Faith, fiction and a coke-crazed bear

So this is how 2023 is going so far: This week’s three widest releases are all based on true stories — including the one about a cocaine-crazed beer.

Here’s what’s new in Milwaukeearea theaters starting Friday, as well as some of the new movies available on streaming and on demand this week.

(Reminder: Go to

to find out where you can see this year’s Oscar-nominated movies, in theaters and via on-demand and streaming services.)

‘Cocaine Bear’

Short version: In Georgia in 1985, a drug runner’s plane dumps a bunch of cocaine in the woods, where it’s discovered — and consumed — by a black bear. A you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up true story is the basis for this violent horrorcomedy directed by Elizabeth Banks and starring an unexpectedly far-ranging cast, including Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Brooklynn Prince, Margo Martindale and, in one of his last movies, Ray Liotta.

Where to see it: AMC Mayfair Mall; Avalon Theater; Marcus Theatres’ Bistroplex Southridge, Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Movie Tavern Brookfield Square, North Shore, Ridge, Saukville, Showtime, Southgate, South Shore cinemas; Silverspot Cinema.

‘Emily’

Short version: Emma Mackey portrays Emily Bronte, the independentminded author of “Wuthering Heights,” in this biopic by actor-turned-writer/director Frances O’Connor. Gemma Jones and Fionn Whitehead co-star.

Where to see it: AMC Mayfair Mall; Marcus Theatres’ Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Ridge, Saukville, Showtime, South Shore cinemas; Oriental Theatre; Silverspot Cinema.

‘Jesus Revolution’

Short version: A charismatic hippie street preacher (Jonathan Roumie) brings his message, and his flock, to a pastor’s (Kelsey Grammer) struggling church, and both transform each other in this 1969-set, faith-fueled drama based on a true story.

Where to see it: AMC Mayfair Mall; Marcus Theatres’ Bistroplex Southridge, Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, North Shore, Ridge, Saukville, South Shore cinemas.

‘My Happy Ending’

Short version: A famous actor (Andie MacDowell) goes incognito to get medical treatment, and finds herself bonding with three women from worlds very different from hers while she grapples with her cancer diagnosis.

Where you can see it: Marcus Theatres’ Hillside, Menomonee Falls, Ridge cinemas.

Festival of Films in French at UWM Union Cinema

The 26th annual Festival of Films in French concludes this weekend at the UWM Union Cinema, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. Many of the titles, showing in French with English subtitles, are either Midwest or U.S. premieres; admission to all is free. Info:

Winding up the 26th annual festival this weekend are:

Feb. 24: 7 p.m., “Arlette!”, a Canadian political satire in which a fashion magazine editor joins and unexpectedly shakes up provincial government; 9:30 p.m., “Un Pays Qui Se Tient Sage” (“The Monopoly of Violence”), a documentary giving voice to a diverse range of popular reaction to the French government’s response to recent citizen protests.

Feb. 25: 4:30 p.m., “Les Années Super 8” (“The Super 8 Years”), a documentary chronicling Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux’s start as a writer and the end of her marriage, drawing from Super 8 family footage shot by her husband; 6 p.m., “Frantz Fanon, Trajectoire d’un Révolté” (“Frantz Fanon, the Incensed Rebel”), a profile of Fanon, a

COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS An inquisitive bear gets hold of a wayward drug shipment and runs amok in “Cocaine Bear.”

ATTRACTIONS ROADSIDE After she’s diagnosed with colon cancer, a Hollywood star (Andie MacDowell, right) begs her agent (Tamsin Greig) to get her a private room in a busy British hospital in the comedy “My Happy Ending.”

PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Emma Mackey stars in “Emily.”