Fire up jets and ‘Burgers’ for Memorial Day
If you’re feeling a little more patriotic this weekend, there’s definitely a reason: Tom Cruise is back in the cockpit of a fighter jet. (Also, it’s Memorial Day, and that might have something to do with your red, white and blue mood.)
So if you need a film this long weekend? We got you, fam. Here’s a guide to satisfying every cinematic taste:
If you live life in the Danger Zone: ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
The follow-up to the original film somehow lives up to – and in some ways surpasses – 36 years of expectation. The rousing adventure finds Cruise’s roguish Maverick back in an airplane finding the best of the best for a deadly mission, and discovers a movie-star supernova in Glen Powell (as icy ace Hangman).
● Where to watch: In theaters
If you enjoy quirky families and murder-mystery musicals: ‘The Bob’s Burgers Movie’
After airing for 12 seasons, the animated sitcom about the oddball Belcher clan comes to the big screen for a wacky genre mashup that grows on you. Bob and Linda fret about their seaside burger joint when a sinkhole opens in front of it before the summer, and kids Tina, Louise and Gene start an investigation after finding a dead body.
● Where to watch: In theaters
If you dig college comedies with something to say: ‘Emergency’
A standout at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the well-crafted twist on a beloved trope stars Donald Elise Watkins and RJ Cyler as Black best friends whose epic night of college partying goes awry when they find a young white girl unconscious in their house and – worried about the optics of the situation – try to help her without getting the cops involved.
● Where to watch: Amazon Prime
If you heart Anthony Hopkins (and Zoom calls): ‘Zero Contact’
The sci-fi thriller – told over many screens and made entirely remotely during the pandemic – stars Hopkins as a late tech magnate who funneled money into a secretive project. Five people connected to him are brought together online to reactivate the initiative, though weirdness around their homes hints at a deadly third party.
● Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu, Google Play
If you’re not afraid of subtitles: ‘A Chiara’
The Italian coming-of-age crime drama stars Swamy Rotolo as a 15-year-old Calabrian girl who has her world rocked when the family car is bombed, her father disappears mysteriously, and a secret bunker in their house leads the teen to investigate her clan’s ties to drug trafficking and the Mafia.
● Where to watch: In theaters
If you adore the Dowager Countess: ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’
The continuation of the popular British drama is as consistently spot-on as tea time, and Maggie Smith is still the highly watchable queen of the franchise. Set in the late 1920s, the new soapy chapter for the aristocratic Crawley family involves an inherited villa in the South of France and a film crew wanting to make a movie in their countryside manor.
● Where to watch: In theaters
If you’re down for a cartoon nostalgia trip: ‘Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers’
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” has a spiritual successor in this clever live-action/animated hybrid comedy. Estranged chipmunk besties Chip (voiced by John Mulaney) and Dale (Andy Samberg) put differences aside to find a missing friend in a case filled with classic Disney characters, hilarious cameos and pop-culture references.
● Where to watch: Disney+
If you’re all about the multiverse: ‘Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness’
Hallelujah, Marvel let Sam Raimi make a weird and gory horror film out of its “Strange” sequel. To save a teenager (Xochitl Gomez) who can traverse parallel worlds, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) faces the fearsome Scarlet Witch (a great Elizabeth Olsen) and even meets some new A-list superhero surprises.
● Where to watch: In theaters
If you’re REALLY all about the multiverse: ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
The word-of-mouth indie success stars a spectacular Michelle Yeoh as an ordinary laundromat owner with tax troubles. Those are put on hold, though, when she learns about the existence of alternate realities (one where she has hot dog fingers, another where she’s a movie star) and has to use them to stop an evil villainess.
● Where to watch: In theaters
If you feel the need for speedy animals: ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’
Idris Elba voices a grumpy warrior echidna named Knuckles who entirely steals this animated/live-action combo adventure. He also proves a formidable foil for our video-game hedgehog hero (Ben Schwartz), who is forced once again to deal with the megalomaniacal pursuits of returning mad scientist Dr. Robotnik (a particularly hammy Jim Carrey).
● Where to watch: Paramount+
If you can’t wait for July 4 to watch things blow up: ‘Ambulance’
Leave it to Michael Bay: After finally putting aside those bad “Transformers” movies, he makes the Most Michael Bay Movie Ever. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jake Gyllenhaal play adopted brothers who attempt a bank heist and wind up hijacking an emergency vehicle and racing through the City of Angels, causing wanton destruction and traffic jams.
● Where to watch: Peacock