Opening This Week: THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD, LEVITICUS, THE VOICES OF OUR MOTHERS

With only a handful of new films heading for theatrical release this week, including a non-genre animated film, we're including one that is debuting on Shudder, a streaming service that is of particular interest to genre movie fans.

As it happened, I saw four wildly different films in movie theaters last week, which reminded me that there is something very special about watching a movie on a big screen with great volume that, if watched at home, my neighbors might call the police about (?!).

True, I did not love everything I saw, but as we enter the week, please do yourself a favor and see a movie in a proper cinema, whether one of the films below or another that's opened recently. Our writers have already seen three of the films at festival screenings, so their reviews are linked below.

The Death of Robin Hood
The film opens Friday, June 19, only in movie theaters, via A24 Films. Visit their official site for more information.

Hugh Jackman stars as the legendary archer. From writer/director Michael Sarnoski (Pig, A Quiet Place: Day One). Look for our review later this week.

Official synopsis: "Grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, Robin Hood finds himself gravely injured after a battle he thought would be his last. In the hands of a mysterious woman, he is offered a chance at salvation."

Leviticus
The film opens Friday, June 19, only in movie theaters, via Neon Releasing. Visit their official site for more information.

Our review by Mel Valentin (from this year's Sundance Film Festival): "In Australian-born Adrian Chiarella's impressively realized, near-flawless feature-length debut, Leviticus, love, let alone desire, between two teens, Naim (Joe Bird) and Ryan (Stacy Clausen), makes them not just outsiders in the small, sleepy, Christian town in Australia they call home, but it also places them in direct danger. It's not just the typical (or stereotypical) homophobes, but conversion therapy that turns on a supernatural curse."

Official synopsis: "Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most--each other."

The Voices of Our Mothers
The film releases Friday, June 19, only on the Shudder streaming service.

One look at the trailer, and you'll see why we're eager to see the film. Actor Mark O'Brien co-stars and directed. Look for our review later this week.

Official synopsis: "When a family matriarch falls seriously ill, relatives gather and discover their shared ancestral ties bind them in unexpected ways."

Rose of Nevada
The film opens Friday, June 19, only in movie theaters, via 1-2 Special. Visit their official site for more information.

Our review by Shelagh Rowan-Legg (from last year's Toronto International Festival): " Rose of Nevada once again shows [director Mark] Jenkin as a rare voice that combines artistic talent with stories of social urgency, his labour in making a film reflecting the labour that comes with community. There are individuals voices, but strength comes from human contact, connection, some sacrifice, and understanding the ancient ways that still rule us all, even if only from the deep."

Official synopsis: "30 years ago, the Rose of Nevada disappeared at sea. Now, it has returned. Desperate to make ends meet, two men join its crew and set sail once again, but soon discover they've been transported back into the past, where they are mistaken for the original crew."

Unidentified
The film opens Friday, June 19, only in movie theaters, via Sony Pictures Classics. Visit their official site for more information.

Our review by Shelagh Rowan-Legg (from last year's Toronto International Festival): " Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour (Wadjda, Mary Shelley) once again returns to themes of women's status and place in her country's society with Unidentified. Only this time, she wraps it in a murder mystery and one woman's determination to solve it. The film combines that insatiable curiosity with the pursuit of justice, in the secondary mystery of why this one woman is so determined to find this particular truth.

Official synopsis: "Sparked by the discovery of the lifeless body of a teenage girl in the desert; When no one claims the body, Noelle Al Saffan, a newly divorced, true crime aficionado who recently lost a child of her own, gets obsessively involved. Despite a ticking clock that seemingly guarantees the girl's senseless death will be discarded as a cold case, Noelle is determined to identify the body and uncover the truth. She slowly unravels a mystery entangled within a traditional society in transition, where women are learning to create more space for themselves and to take control of their own destinies."

Toy Story 5
The film opens Friday, June 19, only in movie theaters, via Disney/Pixar. Visit their official site for more information.

We're all kids at heart. And some of us have kids of our own. Beyond that element, we love animated films of all sorts. And that includes Pixel's latest sequel. Look for our review later this week.

Official synopsis: "The toys are back in Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5 and this time it's Toy meets Tech. Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the rest of the gang's jobs are challenged when they're introduced to what kids are obsessed with today....electronics!"

Opening This Week celebrates the cinematic experience, in movie theaters and at home.