Stirrup Cay, also in the Bahamas.
Carnival is so keen on Celebration Key that 20 of its 27 ships plan to sail there, including all five ships that call PortMiami home: Carnival Celebration, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Conquest and Carnival Magic. Ships sailing from Baltimore, New Orleans and Galveston will also head there this year.
Carnival Conquest, which does three-and four-day trips to the Bahamas, will be the first PortMiami-based ship to visit Celebration Key, departing South Florida on July 18.
At the construction site
“Celebration Key represents a new chapter for Carnival and its construction builds on our close partnership with the Bahamas,” Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said in a statement. “Seeing it transform from vision to reality is incredible.”
Duffy visited the under-construction Celebration Key in February, along with Carnival Corp. Chief Executive Officer Josh Weinstein and Chief Maritime Officer Lars Ljoen. The cruise executives joined leaders from the organization Plant a Tree and replanted about 1,000 sabal palms, a nod to the role their industry needs to play in increasing sustainability.
Duffy also took part in “the ceremonial filling of one of two expansive freshwater lagoons, the largest in the Caribbean.” These will be sustained by Celebration Key’s desalination system that converts seawater into freshwater. The lagoons span over seven acres and hold about seven million gallons of water.
Carnival broke ground on the project less than three years ago. About 500 Bahamian workers are on the 65-acre site around the clock to make sure the resort is ready by July.
The cruises from Miami that will stop at Celebration Key range from a three-day weekend cruise on Carnival Conquest to a 13-day trip starting from Barcelona on Carnival Journeys. Carnival Celebration will offer a variety of seven-day cruises to the eastern and western Caribbean that stop at the new resort.
The resort expects to have more than 30 restaurants and bars, from full-service sit-downs to self-ordering food trucks.
The development is broken down into different areas.
Paradise Plaza is the welcoming area. Starfish Lagoon has recreation and relaxation. Calypso Lagoon has an adult-only area with a DJ island and a large swim-up bar. Pearl Cove Beach Club is a premium adult-only space with an infinity pool and beachfront cabanas. Pearl Cove Beach Club will offer beachfront daybeds, private cabanas and Super Villas, each of which includes access to the club’s open bar service, infinity pool, full-service restaurant and beachfront.
Here is a rundown on the food and drinks:
Food on Carnival’s Celebration Key
Calypso Lagoon
—Mingo’s Tropical Bar & Kitchen, named after the Bahamas’ national bird the flamingo, is a full-service, Carnival-run restaurant offering Bahamian favorites including fried fish and conch fritters, as well as burgers, seafood, tacos, steak and sandwiches. Mingo’s bar will serve tropical frozen drinks and cocktails.
—Mingo’s Express food truck, just outside the restaurant, has self-ordering kiosks and shaded seating, and to-go hamburgers, salads and fish sandwiches.
—Surf N’ Sauce BBQ & Brews is a full-service dining spot serving slow-smoked meat prepared in an outdoor smoker. A full-service bar pours craft beer from Bahamian breweries.
Starfish Lagoon
—Gill’s Grill, a full-service restaurant and full bar, cooks up Caribbean seafood including seafood baskets, local fish, lobster, steamed crab and shrimp, chicken, burgers and kids’ meals.
—Captain’s Galley Food Hall features five outlets serving burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, pizza, Mediterranean bowls, tacos and burritos.
—Food trucks with self-ordering kiosks offer chicken sandwiches, burgers and conch fritters.
Pearl Cove Beach Club
—Pearl Cove Beach Club restaurant in an area for guests 18 and older.
Beverages on Celebration Key
Calypso Lagoon
—Long Necks Bar is where you can grab one of 100 seats and order a frozen drink, beer or Bahamian cocktail while a DJ spins tunes.
—The Sunshine Swings Bar has 40 swings and offers a “chill vibe.”
—The Parrotfish Swim-Up Bar has seating in-water and out-of-water and serves frozen cocktails and mocktails with tropical fruit juice.
Pearl Cove Beach Club
—An infinity pool overlooks the beach and a swim-up bar
Paradise Plaza
—A welcome area where you can get your caffeine fix or energy boost with coffee and ice cream.
Carnival cruise reservations
You can book sailings taking place into 2027. To learn more about sailings and make reservations, visit the Carnival website at carnival.com.
Runners run eastward passing the Carnival Horizon docked at the Port of Miami during Life Time Miami Marathon on Sunday, January 28, 2024, in Miami, Florida. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald/TNS)
Some food trends put in deep roots, some are fleeting, some are outright silly and some are just plain fun. I am putting the “just plain fun” label on this one: pearl-shaped foods that pop in your mouth.
Tiny sphere-shaped foods seem to be everywhere, entertaining mouths with their pop-ability and the sometimes unusual transformation of familiar foods.
Call it part of a bubble moment: The bubble hem is hot in fashion, and decor is loving soft, round corners and playfulness.
Here are some examples of pearl-shaped foods, old and new.
Straight from nature
Some pearl-shaped bubble foods have been with us for a long time — not fads at all. Perhaps the classic is caviar, and fish eggs in general. Different fish eggs have different types of “pop” and different flavor profiles.
Fish roe is great on blinis, toast point and potato pancakes, but also eggs, shellfish and pasta.
Not all caviar is pricy, either. California-based Tsar Nicoulai, for example, offers gold pearl trout roe for about $14 an ounce; it’s bright orange with a firm shell and a silky, distinctive pop. Their Estate Malossol Caviar retails for about $100 an ounce; it has a softer texture, a brownish black color and a buttery, earthy flavor.
Could it be time for the finger lime?
Another natural, pearl-shaped product — one not so well-known — is the finger lime. It looks like a skinny, pinky-shaped lime, but inside are wonderful little crunchy caviar-like pearls of lime juice. It’s definitely a novelty, but not a gimmick: The flavor and texture is a terrific addition to anything from oysters to scallop ceviche.
The skin of finger limes can be green, burgundy or dull orange. The pulpy pearls can be green, pale peach or red.
To harvest a finger lime’s caviar, just slice the lime down the middle and then squeeze each half. If your finger lime is fresh, the caviar should spill out easily. Look for them at specialty stores or online.
Boba and boba tea
Boba and boba tea (also known as bubble tea) have been around since the 1980s, introduced from Taiwan and now taking the world by storm.
Boba pearls are usually made from tapioca starch (from the cassava plant), water, and sometimes a sweetener, like brown sugar, using a process known as gelatinization. The little boba balls are chewy and bouncy, and while they are most often served in a sweet cold tea, they can also be used in different preparations. There is also popping boba, designed to burst when you bite into it.
Boba tea is usually sweet and creamy, shaken before serving to create a frothy texture. A fat straw is used to slurp up the balls, which are chewed as you drink.
You can buy boba tea at coffee shops and specialty stores, and get packaged boba pearls to make drinks and other confections at home. Twrl Milk Tea, for example, makes boba offerings like Lychee Popping Boba and Brown Sugar Boba. You can also buy ready-to-drink boba tea in a can, or bubble tea kits.
Spherification: Making foods pop-able
A trend that’s been percolating for years is spherified foods — liquids that become squishy little orbs when a gelled membrane is created around them.
One of my favorites is balsamic and other vinegar pearls. De Nigris, for instance, makes a line of Italian balsamic vinegar pearls, including some flavored with truffle and orange. Messino makes balsamic pearls and also lemon pearls, filled with real lemon juice, and pomegranate pearls. Tartuflanghe turns truffle juice into truffle pearls, and also makes anchovy and pesto pearls.
Prova ’s vanilla, coffee and cocoa pearls are made for pastry chefs to serve on desserts.
You might sprinkle balsamic pearls on crostini or bruschetta, salads, and burrata or other cheeses. Try lemon pearls on top of oysters or grilled fish.
Spherification, or reverse spherification as it is officially called, uses sodium alginate and calcium to create the little orbs. The technique was invented in the 1940s and popularized by chef Ferran Adraia in the 2000s at his famed, now-closed restaurant El Bulli, in Spain. Chefs like Wylie Dufresne at WD-50 in New York have helped bring it to the fore.
Spherification beyond liquids
Some restaurants spherify their own foods, from ravioli to melons. Olive lovers might be dazzled by the spherified olives at Jose Andres’ Mercado Little Spain in NYC.
BelGiosioso makes teeny little mozzarella pearls, weighing in at 2.5 grams each. They look adorable in pasta salads and antipasti platters. They also melt into perfect little cheesy pockets in baked pastas, like baked ziti.
Easter candy, too
On the sweet side, there are translucent hard-candy rabbits stuffed with candy pearls from Pure Sugar. You’ll have to steel yourself to smash them open, or just shake the pearls out from the bottom if you can’t bear to break the bunny.
Katie Workman writes regularly about food for The Associated Press. She has written two cookbooks focused on family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” She blogs at https://themom100.com/. She can be reached at Katie@themom100.com.
This photo shows a finger lime being squeezed to release the juice pearls in New York on Nov. 15, 2021. (Cheyenne Cohen via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — If Ellen Pompeo was going to find a new role after 20 years as a series regular on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” it had to be good. She thinks she found it as a supermom whose world collapses in Hulu’s “Good American Family.”
“I was looking for a real creative challenge. I think this was an opportunity for me to completely disappear into a role,″ she says. ”Characters like this don’t come along all that often.”
“Good American Family” fictionalizes the true story of Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-born orphan with dwarfism, adopted as a child by an American family who soon accuse her of being a troubled adult masquerading as a child.
This image released by Disney shows Mark Duplass, left, and Imogen Faith Reid in a scene from “Good American Family.” (Ser Baffo/Disney via AP)
Pompeo plays the adoptive mother, whose character has become a sought-after speaker and author after raising a son with autism but now finds herself at her breaking point with Natalia, her marriage strained, in legal jeopardy and her reputation in tatters.
“We were taking all of this research that we had and amplifying certain moments or adjusting certain moments for kind of dramatic license,” says creator and co-showrunner Katie Robbins, who also created “Sunny” and wrote for “The Affair.”
“The thing that was important was to tell a propulsive, compulsively watchable thing. But, at the end of the day, the most important thing was to tell it in an emotionally authentic way to the people involved.”
This image released by Disney shows Ellen Pompeo in a scene from “Good American Family.” (Ser Baffo/Disney via AP)
Over the years, the case has been the focus of several TV shows, podcasts and documentaries, including Investigation Discovery’s documentary series “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.”
If viewers hope to get clarity on who the heroes are, they’ll not get it with “Good American Family.” It tells the story from multiple points of view, flashing forward and back, to create a complex family drama that also has elements of a thriller.
“You really have to pay attention to who’s doing the telling,” says Robbins. “Using perspective felt like an opportunity both to tell the story in kind of a fresh way, but also to allow us as storytellers to take the viewers on an experience that would help them confront their own biases in unexpected ways.”
Mark Duplass, from left, Imogen Faith Reid, and Ellen Pompeo arrive at an FYC screening of “Good American Family” on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at DGA Theater Complex in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
The series starts from the perspective of the adoptive parents — Mark Duplass plays the husband — who eventually turn on their new family member, but then shifts to Natalia (played by Imogen Faith Reid), slowly cracking any snap judgements the viewer may have had going into it.
“Everybody comes into the experience of this story with sort of a different way of looking at it,” says co-showrunner and executive producer Sarah Sutherland. “It’s sort of like a Rorschach test. I just thought it was super-fascinating to sit with the kind of uncomfortableness of that.”
The eight episodes that begin debuting Wednesday seamlessly blend darkness and light, showing moments of family levity but also scenes of terror, as when Natalia approaches her parents’ bed with a knife.
“In terms of the tone, I am a firm believer that life is a real genre blend,” says Robbins. “The happiest moments in my life have been undercut often with tragedy, and the saddest moments I’ve often found myself finding something absurdly hilarious. So everything that I write, I try to let all live in that sort of tension because that’s what it is to be a person.”
At its core, “Good American Family” is about how we are raised and how that can echo through generations. We learn how Pompeo’s character was treated by her mother and how Natalia wasn’t always raised with familial love, priming them for a face-off.
“We’re examining the ways in which one is parented trickles down and affects the way that one is a parent,” says Robbins. “It changes the way that you perceive the world. And I think that it’s a fascinating thing that runs through the arc of this series.”
Pompeo sees an even larger point — how everyone these days has their own definitive version of events and sees things though their own lens.
“Even if you know you’re wrong, it takes an extraordinary amount of humility to admit you’re wrong. It’s so much easier to just go with it, stick to the ego and say, ‘I wasn’t wrong,’” she says.
“We see that with what’s happening in our country right now. People will fight to the death before they admit they were wrong. It doesn’t matter what we see, right?” she adds.
“We’re seeing things before our eyes, and people are saying something else, and we’re choosing to believe what was said instead of what we’re seeing. And that is the human condition.”
This image released by Disney shows Mark Duplass, left, and Ellen Pompeo in a scene from “Good American Family.” (Ser Baffo/Disney via AP)
A former employee of Marshall Mathers — aka entertainer Eminem — is named in a federal criminal complaint for allegedly stealing and selling some of his unreleased music.
Joseph Strange, 46, of Holly is charged with two counts of criminal infringement of a copyright and interstate transportation of stolen goods.
According to the criminal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court – Eastern District of Michigan, the FBI launched an investigation in January after employees of Mathers’ music studio in Ferndale reported finding a list of Mathers’ unreleased music — still in development — available for puchase on the Internet. The list was reportedly taken directly from a hard drive in Mathers’ Ferndale studio.
FBI tracked down multiple people who had bought the unreleased music who identified Strange as the seller, the complaint states. Strange reportedly worked for Mathers from approximately 2007 through 2021.
“This investigation underscores the FBI’s commitment to safeguarding artists’ intellectual property from exploitation by individuals seeking to profit illegally,” Cheyvoryea Gibson, special agent in charge of the FBI in Michigan, stated in a news release. “Thanks to the cooperation of Mathers Music Studio, FBI agents from the Oakland County Resident Agency were able to swiftly enforce federal laws and ensure Joseph Strange was held accountable for his actions.”
If convicted of the copyright infringement charge, Strange could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The interstate transportation of stolen goods charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison/
“Protecting intellectual property from thieves is critical in safeguarding the exclusive rights of creators and protecting their original work from reproduction and distribution by individuals who seek to profit from the creative output of others,” Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck stated in the release.
The case is being investigated by special agents of the FBI Oakland County Resident Agency, and prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Timothy Wyse and Alyse Wu.
Alex Jensen had noticed that his 14-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son were bickering more often than usual lately. On a recent morning, while father and daughter were on an outing together, the teen turned to her dad and shared her perspective about the dynamic between her parents and brother.
“She said, ‘I’m just so annoyed that you guys always take his side,’” Jensen recalled.
It was the type of accusation that might make many parents feel a reflexive, defensive urge — to immediately say “no, we don’t,” or “that’s not true.” Instead, Jensen said: “OK — how?”
“She said, “Well, every time he’s doing something annoying, you tell me to ‘just ignore him,’ and that really drives me crazy,’” he said.
Jensen was uniquely able to understand the importance of this moment: An associate professor in the school of family life at Brigham Young University, he is the lead author of a recent study, published by the American Psychological Association, that examined parental differential treatment and which children are more likely to receive it. The study found that gender, birth order and a child’s temperament can shape whether a child is favored by their parents.
In Jensen’s family, there was a justifiable explanation for why the siblings were being treated differently — the gap in maturity between a 14-year-old and a 9-year-old, which his daughter understood as they talked about it — but the episode illustrates why a child might feel like there is a favored sibling, he said. And the implications of those feelings can be significant.
The idea of parental favoritism might seem inherently subjective (what do we mean by “favorite,” exactly?) but researchers have developed ways to identify differences in the ways parents treat their children, Jensen said.
“Very few studies are going to approach parents and say, ‘Well, who is your favorite child?’ Parents aren’t going to answer that. They’re going to say, ‘I don’t have one,’” he says. Instead, researchers asked parents for more concrete information: Does a parent experience more conflict with a particular child? With which child does a parent spend more time? Is there a child who typically receives more affection? More financial investment? More help with homework?
Similar questions are also posed to children, he said: “We’d ask the kids: ‘Compared to your sibling, who does your parent spend more time with?’”
The findings of the study indicated some clear and consistent patterns: Daughters tend to be favored by parents — according to parents themselves; children didn’t report that same pattern from their perspective, Jensen said.
“That one was surprising,” he said. “There are a couple of older studies that suggested that fathers are going to favor sons, and mothers are going to favor daughters, so that’s what we were expecting to find — but it turns out fathers favor daughters, too.”
There also were some benefits to being an older child, the study found: “Older siblings were given more freedom and more autonomy,” Jensen said. At first glance, that might seem intuitive; older children are typically more mature and responsible. “But we’re also looking to see if there’s a change between childhood, teen years, adulthood, and we found it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Even as adults, parents still give more freedom to their older kids.”
More predictably, the study also found that certain personality traits are linked to favored treatment: Children who were agreeable (“a kid who is compliant, where a parent asks them to do something and they’re more likely to do it,” Jensen said) and conscientious (“kids who are more aware and more responsible,” he said) also tend to be favored by parents.
A recent study, published by the American Psychological Association found that gender, birth order and a child’s temperament can shape whether a child is favored by their parents. (Photo courtesy of Metro Editorial Services)
The study, a meta-analysis of existing research, included 30 studies as well as 14 unpublished datasets about parental differential treatment, Jensen noted, representing more than 19,000 participants from across North America and Western Europe.
This information is important, Jensen noted, because “there are decades of research showing that the kids who tend to get the less-favored treatment tend to have poorer outcomes.” They are more likely to be depressed or anxious, he said, and more likely to get in trouble at school or engage in substance use as teens. “One study suggested they are less likely to go to college, and less satisfied with their life as adults,” he said. For the children who are favored, the reverse is true, he noted: Research shows that they have better mental health, less trouble at school and are more likely to go to college.
By identifying the children most likely to experience these effects, Jensen’s findings might be of particular value to therapists, social workers or clinicians who support families, said Megan Gilligan, an associate professor in the department of human development and family science at the University of Missouri who has studied sibling relationships. Parental differential treatment not only shapes the bond between parent and child, she said, but between siblings, as well.
“We sometimes forget about the sibling relationship, or we make assumptions about it, but being aware of those sibling dynamics and how they play a role is important,” she said.
The sibling relationship is especially salient in adolescence, she said, and research has shown that those childhood dynamics “do set the stage for later life”: If parental differential treatment affects the sibling bond, the impact can carry through into their adult relationship.
But it’s also important to recognize that some degree of parental favoritism is far more widespread than we might want to admit, she said.
“For the families experiencing this, it feels really personal, and it feels unique to their individual family,” Gilligan said: “But it’s happening in most families. We’ve been able to document it from early childhood all the way to when folks are into their 60s, and still perceive differential treatment or favoritism from parents. It’s not just something that happens when we’re kids.” If more people understand that this phenomenon is common, she says, it might help them feel more able to acknowledge the family dynamics in their own households. “It might help them feel less defensive,” she said.
Jensen echoed that notion. “Every parent is going to treat their kids differently, so parents shouldn’t take a study like this and say: ‘Oh, shoot, I treat my kids differently, I’ve messed up.’ I don’t want parents to have that takeaway — but rather, just recognize that sometimes differences in treatment can be problematic.”
If parents take an opportunity to reflect honestly on how they interact with their children, he said, it can help make those dynamics feel more comfortable to everyone involved.
“There are some studies that suggest that two things need to happen: One, the differences in treatment need to be legitimate” — for instance, he said, a parent might need to spend more time with a sibling who requires extra academic support or has special medical needs — “and the siblings need to understand that. So even if you feel it’s legitimate, if the kids don’t understand that and don’t buy into that, it could still have these negative effects.”
But if a child does understand why a parent might need to focus more on a sibling, those negative impacts are mitigated, Jensen said. “So parents should start there: ‘Why do I treat my kids differently? Is there something legitimate about that?’”
If there’s an uptick in conflicts between siblings, or if a child says outright that they think something is unfair, “then I think as a parent, you need to be willing to listen to why they feel that way,” he says. “Not just saying, ‘hey, you’re wrong, this is OK because of X, Y and Z — but actually be open to having conversations with your kids about this.”
One thing he definitely doesn’t want, Jensen said, is for his study to add another layer of parental guilt.
“I’ve had this conversation with hundreds, maybe thousands of people, with friends and family and parents and students, and I get this sense that a lot of parents end up feeling really guilty. I don’t have a solution for that, really, but — guilt doesn’t do good things in families,” he said. “We all make mistakes as parents. So, focus on improvement, but try to leave the guilt behind.”
“Very few studies are going to approach parents and say, ‘Well, who is your favorite child?’ Parents aren’t going to answer that," researcher Alex Jensen said. Instead, researchers asked parents for more concrete information: Does a parent experience more conflict with a particular child? With which child does a parent spend more time? Is there a child who typically receives more affection? More financial investment? More help with homework? (Photo courtesy of Metro Editorial Services)
The following list includes movies available at local theaters, and movies that are available to watch through online streaming and video on demand services including: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Hulu, Vudu, FandangoNow, Apple TV+, YouTube, Disney+, HBO Max and more.
Showing at theaters
• Disney’s “Snow White” (PG): Live-action musical reimagining of the classic 1937 film. Starring Rachel Zegler in the title role and Gal Gadot as her Stepmother, the Evil Queen. Also starring Andrew Burnap and Martin Klebba. In theaters, March 21.
• “The Alto Knights” (R): American biographical crime drama set in the 1950s that follows New York crime bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. Starring Robert De Niro, Cosmo Jarvis, Debra Messing and Kathrine Narducci. In theaters, March 21.
• “Ash” (R): A woman wakes up on a mysterious planet to find the crew of her space station slaughtered. Starring Flying Lotus, Eiza González, Aaron Paul and Iko Uwais. In theaters, March 21.
• “Locked” (R): When a thief breaks into a luxury SUV, he steps into a deadly trap. Starring Bill Skarsgård, Anthony Hopkins, Navid Charkhi and Michael Eklund. In theaters, March 21.
• “Black Bag” (R): The film follows intelligence agents George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and his beloved wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett). When she is suspected of betraying the nation, George must choose to be loyal to his marriage or his country.
• “The Day The Earth Blew Up-A Looney Tunes Movie” (PG): A new film from Warner Bros. Animation with Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. The pair become Earth’s only hope when their antics at the local bubble-gum factory uncover a secret alien mind-control plot. Featuring the voices of Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, Peter MacNicol, Wayne Knight, and Laraine Newman.
• “Novocaine” (R): When the girl of his dreams is kidnapped, a man turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength as he fights to get her back. Starring Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson and Betty Gabriel.
• “Opus” (R): Horror film about a young writer (Ayo Edebiri) who is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star (John Malkovich) who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. Also starring Juliette Lewis and Stephanie Suganami.
• “In the Lost Lands” (R): Fantasy/Action CGI about a witch (Milla Jovovich) who travels to the Lost Lands in search of a magical power that allows a person to transform into a werewolf. Also starring Dave Bautista, Simon Loof and Arly Jover.
• “Mickey 17” (R): Sci-fi film about a young worker who signs up to be an “expendable” to colonize the ice world Niflheim, based on Edward Ashton’s novel “Mickey7.” Starring Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun and Holliday Grainger.
• “Rule Breakers” (PG): In a nation where educating girls is seen as rebellion, a visionary teacher leads Afghanistan’s first all-girls robotics team. Based on a true story, starring Ali Fazal, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Nikohl Boosheri and Christian Contreras.
• “Night of the Zoopocalypse” (PG): Animated film about a meteorite falling at a zoo, unleashing a virus that turns zoo animals into zombies. Featuring the voices of Gabbi Kosmidis, David Harbour, Bryn McAuley and Scott Thompson.
• “Last Breath” (PG-13): Based on a true story, the film follows seasoned deep-sea divers as they battle the elements to rescue their crewmate trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface. Starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole and Cliff Curtis.
• “Riff Raff” (R): A former criminal’s life is turned upside down when his old family shows up for a long-awaited reunion. Starring Emanuela Postacchini, Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Murray and Lewis Pullman.
• “The Monkey” (R): When twin brothers find a wind-up toy monkey, a series of outrageous deaths ensue. Twenty-five years later, the monkey begins a new killing spree. Starring Oz Perkins, Theo James, Tatiana Maslany and Rohan Campbell.
• “The Unbreakable Boy” (PG): Based on the New York Times bestselling book of the same name about the true story of a couple who learn that their son, Austin, is autistic and has brittle bone disease. With the father’s growing faith in God and Austin’s incredible spirit, they find joy, gratitude and courage in the most trying times. Starring Jacob Laval, Zachary Levi, Meghann Fahy and Peter Facinelli.
• “Captain America-Brave New World” (PG-13): Anthony Mackie returns as the Marvel Comics superhero Sam Wilson/Captain America. After meeting with the newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident and must uncover the reason behind a global plot. Also starring Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, with Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler and Tim Blake Nelson.
• “Paddington in Peru” (PG): Third film in the “Paddington” live-action/animated film series. Paddington learns his beloved aunt has gone missing from the Home for Retired Bears and he and the Brown family head to the jungles of Peru to find her. Starring Emily Mortimer, Ben Whishaw, Madeleine Harris, Hugh Bonneville, Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas.
• “Heart Eyes” (R): Horror/Comedy about a masked maniac with glowing red eyes who terrorizes unsuspecting couples on Valentine’s Day. Starring Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Jordana Brewster and Devon Sawa.
• “Dog Man” (PG): When a police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, a harebrained life-saving surgery fuses them together creating Dog Man. Animated film, featuring the voices of Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Island Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd and Ricky Gervais.
• “One of Them Days” (R): When her boyfriend takes her rent money, Alyssa and her roommate race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact. Starring Keke Palmer, SZA, Maude Apatow and Katt Williams.
• “Mufasa-The Lion King” (PG): New Disney CGI-animated film in “The Lion King” franchise, “Mufasa-The Lion King” is told in flashbacks. The story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka — the heir to a royal bloodline. Featuring the voices of Aaron Pierre, Blue Ivy Carter, Mads Mikkelsen, John Kani, Tiffany Boone, Seth Rogen, Donald Glover, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.
• “Sonic The Hedgehog 3” (PG): Sonic, Knuckles and Tails reunite to fight Shadow, a mysterious new enemy with powers unlike anything they’ve faced before. Starring Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba and Keanu Reeves and Krysten Ritter.
Streaming movies
• “O’Dessa” (PG-13): Rock opera set in a post-apocalyptic future about a farm girl on a quest to recover a cherished family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a city where she meets her one true love. Starring Sadie Sink, Regina Hall, Kelly Macdonald and Kelvin Harrison Jr.
• “The Electric State” (PG-13): Sci-fi film set in the aftermath of a robot uprising in an alternate version of the ’90s. The film follows an orphaned teenager who ventures across the American West with a cartoon-inspired robot and others in search of her younger brother. Starring Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Woody Norman, with Giancarlo Esposito and Stanley Tucci. Available on Netflix.
• “Valiant One” (R): A U.S. helicopter goes down in North Korea during a routine mission, and a group of reserve soldiers must find a way out before starting a war. Starring Chase Stokes, Lana Condor, Daniel Jun and Jonathan Whitesell.
• “Flight Risk” (R): In this suspense thriller, Mark Wahlberg plays a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) accompanying a fugitive (Topher Grace) to trial. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace, directed by Mel Gibson.
• “Companion” (R): A weekend getaway turns bloody when an android that’s built for human companionship goes haywire. Starring Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Megan Suri and Lukas Gage.
• “Love Hurts” (R): Ke Huy Quan stars as Marvin Gable, a realtor working the Milwaukee suburbs. When Marvin receives a crimson envelope from Rose (Ariana DeBose), a former partner-in-crime whom he had left for dead, he finds himself thrust back into a world of ruthless hit men and double-crosses that turn his open houses into war zones. Also starring Daniel Wu, Sean Astin, Mustafa Shakir, Lio Tipton, Rhys Darby, Marshawn Lynch and André Eriksen.
• “The Gorge” (PG-13): Two highly-trained operatives are appointed to posts in guard towers on opposite sides of a vast gorge, protecting the world from a highly classified evil lurking within. Starring Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy and Sigourney Weaver. Available on Apple TV+.
• “A Complete Unknown” (R): Set in the influential New York music scene of the early 60s, the film follows 19-year-old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan’s (Timothée Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts. Also starring Elle Fanning, Scoot McNairy, Edward Norton, Boyd Holbrook and Monica Barbaro.
• “Presence” (R): A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone. Starring Julia Fox, Lucy Liu, Callina Liang, Chris Sullivan and West Mulholland.
• “Moana 2” (PG): Walt Disney Animation Studios’ animated musical reunites Moana (voice of Auli‘i Cravalho) and Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers.
• “The Room Next Door” (PG-13): Ingrid (Julianne Moore) and Martha (Tilda Swinton) were close friends while working together at the same magazine. Years later, they meet up again. Also starring Alvise Rigo and Esther Rose McGregor.
• “The Brutalist” (R): Escaping postwar Europe, a visionary architect comes to America to rebuild his life, his career, and his marriage. Starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce and Joe Alwyn.
• “Den of Thieves 2-Pantera” (R): Lawman “Big Nick” O’Brien (Gerard Butler) gets embroiled in the treacherous world of diamond thieves as he pursues a career criminal to Europe. Also starring Evin Ahmad, 50 Cent and Ciryl Gane.
• “Wolf Man” (R): A family is attacked by an unseen animal and must barricade inside a remote farmhouse. As the night wears on, the father begins to behave strangely and transforms into something unrecognizable. Adapted from “The Wolf Man” (1941). Producers are Ryan Gosling and Jason Blum. Starring Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Matilda Firth and Sam Jaeger.
• “The Last Showgirl” (R): A seasoned showgirl must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. Starring Pamela Anderson, Kiernan Shipka, Jamie Lee Curtis and Dave Bautista.
• “Love Me” (R): Long after humanity’s extinction, a buoy and a satellite meet online and learn what it means to be alive and in love.
• “Homestead” (PG-13): A former green beret and other survivors take refuge inside an elaborate compound when an attack on America leaves the world in chaos. Starring Neal McDonough, Dawn Olivieri, Bailey Chase and Olivia Sanabia.
• “Better Man” (R): The true story of the meteoric rise, fall and resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams. Starring Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Damon Heriman, Raechelle Banno, Alison Steadman, Kate Mulvany, Frazer Hadfield, Tom Budge and Anthony Hayes.
• “Rob Peace” (R): Based on a true story about a young Black man who attends Yale University while working to free his imprisoned father. Starring Camila Cabello, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jay Will and Mary J. Blige.
• “September 5” (R): Drama focused on the 1972 Munich Olympics, when an American sports broadcasting crew is thrust into covering the hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes. Starring Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Leonie Benesch and Ben Chaplin.
• “Queer” (R): Set in 1950s Mexico City, the film follows an outcast American expat who becomes infatuated with a younger man. Starring Drew Starkey, Daniel Craig, Omar Apollo and Jason Schwartzma.
• “Wicked” (PG): Film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, about the untold story of the witches of Oz. This is the first film of a two-part series. Starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang.
• “Nosferatu” (R): American gothic horror film remake of the 1922 German film of the same name about an obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her. Written and directed by Robert Eggers, starring Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon, McBurney, and Willem Dafoe.
• “Babygirl” (R): A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins an affair with a much younger intern. Starring Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson and Antonio Banderas.
• “Nickel Boys” (PG-13): Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead, the film chronicles the powerful friendship between two young black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida. Starring Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
• “Kinda Pregnant” (R): Jealous of her friend’s pregnancy, Lainy (Amy Schumer) wears a fake baby bump, and coincidentally meets the man of her dreams. Also starring Jillian Bell, Will Forte, Damon Wayans Jr., Brianne Howey, Alex Moffat, Joel David Moore, Lizze Broadway, Urzila Carlson and Francis Benhamou.
• “The Sand Castle” (2025) (PG-13): A family of four become stranded on a deserted island and must scavenge for survival. Starring Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri and Zain Al Rafeea.
• “Unstoppable” (PG-13): Born with one leg, Anthony Robles (Jharrel Jerome) defies expectations to become a champion wrestler in college, competing against the very school that rejected him. Available on Amazon Prime.
• “The Damned” (R): A 19th-century widow and her community are forced to make an impossible choice during a cruel winter when a ship sinks off the coast, risking what’s left of the village’s dwindling supplies. Starring Rory McCann, Odessa Young, Joe Cole and Siobhan Finneran.
• “Taking Care”: Documentary about Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen as they navigate Lauren’s mother’s advancing Alzheimer’s disease.
• “Back in Action” (PG-13): Years after giving up life as CIA spies to start a family, Emily (Cameron Diaz) and Matt (Jamie Foxx) are pulled back into the world of espionage. Also starring Kyle Chandler, Andrew Scott, Jamie Demetriou, McKenna Roberts, Rylan Jackson and Glenn Close. Available on Netflix.
• “Kraven the Hunter” (R): Origin story of how Marvel Comics supervillain Kraven the Hunter came to be. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Kraven, a man whose relationship with his gangster father, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe), starts him down a path of vengeance. Also starring Ariana DeBose and Alessandro Nivola. Available on Google Play.
• “Gladiator II” (R): Years after witnessing the death of hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors. Starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi with Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington. Directed by Ridley Scott.
• “The Fire Inside” (PG-13): Based on the true story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, a high school junior from Flint, Michigan, who trained to become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. Starring Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry, Jessica Grossi and Judy Greer.
• “Bloody Axe Wound” (R): Horror/Comedy film that follows a teenager who inherits her father’s real-life slasher business. Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Billy Burke, Sari Arambulo and Molly Brown.
• “Bonhoeffer” (PG-13): The true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor and anti-Nazi dissident, who was involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler. Starring Jonas Dassler, Flula Borg, Moritz Bleibtreu and August Diehl.
• “A Real Pain” (R): Mismatched cousins David ( Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji ( Kieran Culkin) reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. Also starring Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, and Daniel Oreskes.
• “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry” (PG-13): Based on the New York Times best-selling novel, bookstore owner A.J. Fikry’s (Kunal Nayyar) struggles after his wife’s tragic death. Also starring Lucy Hale, Christina Hendricks and David Arquette.
• “The Return” (R): A retelling of Homer’s “Odyssey.” After 20 years away, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. He finds much has changed since he left to fight in the Trojan War, and he must fight to save his family. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Charlie Plummer and Amir Wilson.
• “The Monster Beneath Us” (NR): Horror film set in Yorkshire, 1898. When her ex-husband suddenly dies, a woman and her son move to his country estate. Starring Becca Hirani, Nicola Wright, Jennifer Lim and Marshall Hawkes.
• “The Lord of the Rings-The War of the Rohirrim” (PG-13): Set nearly 200 years before the events of the original “The Lord of the Rings” films, this prequel tells about an attack on the house of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. Animated, featuring Gaia Wise, Miranda Otto, Christopher Lee and Brian Cox.
• “Flow”: Animated film about a cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences.
• “Anora” (R): A sex worker from Brooklyn gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled. Starring Mikey Madison, Mark Eidelstein, Yuriy Borisov and Ivy Wolk.
• “Hitpig!” (PG): Animated feature about a bounty-hunting pig who catches escaped animals. Featuring the voices of Jason Sudeikis, Anitta, Rainn Wilson and Lilly Singh.
• “Red One” (PG-13): When a villain kidnaps Santa Claus from the North Pole, an E.L.F. (Extremely Large and Formidable) operative helps to find him and save Christmas. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Liu. Available on Amazon Prime Video.
• “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” (PG): Based on the book of the same name, the film centers on the Herdmans, who have a reputation for being the worst kids in the world. When the six siblings take over their local church pageant, they might unwittingly teach the community the true meaning of Christmas. Starring Lauren Graham, Judy Greer, and Pete Holmes.
• “Werewolves” (R): Two scientists work to stop a mutation that turns people into werewolves. Starring Frank Grillo, Katrina Law, Lou Diamond Phillips and Ilfenesh Hadera.
• “Y2K” (R): On New Year’s Eve of 1999, two high school juniors crash a party, and then must fight for their lives when Y2K becomes a reality. Starring Rachel Zegler, Kyle Mooney, Jaeden Martell and Julian Dennison.
• “Venom-The Last Dance” (PG-13): The final chapter of the “Venom” trilogy. Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and Venom must make a devastating decision as they’re pursued by a mysterious military man. Also starring Juno Temple, Peggy Lu and Rhys Ifans.
• “The Order” (R): Based on the true story of a veteran FBI agent who goes after a white supremacist terrorist group that was active in the 1980s. Starring Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Jurnee Smollett and Tye Sheridan.
• “The Six Triple Eight” (PG-13): Inspired by the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in WWII. Given an extraordinary mission and united in their determination, these unsung heroes delivered hope and shattered barriers. Starring Kerry Washington, Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson, Kylie Jefferson, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffery, Susan Sarandon, Sam Waterston, and Oprah Winfrey. Directed by Tyler Perry. Available on Netflix.
• “Carry-On” (PG-13): Action thriller film about a young TSA agent who tries to outsmart a mysterious traveler who has blackmailed him into letting a dangerous package slip onto a Christmas Eve flight. Starring Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Tonstiuh, Theo Rossi, Logan Marshall-Green, and Dean Norris. Available on Netflix.
• “That Christmas” (PG): Animated Christmas fantasy based on the trilogy of children’s books by writer/director Richard Curtis. The film follows a series of tales about family and friends, love and loneliness, and Santa Claus making a big mistake. Featuring the voices of Bill Nighy, Brian Cox, Guz Khan, Jack Wisiewski, Zazie Hayhurst, India Brown, Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker, Freddie Spry, and Ava Talbot. Available on Netflix.
• “The Wild Robot” (PG): DreamWorks Animation adaptation of Peter Brown’s #1 New York Times bestseller of the same name. The adventure follows a robot named Roz that is shipwrecked on a deserted island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually building relationships with the native animals, forming a parental bond with an orphaned gosling. Featuring the voices of Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Kit Connor, Stephanie Hsu, with Mark Hamill, Matt Berry and Ving Rhames.
• “Heretic” (R): Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant). Starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East.
• “Juror #2” (PG-13): A juror for a high-profile murder trial finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma that could influence the verdict and potentially convict, or free, the accused killer. Directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Nicholas Hoult, Zoey Deutch, Toni Collette, Gabriel Basso, Francesca Eastwood, Kiefer Sutherland, Leslie Bibb and Chris Messina.
• “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” (PG-13): A family gathers on Christmas Eve for what could be the last holiday in their ancestral home. Starring Sawyer Spielberg, Michael Cera, Elsie Fisher and Lev Cameron.
• “Smile 2” (R): Global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is about to embark on a world tour when she begins experiencing terrifying and inexplicable events, and is forced to face her dark past. Also starring Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo and Ray Nicholson.
• “Conclave” (PG): Mystery-thriller film based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with participating in the secretive process of selecting a new pope. Surrounded by other religious leaders in the halls of the Vatican, he soon uncovers secrets that could shake the foundation of the Roman Catholic Church. Also starring Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Carlos Dietz, Isabella Rossellini, Sergio Castellitto and Lucian Msamati.
• “Terrifier 3″: Third installment in the “Terrifier” horror film franchise with Sienna and her brother struggling to rebuild their lives after surviving Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre. Starring David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Samantha Scaffidi and Elliott Fullam.
• “Exhibiting Forgiveness” (R): A Black artist’s path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a recovering addict. Starring Andra Day, André Holland, John Earl Jelks and Dan Nainan.
• “Here” (PG-13): A generational story about the comings and goings in a house over the course of a century. Starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Kelly Reilly and Paul Bettany.
• “The Piano Lesson” (PG-13): A battle between brother and sister over an heirloom piano. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Corey Hawkins, Michael Potts, Skylar Aleece Smith, Stephan James, and Erykah Badu. Available on Netflix.
• “Spellbound”: Animated tale that follows the teenage daughter of the rulers of Lumbria as she goes on a quest to save her family and kingdom after a spell transforms her parents into monsters. Featuring the voices of Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Nathan Lane, Tituss Burgess, Javier Bardem, and Nicole Kidman. Available on Netflix.
• “Joy”: Based on the true story behind the ground-breaking birth of Louise Joy Brown in 1978, the world’s first ‘test-tube- baby’, and the tireless 10-year journey to make it possible. Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Bill Nighy, Charlie Murphy, James Norton, Douggie McMeekin, Rish Shah, and Eoin Duffy. Available on Netflix.
• “Blitz” (PG-13): In World War II London, a 9-year-old boy is sent to safety by his mother. Determined to return home, the boy embarks on the journey, only to find himself in immense peril. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clémentine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, CJ Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman and Sally Messham. Available on Apple TV+.
• “Beetle Juice Beetle Juice” (PG-13): Sequel to the 1988 horror comedy, “Beetle Juice.” After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River, where Lydia’s rebellious teenage daughter discovers a mysterious portal to the afterlife. Starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, with Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe. Directed by Tim Burton.
• “Transformers One” (PG): Animated prequel to the “Transformers” film series, origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, featuring the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson and Steve Buscemi.
• “We Live in Time” (R): Romance/Comedy film about Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield) who are brought together by a surprise encounter that changes their lives.
• “Saturday Night” (R): Comedy/Drama that follows producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) and the cast of young comedians and writers as they prepare for the first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live” on Oct. 11, 1975. Also starring Ella Hunt, Cory Michael Smith and Rachel Sennott.
• “Absolution” (R): An aging gangster attempts to reconnect with his children and rectify the mistakes of his past. Starring William Xifaras, Josh Drennen, Chanel Rose Connor and Ian Dylan Hunt.
• “Weekend in Taipei” (R): A former DEA agent and an ex-undercover operative rekindle their romance during a weekend in Taipei. Starring Luke Evans, Sung Kang, Gwei Lun-mei and Patrick Lee.
• “Emilia Pérez” (R): Musical/Comedy follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. Starring Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Edgar Ramírez, and Mark Ivanir. Available on Netflix.
• “Super/Man-The Christopher Reeve Story” (PG-13): The story of Christopher Reeve, from unknown actor to iconic movie star in four “Superman” films and other roles, before a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 left him paralyzed from the neck down. He then became a charismatic leader and activist to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, and an advocate for disability rights and care. Starring Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon and Jeff Daniels.
• “Your Monster” (R): A romantic-comedy-horror film about an actress whose life falls apart. She recovers her voice after finding a terrifying but charming monster living in her closet. Starring Tommy Dewey, Melissa Barrera, Edmund Donovan and Meghann Fahy.
• “Piece by Piece” (PG): Animated documentary about the life of singer/songwriter and record producer Pharrell Williams, told with LEGO animation. Featuring the voices of Pharrell Williams, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay Z and Snoop Dogg.
• “White Bird”: A coming of age story, based on R.J. Palacio’s graphic novel, “White Bird: A Wonder Story”. Starring Bryce Gheisar, Ariella Glaser, Orlando Schwerdt and Helen Mirren.
• “Joker: Folie À Deux” (R): “Joker” sequel with Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur finds his true love, Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga. Also starring Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and Zazie Beetz, (Thriller/Musical)
• “Time Cut” (NR): A teenager travels back to the early 2000s to stop a vicious killer from murdering her sister. Starring Michael Shanks, Griffin Gluck, Madison Bailey, Antonia Gentry, Summer H. Howell, Rachel Crawford and Megan Best. Available on Netflix.
• “Megalopolis” (R): A Roman fable set in an imagined modern America with a conflict between Cesar, an artist who seeks a utopian, idealistic future, and Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who remains committed to the status quo. Starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne and Dustin Hoffman. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
• “Here After” (PG-13): Claire is overjoyed when her daughter, Robin, is revived after a nearly fatal accident, yet soon starts to suspect that something dark has followed her daughter back from the brink of death. Starring Connie Britton, Giovanni Cirfiera, Tommaso Basili and Giorgia Trasselli.
• “The Substance” (R): Horror/Sci-fi film that follows Elisabeth Sparkle, (Demi Moore) renowned for an aerobics show, as she is fired on her 50th birthday. A laboratory offers her a substance which promises to transform her into an enhanced version of herself. Also starring Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid and Tiffany Hofstetter.
• “Speak No Evil” (R): When an American couple and their daughter are invited to spend the weekend at a British family’s idyllic country estate, what begins as a dream holiday soon becomes a nightmare. Starring James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough and Scoot McNairy.
• “The Crow” (R): Reboot of the 1994 cult classic of the same name, based on the comic book series by James O’Barr. Soulmates Eric Draven and Shelly Webster are brutally murdered. Eric is given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, and sets out to seek revenge, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead. Starring Bill Skarsgård, FKA twigs, Danny Huston, Laura Birn, Karel Dobrý, and David Bowles.
• “Luca” (PG): Animated feature set in a seaside town on the Italian Riviera, about a young boy experiencing a summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides. However, the fun is threatened by the secret that he is a sea monster from another world. Featuring the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Giacomo Gianniotti and Emma Berman. Previously released direct-to-streaming on Disney+.
• “Stree 2”: The town of Chanderi is being haunted again with women being abducted by a headless entity. Horror/Comedy film starring Shraddha Kapoor, Tamannaah Bhatia, Rajkummar Rao and Amar Kaushik. Available on Amazon Prime Video.
• “Deadpool & Wolverine” (R): New superhero film with Marvel Studios characters Deadpool and Wolverine teaming up to defeat a common enemy. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni and Matthew Macfadyen.
• “Woman of the Hour” (R): Based on the true story of an aspiring actress in 1970s Los Angeles and a serial killer, whose lives intersect during an episode of The Dating Game. Starring Anna Kendrick, Tony Hale, Jedidiah Goodacre, Kelly Jakle, Daniel Zovatto, and Max Lloyd-Jones. Available on Netflix.
• “Lonely Planet” (R): A young man goes with his girlfriend to a prestigious workshop for writers in Morocco. As their relationship becomes strained, he engages in a romance with a famous, reclusive writer. Starring Laura Dern, Liam Hemsworth, Diana Silvers, Ben Youcef, Bellina Logan and Dillon Lane. Available on Netflix.
• “The Apprentice” (R): Biographical drama about young Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) when he started his real estate business in New York in the 1970s and 1980s.
• “My Old Ass” (R): An 18th-birthday mushroom trip brings Elliott face-to-face with her 39-year-old self. Starring Maisy Stella, Aubrey Plaza, Maddie Ziegler and Percy Hynes.
• “Monster Summer” (PG-13): When a mysterious force begins to disrupt their summer fun, a group of friends team up with a retired police detective to save their island. Starring Mel Gibson, Kevin James, Lorraine Bracco and Mason Thames.
• “The Outrun” (R): After living on the edge in London, Rona attempts to come to terms with her troubled past and returns to Scotland’s Orkney Islands where she grew up. Adapted from the bestselling memoir by Amy Liptrot. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Saskia Reeves and Stephen Dillane. In select theaters.
• “Azrael” (R): Years after the apocalypse, a cult of mute zealots hunts down Azrael, a young woman who escaped imprisonment. Starring Samara Weaving, Vincent Willestrand, Victoria Carmen Sonne and Sebastian Bull Sarning.
• “Cabrini” (PG-13): Based on a true story, an Italian immigrant, Francesca Cabrini, arrives in New York City in 1889, and is greeted by disease, crime and impoverished children. She soon sets off to convince the mayor and fight to secure housing and health care for immigrant orphans.
• “Hold Your Breath” (R): Set in Oklahoma during the dust storms of the 1930s, a woman (Sarah Paulson) is convinced that a sinister presence is threatening her family. Also starring Amiah Miller, Annaleigh Ashford, Alona Jane Robbins, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Available on Hulu.
• “Never Let Go” (R): Psychological thriller/horror film — as an evil force takes over the world beyond their front door, the only protection for a mother (Halle Berry) and her twin sons, is their house and their family’s protective bond. Also starring Anthony B. Jenkins, Percy Daggs III and Percy Daggs IV.
• “Alien-Romulus” (R): New sci-fi/horror-thriller of the “Alien” franchise. While scavenging a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers face the most terrifying life form in the universe. Producer Ridley Scott, starring Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu.
• “It Ends With Us” (PG-13): Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) moves to Boston to chase her lifelong dream of opening her own business, and meets a charming neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni). As the two fall in love, she begins to see sides of Ryle that remind her of her parents’ relationship. Also starring Brandon Sklenar and Isabela Ferrer.
• “Reagan” (PG-13): Drama based on the life of Ronald Reagan, from his childhood to Hollywood stardom to becoming the 40th president of the United States. Starring Dennis Quaid, Penelope Ann Miller, Scott Stapp and Darci Lynne Farmer.
• “Average Joe” (PG-13): Based on a true story, high school football coach Joe Kennedy (Eric Close) finds himself in a fight for religious freedom after he’s fired for publicly taking a knee in prayer after each game. Also starring Amy Acker, Jimmy Gonzales and Paul Rae.
• “Someone Like You” (PG): After the tragic loss of his best friend, a grieving young architect launches a search for her secret twin sister. Starring Sarah Fisher, Jake Allyn, Scott Reeves and Robyn Lively.
• “Lee” (R): Drama based on the true story of photographer Elizabeth `Lee’ Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. Starring Kate Winslet, Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgård and Marion Cotillard.
• “God’s Not Dead-In God We Trust” (PG): Drama with Rev. David Hill (David A.R. White) running for Congress against an opponent who wants to erase religion from policy. Also starring Dean Cain , Isaiah Washington , Scott Baio and Samaire Armstrong.
• “The Forge” (PG): A young man with no plans for his future, is challenged by his single mom and a successful businessman to start charting a better course for his life. Through the prayers of his mother and biblical discipleship from his new mentor, he begins discovering God’s purpose for his life. Starring Priscilla Shirer, Aspen Kennedy, Jerry Shirer and Karen Abercrombie.
• “It’s What’s Inside” (R): A group of college friends gather for a pre-wedding party that descends into a nightmare when an estranged friend arrives with a mysterious game that awakens long-hidden secrets. Starring Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey and Devon Terrell. Available on Netflix.
• “Wolfs” (R): George Clooney plays a professional fixer hired to cover up a high-profile crime. But when a second fixer (Brad Pitt) shows up, the two “lone wolves” are forced to work together. Also starring Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, and Poorna Jagannathan. Available on Apple TV+.
• “Twisters” (PG-13): A former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years, is lured back to the open plains by a friend to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Maura Tierney and Brandon Perea.
• “The Killer’s Game” (R): Top hitman Joe Flood (Dave Bautista) is diagnosed with a terminal illness, and decides to take take a hit out on himself. But when the hitmen he hired also target his ex-girlfriend (Sofia Boutella), he must fend off assassin colleagues and win back the love of his life. Also starring Terry Crews and Scott Adkins, with Pom Klementieff, and Ben Kingsley.
• “Rez Ball” (PG-13): The Chuska, New Mexico high school basketball team is rich in Native American heritage. After the loss of their star player, the team must face their greatest challenge to keep their dreams of a state championship alive. Starring Jessica Matten, Kauchani Bratt, Cody Lightning, Dallas Goldtooth, Ernest David Tsosie, Kusem Goodwind, Zoey Reyes, Amber Midthunder and Julia Jones. Available on Netflix.
• “His Three Daughters” (R): Bittersweet and often funny story of an elderly patriarch and the three grown daughters who come to be with him in his final days. Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, Jovan Adepo and Jay O. Sanders. Available on Netflix.
• “Uglies” (PG-13): In a futuristic world that imposes a mandatory cosmetic surgery at 16, a teen awaiting her turn leaves to search for her friend who ran away. Starring Joey King, Chase Stokes and Laverne Cox. Available on Netflix.
• “Rebel Ridge” (TV-MA): Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) enters the town of Shelby Springs to post bail for his cousin. But when Terry’s life savings is unjustly seized by law-enforcement, he’s forced to go head to head with local police chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson) and his combat-ready officers. Terry finds an ally in court clerk Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb). Available on Netflix.
• “Blink Twice” (R): A young waitress in Los Angeles meets a tech entrepreneur who invites her to vacation with him and his friends on his private island. When strange things start to happen, Frida must uncover the truth to make it out alive. Starring Channing Tatum, Geena Davis, Kyle MacLachlan and Adria Arjona.
• “Borderlands” (PG-13): Lilith (Cate Blanchett), an infamous bounty hunter returns to her home planet and forms an alliance with a team of unlikely heroes. Based on a video game franchise. Also starring Kevin Hart, Ariana Greenblatt, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Florian Munteanu.
• “Despicable Me 4” (PG): Sequel to “Despicable Me 3” with a new member of the family, Gru Jr. The family is forced to go on the run when criminal mastermind Maxime Le Mal escapes from prison and vows revenge against Gru. Animated, featuring the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Sofia Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Madison Polan.
• “My Penguin Friend” (PG): A heartbroken fisherman rescues a penguin drifting alone in the ocean. Starring Jean Reno, Adriana Barraza, Rocio Hernandez and Nicolás Francella.
• “Ryan’s World the Movie-Titan Universe” (PG): When Ryan’s twin sisters Emma and Kate get trapped in a comic book world, he enters the realm to rescue them. Starring Ryan Kaji, Albie Hecht, Shion Kaji and Kate Kaji.
• “Cuckoo” (R): Horror film about a 17-year-old girl who reluctantly leaves her American home to live with her father at a resort in the German Alps with his new family. Starring Hunter Schafer, Dan Stevens, Jessica Henwick and Kalin Morrow.
• “How To Come Alive with Norman Mailer”: Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, dia.org, ticket prices vary.
• “Kneecap” (R): Biopic film about the rise of the Irish hip hop act, Kneecap. Starring Naoise Ó Cairealláin “Móglaí Bap”, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh “Mo Chara”, JJ Ó Dochartaigh “DJ Provaí”, Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds, Adam Best, with Simone Kirby and Michael Fassbender.
• “Kalki 2898 AD”: Indian Sci-fi/Action film. A modern avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu is said to have descended on Earth to protect the world from evil forces, subtitles. Starring Prabhas, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan.
• “Sound of Hope-The Story of Possum Trot” (PG-13): Donna and Reverend Martin ignite a movement of compassion in their East Texas church for 22 families to adopt 77 of the most difficult-to-place kids in the foster system.
• “Bad Newz”: Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Anand Tiwari. Starring Tripti Dimri, Vicky Kaushal, Ammy Virk and Fatima Sana Shaikh.
• “The Front Room” (R): Horror/thriller film that follows a newly pregnant woman whose mother-in-law moves in and tries to get her claws on the child. Starring Brandy, Kathryn Hunter, Andrew Burnap and Neal Huff.
• “Slingshot” (R): A trio of astronauts aboard a years-long, possibly compromised mission to Saturn’s moon Titan must attempt a slingshot maneuver that will either catapult them to Titan or into deep space. Starring Casey Affleck, Tomer Capone, Laurence Fishburne and Emily Beecham.
• “Strange Darling” (R): A twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree. Starring Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Giovanni Ribisi and Barbara Hershey.
• “Between The Temples” (R): A cantor in a crisis of faith finds his world turned upside down when his former grade school music teacher re-enters his life as his new adult Bat Mitzvah student. Starring Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Dolly De Leon and Madeline Weinstein.
• “City of Dreams” (R): A young Mexican farmer travels to Los Angeles with the promise of training at a soccer camp. Soon he realizes he’s really been sold to a sweatshop, and plans his escape. Starring Ari López, Jason Patric, Renata Vaca and Diego Calva.
• “Afraid” (PG-13): Curtis (John Cho) and his family are selected to test a new digital assistant device which begins to anticipate their needs and makes sure nothing gets in the family’s way. Also starring Katherine Waterston, Lukita Maxwell and Havana Rose Liu.
• “1992” (R): Mercer (Tyrese Gibson) is trying to rebuild his life and his relationship with his son amid the turbulent Los Angeles riots in 1992, following the Rodney King verdict. Meanwhile, another father and son put their own strained relationship to the test as they plan a heist where Mercer works. Also starring Ray Liotta, Scott Eastwood and Dylan Arnold.
• “Inside Out 2” (PG): Disney and Pixar’s sequel to “Inside Out” with Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman) now a teenager with a new set of emotions. Animated comedy featuring the voices of Maya Hawke, Amy Poehler, Ayo Edebiri, Lewis Black and Phyllis Smith.
• “You Gotta Believe” (PG): A group of underdog youth baseball players make it all the way to the 2002 Little League World Series. Starring Patrick Renna, Luke Wilson, Greg Kinnear and Sarah Gadon.
• “Harold and the Purple Crayon” (PG): Animated fantasy comedy film, based on the children’s book of the same title by Crockett Johnson. Starring Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel, Tanya Reynolds and Lil Rel Howery.
• “Didi” (R): In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom. Starring Izaac Wang, Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, and Chang Li Hua.
• “Trap” (PG-13): A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event. Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, featuring performances by his daughter, rising music star Saleka Shyamalan. Starring Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill.
• “The Fabulous Four” (R): Lifelong friends travel to Key West, Fla., to be bridesmaids in the wedding of their college girlfriend. Starring Bette Midler, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Susan Sarandon and Megan Mullally.
• “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat” (PG-13): Lifelong best friends Odette, Clarice, and Barbara Jean share an unbreakable bond from decades of weathering life’s storms. Now, as heartbreak and illness stir up the past, their bond is put to the test. Starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Sanaa Lathan, Uzo Aduba, Mekhi Phifer, Julian McMahon and Russell Hornsby. Available on Hulu.
• “The Union” (PG-13): Mike (Mark Wahlberg), a construction worker from Jersey, gets recruited by his high school sweetheart Roxanne (Halle Berry) to serve on a high-stakes US intelligence mission. Also starring J.K. Simmons, Mike Colter, Alice Lee, Jackie Earle Haley, and Jessica De Gouw.
• “The Instigators” (R): Rory (Matt Damon) and Cobby (Casey Affleck) are reluctant partners thrown together to rob a corrupt politician. When the heist goes wrong, they convince Rory’s therapist (Hong Chau) to join their getaway, and must put aside their differences and work together. Available on Apple TV+.
• “Bad Boys-Ride or Die” (R): Fourth installment of the “Bad Boys” action comedy franchise with the Miami detectives on the run as falsely accused fugitives. Starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Paola Núñez, Jacob Scipio and Vanessa Hudgens.
• “Fly Me to the Moon” (PG-13): Sparks fly between a marketing executive and a NASA official as he makes preparations for the Apollo 11 moon landing. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson and Anna Garcia.
• “Longlegs” (R): FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes an unexpected turn, revealing evidence of the occult. Starring Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, Alicia Witt and Kiernan Shipka.
• “Gunner”: A father tries to save his sons from a dangerous drug gang. Starring Luke Hemsworth, Morgan Freeman, Joseph Baena and Grant Feely.
• “Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1” (R): Families, friends and foes discover the lure of the Old West as the Civil War divides the country. Starring Kevin Costner, Abbey Lee, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone and Danny Huston. Directed by Kevin Costner.
• “Beverly Hills Cop-Axel F” (R): Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is back on the beat in Beverly Hills. After his daughter’s life is threatened, she (Taylour Paige) and Foley team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy. Also starring Kevin Bacon.
• “The Fall Guy” (PG-13): As a stuntman, Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) gets blown up, shot, crashed, and thrown through windows. After an almost career-ending accident, he must spring back into action to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life, while still doing his day job. Also starring Emily Blunt, Winston Duke, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham and Stephanie Hsu.
• “Oddity” (R): After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Darcy goes after those responsible by using haunted items to exact revenge. Starring Carolyn Bracken, Gwilym Lee, Tadhg Murphy and Steve Wall.
• “Disciples in the Moonlight” (PG-13): In the not-too-distant future, the United States bans the Bible and replaces it with a government-approved version. A small group of Christians tries to smuggle the true Word of God to underground churches throughout the Midwest. Starring Brett Varvel, Micah Lynn Hanson, Sharon Oliphant and Myles Clohessy.
• “Kinds of Kindness” (R): Three stories: One follows a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; Another is about a policeman whose wife went missing at sea and returns seeming like a different person; and a woman who searches for someone with a special ability. Starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie and Hunter Schafer.
• “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (PG-13): Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global franchise set several generations in the future, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. Starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, and William H. Macy.
• “The Garfield Movie” (PG): New Garfield movie with Garfield being reunited with his long-lost father, a scruffy street cat, who draws him into a high-stakes heist. Animated, featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Nicholas Hoult, Ving Rhames and Samuel L. Jackson.
• “Daddio” (R): A young woman jumps into the backseat of a yellow taxi at JFK airport. As the driver takes off into the night toward Manhattan, she gradually tells the driver about her unfortunate decisions that led to an affair with a married man and the driver also reveals about his life. Starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn.
• “The Abandon” (R): A wounded U.S. soldier awakens trapped in a strange cube that tests his physical and mental limits as he struggles to find a way to escape. Thriller/sci-fi film starring Jonathan Rosenthal, Tamara Perry, Mezi Atwood and Priscilla Avila.
• “A Quiet Place-Day One” (PG-13): Prequel to “A Quiet Place,” the day the world went quiet. Starring Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff and Djimon Hounsou and Lupita Nyong’o.
• “Touch” (R): A romantic adventure that spans several decades and continents; following one widower’s emotional journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago. The film is based on the 2022 Icelandic best-selling novel by Olafur Johann Olafsson. Starring Egill Olafsson, Kōki, Pálmi Kormákur, Masahiro Motoki, Yoko Narahashi, Ruth Sheen, María Ellingsen, Meg Kubota and Charles Nishikawa.
• “The Exorcism” (R): A troubled actor begins to unravel while shooting a horror film. His estranged daughter wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. Starring Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Chloe Bailey and Sam Worthington.
• “Ghostlight” (R): When a construction worker joins a local theatre’s production of “Romeo and Juliet,” the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life. Starring Dolly De Leon, Keith Kupferer, Katherine Kupferer and Tara Mallen.
• “MaXXXine” (R): Horror film set in 1980s Hollywood about an adult film star/aspiring actress who finally gets her big break, but a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Los Angeles. Starring Mia Goth, Halsey, Elizabeth Debicki and Lily Collins.
• “Babes” (R): Pregnant from a one-night-stand, Eden leans on her best friend and mother of two, Dawn, to guide her. Starring Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau, Hasan Minhaj and Stephan James.
• “The Bikeriders” (R): During a rebellious time in America, a Midwestern motorcycle club transforms from a gathering place for local outsiders into an underworld of violence. Starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Mike Faist, Michael Shannon and Norman Reedus.
• “Summer Camp” (PG-13): Comedy about childhood best friends Nora, Ginny and Mary who used to spend every summer at a sleep-away camp together. Years later, they’re given the opportunity to reunite. Starring Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Josh Peck and Victoria Rowell.
• “The Dead Don’t Hurt” (R): Western/Romance film about star-crossed lovers on the western U.S. frontier in the 1860s. Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) is a fiercely independent woman who must fend for herself when Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen) goes to fight in the Civil War. Also starring Solly McLeod and Jason Clarke.
• “Dandelion” (R): A struggling singer-songwriter falls into an intoxicating romance that leads her to a deeper appreciation of her artistic journey as she discovers a voice that is authentically her own. Starring KiKi Layne, Thomas Doherty, Melanie Nicholls-King and Cliff Cash.
• “IF” (PG): From writer and director John Krasinski, “IF” is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends – and what she does with that superpower to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids. Starring Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Cailey Fleming, Fiona Shaw, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr. and Steve Carell.
• “Godzilla x Kong-The New Empire” (PG-13): Latest film in the Monsterverse franchise following “Godzilla vs. Kong,” pitting Kong and Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden deep within the planet. Starring Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Kaylee Hottle and Nicola Crisa and Dan Stevens.
• “Young Woman and the Sea” (PG) Based on the true story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel. Starring Daisy Ridley, Stephen Graham and Kim Bodnia. Available on Disney+.
• “Dragonkeeper” (PG): A young orphan ventures across ancient China to save the last surviving dragons from extinction. Animated.
• “Sting” (R): Charlotte, a rebellious 12-year-old girl finds a tiny spider in her rundown apartment building. She keeps it in a jar, but it soon starts to grow at a monstrous rate and neighbors begin to disappear. Starring Alyla Browne, Ryan Corr, Penelope Mitchell and Jermaine Fowler.
• “Treasure” (R): A music journalist accompanies her father, a charmingly stubborn Holocaust survivor, on a journey to his homeland. Starring Lena Dunham, Stephen Fry, Sandra Drzymalska and Zbigniew Zamachows.
• “Thelma” (PG-13): A 93-year-old grandmother who loses $10,000 to a con artist on the phone gets help from a friend and his motorized scooter to travel across Los Angeles to reclaim what was taken from her. Starring June Squibb, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey and Clark Gregg.
• “Tuesday” (R): A mother and her daughter must confront Death when it arrives in the form of a talking bird. Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lola Petticrew, Arinze Kene and Ellie James.
• “The Strangers-Chapter 1″ (R): First entry of horror film series. After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple is forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. where they are terrorized by three masked strangers. Starring Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez, Gabriel Basso and Rachel Shenton.
• “Challengers” (R): Tennis player turned coach Tashi (Zendaya) has transformed her husband, Art (Mike Faist), from a mediocre player into a world-famous grand slam champion.
• “Furiosa-A Mad Max Saga” (R): Fifth installment in the Mad Max franchise, and prequel to “Mad Max- Fury Road,” a young Furiosa falls into the hands of a great biker horde led by the warlord Dementus. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Quaden Bayles, Tom Hardy and Anya Taylor-Joy.
• “Divorce in the Black” (R): New Tyler Perry movie. After her husband deserts their marriage, a woman gets a chance to find true love. Starring Meagan Good, Cory Hardrict, Joseph Lee Anderson and Richard Lawson. Available on Amazon Prime Video.
• “Hit Man” (R): A professional killer breaks protocol to help a woman trying to flee an abusive husband and finds himself falling for her. Available on Netflix.
• “The Watchers” (PG-13): An artist gets stranded in a forest in western Ireland and becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are stalked by mysterious creatures every night. Starring Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré and Siobhan Hewlett.
• “Sight” (PG-13): Based on the true story of Dr. Ming Wang, a Chinese immigrant who defies all odds to become a world-renowned eye surgeon. Starring Greg Kinnear, Terry Chen, Ben Wang and Mia SwamiNathan.
• “Fancy Dance” (TV-MA): Following her sister’s disappearance, Jax (Lily Gladstone) and her niece Roki hit the road on a journey to the Grand Nation Powwow in Oklahoma City. Starring Lily Gladstone, Isabel Deroy-Olson, Shea Whigham, Ryan Begay, Crystle Lightning, and Audrey Wasilewski. Available on Apple TV+.
• “I Am-Celine Dion” (PG): Celine Dion highlights the music that has guided her life while also showcasing the resilience of the human spirit as she struggles with a life-altering illness. Available on Amazon Prime.
• “Unsung Hero” (PG): Based on a true story that follows David Smallbone, his pregnant wife Helen, and their seven children as they leave Australia to rebuild their lives in America. David and Helen realize the musical talent of their children, who become two of the most successful acts in Inspirational Music history. Starring Joel Smallbone, Rebecca St. James, Candace Cameron and Daisy Betts.
• “Ezra” (R): Divorced stand-up comedian Max Bernal struggles to raise his autistic son, Ezra. Forced to confront difficult decisions about the boy’s future, Max and Ezra embark on a cross-country road trip that has a transcendent impact on both of their lives. Starring Robert De Niro, Tony Goldwyn, Bobby Cannavale and William A. Fitzgerald.
• “Back to Black” (R): The story of Amy Winehouse’s rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black, that catapulted her to global fame. Starring Marisa Abela, Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville.
• “In A Violent Nature” (NR): Horror film where a group of teens take a locket from a collapsed fire tower in the woods, and unwittingly resurrect the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year old crime. Starring Ryan Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Charlotte Creaghan and Lauren-Marie Taylor.
• “Firebrand” (R): In Tudor England, Katherine Parr reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical King Henry VIII. Her predecessors were either vanquished or dead. Starring Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, Junia Rees and Anna Mawn.
• “Tarot” (PG-13): A group of friends unwittingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within a cursed deck of tarot cards. Starring Avantika Vandanapu, Jacob Batalon, Larsen Thompson and Harriet Slater.
• “The Beach Boys” documentary: A celebration of the band that revolutionized pop music and the harmonious sound they created that personified the California dream. Available on Disney+.
• “Atlas” (PG-13): Sci-fi action film about a data analyst with a deep distrust of AI who finds it may be her only hope when a mission to capture a renegade robot goes awry. Starring Jennifer Lopez, Sterling K. Brown, Mark Strong, Sims Liu, Lana Parrilla, and Lesley Fera. Available on Netflix.
• “Monkey Man” (R): A young man ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where he is beaten bloody by popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution. Starring Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Sikandar Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala and Adithi Kalkunte.
• “The Strangers”-Chapter 1 (R): First entry of horror film series. After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple is forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. where they are terrorized by three masked strangers. Starring Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez, Gabriel Basso and Rachel Shenton.
• “Not Another Church Movie” (R): Taylor Pherry (Kevin Daniels), is given a mission from God to tell his family’s stories and inspire his community. What he doesn’t know is that the devil has other plans. Also starring Jamie Foxx, Tisha Campbell and Vivica A. Fox.
• “The First Omen” (R): When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith. Starring Nell Tiger Free, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson and Bill Nighy.
• “Abigail” (R): A group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure. All they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom, is watch the girl overnight in an isolated mansion. Starring Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Alisha Weir, Kathryn Newton, William Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud and Giancarlo Esposito.
• “Civil War” (R): In a dystopian future, a team of military-embedded journalists race to reach Washington, D.C. before rebel factions descend upon the White House. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny and Jesse Plemons.
• “Ghostbusters-Frozen Empire” (PG-13): The Spengler family returns to the New York City firehouse to team up with the original Ghostbusters. When an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must unite to protect the world from a second ice age. Starring Mckenna Grace, Emily Alyn Lind, Bill Murray, Finn Wolfhard, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Paul Rudd.
• “Kung Fu Panda 4” (PG): After three death-defying adventures defeating villains with his courage and martial arts skills, Po the Dragon Warrior is called upon to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. Animated, featuring the voices of Jack Black, Awkwafina, Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Bryan Cranston, Ian McShane and Ke Huy Quan.
• “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” (R): Based upon recently declassified files of the British War Department and inspired by true events, this action-comedy tells the story of the first-ever special forces organization formed during WWII. The top-secret combat unit, composed of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks, goes on a daring mission against the Nazis. Starring Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusamokun, Henrique Zaga, Til Schweiger, with Henry Golding and Cary Elwes.
• “Jeanne du Barry”: Historical drama about Jeanne, a working-class woman determined to climb the social ladder. She becomes one of the favorites of King Louis XV and falls madly in love. Against all convention, Jeanne moves to Versailles. Starring Johnny Depp, Maïwenn, Pauline Pollmann and Diego Le Fur.
• “Boy Kills World” (R): Boy (Bill Skarsgård) trains to become an instrument of death and assassinate Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), the matriarch of a corrupt post-apocalyptic dynasty who murdered his family. Also starring Jessica Rothe and Andrew Koji.
• “Mother of the Bride” (PG-13): Lana’s daughter Emma returns from abroad and drops a bombshell: she’s getting married. Things get worse when Lana learns that the man who captured Emma’s heart is the son of the man who broke hers years ago. Starring Brooke Shields, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, and Chad Michael Murray. Available on Netflix.
• “Unfrosted” (PG-13): Imaginative tale set in Battle Creek, Michigan, 1963, about Kellogg’s and Post, sworn cereal rivals, race to create a pastry that changes breakfast forever. Starring Jerry Seinfeld in his directorial film debut, Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Amy Schumer, Max Greenfield, and Hugh Grant. Available on Netflix.
• “Dune 2″ (PG-13): The sci-fi epic continues with Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) uniting with Chani and the Fremen, while seeking revenge against those who destroyed his family. Adaptation of Frank Herbert’s bestseller “Dune,” with returning and new stars, including Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Christopher Walken and Florence Pugh. Directed by Denis Villeneuve.
• “The Image Of You” (R): Zoe becomes skeptical when her twin sister, Anna, falls for Nick. As Zoe digs into Nick’s past, they all get pulled into a dangerous game where honesty could prove fatal. Starring Sasha Pieterse (as Anna and Zoe), Parker Young, Mira Sorvino and Néstor Carbonell.
• “We Grown Now” (PG): In 1992 Chicago, best friends Malik and Eric traverse the city of Chicago, looking to escape the mundaneness of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing. They soon find their unbreakable bond challenged when a tragedy shakes their community. Starring Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson, Avery Holliday, and Ora Jones, with Lil Rel Howery and Jurnee Smollett. Available on Apple TV.
• “Arthur the King” (PG-13): Based on a true story, pro adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. Over the course of 10 days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between Light and a street dog named Arthur. Also starring Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ali Suliman, with Bear Grylls as himself, and Paul Guilfoyle.
• “The Long Game” (PG): In 1955, five young Mexican-American caddies are determined to learn how to play and create their own golf course in the middle of the South Texas desert. Starring Jay Hernandez, Dennis Quaid, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Cheech Marin and Julian Works.
• “Imaginary” (PG-13): A woman moves back into her childhood home with her family, and her youngest stepdaughter develops an eerie attachment to a stuffed bear that she finds in the basement. Starring DeWanda Wise, Pyper Braun, Tom Payne and Taegan Burns.
• “The American Society of Magical Negroes” (PG-13): Comedy about a young man who gets recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to making white people’s lives easier. Starring Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, Nicole Byer and Rupert Friend.
• “Wicked Little Letters” (R): Set in a 1920’s seaside town, the residents of Littlehampton start receiving letters filled with obscenities and hilarious profanity, and blame Rose, a rowdy Irish immigrant. Starring Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan.
• “Tillu Square”: Indian Telugu-language romantic crime comedy, starring Anupama Parameswaran, Siddu Jonnalagadda, Madonna Sebastian and Fish Venkat. Available on Netflix.
• “Spy × Family Code-White”: A spy and an assassin keep their double lives to themselves while pretending to be the perfect family. Anime film.
• “Sasquatch Sunset” (R): Comedy/Drama Deep in the woods in North America, a family of Sasquatches find themselves on a collision course with the ever-changing world around them. Starring Riley Keough, Nathan Zellner and Jesse Eisenberg.
• “Arcadian” (R): In the near future on a decimated Earth, Paul and his twin sons find tranquility by day but terror by night when ferocious creatures awaken and consume all living souls in their path. Starring Nicolas Cage, Maxwell Jenkins, Sadie Soverall and Jaeden Martell.
• “They Shot the Piano Player” PG-13: A New York music journalist goes on a quest to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of Brazilian piano virtuoso Francisco Tenório Júnior. Animated docudrama, featuring the voice of Jeff Goldblum.
• “Blood for Dust” (R): Travelling salesman Cliff (Scoot McNairy) is drowning under the weight of providing for his family and finds himself on a dangerous path after a chance encounter with a colleague who has a dark past. Starring Kit Harington, Josh Lucas and Ethan Suplee.
• “Rebel Moon-Part Two-The Scargiver” (PG-13): The continued science fiction/fantasy saga of Kora and the surviving warriors as they prepare to fight alongside the brave people of Veldt, to defend a once peaceful village, a newfound homeland for those who have lost their own in the fight against the Motherworld. Starring Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Bae Doona, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam, Charlotte Maggi, Staz Nair and Anthony Hopkins. Available on Netflix.
• “The Greatest Hits” (PG-13): Harriet (Lucy Boynton) discovers certain songs can transport her back in time – literally. While she relives romantic memories of her former boyfriend, her time travelling collides with a new love interest in the present Also starring David Corenswet, Justin H. Min, Retta, Jackson Kelly, and Robert Keane. Available on Hulu.
• “Housekeeping for Beginners” (R): Dita never wanted to be a mother, but circumstances force her to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters. The three butt heads yet become an unlikely family that must fight to stay together. Starring Anamaria Marinca, Alina Serban, Samson Selim and Vladimir Tintor.
• “Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp”: After getting kicked out of the forest, Woody thinks he’s found a forever home at Camp Woo Hoo, until an inspector threatens to shut down the camp. Available on Netflix.
• “Girls State” (TV-MA): A political coming-of-age story that follows young female leaders from different backgrounds across Missouri participating in an experiment to build a government from the ground up. Available on Apple TV+.
• “Argylle” (PG-13): Reclusive author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) writes a series of best-selling espionage novels about secret agent Argylle. The plot thickens when Elly’s fictional books about Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate begin to mirror reality. Also starring Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, John Cena, Dua Lipa and Samuel L. Jackson.
• “Ordinary Angels” (PG): A struggling hairdresser meets a widowed father working hard to care for his two daughters. With his youngest critically ill and waiting for a liver transplant, the woman rallies the community to help. Starring Alan Ritchson, Hilary Swank, Nancy Travis and Skywalker Hughes.
• “Bob Marley-One Love”: (PG-13): Celebrates the life of Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley, who overcame adversity to become the most famous reggae musician in the world. Produced in partnership with the Marley family and starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob Marley and Lashana Lynch as his wife Rita.
• “Migration” (PG): Animated tale about a family of ducks who decide to leave their New England pond for a family adventure trip to Jamaica, but wind up in New York City. Featuring the voices of Elizabeth Banks, Kumail Nanjiani, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key, David Mitchell, Carol Kane, Caspar Jennings, Tresi Gazal and Danny DeVito.
• “One Life” (PG): Based on a true story, London broker Nicholas “Nicky” Winton helps rescue hundreds of predominantly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia, before the Nazi occupation closes the borders during World War II. Fifty years later, Winton is still haunted by the fate of those he wasn’t able to rescue. Starring Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Lena Olin and Helena Bonham.
• “Late Night with the Devil” (R): Horror-comedy set in 1977, about a live television broadcast that goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. Starring David Dastmalchian, Ingrid Torelli, Laura Gordon and Georgina Haig.
• “Immaculate” (R): An American nun joins a remote convent in the Italian countryside. She soon discovers her new home has a sinister secret with unspeakable horrors. Starring Sydney Sweeney, Benedetta Porcaroli, Simona Tabasco and Álvaro Morte.
• “The Beekeeper” (R): One man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after it is revealed that he is a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers.” Starring Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver, with Phylicia Rashad and Jeremy Irons.
• “Love Lies Bleeding” (R): A reclusive gym manager falls for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder who’s heading to Las Vegas to pursue her dream. Their love soon leads to violence due to Lou’s criminal family. Starring Kristen Stewart, Katy M. O’Brian, Jena Malone and Anna Baryshnikov.
• “Knox Goes Away” (R): After being diagnosed with a rapidly evolving form of dementia, a contract killer gets the chance to redeem himself by saving his estranged son’s life. Starring Michael Keaton, Al Pacino, James Marsden and Joanna Kulig.
• “Madame Web” (PG-13): Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson) is a New York City paramedic who develops the power to foresee the future. She must protect three young women from a deadly adversary. Also starring Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Emma Roberts.
• “Irish Wish” (R) When the love of her life gets engaged to her best friend, Maddie (Lindsay Lohan) puts her feelings aside to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in Ireland. Before the wedding, Maddie makes a spontaneous wish for true love, and wakes up as the bride-to-be. Also starring Alexander Vlahos, Ayesha Curry, Elizabeth Tan, Ed Steelers and Jane Seymour. Available on Netflix.
• “Drive-Away Dolls” (R): Comedy that follows Jamie and her demure friend Marian who take an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, Fla., but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way. Starring Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon.
• “Night Swim” (PG-13): A former baseball player, forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, moves into a new house with his wife and two children. He hopes that the backyard swimming pool will be fun for the kids and provide physical therapy for himself. But a dark secret in the home’s past will unleash terror. Starring Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Amélie Hoeferle and Gavin Warren.
• “Anyone But You” (R): Despite an amazing first date, Bea and Ben’s initial attraction quickly turns sour. However, when they unexpectedly find themselves at a destination wedding in Australia, they pretend to be the perfect couple to keep up appearances. Starring Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Darren Barnet and Alexandra Shipp.
• “Mean Girls” (PG-13): When new student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls ruled by the queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp), Cady makes the misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend. Musical comedy adapted from the Broadway musical, based on the 2004 movie of the same name. Also starring Bebe Wood, Avantika, Christopher Briney, Auli’i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Jon Hamm, Tina Fey and Tim Meadows.
• “American Fiction” (R): Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from “black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. Also starring Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams and Adam Brody.
• “Damsel” (PG-13): A damsel agrees to marry a handsome prince and then finds the royal family has made her a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt. Thrown into a cave with a fire-breathing dragon, she must rely on her wits and will to survive. Starring Millie Bobby Brown, Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson and Shohreh Aghdashloo. Available on Netflix.
• “Spaceman” (R): Astronaut Jakub (Adam Sandler) is on a solitary research mission to the edge of the solar system. Six months into the voyage, he realizes that his marriage back home is in trouble. A mysterious creature that he finds hiding in the ship offers to help him fix things with his wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan). Available on Netflix.
• “Lisa Frankenstein” (PG-13): A horror comedy about a misunderstood teenager and her high school crush, a handsome corpse who comes back to life. Starring Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest and Carla Gugino.
• “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” (PG-13): Having failed to defeat Aquaman (Jason Momoa) in the first film, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is still driven by the need to avenge his father’s death, and will stop at nothing to take down Aquaman, his family and Atlantis. Also starring Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren and Randall Park.
• “Wonka” (PG): Prequel to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, based on Roald Dahl’s children’s book, “Wonka” tells the story of how the inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka. Starring Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, and Olivia Colman.
• “No Way Up” (R): Survivors of a plane crash into the ocean must find a way to escape as sharks circle the wreckage. Starring Sophie McIntosh, Colm Meaney, Will Attenborough and Jeremias Amoore.
• “The Zone of Interest” (R): A commandant of Auschwitz, strives to build a dream life for his family in a house and garden next to the concentration camp. Starring Sandra Hüller and Christian Friedel.
• “Land of Bad” (R): A Delta Force team is ambushed in enemy territory, and their only hope lies with an Air Force drone pilot as the eyes in the sky. Starring Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth, Luke Hemsworth and Ricky Whittle.
• “The Boys in the Boat” (PG-13): A sports drama that follows the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. Based on the #1 New York Times bestselling non-fiction novel written by Daniel James Brown. Starring Joel Edgerton and Callum Turner. Directed by George Clooney.
• “Suncoast” (R): Story of teenager (Nico Parker) who, while caring for her brother along with her mother (Laura Linney), strikes up a friendship with an eccentric activist (Woody Harrelson) who is protesting one of the most landmark medical cases of all time. Available on Hulu.
• “Orion and the Dark” (NR): Animated adventure about Orion, an average elementary school kid who is confronted by his worst fear-the Dark. Featuring the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Paul Walter Hauser, and Werner Herzog. Available on Netflix.
• “I.S.S.” (R): Sci-fi thriller set in the near future aboard the International Space Station. When a worldwide conflict breaks out on Earth, the U.S. and Russian astronauts each receive orders from the ground to take control of the station by any means necessary. Starring Ariana DeBose, Masha Mashkova, Chris Messina and Costa Ronin.
• “The Book of Clarence” (PG-13): A man struggles to find a better life for his family while fighting to free himself of debt. Captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah, he risks everything to carve his own path and discovers that the redemptive power of belief may be his only way out. Starring LaKeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, James McAvoy and Teyana Taylor.
• “The Iron Claw” (R): Based on the true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980’s. Starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney with Holt McCallany and Lily James.
• “Ferrari” (R): During the summer of 1957, bankruptcy looms over the company that Enzo Ferrari and his wife built 10 years earlier. Enzo decides to wager it all on the iconic Mille Miglia, a treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy. Starring Penélope Cruz, Adam Driver, Patrick Dempsey and Shailene Woodley.
• “The Jungle Bunch 2: World Tour” (PG): A vicious beaver covers the jungle with a dangerous pink substance that explodes when coming into contact with water. With the rainy season approaching, a group of animals hurry to find the antidote. Animated, featuring the voices of Emmanuel Curtil, Céline Monsarrat, Jérémie Covillault and Mark Camacho.
• “Wish” (PG): Walt Disney Animation Studios’ all-new musical-comedy taking audiences to the magical kingdom of Rosas, where Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force. Featuring the voices of Ariana DeBose as Asha, Chris Pine as Magnifico, and Alan Tudyk as Asha’s favorite goat, Valentino.
• “Turning Red” (2022) (PG): Mei Lee (voice of Rosalie Chiang), is a 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the urges of adolescence, plus whenever she gets too excited, she “poofs” into a giant red panda. Her mother is Ming (voice of Sandra Oh).
• The Underdoggs (R): When Jayden “Two Js” Jennings, a washed-up former pro football star is sentenced to do community service coaching an unruly pee-wee football team in his hometown, he sees it mostly as an opportunity to rebuild his public image. Starring Snoop Dogg, Tika Sumpter and Mike Epps. Available on Amazon Prime Video.
• “Masters of the Air” ( TV-MA): Limited series based on Donald L. Miller’s book of the same name, the film follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group (the “Bloody Hundredth”) as they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany. Starring Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan, Elliot Warren and Ncuti Gatwa. Available on Apple TV+.
• “The Hunger Games-The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” (PG-13): Prequel set 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as a tribute, and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical President of Panem. It follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from District 12. Also starring Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman, and Viola Davis.
• “Trolls Band Together” (PG): After two films of friendship and flirting, Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) are now a couple, and Poppy discovers that Branch and his brothers were once part of her favorite boy band. Animated musical comedy, also featuring the voices of Camila Cabello, Eric Andre and Amy Schumer.
• “The Color Purple” (PG-13): Musical/drama remake of the 1985 film, based on the novel and the Broadway musical about the extraordinary sisterhood of three women. Directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones. Starring Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins and Halle Bailey.
• “Lift” (PG-13): An international heist crew races to lift $500 million in gold from a passenger plane at 40,000 feet. Starring Kevin Hart, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D’Onofrio and Úrsula Corberó. Available on Netflix.
• “The Marvels” (PG-13): Sequel to “Captain Marvel” with Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel teaming up with two other super heroes to save the universe as “The Marvels.” Starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Seo-Jun Park, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, and Samuel L. Jackson. Available on Disney+.
• “Next Goal Wins” (PG-13): Sports comedy that follows the American Samoa soccer team, known for its brutal 2001 FIFA loss. With the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers approaching, the team hires down-on-his-luck, maverick coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) hoping he will turn the world’s worst soccer team around. Also starring Oscar Knightly, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale, Will Arnett, and Taika Waititi.
• “Rebel Moon-Part One-A Child of Fire” (PG-13): An epic science fiction/fantasy film. When a peaceful settlement on a moon on the edge of the galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, their best hope for survival is Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers. Also starring Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Bae Doona, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam and Anthony Hopkins. Available on Netflix.
• “Good Grief” (R): An artist grieving the loss of his famous writer husband takes his two best friends on a trip to Paris. Starring Dan Levy, Luke Evans, Ruth Negga, and Himesh Patel.
• “The Family Plan” (PG-13): Dan Morgan (Mark Wahlberg) lives a quiet suburban life as a devoted husband, father of three and successful car salesman. But when enemies from his past life as a government assassin track him down, he packs his unsuspecting wife (Michelle Monaghan), and children into their minivan and takes off on a cross-country road trip to Las Vegas. Available on Apple TV+.
• “Silent Night” (R): A man witnesses the death of his young son when the boy gets caught in the crossfire between warring gangs on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that took his voice, the father goes on a bloody quest to punish those responsible for his son’s death. Starring Joel Kinnaman, Kid Cudi, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Harold Torres.
• “Chicken Run-Dawn of the Nugget” (PG): Sequel to the stop-motion animated film, “Chicken Run” of 2000. After escaping from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger and Rocky have found a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock. But they must return to the mainland, because chicken-kind faces a terrible threat. Featuring the voices of Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi, Bella Ramsey, Imelda Staunton, and Lynn Ferguson. Available on Netflix.
• “Maestro” (R): Love story about the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. Starring Carey Mulligan, Bradley Cooper, Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, Sarah Silverman and Josh Hamilton. Directed by Bradley Cooper. Available on Netflix.
• “Dream Scenario” (R): Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. Also starring Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula and Dylan Baker.
• “Thanksgiving” (R): An axe-wielding maniac terrorizes residents of Plymouth, Mass., after a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy. Starring Addison Rae, Rick Hoffman, Nell Verlaque and Milo Manheim.
• “Journey To Bethlehem” (PG): A musical retelling the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus. Starring Milo Manheim, Fiona Palomo, Joel Smallbone and Antonio Banderas.
• “The Holdovers” (R): An instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Starring Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, Tate Donovan and Carrie Preston.
• “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (PG-13): Horror film based on the video game series of the same name. A troubled young man caring for his 10-year-old sister Abby, and haunted by the past disappearance of his younger brother, takes a job as a night security guard at an abandoned theme restaurant: Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. Starring Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Kat Conner Sterling, Piper Rubio, Mary Stuart Masterson and Matthew Lillard. Also available streaming on Peacock.
• “Killers of the Flower Moon” (R): An epic western crime saga, based on a true story and told through the romance of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), about the suspicious murders of members of the Osage Nation after oil was discovered underneath their land. Also starring Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion, William Belleau, Louis Cancelmi, and Brendan Fraser. Written and Directed by Martin Scorsese.
• “Eileen” (R): Set in 1964 Massachusetts, a young secretary becomes enchanted by Rebecca, the glamorous new counselor at the prison where she works. Their friendship soon takes a twisted turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret. Based on a novel by Ottessa Moshfegh. Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway, Sam Nivola and Owen Teague.
• “Waitress-The Musical” (NR): A new musical comedy-drama film consisting of a live stage recording of Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson’s 2015 musical of the same name, based on the 2007 film of the same name written by Adrienne Shelly.
• “Priscilla” (R): The story of Elvis and Priscilla’s long courtship and turbulent marriage, as seen through Priscilla’s eyes. Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi.
• “Leave the World Behind” (R): A family’s vacation is upended when two strangers arrive, seeking refuge from a cyberattack. Starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans, and Kevin Bacon. Available on Netflix.
• “Candy Cane Lane” (PG): A man makes a deal with a mischievous elf who casts a magic spell that brings “The Twelve Days of Christmas” to life. Starring Eddie Murphy, Jillian Bell, Tracee Ellis Ross and Thaddeus J. Mixson. Available on Amazon Prime Video.
• “May December” (R): Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance, a married couple buckles under the pressure when an actor arrives to do research for a film about their past. Starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton. Available on Netflix.
• “Family Switch” (PG): A chance encounter with an astrological reader causes a family to wake up to a full body switch on the morning of an important day in each of their lives including landing a promotion, a college interview, sealing a record deal, and soccer tryout. Starring Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms, Emma Myers and Brady Noon. Available on Netflix.
• “Leo” (PG): Animated musical comedy about the last year of elementary school –– as seen through the eyes of a class pet, a 74-year-old lizard named Leo (Adam Sandler) who has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle (Bill Burr). Also featuring the voices of Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler and Rob Schneider. Available on Netflix.
• “Best. Christmas. Ever!” (PG-13): Charlotte’s friend Jackie sends a boastful holiday newsletter every year. A twist of fate lands Charlotte and her family on Jackie’s doorstep just days before Christmas. Starring Heather Graham, Brandy Norwood, Matt Cedeño and Jason Biggs. Available on Netflix.
• “It’s a Wonderful Knife” (R): After saving her town from a psychotic killer on Christmas Eve, Winnie (Jane Widdop) wishes she was never born and finds herself transported to a nightmarish parallel universe. Also starring Cassandra Naud, Justin Long and Jessica McLeod.
• “What Happens Later” (R): Snowed-in at a regional airport overnight, ex-lovers Willa and Bill meet again and realize they’re still attracted to each other, yet also still equally annoyed with each other. Starring Meg Ryan, David Duchovny and Eric Parkinson.
• “Dumb Money” (R): Comedy-drama film based on the true story about regular people who flipped the script on Wall Street with GameStop stock. Starring Paul Dano, Shailene Woodley, Seth Rogen and Pete Davidson.
• “Oppenheimer” (R): IMAX-shot thriller about the American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon.
• “The Creator” (PG-13): Epic sci-fi action thriller set amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence. Starring John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Madeleine Yuna Voyles and Allison Janney.
• “The Persian Version” (R): Iranian-American Leila (Layla Mohammadi) strives to find balance and embrace her opposing cultures. When her family reunites in New York City for her father’s heart transplant, Leila attempts to keep her “real” life separate from her family life. Also starring Niousha Noor, Kamand Shafieisabet and Bijan Daneshmand.
• “The Kill Room” (R): A hit man teams up with an art dealer for a money-laundering scheme that unwittingly turns him into an avant-garde sensation. Starring Uma Thurman, Maya Hawke, Samuel L. Jackson and Liv Morgan.
• “The Retirement Plan” (R): A woman turns to her estranged beach bum father for help to escape a ruthless crime boss. Starring Nicolas Cage, Ashley Greene, Ron Perlman and Jackie Earle Haley.
• “Outlaw Johnny Black” (PG-13): Cowboy Johnny Black vows to gun down the man responsible for the death of his father. He soon becomes a wanted outlaw while posing as a preacher in a small mining town. Starring Michael Jai White, Byron Minns, Anika Noni Rose and Tony Baker.
• “Back on the Strip” (R): Comedy film starring Spence Moore II as Merlin, a young man who moves to Las Vegas to pursue work as a magician, only to get hired as the frontman for the notorious Black male stripper crew, the Chocolate Chips. Also starring Wesley Snipes, Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart.
• “Landscape with Invisible Hand” (R): When an occupying alien species’ leaves most of Earth impoverished and unemployed, two teenagers hatch a risky plan to save their families. Starring Asante Blackk, Brooklynn Mackenzie and Kylie Rogers.
• “Shortcomings” (R): Ben, a struggling filmmaker in Berkeley, California, lives with his girlfriend, Miko, who works for a local Asian American film festival. When Miko moves to New York for an internship, Ben begins to explore what he thinks he might want. Starring Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola, Ally Maki and Debby Ryan.
• “The Miracle Club” (PG-13): Set in 1967, three women of Ballygar, Ireland, get their ticket of a lifetime to escape domestic life and make a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, a place of miracles, with help from their local priest. Starring Laura Linney, Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates.
• “Past Lives” (PG-13): Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are torn apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York in this heartening modern romance. Starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro.
• “After Death” (PG-13): Scientists, authors and survivors of near-death experiences discuss mortality and the afterlife. Directed by Chris Radtke and Stephen Gray. Starring Doug Lito.
• “Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow” (PG): Fired from his detective job after a mission goes awry, Inspector Sun boards a seemingly normal plane for a much-needed vacation. Starring Ronny Chieng, Jesús Barreda, Vicente Gil and Fernando García Cabrera.
• “Freelance” (R): A former special forces operative reluctantly takes on a freelance gig to provide private security for a washed-up journalist as she interviews a ruthless dictator. When a military coup breaks out, the unlikely trio must figure out how to survive the jungle and make it out alive. Starring Alison Brie, John Cena, Alice Eve and Juan Pablo Raba.
• “Rustin” (PG-13): The architect of 1963’s momentous March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was one of the greatest activists and organizers the world has ever known. Starring Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Audra McDonald. Available on Netflix.
• “The Killer” (R): Thriller that follows an assassin who, after a near-miss, battles his employers on an international manhunt. Directed by David Fincher. Starring Michael Fassbender, Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard, Sophie Charlotte, and Tilda Swinton. Available on Netflix.
• “PAW Patrol-The Mighty Movie” (PG): After a meteor strikes Adventure City, the PAW Patrol pups gain superpowers in this new PAW Patrol computer-animated film. Featuring the voices of McKenna Grace, Marsai Martin, Iain Armitage, Christian Convery, Ron Pardo, Finn Lee-Epp, Christian Corrao, Luxton Handspiker, Nylan Parthipan, Callum Shoniker, Kristen Bell, James Marsden, Serena Williams, Taraji P. Henson, Kim Kardashian and Chris Rock.
• “Saw X” (R): New installment in the “Saw” franchise, set between the events of “Saw I” and “Saw II”, a sick and desperate John Kramer (Tobin Bell) travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure to cure for his cancer – only to discover it is a scam. He turns the tables on the con artists through a series of traps. Also starring Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund, Renata Vaca and Steven Brand.
• “The Exorcist-Believer” (R): After a single father’s daughter and her friend Katherine disappear in the woods for three days with no memory of what happened, they start showing signs of demonic possession. Terrified and desperate, he seeks out Chris MacNeil, (Ellen Burstyn) who reprises her iconic role from the 1973 film, “The Exorcist”. Also starring Leslie Odom Jr., Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett and Olivia Marcum.
• “Fingernails” (R): Science fiction film set in a near-future where couples can use a new technology to test their love. Starring Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White and Luke Wilson. Available on Apple TV+.
• “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” (PG-13): Members of the Portokalos family reunite in Greece for a new adventure. Starring Nia Vardalos, Lainie Kazan, John Corbett, Louis Mandylor and Elena Kampouris.
• “The Equalizer 3” (R): Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), takes solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Now living in Southern Italy, he learns his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses and becomes his friends’ protector. Also starring Dakota Fanning, Sonia Ammar, Gaia Scodellaro and David Denman.
• “Blue Beetle” (PG-13): When Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) finds an ancient relic of alien biotechnology called the Scarab, he becomes its symbiotic host, and is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor with extraordinary powers. Also starring Bruna Marquezine, George Lopez and Belissa Escobedo.
• “Barbie” (PG-13): Barbie and Ken, (Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling) are living in the seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land, but then decide to join the real world. The all-star cast includes: Greta Gerwig, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, singer/songwriter Dua Lipa, and Helen Mirren as narrator.
• “Expend4bles” (R): The Expendables are back in the fourth installment of the action movie franchise with invincible veteran mercenary Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his entourage, armed with every weapon available. Also starring Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Megan Fox.
• “NYAD” (R): Based on the true story of Diana Nyad, (American author, journalist, motivational speaker, and long-distance swimmer), who swam from Cuba to Florida, at the age of 64. Starring Annette Bening, Jodie Foster, Rhys Ifans, Ethan Jones Romero and Luke Cosgrov. Available on Netflix.
• “The Blind” (PG-13): Byopic based on “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson’s troubled past and road to redemption. Starring Aron Von Andrian, Amelia Eve, Matthew Erick White and Aaron Dalla Villa.
• “The Nun II” (R): Horror film sequel follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face-to-face with a demonic force. Starring Bonnie Aarons, Taissa Farmiga, Storm Reid and Anna Popplewell.
• “A Haunting in Venice” (PG-13): Supernatural thriller based upon the novel “Hallowe’en Party” by Agatha Christie’ and directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh as retired detective Hercule Poirot. Poirot attends a Halloween séance at a haunted palazzo, where one of the guests is murdered. Also starring Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey and Michelle Yeoh.
• “Pain Hustlers” (R): Liza Drake (Emily Blunt), a blue-collar single mom who has just lost her job, has a chance meeting with pharmaceutical sales rep Pete Brenner (Chris Evans). Out of desperation, she takes a job at the pharmaceutical startup, which helps her financially, but she becomes entangled in a dangerous racketeering scheme. Also starring Andy Garcia and Chloe Coleman. Available on Netflix.
• “Vindicta” (R): A seasoned detective and a young paramedic are forced into a deadly game of vengeance with a masked serial killer, who remains on the loose. Starring Sean Astin, Elena Kampouris, Jeremy Piven and Daniel Cudmore.
• “She Came to Me” (R): A composer has a creative block and is unable to finish the score for his big comeback opera. His wife, who was formerly his therapist, suggests he search for inspiration. Starring Anne Hathaway, Peter Dinklage, Marisa Tomei and Joanna Kulig. Available on Apple TV+.
• “Old Dads” (R): Comedy about three middle-aged fathers who struggle to keep up with changing times. Starring Bill Burr, Bobby Cannavale, Bokeem Woodbine and Katie Aselton. Available on Netflix.
• “The Pigeon Tunnel” (PG-13): Documentarian Errol Morris tells about the storied life and career of former British spy and author David Cornwell, known by the pen name of John le Carré, author of classic espionage novels. Available on Apple TV+.
• “Mission Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part One” (PG-13): Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team must track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. Also starring Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales and Pom Klementieff.
• “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” (PG): New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated film. After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers. A new friend helps them take on a crime syndicate, but they are soon under attack by an army of mutants. Featuring the voices of Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Nicolas Cantu, Micah Abbey, Brady Noon, Shamon Brown Jr., John Cena and Ayo Edebiri.
• “Fair Play” (R): When a coveted promotion at a cutthroat financial firm arises, a newly engaged couple’s relationship is pushed to the brink. Starring Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan, Rich Sommer and Sebastian De Souza. Available on Netflix.
• “Reptile” (R): A hardened detective attempts to solve the case of a brutal murder of a young real estate agent, where nothing is as it seems. Starring Benicio Del Toro, Justin Timberlake, Eric Bogosian, Alicia Silverstone and Domenick Lombardozzi. Available on Netflix.
• “Haunted Mansion” (PG-13): Film inspired by the Disney theme park attraction, “Haunted Mansion”, about a woman and her son who enlist so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters. Starring LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Dan Levy, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto. Available on Disney+.
• “The Inventor” (PG): Animated biographical film about famous inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci, when he leaves Italy to join the French court, to experiment, invent machines and study the human body. Featuring the voices of Daisy Ridley, Jim Capobianco, Stephen Fry and Marion Cotillard.
• “Jawan”: A man driven by a personal vendetta to rectify the wrongs in society, comes up against a monstrous outlaw. Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Atlee Kumar, Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi.
• “Meg 2: The Trench” (PG-13): Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) leads a research team on an exploratory dive into the deepest depths of the ocean where they are forced into a battle for survival against prehistoric sharks and relentless environmental plunderers. Also starring Able Wanamakok and Li Bingbing.
• “Gran Turismo” (PG-13): A player wins Nissan-sponsored video game competitions and then becomes a real-life professional race car driver. Starring Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom and Darren Barnet.
• “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” (PG): A rich man learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes and then sets out to master the skill to cheat at gambling. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Sir Ben Kingsley and Richard Ayoade. Available on Netflix.
• “Flora and Son” (R): At a loss about what to do with her rebellious teenage son, single mom Flora tries to occupy him with a beat-up acoustic guitar. With the help of a washed-up LA musician, Flora and her son, Max, discover the transformative power of music. Starring Eve Hewson, Jack Reynor, Orén Kinlan and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Available on Apple TV+.
• “Spy Kids-Armageddon” (PG): When the children of the world’s greatest secret agents unwittingly help a powerful game developer unleash a computer virus, they become spies themselves to save their parents and the world. Starring Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Everly Carganilla and Connor Esterson. Available on Netflix.
• “Sound of Freedom” (PG-13): After a federal agent rescues a boy from ruthless child traffickers, he learns the boy’s sister is still captive and embarks on a dangerous mission to save her. Starring Jim Caviezel, Eduardo Verástegui, Mira Sorvino and Bill Camp.
• “Love at First Sight” (PG-13): After missing her flight from New York to London, Hadley (Haley Lu Richardson) meets Oliver (Ben Hardy) in a chance encounter at the airport that sparks an instant connection. Available on Netflix.
• “Golda” (PG-13): Biopic of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (Helen Mirren), set during the 19 days of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Also starring Liev Schreiber, Camille Cottin and Jaime Ray Newman.
• “Talk to Me” (R): A group of friends discover how to conjure spirits by using an embalmed hand, and find it thrilling until one of them unleashes terrifying supernatural forces. Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou.
• “Strays” (R): When Reggie (Will Ferrell), a naive Border Terrier, is abandoned on the mean city streets by his lowlife owner, Doug (Will Forte), Reggie falls in with a Boston Terrier named Bug (Jamie Foxx), a stray who loves his freedom. Also starring Isla Fisher, Randall Park and Josh Gad.
• “Bottoms” (R): PJ and Josie start a high school fight club to meet girls and lose their virginity. Starring Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Nicholas Galitzine and Havana Rose Liu.
• “Retribution” (R): While driving with his two children, a man ( Liam Neeson) receives a phone call from an unknown assailant who claims there is a bomb in the car. Also starring Noma Dumezweni, Lilly Aspell, Jack Champion and Emily Kusche.
• “The Hill” (PG): Sports drama based on the true story of Rickey Hill who overcame a physical handicap to play professional baseball. Starring Dennis Quaid, Colin Ford, Scott Glenn and Joelle Carter.
• “Elemental” (PG): New Disney and Pixar animated film set in Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air-residents live together. The story introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in. Featuring the voices of Leah Lewis as Ember and Mamoudou Athie as Wade.
• “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (PG-13): Harrison Ford returns as archaeologist Indiana Jones for the fifth installment of the franchise. Also starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Mads Mikkelsen and Boyd Holbrook. Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
• “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” (R): Based on a chapter from Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula”, about the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry 50 unmarked wooden crates from Carpathia to London. Starring Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham and David Dastmalchian.
• “Attack of the Flies”: Sci-fi thriller produced and directed by August Leo of Detroit, filmed in 2021 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, set in the 1920s Prohibition Era, focused on the despair and isolation of the time, and a bizarre infestation of insects. Starring Jet Jandreau, Kyle del Santo and Marlon Morton. Available on Amazon Prime Video.
• “You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah” (PG-13): Comedy about Stacy and Lydia, best friends who’ve always dreamed about having epic bat mitzvahs. Plans go awry when a popular boy and middle school drama threaten their friendship. Starring Idina Menzel, Jackie Sandler, Adam Sandler, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Samantha Lorraine, Dylan Hoffman and Sarah Sherman. Available on Netflix.
• “The Monkey King” (PG): Computer-animated action comedy film inspired by an epic Chinese tale, about a monkey and his magical fighting stick battling demons, dragons and gods. Starring Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee and Stephanie Hsu. Available on Netflix.
• “Heart of Stone” (PG-13): Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot) is an intelligence operative in a global peacekeeping organization who must protect the organization’s most valuable and dangerous weapon. Also starring Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, Matthias Schweighöfer, and Jing Lusi. Available on Netflix.
• “Happiness for Beginners” (TV-14): Newly divorced, Helen (Ellie Kemper), joins a quirky group of strangers on a survival course for the “adventure of a lifetime”, with hope of learning how to live and love again. Also starring Luke Grimes, Nico Santos and Blythe Danner. Available on Netflix.
• “Insidious- The Red Door” (PG-13): Fifth installment of the Insidious horror franchise, with Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) heading east to drop his son, Dalton, off at school. However, Dalton’s college dream soon becomes a living nightmare when the demons of his past return to haunt them both. Also starring Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye and Joseph Bishara.
• “Theater Camp” (PG-13): Comedy about how the staff of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York band together when their founder falls into a coma. Starring Molly Gordon, Ben Platt, Jimmy Tatro and Ayo Edebiri.
• “The Beanie Bubble” (R): The tale of the Beanie Baby empire in the 1990s. Starring Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan. Available on Apple TV+.
• “They Cloned Tyrone” (R): Science fiction/mystery film about an unlikely trio on the trail of a government conspiracy. Starring John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, Jamie Foxx, with Kiefer Sutherland. Available on Netflix.
• “Spider-Man-Across the Spider-Verse” (PG): Brooklyn’s neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse where he encounters a team of Spider-People. Starring Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Shameik Moore, Oscar Isaac and Daniel Kaluuya.
• “Jules” (PG-13): A UFO crashes into a man’s backyard in rural Pennsylvania. As he befriends the extraterrestrial, things get complicated when two neighbors discover it. Starring Ben Kingsley, Jade Quon, Jane Curtin and Harriet Sansom Harris.
• “Joy Ride” (R): Comedy that centers on four unlikely friends who embark on an international adventure. When Audrey’s business trip to Asia goes awry, she enlists the help of Lolo, her childhood best friend, Kat, a college friend, and Deadeye, Lolo’s eccentric cousin. Starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu.
• “The First Slam Dunk” (PG-13): Japanese animated sports film with the Shohoku High School basketball club in a match against Sannoh High School.
• “Transformers-Rise of the Beasts” (PG-13): New Transformers film will take audiences on a ’90s globetrotting adventure with Optimus Prime and the Autobots teaming up with a new faction of Transformers – the Maximals – to join them as allies in the battle for Earth. Starring Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Luna Lauren Velez, Dean Scott Vazquez, Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Liza Koshy and Pete Davidson.
• “Stephen Curry-Underrated” (PG-13): A documentary about Stephen Curry’s rise from an undersized college basketball player at a small town Division I college to a four-time NBA champion with archival footage and on camera interviews. Available on Apple TV+.
• “The Flash” (PG-13): Warner Bros. superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The Flash uses his superpowers to travel back in time to save his family, but inadvertently alters the future. He becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation and there are no super heroes to turn to, unless he can coax a very different Batman out of retirement. Starring Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Michael Keaton and Ben Afleck.
• “Asteroid City” (R): World-changing events disrupt a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention in a fictional American desert town, circa 1955. Science fiction comedy film directed by Wes Anderson. Starring Jason Schwartzman, Tom Hanks, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Hope Davis, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carrell, Matt Dillon, Margot Robbie, Willem Dafoe and Scarlett Johansson.
• “Every Body” (R): Documentary focusing on three individuals who overcame shame, secrecy, and unauthorized surgery throughout their childhoods. Starring River Gallo, Sean Saifa Wall and Ruth Deibel.
• “No Hard Feelings” (R): On the brink of losing her childhood home, a desperate woman agrees to date a wealthy couple’s introverted and awkward 19-year-old son before he leaves for college. Comedy starring Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti and Natalie Morales.
• “The Blackening” (R): A group of Black friends reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer. Forced to play by his rules, the friends soon realize it isn’t a game. Starring Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, Dewayne Perkins and Sinqua Walls.
• “The Little Mermaid” (PG): Disney live-action remake of the animated “The Little Mermaid,” based on the fairy tale written by author Hans Christian Andersen about a beautiful and spirited young mermaid who longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea. Starring singer and actress Halle Bailey as Ariel; Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric; Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian; and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.
• “The Boogeyman” (PG-13): A horror-thriller based upon the short story by Stephen King about a high school student and her younger sister who are reeling from the death of their mother and aren’t getting much support from their father, Will, a therapist who is dealing with his own pain. When a desperate patient unexpectedly shows up at their home seeking help, he leaves behind a terrifying supernatural entity that preys on families. Starring Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, Marin Ireland and Madison Hu.
• “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” (PG): DreamWorks Animation action comedy about a shy teenager who discovers that she’s part of a legendary royal lineage of mythical sea krakens. Animated film featuring the voices of Lana Condor, Toni Collette, Annie Murphy, Sam Richardson, Liza Kosher and Jane Fonda.
• “Bird Box Barcelona” (R): From the producers of “Bird Box” comes an expansion of the 2018 film. After a mysterious force decimates the world’s population, Sebastian must navigate his own survival journey through the desolate streets of Barcelona. Starring Mario Casas, Georgina Campbell, Diego Calva and Alejandra Howard. Available on Netflix.
• “The Out-Laws” (R): Owen Browning (Adam Devine) is a bank manager about to get married to the love of his life, Parker (Nina Dobrev). When his bank is held up by the infamous Ghost Bandits during his wedding week, he believes his future in-laws (Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin), who just arrived in town, are the outlaws. Available on Netflix.
• “Beau is Afraid” (R): A paranoid man embarks on an epic odyssey to go home to his mother. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Hayley Squires.
• “Showing Up” (R): A sculptor preparing to open a new show must balance her creative life with the daily dramas of family and friends in this funny portrait of art and craft. Starring Michelle Williams, Hong Chau, Maryann Plunkett, John Magaro and Andrè Benjamin.
• “Spinning Gold” (R): Neil Bogart launched Casablanca Records in the 1970s, giving rise to musical acts including Donna Summer, Parliament, Glady Knight, The Isley Brothers, The Village People, Bill Withers and KISS. Starring Jeremy Jordan, Michelle Monaghan, Jay Pharoah, Casey Likes, Tayla Parx, Dan Fogler and Jason Issacs.
• “Nimona” (PG): When Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight in a futuristic medieval world, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a teen who happens to be a shape-shifting creature Ballister has been trained to destroy. Also starring Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy and Lorraine Toussaint. Available on Netflix.
• “John Wick-Chapter 4” (R): New film in the franchise where hit man John Wick (Keanu Reeves) takes his fight against The High Table global, facing off against a new enemy with alliances in the underworld across the globe. Also starring Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård and Laurence Fishburne.
• “Fast X” (PG-13): The 10th film in the Fast & Furious saga. Now Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family confront their most lethal opponent, emerging from the shadows of the past fueled by blood revenge. Also starring Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jason Momoa, John Cena, Jason Statham, Sung Kang, Alan Ritchson, Scott Eastwood, with Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Brie Larson and Rita Moreno.
• “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3” (PG-13): New Marvel Studios’ superhero film where Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. Also starring Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan.
• “About My Father” (PG-13): Comedy about a man who is encouraged by his fiancée to bring his immigrant, hairdresser father to a weekend get-together with her super-rich and eccentric family. Starring Robert De Niro, Sebastian Maniscalco, Leslie Bibb and Kim Cattrall.
• “Extraction 2” (R): Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is back in a second movie as the Australian black ops mercenary, tasked with another deadly mission: rescuing the battered family of a ruthless Georgian gangster. Also starring Golshifteh Farahani, Daniel Bernhardt and Tinatin Dalakishvili. Available on Netflix.
• “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (PG): Computer-animated film based on Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. video game franchise. Featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key and Seth Rogen.
• “Evil Dead Rise” (R): Horror film about two estranged sisters trying to survive and save their family from demons in a Los Angeles apartment building. Starring Alyssa Sutherland, Lily Sullivan, Mia Challis and Gabrielle Echols.
• “You Hurt My Feelings” (R): A novelist’s long-standing marriage is suddenly upended when she overhears her husband giving his honest reaction to her latest book. Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michaela Watkins, Owen Teague and Tobias Menzies and Arian Moayed.
• “Chevalier” (PG-13): Inspired by the true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), rises in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and champion fencer. Also starring Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Marton Csokas, Alex Fitzalan, and Minnie Driver.
• “The Machine” (R): Comedy adventure about a man’s past coming back to haunt him, when a murderous mobster tries to kidnap him to atone for his crimes. Starring Bert Kreischer, Jimmy Tatro, Stephanie Kurtzuba and Mark Hamill.
• “Book Club-The Next Chapter” (PG-13): Sequel to “Book Club”, the new film follows the four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had. Starring Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Giancarlo Giannini, with Andy Garcia and Don Johnson.
• “It Ain’t Over” (PG): The story of Lawrence Peter, “Yogi Berra”, the beloved New York Yankees baseball legend who became famous for his championship rings and funny proverbs. Granddaughter Lindsay Berra tells his story along with his sons, former Yankee teammates, players he managed, writers, broadcasters, and admirers (such as Billy Crystal).
• “Flamin’ Hot” (PG-13): The story of Richard Montañez, the Frito Lay janitor who channeled his Mexican American heritage and upbringing to turn Flamin’ Hot Cheetos into a snack that disrupted the food industry. Starring Jesse Garcia, Annie Gonzalez, Tony Shalhoub, Dennis Haysbert and Emilio Rivera. Directed by Eva Longoria. Available streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
• “Shooting Stars” (PG-13): Based on the book by LeBron James and the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Friday Night Lights, Buzz Bissinger, is the inspiring origin story of a basketball superhero. Starring Marquis “Mookie” Cook, Caleb McLaughlin, Avery S. Wills Jr., Khalil Everage and Wood Harris.
• “Still-A Michael J. Fox Movie R: Recounts Fox’s story in his own words – the improbable tale of an undersized kid from a Canadian army base who rose to stardom in 1980’s Hollywood, and his diagnosis at age 29 with Parkinson’s disease. Available on Apple TV+.
• Guy Ritchie’s “The Covenant” (R): Directed by Guy Ritchie, the film follows Sergeant John who on his last tour of duty in Afghanistan is teamed with local interpreter Ahmed. After John is injured, Ahmed risks his own life to carry John across miles of grueling terrain to safety. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Emily Beecham and Anthony Starr.
• “Dungeons & Dragons-Honor Among Thieves” (PG-13): The roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons comes to the big screen in an action-packed adventure with a charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers who undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic. Starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant, Daisy Head and Chloe Coleman.
• “Hypnotic” (R): When a detective learns that his missing daughter and a string of high profile bank robberies might be connected, he goes on a gripping search for his daughter. Starring Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, William Fichtner and Hala Finley.
• “Love Again” (PG-13): Coping with the loss of her fiance, Mira Ray (Priyanka Chopra) sends a series of romantic texts to his old cell phone number, not realizing it was reassigned to journalist Rob Burns (Sam Heughan). When Burns is assigned to write a profile of superstar Celine Dion, he enlists her help to figure out how to meet Mira in person. Starring Priyanka Chopra, Sam Heughan, Celine Dion and Sofia Barclay.
• “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” (PG-13): Adaptation of author Judy Blume’s book of the same name about 11-year old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) who has a Christian mother and a Jewish father. Margaret is moving to a new town and beginning to contemplate everything about life. She relies on her mother (Rachel McAdams) who offers loving support but is seeking her own footing in a new place, and her grandmother Sylvia (Kathy Bates).
• “Sisu” (R): During the last days of World War II, a prospector crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-Earth retreat in northern Finland. When the soldiers decide to steal his gold, they quickly discover they just tangled with no ordinary miner. Starring Jorma Tommila, Mimosa Willamo, Onni Tommila and Aksel Hennie.
• “Rally Road Racers” (PG): Animated comedy about a rookie race-car driver who gets the opportunity to compete against the reigning champion of the rally car circuit. Featuring the voices of Chloe Bennet, Jimmy O. Yang, J.K. Simmons and Lisa Lu.
• “Big George Foreman” (PG-13): The film tells the story of world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, who retired from boxing, became a preacher, then stepped back in the ring to regain the championship at age 45. Starring George Foreman, Khris Davis, Jasmine Mathews and Sullivan Jones.
• “Mafia Mamma” (R): Action comedy film about a mild-mannered suburban mom who unexpectedly inherits her grandfather’s mafia empire in Italy. Starring Toni Collette, Monica Bellucci, Giulio Corso and Livia De Paolis.
• “Air” (R): A biographical sports drama that follows the history of former Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro, and Nike’s partnership with basketball rookie Michael Jordan to create the Air Jordan brand. Directed by Ben Affleck. Starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Viola Davis and Chris Tucker.
• “Polite Society” (PG-13): Action comedy film about martial artist-in-training Ria Khan (Priya Kansara), who believes she must save her older sister Lena (Ritu Arya) from her impending marriage. Also starring Ella Bruccoleri, Shobu Kapoor, Nimbra Bucha and Rachel Kwok.
• “Scream VI” (R): Sixth installment in the “Scream” film series. Four survivors of the original Ghostface killings attempt to leave Woodsboro for a fresh start. Starring Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere, Melissa Barrera, Samara Weaving and Courtney Cox.
• “The Pope’s Exorcist” (R): Horror film based on the memoirs of Father Gabriele Amorth (Russell Crowe), chief exorcist for the Vatican. Also starring Laurel Marsden, Franco Nero and Alex Essoe.
• “Renfield” (R): Dracula’s loyal servant, Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his every bidding. After centuries of servitude to Dracula (Nicolas Cage), Renfield is ready to see if there’s life outside his boss’s shadow. Also starring Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez.
• “Peter Pan and Wendy” (PG): Based on the classic tale, Wendy Darling, a young girl afraid to leave her childhood home behind, meets Peter Pan, a boy who refuses to grow up. Starring Alexander Molony, Jude Law, Ever Anderson and Yara Shahidi. Available on Disney+.
• “Creed III” (PG-13): Still dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed must face off with childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian, who resurfaces after serving in prison. Starring Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors and Tessa Thompson.
• “Avatar-The Way of Water” (PG-13): Set more than a decade after the first film, “Avatar”, the new film centers on the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri and their children) and their battles to stay alive. Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver and Kate Winslet.
• “Ghosted” (PG-13): Cole (Chris Evans) falls head over heels for Sadie (Ana de Armas) – but then finds out that she’s a secret agent. Before they go on a second date, Cole and Sadie are swept away on an international adventure to save the world. Also starring Adrian Brody, Amy Sedaris and Lizze Broadway. Available on Apple TV+.
• “Quasi” (R): A hapless hunchback finds himself in the middle of a murderous feud between the Pope and the king of France when each orders the hunchback to kill the other. Starring Adrianne Palicki, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Gabriel Hogan, Steve Lemme, Erik Stolhanske, and Paul Soter. Available on Hulu.
• “Murder Mystery 2” (PG-13): Four years after solving their first murder mystery, Nick and Audrey Spitz (Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston) are now full-time detectives struggling to start up their private eye agency, when they’re invited to the wedding of the Maharaja (Adeel Akhtar) on his private island. Trouble ensues when the groom is kidnapped for ransom. Available on Netflix.
• “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” (PG-13): The story continues about teenager Billy Batson who, upon reciting the magic word “Shazam!,” is transformed into his adult Super Hero alter ego, Shazam. Starring Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam Brody, Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren.
• “A Thousand and One” (R): Free-spirited Inez kidnaps her 6-year-old son, Terry, from the foster care system and they set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity and stability in a rapidly changing New York City. Starring Temana Taylor, William Catlett, Don DiPetta, and Lia Lando.
• “65” (PG-13): After their spaceship crashes on an unknown planet, pilot Mills (Adam Driver) quickly discovers he’s actually stranded on Earth, 65 million years ago. Mills and the only other survivor, Koa, (Ariana Greenblatt) must traverse an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures. Also starring Chloe Coleman and Alexandra Shipp.
• “Ant-Man and The Wasp-Quantumania” (PG-13): New adventure of Marvel Studios superhero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Also starring Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonathan Majors and Kathryn Newton.
• “Paint” (PG-13): Carl Nargle, a Bob Ross-inspired painter, hosts his own painting show on Vermont public television in this comedy starring Owen Wilson, Ciara Renée, Wendi McLendon‑Covey and Michaela Watkins.
• “Jesus Revolution” (PG-13): Based on the book of the same name about a pastor who opened his congregation in California to welcome youth and hippies in the 1970s. Starring Jonathan Roumie, Kelsey Grammer, Joel Courtney and Kimberly Williams-Paisley.
• “Cocaine Bear” (R): Dark comedy inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it. Starring Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Christian Convery-Jennings.
• “Tetris” (R): Based on the true story about how one of the world’s most popular video games found its way to avid players around the globe. Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) discovers Tetris in 1988, and then travels to the Soviet Union during the Cold War-era where he joins forces with inventor Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov). Available on Apple TV+.
• “Champions” (PG-13): Woody Harrelson stars in the story of a former minor-league basketball coach who, after a series of missteps, is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realizes that this team can go further than imagined. Also starring Ernie Hudson, Cheech Marin, Matt Cook, and Kaitlin Olson.
• “Inside” (R): A high-end art thief becomes trapped inside a luxury, high-tech penthouse in New York’s Times Square during a heist. Starring Willem Dafoe, Eliza Stuyck, Josia Krug and Gene Bervoets.
• “A Good Person” (R): Film about a woman whose life falls apart following her involvement in a fatal accident. Starring Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman and Celeste O’Connor.
• “Moving On” (R): Two estranged women reunite to seek revenge against the husband of their recently deceased best friend. Starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Richard Roundtree and Malcolm McDowell.
• “80 For Brady” (PG-13): Inspired by the true story of four best friends who take a wild trip to the 2017 Super Bowl LI to see their hero Tom Brady play. Starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field and Tom Brady.
• “A Snowy Day in Oakland” (PG-13): A psychologist from San Francisco decides to end a stalled romance with her high-profile psychiatrist boyfriend and business partner, and open her own practice in Oakland, California. Starring Loretta Devine, Kyle Bary, Michael Jai White and Nicole Ari Parker.
• “Luther-The Fallen Sun” (R): Continuation of the television series featuring detective John Luther (Idris Elba) who sits behind bars, haunted by his failure to capture the serial killer who is terrorizing London. Also starring Cynthia Erivo and Andy Serkis and Dermot Crowley. Available on Netflix.
• “Operation Fortune-Ruse de Guerre” (R): Elite spy Orson Fortune (Jason Statham) must track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology wielded by billionaire arms broker Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant). Also starring Aubrey Plaza and Josh Hartnett.
• “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” (R): Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) reprises his role as Magic Mike in this third installment of the franchise. He takes to the stage again when a business deal that went bad leaves him broke and bartending in Florida. Then he is lured to London with a wealthy socialite. Also starring Salma Hayek, Juliette Motamed and Matthew McConaughey.
• “M3GAN” (PG-13): Sci-fi horror film about a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s companion. Equipped with artificial intelligence, the doll can listen, watch and learn as she becomes playmate, teacher and protector for a child. When the creator of the doll becomes the unexpected caretaker of her 8-year-old niece, she gives the girl a M3GAN prototype. Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng and Brian Jordan Alvarez.
• “Knock at the Cabin” (R): While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers. Starring Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge and Nikki Amuka-Bird.
• “A Man Called Otto” (PG-13): A grumpy widower named Otto (Tom Hanks), has his life turned around when a lively young family moves in next door. Based on the New York Times bestseller, “A Man Called Ove”. Also starring Mariana Treviño, Manuel Garcia‑Rulfo and Rachel Keller.
• “Puss in Boots-The Last Wish” (PG): DreamWorks Animation new adventure in the Shrek universe where daring outlaw Puss in Boots discovers that he has burned through eight of his nine lives and sets out to restore his nine lives. Featuring the voices of Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Olivia Colman.
• “Missing” (PG-13): When her mother disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June searches for answers from her home in Los Angeles. Starring Storm Reid, Nia Long, Megan Suri and Ken Leung.
• “The Whale” (R): A reclusive English teacher tries to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter. Starring Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins and Hong Chau.
• “Plane” (R): Pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) saves his passengers from a lightning strike by making a risky landing on a war-torn island. When most of the passengers are taken hostage by dangerous rebels, the only person Torrance can count on for help is Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), an accused murderer who was being transported by the FBI.
• “Shin Ultraman”: Japanese superhero Kaiju film starring Masami Nagasawa, Akari Hayami, Takumi Saitoh and Hideaki Anno.
• “Of an Age” (R): Set in the summer of 1999 as a 17-year-old Serbian born, Australian amateur ballroom dancer experiences an unexpected and intense 24-hour romance with a friend’s older brother. Starring Thom Green, Toby Derrick, Hattie Hook and Elias Anton.
• “The Amazing Maurice” (PG): Maurice is a streetwise ginger cat who comes up with a money-making scam by befriending a group of talking rats. Animated film with voices of Emilia Clarke, Hugh Bonneville, Gemma Arterton and Himesh Patel.
• “Marlowe” (R): Detective Phillip Marlowe (Liam Neeson) becomes embroiled in an investigation with a wealthy family, in the late 1930s in Bay City, California. Also starring Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange and Daniela Melchior.
• “Emily” (R): Imagined story about English novelist Emily Brontë, author of “Wuthering Heights”, and her journey to womanhood as a rebel and a misfit. Starring Emma Mackey, Oliver Jackson‑Cohen, Fionn Whitehead and Amelia Gething.
• “Living” (PG-13): The story of an ordinary man, worn down by years of office routine, who makes a supreme effort to turn his dull life into something wonderful. Starring Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, and Tom Burke.
• “Black Panther- Wakanda Forever” (PG-13): Marvel Studios’ new superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Black Panther with the Wakandans fighting to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. Starring Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke and Danai Gurira.
• “Sharper” (R): Motivations are suspect and expectations are turned upside down in this thriller set in New York City. Starring Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, Justice Smith and Brianna Middleton.
• “Your Place or Mine” (PG-13): Debbie (Reese Witherspoon) and Peter (Ashton Kutcher) are best friends and total opposites, who decide to swap houses for a week. Also starring Jesse Williams, Tig Notaro, Zoe Chao and Steve Zahn. Available on Netflix.
• “Infinity Pool” (R): A couple on vacation venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence and horror. Starring Mia Goth, Alexander Skarsgård, Cleopatra Coleman and Thomas Kretschman.
• “Fear” (R): A weekend vacation becomes a nightmare for a group of friends in this horror film. Starring King Bach, Joseph Sikora, T.I. and Terrence J., Annie Ilonzeh and Ruby Modine.
• “Maybe I Do” (PG-13): With their relationship at a crossroads, Michelle and Allen invite their parents to finally meet. As it turns out, their parents already know each other. Starring Emma Roberts, Richard Gere, Luke Bracey and Diane Keaton.
• “Alice Darling” (R): Pushed to the breaking point by her psychologically abusive boyfriend, Alice rediscovers herself and gains perspective while on vacation with two close girlfriends. Starring Anna Kendrick, Kaniehtiio Horn, Charlie Carrick and Wunmi Mosaku.
• “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” (PG-13): Musical drama about Whitney Houston, (Naomi Ackie) as she rises to fame in the 1980s. Also starring Stanley Tucci and Ashton Sanders.
• “House Party” (R): Comedy film about aspiring club promoters and buddies Damon and Kevin who are broke and in need of a huge windfall. Their solution is to host the party of the year at an exclusive mansion owned by NBA superstar LeBron James. Starring LeBron James, D.C. Young Fly, Jacob Latimore and Andrew Santino.
• “The Fabelmans” (PG-13): A semi-autobiography based on Steven Spielberg’s own childhood growing up in Arizona, from age 7 to 18. Starring Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Gabriel LaBelle. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
• “Shotgun Wedding” (R): Darcy and Tom gather their families for a destination wedding, but the ceremony gets put on hold when gunmen take everyone hostage. Starring Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel, Jennifer Coolidge and Lenny Kravitz. Available on Amazon Prime Video.
• “She is Love”: A divorced couple unexpectedly cross paths at a country inn and rekindle a long-lost love. Starring Haley Bennett, Sam Riley, Michael Smiley and Rosa Robson.
• “Babylon” (R): A tale of ambition and excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of decadence and depravity in early Hollywood. Starring Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Diego Calva.
• “You People” (R): Comedy about a new couple and their families who find themselves examining modern love and family dynamics amidst clashing cultures. Starring Jonah Hill, Lauren London, David Duchovny, Nia Long, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Eddie Murphy. Available on Netflix.
• “Pamela, A Love Story” (NR): An intimate and humanizing portrait of one of the world’s most famous blonde bombshells, Pamela, a love story follows the trajectory of Pamela Anderson’s life and career from small town girl to international sex symbol, actress, activist and doting mother. Starring Pamela Anderson. Available on Netflix.
• “Ticket to Paradise” (PG-13): George Clooney and Julia Roberts star as a divorced couple who team up and travel to Bali to stop their lovestruck daughter from making the same mistake they made 25 years ago.
• “The Son” (PG-13): The film centers on Peter (Hugh Jackman), whose busy life with his infant and new partner Beth (Vanessa Kirby) is upended when his ex-wife Kate (Laura Dern) appears at his door to discuss their son Nicholas (Zen McGrath), who is now a troubled teenager. Also starring Anthony Hopkins.
• “Strange World” (PG): Walt Disney Animation Studios’ adventure about a family of explorers, the Clades, as they attempt to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog and a slew of ravenous creatures. The voice cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Jaboukie Young-White and Lucy Liu. Available on Disney+.
Theaters
• AMC Theatres: AMC Forum Sterling Heights, 586-254-1381; AMC Star Gratiot Clinton Township, 586-791-2095; AMC Star Great Lakes Auburn Hills, 248-454-0314; AMC Star John R Madison Heights, 248-585-4477, amctheatres.com
• Cinemark Southland Center, Taylor, 734-287-0629, www.cinemark.com/theatres
• Emagine Theatres: Birmingham 8, 248-723-6230; Emagine Palladium in Birmingham, 248-385-0500; Canton, 734-787-3002; The Riviera in Farmington Hills, 248-788-6572; Hartland, 810-207-5757; Macomb, 586-372-3456; Novi, 248-468-2990; Rochester Hills, 248-378-2991; Royal Oak, 248-414-1000, emagine-entertainment.com
Legoland California will follow the lead of Disney, Universal and other rivals and jump into the festival business with the world’s first Lego Festival that will encourage kids and parents to embrace the power of play.
Legoland California will host the inaugural Lego Festival on six weekends from May 3 through June 8.
The global event will take place at the Carlsbad theme park as well as Legoland parks in Florida, New York, Denmark, Germany, England and South Korea.
The festival that focuses on imagination, exploration and play will take place at each park in five zones themed to music, dance, gaming, creativity and relaxation.
Events will include a Lego Battle of the Bands, dance music with minifigure DJ GoodVibes, mindful movement sessions with Hopsy the Duplo Bunny and Lego master builder classes.
Dozens of new Lego big build models will be built during the festival at the Legoland parks around the world.
The Lego Festival dates include May 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 26 and 31 and June 1, 7 and 8.
The Lego Festival at Legoland California focuses on imagination, exploration and play. (Courtesy of Legoland)
If you’re gearing up to plant fruits, vegetables or herbs this spring, why not grow some extra to donate to your local soup kitchen or pantry?
The national Plant a Row for the Hungry campaign, launched in 1995, has been encouraging home and community gardeners to do just that every year to help feed neighbors in need of fresh food.
The program was spearheaded in 1995 by Anchorage Daily News garden columnist Jeff Lowenfels, who wrote a column encouraging his readers to plant extra crops and donate their harvests.
After seeing the impact that his column had on local food donations, Lowenfels partnered with GardenComm International, then known as Garden Writers of America, to enlist garden columnists all over the country to promote the cause in their own communities. Since then, more than 20 million pounds of produce, providing more than 80 million meals, have been donated through the campaign by home gardeners.
“All of this has been achieved without government subsidy or bureaucratic red tape — just people helping people,” according to organizers on the campaign’s website. And there’s no big advertising campaign, either — just garden columnists and their readers spreading the word.
This Aug. 7, 2024, image provided by Marvin Makofsky shows harvested produce grown by Plant a Row for the Hungry, Port Washington in Port Washington, N.Y. The national Plant a Row campaign encourages individuals and groups everywhere to plant and donate extra produce for neighbors in need of fresh food. (Marvin Makofsky via AP)
If everyone reading this column planted one extra row and donated its harvest, together we could have an impact on hunger.
So what do you say?
To participate, plant an extra row or container (or, if you’re short on space or resources, even just one additional plant) and donate its harvest to your local food pantry, soup kitchen, house of worship or informally to a neighbor who could use it.
If you’d like to help even more, consider starting your own Plant a Row campaign with friends, neighbors or co-workers and plant individually or at the office, in a community garden, school garden, prison garden — whatever garden you have at your disposal.
But it’s not necessary to join a group. To find food drop-off sites near you, visit AmpleHarvest.org and plug in your zip code.
Before dropping off food, call the organization to confirm they accept perishables (soup kitchens are generally more likely to have the refrigeration necessary for storage than pantries or food banks, but there may be exceptions).
Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.
This Aug. 20, 2024, image provided by Marvin Makofsky shows a Plant a Row for the Hungry, Port Washington garden in Port Washington, N.Y. The local organization brings residents together to plant, tend, harvest and donate crops to help alleviate hunger in their community. The national Plant a Row campaign encourages individuals and groups everywhere to plant and donate extra produce for neighbors in need of fresh food. (Marvin Makofsky via AP)
Inspired by the famous roast chicken at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, fashion designer and food writer Peter Som created this take that involves glazing the bird in a sweet-savory blend of hoisin, orange juice and honey. It’s served atop schmaltzy, crunchy bread and topped with parsley.
Som’s forthcoming cookbook, “Family Style” (Harvest, $40), draws on family recipes from his Mill Valley childhood.
Hoisin Honey Roast Chicken
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
One 3½-pound chicken, giblets removed
“Family Style: Elegant Everyday Recipes Inspired by Home and Heritage,” by Peter Som (Harvest, $40) shares a collection of recipes and stories from the fashion designer. (Courtesy Harvest)
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup hoisin
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons neutral oil
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces, plus thinly sliced scallions for garnish
½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 or 3 (1-inch-thick) slices country bread, torn into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons furikake
DIRECTIONS
Cut the chicken under the breast from the cavity to the tail on each side, leaving a hinge. Open it up like a suitcase and place skin side up. Use the palm of your hand to flatten, especially at the breastbone. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel, then season generously with salt and pepper.
In a large zip-top bag, combine the hoisin, honey, orange juice, neutral oil, sesame oil, garlic, scallions, parsley, a generous pinch of salt and 4 or 5 grinds of pepper, then add the chicken. Push as much air out of the bag as possible and seal. Use your hands to massage things around, so the chicken is coated in the marinade. Place the bag on a plate and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours, turning the bag every few hours.
Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 to 45 minutes before you’re ready to cook and let it come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Remove the chicken from the bag, letting as much of the marinade drip back into the bag as possible, and transfer skin side up to the prepared baking sheet. Pour the marinade from the bag into a small bowl. Cover the baking sheet with foil and roast for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, baste generously with half the reserved marinade, and roast for 10 minutes, uncovered. Baste again (you should have used up all the marinade) and roast for another 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh and the chicken is burnished and deep brown.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes, then carve.
While the chicken is resting, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Toast the bread in the butter on both sides until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
Put the bread on a platter and spoon the pan juices generously atop. Arrange the chicken on top. Sprinkle generously with the furikake, then garnish with sliced scallions and flat-leaf parsley and serve.
Inspired by Zuni Cafe’s roast chicken in San Francisco, Peter Som’s version is glazed in a sweet-savory blend of honey, hoisin and orange juice. (Courtesy Linda Xiao)
Q: We have an accepted offer on our home and we have moved into our new condo. The buyers are relocating and their temporary housing has mold issues and they want to move into our house before closing and pay us rent. Is this something we should do?
A: My opinion has never changed on this subject — don’t do it! There are many things that can go wrong. I have had previous conversations with attorneys and they don’t recommend it either. What if after moving in, the buyers decide they don’t like the house as much as they thought and change their minds about purchasing the property? What if their mortgage doesn’t go through and now you have renters? What if your renters don’t pay their rent? Now you have to go through the eviction process which takes time and costs money. What if while staying there they have a big party and damage your home? There is also the whole liability issue. What if they or a guest get injured? Are they going to have insurance coverage or are you going to get sued? There are many more pitfalls. You would be taking a very big risk. The best option for you as the sellers is for the buyers to find another temporary housing choice. As always, contact an attorney regarding any legal matters.
Q: We are looking to add our adult children to the deed of our house by filing a quit claim deed. A friend of ours said that it would keep the house out of probate for them after we pass. How do we do this?
A: I am asked this question often. There is a lot of misinformation about it. What I would recommend is to consult an attorney who specializes in estate planning. One option they may recommend is a life estate deed (aka lady bird deed) or perhaps setting up a trust to put the property in.
Here’s the downside to adding your children to your deed via a quit claim deed: Let’s suppose that your home is paid in full. Now you add your children to the deed and file it at the county. Next your son or daughter does something stupid or has an accident and injures someone. Your son or daughter will get sued and more than likely the attorney suing them will do an asset search and find out that he/she is on the title (name on deed) to your home. Guess what? They are going to go after your home because the deed gives your son/daughter ownership in it.
Here’s another example of what could go wrong: Your son/daughter is married to someone who you’ve never really liked. After many years of marriage, they get a divorce. Guess what? It is very possible that the ex could get added to your title (deed) for an equal share of what is your child’s property.
Again, I would consult an attorney to see what is best for you. If you do not have an attorney, give me a call and I will refer you to one. My readers absolutely have the best questions!
Market update
January’s market update for Macomb County and Oakland County’s housing market (house and condo sales) is as follows: In Macomb County, the average sales price was up by almost 9% and Oakland County’s average sales price was up by 4%. Macomb County’s on market inventory was up by almost 3% and Oakland County’s on market inventory was down by almost 1%. Macomb County’s average days on market was 44 days and Oakland County average days on market was 40 days. Closed sales in Macomb County were up by almost 10% and closed sales in Oakland County were up by less than 1%. (All comparisons are month to month, year to year.)
By the long-standing historical definition from the National Association of Realtors, which has been in existence since 1908, a buyer’s market is when there is a seven-month supply or more of inventory on the market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers is when there is a six-month supply of inventory. A seller’s market is when there is a five-month or less supply of inventory. Inventory has continued to stay low. In January, the state of Michigan’s inventory was at 1.9 months of supply. Both Macomb and Oakland County’s inventory was at 1.6 months of supply. By definition, it’s still not close to a buyer’s market.
Steve Meyers is a real estate agent/Realtor at Realty Executives Home Towne in Shelby Twp. He can be contacted with questions at 586-997-5480 or email him at Steve@MeyersRealtor.com You also can visit his website at AnswersToRealEstateQuestions.com.
For the first time in more than 100 years, cougar cubs have been discovered living in the Michigan wild.
State biologists on Wednesday confirmed the existence of two cougar cubs on private land in Ontonagon County in the western Upper Peninsula. The spotted cubs, believed to be 7 to 9 weeks old, were verified from photographic evidence of the cubs taken March 6 by a local resident.
Here is a look at the baby cougar seen by an Upper Peninsula resident, who requested anonymity. (Submitted by the Michigan Department of Resources.)
This is the first time cougar cubs have been verified since the big cats were hunted out of existence in Michigan in the early 1900s, said Brian Roell, large carnivore specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Roell, a wildlife biologist for 26 years, led the team that verified the cubs.
Here is a look at the baby cougar seen by an Upper Peninsula resident, who requested anonymity. (Submitted by the Michigan Department of Resources.)
“It’s pretty exciting, considering this could be the first known cougar reproduction in modern times in the western Great Lakes states,” said Roell, referring to Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. “It really shows that we have a unique place in Michigan where someone has a chance to see a wolf, a moose and a cougar in the wild. It’s something that should be celebrated, that we have the habitat to support an elusive animal like this.”
The cubs were spotted and photographed without their mother. Cougar cubs are highly dependent on their mothers, often staying with them for the first two years of life.
Although cougars are native to Michigan, most of them now appear to be transient animals, dispersing into Michigan from Western states. The DNR has verified 132 adult cougar reports, Roell said, but DNA testing has confirmed only male cougars to date.
The cubs have not been spotted since March 6. “Those young cougars are very vulnerable right now,” Roell said. “We don’t know where they are or if they’re even alive. Mother Nature can be very cruel.”
Sightings can be logged in the DNR’s Eyes in the Field reporting system. Roell said cougars are on the list of endangered mammals in Michigan, meaning it’s illegal to hunt or harass them, which includes trying to locate their den. It’s also illegal to trespass on private property, he noted.
For the latest information on cougars, including the DNR’s cougar sightings photo page, visit Michigan.gov/Cougar.
Here is a look at the baby cougar seen by an Upper Peninsula resident, who requested anonymity. (Submitted by the Michigan Department of Resources.)
Anxiety surrounding air travel has been growing among the public in recent weeks and months.
With the deadly crash in Washington, D.C., earlier this year and several near misses, as well as FAA staff being slashed by the new U.S. president, it’s not exactly surprising that uneasiness is spiking.
If turbulence is one of the factors that causes you anxiety when flying, here is some news to notice: A new study has been released that identifies the most turbulent air travel routes globally.
The study was conducted by turbulence tracking company Turbli and is based on a review of turbulence forecast data provided by NOAA and the UK Met Office. The result of this effort is a ranking of the most unstable flight routes worldwide.
And coming in at the top of the list (meaning the most turbulent flight route) is the route from Mendoza, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile. The eddy dissipation rate (EDR), which is essentially turbulence intensity, associated with this route is 24.684.
To put that into some context, that’s 4 EDR greater than the second most turbulent flight path identified by the research. Coming in second is the route between Cordoba, Argentina and Santiago, Chile, which has an EDR of 20.214.
As it turns out the third most turbulent route on the list is also an Argentina-based route. It is the route between Mendoza, Argentina and Salta, Argentina. This flight route has an EDR of 19.825.
Turbulence is an irregular motion of the air resulting from eddies and vertical currents, according to the National Weather Service.
“Turbulence is one of the most unpredictable of all the weather phenomena that are of significance to pilots,” says the National Weather Service website. “It may be as insignificant as a few annoying bumps or severe enough to momentarily throw an airplane out of control or to cause structural damage.”
Turbulence is associated with fronts, wind shear and thunderstorms.
Here are the top 10 most turbulent routes globally
Mendoza (MDZ) – Santiago (SCL) EDR: 24.684
Cordoba (COR) – Santiago (SCL) EDR: 20.214
Mendoza (MDZ) – Salta (SLA) EDR: 19.825
Mendoza (MDZ) – San Carlos de Bariloche (BRC) EDR: 19.252
Kathmandu (KTM) – Lhasa (LXA) EDR: 18.817
Chengdu (CTU) – Lhasa (LXA) EDR: 18.644
Santa Cruz (VVI) – Santiago (SCL) EDR: 18.598
Kathmandu (KTM) – Paro (PBH) EDR: 18.563
Chengdu (CTU) – Xining (XNN) EDR: 18.482
San Carlos de Bariloche (BRC) – Santiago (SCL) EDR: 18.475
A jetliner flies past Mount Rainier on its way to land at Boeing Field after a trip to Eastern Washington on June 18, 2021. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times/TNS)
Do you know these names: Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent, Jay Sebring, and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca?
What if I add to that list the name Sharon Tate?
Ah, there you go. Those are the names of the people killed by Charles Manson and some demented buddies on the nights of Aug. 8 and 9, 1969, Tate the most prominent because she was a beautiful movie star, married to filmmaker Roman Polanski, and eight months pregnant with their child.
Long time ago, I know, but so bloody and weird and headline-grabbing were the killings and ensuing trial and most of all Manson that they have stayed through the decades, creeping into our dreams and nightmares and coming at us in a steady stream of rehashing in books, movies and documentaries, some interesting and some merely exploitative.
Last time I remember remembering them was while watching “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 movie that, among many things, presented a wild, fairy tale version of the real events of what was and still is called the Manson Family murders.
Now they are on my mind yet again, courtesy of “Chaos: The Manson Murders,” a new 90-minute documentary on Netflix.
This would not ordinarily have grabbed my attention because I have over the decades had more than my fill of Manson-related subjects. But attached to “Chaos” is the name Errol Morris, which gives it a certain credibility, since he is a distinguished documentarian whose decades-long career has included such films as 1978’s “Gates of Heaven,” on the pet cemetery business; 1988’s “The Thin Blue Line,” his controversial film about the trial and conviction of a man for killing a Dallas police officer; 2003’s “The Fog of War,” which focused on Robert McNamara, the secretary of defense during much of the Vietnam War, which won an Academy Award; and “The Pigeon Tunnel” in 2023, about the life and work of novelist John le Carré.
Here he is in collaboration (and in intellectual tussle) with the work of journalist Tom O’Neill, in essence adapting O’Neill’s 2019 book, “CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties,” written with Dan Piepenbring.
As I expected, there is much repetition of known facts in the film but a judicious use of vintage material as Manson, a failed musician, wild-eyed hippie and career criminal, gets released from prison and in 1967 gathers around himself a bunch of younger outcasts who are all living together on a rusted movie set of a rural ranch.
He orders some of them to commit a series of gruesome murders and we get those bare details, effectively and vividly dramatized, but we don’t get a lot of answers to some of the questions raised and there are plenty.
Among them, and in no specific order:
Why didn’t law enforcement, such as parole officers, slap cuffs on Manson and send him back to jail when they had the chance?
And how did Manson turn a group of peaceful hippies into savage killers?
How was it that the Beach Boys’ drummer Dennis Wilson and record producer Terry Melcher nearly gave Manson a record deal? We hear Manson play guitar and sing.
What do the activist organization Black Panthers have to do with this?
Why do we meet Lee Harvey Oswald’s assassin Jack Ruby? And what is Louis Jolyon “Jolly” West, a subcontractor for the CIA’s Project MKUltra, doing as a court-appointed psychiatrist for Ruby? And what is Project MKUltra?
How did the Beatles’ “White Album” get into the mix?
There are more questions and plenty of talking, some of it from interviews of Manson by such TV personalities as Diane Sawyer, Geraldo Rivera and Tom Snyder.
Among the most compelling conversations are those that take place between Morris and O’Neill. The filmmaker asks pointed questions, operating from an authoritative position. He is probing, curious, suitably skeptical. And he is able to get O’Neill to admit, “Frankly, I still don’t know what happened. But I know that what we were told isn’t what happened.”
The movie is held together more by its questions (for which there are no real answers) than facts, presented in a visually compelling manner, peppered with such things as old movie clips of Laurence Harvey in the “Manchurian Candidate,” in which mind control is a chilling key.
Morris and his compelling moviemaking is likely to get a bigger audience than most of his previous documentary work. That’s a good thing even though this is not his finest work.
It’s still pretty good and one of the finer offerings of the massive Manson-inspired “Helter Skelter” enterprise. And if you ask yourself why there is not much here from Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, know that his book, “Helter Skelter” was published in 1974. It was subtitled “The True Story of the Manson Murders.” And it is the best-selling true crime book of all time.
rkogan@chicagotribune.com
Charles Manson is escorted to court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 3, 1969. (John Malmin/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Cultlike celebrities of a certain size sometimes cross the line between unsettling narcissism and unsettling narcissism with top notes of pathology. This may not be news, even if they make the news fairly regularly, but the frustrating new film “Opus” treats the toxic intersection of fame and infamy as a big reveal unto itself.
It’s a sleek enough experience visually, and the songs composed for “Opus” by Nile Rodgers and The-Dream are pretty tasty. This is the first feature from filmmaker Mark Anthony Green, who wrote and directed and undoubtedly pulled a few ideas for “Opus” from his ego-navigation experience as a celebrity journalist.
Premise: After a nearly 30-year hiatus shrouded in mystery, the ’90s pop legend known throughout the world as Moretti — bigger than Dylan, a pale white Prince with a wardrobe inching toward the interstellar — has produced his magnum opus, an album so major it’s almost too special for human ears. Moretti launches this album by way of a lavish but exclusive junket held at his remote Southwestern compound, which is staffed by serenely puttering acolytes in thrall to the Scientology-esque religion Moretti subscribes to, known as Leveling. (His followers are Levelists.)
The half-dozen who were lucky enough to be invited include five media poseurs Moretti has known a while, including the sycophantic editor of a Rolling Stone-type music magazine. For reasons unknown, a low-mid-level staffer of that same magazine, Ariel, has been invited as well. She’s played by Ayo Edebiri (of “The Bear”). Moretti is played by John Malkovich, because who else?
Consigned to providing her boss with a few atmospheric details for his story, Ariel can’t help but notice just how strange the goings-on appear. Cellphones are collected from everybody, with the promise of a return later. Moretti likes his guests unshaven, all over, so there’s a non-negotiable grooming policy enforced.
From there it’s one small step to the first disappearing-guest act, and “Opus” lurches from a satirically insufferable album-release party to a bloody nightmare. It does this while letting the audience get dangerously ahead of the narrative developments. Malkovich certainly holds his own, though there are times when his singular, sidewinding performance energy has a way of sapping a scene’s overall rhythm and pace. The supporting cast is a good one, with Murray Bartlett, Juliette Lewis and others filling in the blanks of their thinly conceived characters. Edebiri’s the anchor here, but the material is the material, and the material only goes so far.
It’s a familiar set-up by now: take a swank, remote compound, add an ultra-exclusive guest list and an escalating barrage of bloodletting, a la “The Menu” or last year’s undervalued “Blink Twice.” “Opus” has its moments. But even the surprises aren’t especially surprising.
“Opus” — 2 stars (out of 4)
MPA rating: R (for violent content including a grisly image, language, sexual material and brief graphic nudity)
Running time: 1:43
How to watch: Premieres in theaters March 13
Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
John Malkovich, left, and Ayo Edebiri in “Opus.” (A24/TNS)
Listen, at 21 years old, I couldn’t get enough of a pub crawl down barf-soaked streets. I think comedian Colin Quinn’s St. Patrick’s Day poem sums up why at 35, I’ve decided to stray from the pub crawls of yore.
“I’ve lost my friends and seven teeth at this festival to St. Patrick. Puked, out-duked and oft rebuked this holy day’s unholy hat trick. Can’t find the train, it starts to rain. I’m in a world of trouble and a house of pain. Still, this tradition I keep alive, it’s in my blood, at .25.”
My March 17 no longer resembles Quinn’s, and I’ve since perfected the art of the St. Patrick’s Day punk party, and it’s under my own roof. No, I’m not kicking over my garbage bins and covering my walls in black Sharpie art. I’m spinning my favorite Irish punk tunes, making my tried and true St. Patrick’s Day recipes and clinking Guinness pints with my closest friends — after I’ve toasted with an Irish proverb of course.
Here’s a guide to partying like a proper Irish punk from home.
19-year-old Shane MacGowan, editor of punk rock magazine ‘Bondage’ in his office at St Andrews Chambers, Wells Street, London. He went on to front The Pogues. Original Publication: People Disc – HJ0379 (Photo by Sydney O’Meara/Getty Images)
The Tunes
“Nowadays for us, St Patrick’s Day has taken on a totally different meaning where it’s about getting together with friends and family,” Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys said in a 2013 interview. Adding what rookie mistakes not to make, and this applies to partying at home as well, Casey said “Don’t start too early. You start too early, you peak at about two, you’re in trouble. … It’s a marathon, not a sprint. You wouldn’t believe how many kids are getting rushed into the gutter outside of the club because they went a little too high, too fast.”
Whether you’re spinning records from The Pogues, Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphys, you can’t party like a punk on St. Patrick’s Day without some Celtic Punk tunes vibrating your walls. If you don’t have any records handy, I made a Spotify playlist to make your celebration a festive one. And like all the party playlists I make, it starts nice and easy with songs including The Pogues’ “Dirty Old Town,” The Cranberries’ “Zombie,” and The Kilkennys’ “Galway Girl,” and ramps up as you get deeper into the list with pub songs like Flogging Molly’s “Drunken Lullabies,” The Real McKenzies’ “Chip,” and Dropkick Murphys’ “Rose Tattoo.” The playlist, “Party like an Irish Punk on St. Paddy’s,” is searchable via Spotify, or you can check it out by clicking the link here.
Competitive eater Pat Bertoletti, winner of the first-ever Stroehmann Sandwich Slamm, is seen after an eating contest featuring corned beef and rye sandwiches ahead of St. Patrick’s Day, March 16, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The Feast
What could be more punk than a grab-what-you-have traditional Dublin stew known as the Irish Coddle? Bacon, sausage, potatoes and of course, Guinness, make this super easy stew rich and filling. Check out Casey Elsass’s recipe for Food Network Kitchen below.
Ingredients
1 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound Cumberland sausage or any mild pork sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large white onions, halved and thinly sliced
Kosher salt
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/4 cup Irish stout, such as Guinness, optional
Irish soda bread, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Add the bacon to a large Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders, about 10 minutes. Add the sausage and increase the heat to medium high. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon and sausage are nicely browned, about 10 more minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon and sausage to a plate.
Drain the fat from the pot and return it to medium heat. Add the onions, a pinch of salt and 1/4 cup water. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits from the bottom and sides of the pot, then sprinkle the onions with 1 tablespoon of the parsley and plenty of black pepper. Layer the bacon and sausage over the onions and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley and more black pepper. Layer the potatoes over the meat and add enough water to submerge everything but the potatoes, about 2 cups. Season the potato layer with a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Bring the liquid to a boil (don’t stir!), then cover and transfer to the oven. Bake, checking halfway to add more water if needed, until the onions are very tender and caramelized and the liquid has reduced slightly, about 2 hours.
Finish with a pour of stout, if using, and a final garnish of the remaining parsley. Serve immediately with soda bread.
For some other St. Patty’s recipes, check out:
Clodagh Mckenna’s mum’s Classic Irish Lamb Stew takes a bit of time to make, so you may want to whip it up the night before or start early in the morning. It’ll feed six to eight people and keeps well if you’ve got some left over to nurse a hangover with on March 18. The stew pairs well with Irish soda bread. Find the recipe here.
My go-to St. Patrick’s Day recipe is Alton Brown’s Shepherd’s Pie, which calls for lamb, but you can swap it with ground sirloin or even ground chicken or turkey if you steer away from red meat. This is a hearty dish that will feed several of your closest mates and doesn’t take too long to make.
Southern California News Group contributor Cathy Thomas has a recipe for Colcannon, a rustic dish of mashed potatoes moistened with milk and butter and mixed with cabbage and onions. It’s a St. Patrick’s Day favorite served with corned beef, and she’s got a recipe for a “quick” corned beef here.
Scotch Eggs aka St. Patty’s Pub Eggs are soft boiled eggs with a gooey center, wrapped in sausage and breadcrumbs and deep-fried. They are fantastic, and you can find a recipe for them here.
John Mitzewich’s highly-rated Guinness beef stew is “a very simple dish, but at the same time, it has a deep, complex, rich flavor. The maltiness of dark beer really does amazing things for the gravy.” He serves it in a nice ring of green onion-mashed potatoes. Find the recipe here.
A broken window near the Guinness factory in Dublin, Sept. 24, 2009, is pictured ahead of ‘Arthurs Day.’ Millions of revelers are due to raise pints of the world’s most famous stout to toast the birth of Guinness.(Photo by PETER MUHLY / AFP) (Photo by PETER MUHLY/AFP via Getty Images)
The Drinks
If you have the patience to make a proper craft cocktail, start with the Dubliner, a citrusy take on the Manhattan using Irish whisky. Find Gary Regan’s Liquor.com recipe below.
Ingredients
2 ounces Irish whiskey
1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
3 dashes orange bitters
Garnish: 1 green maraschino cherry
Directions
Add the whiskey, Grand Marnier, sweet vermouth and orange bitters into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a green maraschino cherry.
Some other St. Patrick’s Day cocktails to try are:
The Dead Rabbit Irish Coffee may be the perfect hot cocktail to keep you warm this March 17, which is expected to be a relatively chilly and cloudy one. Grab the recipe here. For an Irish coffee with a twist try the Shamrock Flip by Luis Gudino, which incorporates an egg.
If you prefer your St. Patrick’s Day drink simple and easy, try an Irish beer like the Murphy’s Irish Stout, a Guinness Extra Stout, O’Hara’s Irish Craft Lager or Sullivan’s Malting Irish Red Ale.
A McGlashan is a funky twist on a whisky sour, which incorporates smooth Irish whiskey, orange-ginger marmalade, and a fiery kick of ginger for a balanced mix of warmth and spice. Here’s the recipe.
28th Feb. 1966: Comedian Spike Milligan enjoying a drink and a cigar courtesy of the WD & HO Wills stand at the Ideal Home Exhibition, Olympia. (Photo by Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The Toast
No St. Patrick’s Day is complete without a proper Irish toast, here are a few of my favorites to clink glasses to:
“May the winds of fortune sail you, May you sail a gentle sea. May it always be the other guy Who says, ‘this drink’s on me.”
“Here’s to cheating, stealing, fighting, and drinking. If you cheat, may you cheat death. If you steal, may you steal a woman’s heart. If you fight, may you fight for a brother. And if you drink, may you drink with me.”
“May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.”
“May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, The foresight to know where you are going, And the insight to know when you have gone too far.”
“May the lilt of Irish laughter, Lighten every load. May the mist of Irish magic, Shorten every road. And may all your friends remember, All the favors you are owed!”
Looking to party like a proper Irish punk this St. Paddy’s Day? Here’s a guide to do it from home. (Photo cred: Sydney O’Meara via Getty, Canva)
St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration enjoyed by Irish and Irish wannabes alike. From coast to coast, at the core of the fun is satisfying, easy-to-prepare fare.
Thumbing through Kevin Dundon’s book, “Modern Irish Food” (Beazley), sparked devilish hunger pangs. Dundon, an award-winning Irish chef and PBS television personality, features recipes for what he calls “modern Irish house cooking.” He explores the classic dishes of his homeland, giving them appealing updated twists.
I love his beautiful-but-simple apple tart. Use refrigerated prepared dough, such as Pillsbury Pie Crusts, and then layer thin apple slices on top, slightly overlapping the slices in concentric circles to cover the dough. The flavor of the tart-sweet apples shines through in this scrumptious finale, the crust offering a pleasing texture contrast that compliments the fruit and corrals the rich juices.
But before the dessert, a traditional Irish stew is a must. To accompany the cozy dish, Irish Guinness Brown Bread is an irresistible partner. Cookbook maven and Food Network star Ina Garten has a recipe that comes close to the real deal. Her formula calls for a 9-by-5-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pan. My pan is slightly smaller, with the same depth but is only 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inches. So, when I bake it, I make two, the second one baked in a tiny loaf pan. That puny loaf is for this baker’s secret pleasure.
Sliced Pink Lady apples are arranged atop the crust of a Simple Apple Tart before it goes into the oven. (Photo by Cathy Thomas)
5 to 6 medium-sized Pink Lady apples; see cook’s notes
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted, divided use
1/3 cup turbinado sugar, divided use
2 tablespoons honey
For serving: Whipped cream or ice cream
Cook’s notes: Pink Lady apples are delectable in this tart. I sometimes find them at my local supermarket, but if you prefer, substitute Gala apples. Turbinado sugar is raw sugar that has been steam-cleaned. The coarse crystals are a honey-brown color and have a subtle molasses flavor. It’s often sold in the natural food section of the supermarket and is available at natural food stores.
DIRECTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll one of the pie crusts and place on parchment paper. Unroll second pie crust and cut out a ring 1/2-inch-wide around the edge of the crust. Cut crosswise into three pieces to make them easier to transfer. Transfer to edge of crust that is on the pan and press in place (so now you have a double layer of crust around the edge). Pinch to make a ridge around the edge about 1/2-inch high. Prick with tines of a fork at 2-inch intervals. Place in refrigerator.
2. Squeeze lemon juice into a medium-large bowl. Peel, core and cut apples into thin slices, placing them as you work in the bowl with the juice and tossing them from time to time to prevent browning.
3. Remove crust from refrigerator and lightly brush with butter. Arrange apple slices in two concentric circles overlapping them slightly (start with the outside circle). Brush with half of the remaining melted butter. Remove 1 tablespoon of the sugar and set aside to use as garnish; sprinkle remaining sugar over apples. Bake 12 minutes.
4. Remove from oven (and shut oven door). Brush apples and rim of tart with remaining butter. Drizzle apples with honey. Return to oven and bake 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from oven and sprinkle with reserved sugar. Cool at least 20 minutes before serving. If desired, serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Source: “Modern Irish Food” by Kevin Dundon
Irish Stew
Irish Stew often calls for lamb, generally hearty chunks of lamb shoulder. This recipe uses pieces of beef; they attain lovely tenderness with long simmering. The stew can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Cool, cover and then refrigerate it. Bring to a simmer before serving.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 large garlic cloves, minced
7 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped, see cook’s notes
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Cook’s notes: If you wish, substitute pearl onions for the chopped onion. Peeled and frozen, they are generally available in many supermarkets. Or peel fresh pearl onions by boiling in water with the skin in place for 1 1/2 minutes, then transfer them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process; once cool, the skins should easily come off by squeezing the onion between your fingers.
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and sauté until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef broth, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine and scrape up browned bits on the pot. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 10 minutes. Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt the pan and spoon off fat. Transfer stew to serving bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Source: Bon Appetit magazine
The writer makes Ina Garten’s Irish Guinness Brown Bread in two loaves because her larger loaf pan is smaller than the one called for in the recipe. (Photo by Cathy Thomas)
Ina’s Irish Guinness Brown Bread
Serve this delicious brown bread with honey butter. To make the honey butter, combine room temperature unsalted butter with honey to taste; you can use a mixer to do this or stir by hand with muscle and determination. My favorite combination is unsalted Irish Kerrygold butter mixed paired with clover honey and topped with coarse salt.
Yield: 1 loaf (see story)
INGREDIENTS
1 cup McCann’s quick-cooking oats (not instant), plus extra for sprinkling
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (11- to 12-ounce) bottle Guinness extra stout beer, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, shaken before measuring
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for brushing pan
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For serving: Honey butter (unsalted butter combined with honey to taste, topped with a smidgen of coarse salt)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, place oats, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir with whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together beer, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into the well. With your clean fingers, stir batter from middle of bowl to the outside, until it is well mixed. It will look more like cake batter then bread dough.
3. Brush a 9-by-5-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pan with melted butter. Pour batter into pan and sprinkle top with oats. Put the bread in the oven, immediately turn the temperature down to 400 degrees and bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn bread out onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Slice and serve with honey butter.
Source: Adapted from Ina Garten, Food Network
Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at CathyThomasCooks.com.
While Irish stew is often made with lamb, this recipe uses pieces of beef. (Photo by Getty Images)