New month, new movies but still stuck in the house. However, new movies are something positive that we can look forward to in these difficult times. I know we are all getting a touch of cabin fever but hopefully, some of these titles can transport you and alleviate some of the stress. Just like last month, due to the rona, the release of some films may change at a moment’s notice but as far as I can tell, many movies are going to continue to release on streaming services and VOD. It’ll be interesting to see how much the industry changes when the world reopens. There are some really great movies on this list but I won’t talk your head off, the list is below. Enjoy!
Arkansas – May 1st (VOD)
Kyle and Swin live by the orders of an Arkansas-based drug kingpin named Frog, whom they’ve never met. Posing as junior park rangers by day, they operate as low-level drug couriers by night under the watchful eye of Frog’s proxies. Swin then settles into his day job by taking up a relationship with Johnna against orders to blend in while Kyle continues to question his night job by trying to figure out who Frog really is. Their world is then upended after one too many inept decisions, and Kyle, Swin, and Johanna find themselves directly in Frog’s crosshairs, who mistakenly sees them as a threat to his empire. Based on John Brandon’s best-selling book of the same name, ARKANSAS weaves together three decades of Deep South drug trafficking to explore the cycle of violence that turns young men into criminals, and old men into legends.
The Wretched – May 1st (VOD)
Following his parents’ separation, a rebellious teenage boy, Ben, is sent to live with his father for the summer and work at the local marina in order to gain some form of discipline. The idyllic tourist town offers little solace for him, however, as he is forced to deal with the local, privileged teens and his father’s new girlfriend. Ben’s problems grow increasingly disturbing when he makes a chilling discovery about the family renting the house next door. A malevolent spirit from the woods has taken a hold of the parents and starts playing a sinister game of house, preying upon the children and wiping away any trace of their existence. Ben’s suspicions of the supernatural horrors go unheeded and he launches a perilous crusade in order to put an end to the skin-walking witch’s reign of terror.
Bull – May 1st (VOD)
On the outskirts of Houston, a teen reeling from her mom’s incarceration and an aging bullfighter struggling to keep a foothold in the rodeo circuit, form an unlikely bond and attempt to right their own paths.
All Day and a Night – May 1st (Netflix)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Mrs. Serial Killer – May 1st (Netflix)
A story of a doctor who gets framed for a series of murders and his wife sets out committing a crime exactly like the serial killer to prove her husband’s innocence.
Capital in the Twenty-First Century – May 1st (VOD)
Based on the international bestseller by rock-star economist Thomas Piketty, this captivating documentary is an eye-opening journey through wealth and power, a film that breaks the popular assumption that the accumulation of capital runs hand in hand with social progress, and shines a new light on today’s growing inequalities. Traveling through time, the film assembles accessible pop-culture references coupled with interviews of some of the world’s most influential experts delivering an insightful and empowering journey through the past and into our future.
Deerskin – May 1st (VOD)
a recent divorcee who becomes obsessed with a vintage fringed deerskin jacket that begins to exert an uncanny hold on him. Set in a sleepy French alpine village, he falls into the guise of an independent filmmaker and befriends a trusting bartender and aspiring editor who becomes his collaborator on a movie that will document a surprising new goal he sets himself.
Endings, Beginnings – May 1st (VOD)
In present day Los Angeles, Daphne, a thirty something woman, navigates love and heartbreak over the course of one year. Daphne becomes intertwined with friends Jack and Frank after meeting them at a party. During that time, she will unlock the secrets to her life in a sudden turn of events and in the most surprising of places.
The Half of It – May 1st (Netflix)
Shy, straight-A student Ellie is hired by sweet but inarticulate jock Paul, who needs help winning over a popular girl. But their new and unlikely friendship gets complicated when Ellie discovers she has feelings for the same girl.
18 Presents – May 8th (Netflix)
Elisa is only forty when an incurable disease takes her from her husband and their daughter. Before her heart stops, Elisa finds a way to stay close to her: a gift for every birthday up to her adult age, 18 gifts to try to accompany her child’s growth year after year.
The High Note – May 8th (VOD)
Set in the dazzling world of the LA music scene comes the story of Grace Davis, a superstar whose talent, and ego, have reached unbelievable heights. Maggie is Grace’s overworked personal assistant who’s stuck running errands, but still aspires to her childhood dream of becoming a music producer. When Grace’s manager presents her with a choice that could alter the course of her career, Maggie and Grace come up with a plan that could change their lives forever.
How to Build a Girl – May 8th (VOD)
Johana Morrigan is a bright, quirky, 16-year-old who uses her colorful imagination to regularly escape her humdrum life in Wolverhampton and live out her creative fantasies. Desperate to break free from the overcrowded flat she shares with her four brothers and eccentric parents, she submits an earnestly penned and off-beat music review to a group of self-important indie rock critics at a weekly magazine. Despite being brushed off initially, Johana clamors to the top of the ’90s rock music scene by reinventing herself as Dolly Wilde – a venerable, impossible-to-please music critic with an insatiable lust for fame, fortune, and men. It isn’t long before the rapid pace at which Johana’s life is changing becomes overwhelming and she runs face-first into a devastatingly real, existential crisis: Is this the type of girl she wants to become? Or does she need to start over and build again from the ground up? Based on the best-selling novel by Caitlin Moran
Spaceship Earth – May 8th (VOD)
Spaceship Earth is the true, stranger-than-fiction, adventure of eight visionaries who in 1991 spent two years quarantined inside of a self-engineered replica of Earth’s ecosystem called BIOSPHERE 2. The experiment was a worldwide phenomenon, chronicling daily existence in the face of life threatening ecological disaster and a growing criticism that it was nothing more than a cult. The bizarre story is both a cautionary tale and a hopeful lesson of how a small group of dreamers can potentially reimagine a new world.
Valley Girl – May 8th (VOD)
Set to a new wave ’80s soundtrack, a pair of young lovers from different backgrounds defy their parents and friends to stay together. A musical adaptation of the 1983 film.
Walkaway Joe – May 8th (VOD)
The story of an unlikely friendship between a young boy searching for his father, and a wandering loner hiding from his past. In each other they experience the power of a second chance, and a shot at redemption.
The Wrong Missy – May 13th (Netflix)
When Tim Morris meets his dream girl and their relationship quickly escalates through texts, he throws caution to the wind and invites her to his company’s corporate retreat on an island resort… However, when a past blind date from hell shows up at the airport for the weekend getaway instead, he learns too late that he’s been texting “The Wrong Missy.”
Scoob! – May 15th (VOD)
SCOOB! reveals how lifelong friends Scooby and Shaggy first met and how they joined with young detectives Fred, Velma and Daphne to form the famous Mystery Inc. Now, with hundreds of cases solved and adventures shared, Scooby and the gang face their biggest, most challenging mystery ever: a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world. As they race to stop this global “dogpocalypse,” the gang discovers that Scooby has a secret legacy and an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined.
Blood and Money – May 15th (VOD)
A retired veteran hunting in the Allagash backcountry discovers a dead woman with a duffle bag full of money. He soon finds himself in a web of deceit and murder.
Proximity – May 15th (VOD)
Isaac, a young scientist working for NASA, deals with the difficulties of everyday life when he unexpectedly receives a mysterious signal from space through one of the satellites at work. When he sets out to investigate the crash site, his entire world turns upside down – he is abducted by extra terrestrials. He finds his camera next to him and realizes he captured the whole thing on tape.
Fortnite: The Sacrifice – May 18th
Danger is greater than ever, When all hell breaks loose. Robots and Giant Monsters Plan to take down all Islands, But when a new set of heroes arrive, they must learn how to win.
The Painter and The Thief – May 22nd (VOD)
Desperate for answers about the theft of her 2 paintings, a Czech artist seeks out and befriends the career criminal who stole them. After inviting her thief to sit for a portrait, the two form an improbable relationship and an inextricable bond that will forever link these lonely souls.
The Lovebirds – May 22nd (Netflix)
A couple experiences a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery. As their journey to clear their names takes them from one extreme – and hilarious – circumstance to the next, they must figure out how they, and their relationship, can survive the night.
The Trip to Greece – May 22nd (VOD)
When Odysseus left Troy it took him ten years to get back to his home in Ithaca. Steve and Rob have only six days on their own personal odyssey in THE TRIP TO GREECE. On the way they argue about tragedy and comedy, astronomy and biology, myth, history, democracy and the meaning of life!
Irresistible – May 29th (VOD)
A Democrat political consultant (Carell) who helps a retired Marine colonel (Cooper) run for mayor in a small Wisconsin town.
The Vast of Night – May 29th (Prime Video)
In the twilight of the 1950s, on one fateful night in New Mexico, a young, winsome switchboard operator Fay and charismatic radio DJ Everett discover a strange audio frequency that could change their small town and the future forever. Dropped phone calls, AM radio signals, secret reels of tape forgotten in a library, switchboards, crossed patchlines and an anonymous phone call lead Fay and Everett on a scavenger hunt toward the unknown.
Stay safe out there! Enjoy the movies.
Senior Critic. Observing the human race since 1988.
