Videoreleases
Blockers
Three high school seniors — Julie (Newton), Kayla (Viswanathan) and Sam (Adlon) — make a pact that on the day of their prom, they’ll each lose their virginity before the end of the night. Before the prom, their parents, including Julie’s mother, Lisa (Mann), Kayla’s overprotective father, Mitchell (Cena), and Sam’s absent dad, Hunter (Barinholtz), throw them a party, but when the girls leave an open laptop behind, the secret is spilled to their parents. All three parents become determined to stop their daughters from making a huge mistake and set out to block their “first times” by any means necessary, learning a lot about themselves and their own hang-ups and relationships with their daughters along the way.
Director: Kay Cannon. Stars: Leslie Mann, John Cena, Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Newton. 2018. 102 min. Comedy.
Beirut
A decade after his wife was killed in Beirut, Lebanon, Mason Skiles (Hamm), a former diplomat, is forced to confront his demons when he returns to the city to negotiate the release of a kidnapped CIA agent with whom he was once friends. He is shocked to discover that the leader of the kidnappers is Karim (Chender), whom he had cared for as a child when he lived in the city. Karim demands the release of his brother, whom he claims the Americans have in custody, but with the local American agents denying that they have him, Skiles is forced to chase leads to his whereabouts before time runs out.
Director: Brad Anderson. Stars: Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Dean Norris, Idir Chender. 2018. 109 min. Drama.