Escape to the ‘Future,’ or to ‘Fire Island’
“Top Gun: Maverick” kicked the summer movie season into high gear with a record-breaking weekend, and a bunch of new films are arriving before the “Jurassic World” dinos bust loose again.
This weekend is busy: Oscar nominee Kristen Stewart joins Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux for director David Cronenberg’s latest, and Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang play gay BFFs in a modern spin on a Jane Austen favorite. Mark Rylance hits the links for a 1970s true British golf comedy, and ukelele-strumming “America’s Got Talent” wunderkind Grace VanderWaal charms again in a Disney+ “Stargirl” sequel.
Here’s a guide to new movies that will satisfy every cinematic taste:
If you dig some crazy body horror: ‘Crimes of the Future’
Cronenberg does not skimp on the weirdness in this darkly humorous sci-fi thriller. Mortensen plays a celebrity who grows internal organs and has them removed by his partner (Seydoux) for artistic purposes. He’s approached by a fringe group hoping to use him to popularize this stage of humanity’s evolution, with Stewart as a woman who’s kinkily interested in the escapade.
● Where to watch: In theaters
If you want to see a star being born: ‘Fire Island’
Booster writes, stars and is a magnetic presence in this entertaining queer twist on “Pride and Prejudice.” Noah (Booster) and his group of friends (including Yang and Margaret Cho) meet up for what might be their last summer at Fire Island for romance and a lot of drama as Noah is caught in a love triangle between uptight Will (Conrad Ricamora) and rugged Dex (Zane Phillips).
● Where to watch: Hulu
If you adore the suspenseful stuff: ‘Watcher’
In this ultra-tense thriller full of Hitchcockian delights, a young American woman (Maika Monroe) relocates from New York to her husband’s hometown, Bucharest. A serial killer stalks the Romania capital, she’s convinced a strange neighbor (Burn Gorman) is watching her, and paranoia and unfortunate gaslighting ensue.
h Where to watch: In theaters
If your dad needs a film to watch: ‘The Phantom of the Open’
Rylance is a hoot in this goofy golf dramedy based on the true story of a middle-aged crane operator who teaches himself the sport and decides on a lark to apply to play at the British Open. Somehow he gets in, his qualifying round is a disaster, but along the way he becomes both national laughingstock and worldwide cult sensation.
● Where to watch: In theaters
If you’re a Grace VanderWaal superfan: ‘Hollywood Stargirl’
The sequel is missing the whimsy of the 2020 “Stargirl” but moves VanderWaal’s character from muse to main attraction. Stargirl relocates to LA, meets an idol (Uma Thurman) who needs her infectious spirit, and befriends/falls for her neighbor (Elijah Richardson), who’s making a film with his brother.
h Where to watch: Disney+
If you could use another ’80s action throwback other than ‘Top Gun’: ‘Interceptor’
Elsa Pataky, a “Fast and Furious” alum married to Chris Hemsworth, is quite the woman of action herself in this decent old-school thriller. Her two-fisted soldier is reassigned to a remote interceptor missile station in the Pacific but soon finds herself staving off an invasion by a rogue intelligence agent (Luke Bracey) to prevent a nuclear attack on American cities.
● Where to watch: Netflix
If you dig bloody horror comedies: ‘Unhuman’
Produced by Jason Blum, the teenoriented chiller follows a bus full of high school kids that crashes while on a field trip, are warned via radio of a mysterious disaster afoot and are then inundated by hungry zombies. The fright fest hews to a pretty straightforward narrative until paying off with its well-orchestrated, satisfying twist.
● Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Google Play
If you’ve ever had a terrible ride-share experience: ‘Dashcam’
Director Rob Savage’s gleefully dark pandemic-era horror comedy is another Blumhouse flick, starring Annie Hardy as the worst Uber driver ever. After stealing a friend’s ride-share identity, she picks up an old woman headed to the English countryside and livestreams a ride that turns bonkers.
● Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu
If you’re down for a guilty-pleasure love story: ‘Frank and Penelope’
In Sean Patrick Flanery’s directorial debut, a Texas drifter (Billy Budinich) and an exotic dancer (Caylee Cowan) hook up for hot-blooded romance and a crazy road trip involving an offbeat cop (Kevin Dillon) and an Appalachian sineater (Johnathon Schaech). Cowan is aces as a doe-eyed femme fatale in a noir horror movie fueled by gonzo Bmovie energy.
● Where to watch: In theaters
If you want a tuneful crash course in Afrofuturism: ‘Neptune Frost’
This fascinating sci-fi musical features an escaped miner and intersex runaway finding each other in a hacker collective set up in the hills of Burundi to battle the country’s resource-stripping authoritarian regime. The plot doesn’t totally come together, yet the music and eye-popping visuals combine to conjure a wowing cosmic fever dream.
● Where to watch: In theaters
Also on streaming
● “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” – the latest in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter movie universe – is playing on HBO Max and available on Apple TV and on-demand platforms.
● The award-winning Sundance Film Festival documentary “Navalny,” chronicling the work and attempted assassination of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, also is streaming on HBO Max.
● Mark Wahlberg stars as an unlikely holy man in the real-life faith-based drama “Father Stu,” which is now on demand.