Our weekly focus on genre movies opening in theaters this week includes one that is releasing on a streaming service.
Some weeks, that's how it goes, especially as we've reached a strange period in the movie release calendar; it's not entirely barren, but we've only got a handful of theatrical releases this week and even fewer next week.
So, perhaps this is a good time to catch up with movies you haven't seen yet. Check our review page to see reviews for everything we've been watching lately. If you can, I suggest seeing a movie in a theater. No matter the weather, you'll be able to spend a couple hours relaxing in the dark, perhaps with someone you love and/or tolerate.
The theatrical experience is highly recommended. Below, you'll find links to reviews by our writers for this week's releases.
Leviticus
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Neon Releasing. Visit their official site for more information.
Our review by Mel Valentin: "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."
The Death of Robin Hood
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via A24 Films. Visit their official site for more information.
Our review by Kyle Logan: "Of course, in its final moments, the film reaffirms that this power can and must be used for good, both for comfort and as motivation for the next generations to do better than the ones before. But the acknowledgment of their terrible power lends the film a layer that (while not wholly original) makes it more intriguing than most movies we see question their own importance as narratives."
The Voices of Our Mother
The film is now streaming on Shudder.
Our review by George and Josh Bate: "The Voices of Our Mother may be billed as yet another supernatural horror movie coming to streaming, but it is far more nuanced than that. While the horror elements are admittedly and somewhat disappointingly limited, Mark O'Brien's film excels as a fascinating and emotionally stirring family drama, one populated by strong performances and biting dialogue."
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 is now playing, only in movie theaters, via 1-2 Special. Visit their official site for more information.
Our review by Shelagh Rowan-Legg: "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."
Unidentified
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Sony Pictures Classics. Visit their official site for more information.
Our review by Shelagh Rowan-Legg: "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."
Toy Story 5
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Disney/Pixar. Visit their official site for more information.
Our review by Daniel Eagan: "While it never reaches the existential fury of Toy Story 4, this entry finds its heart in Joan Cusack's Jessie, a headstrong woman who keeps getting beaten down by the world. (If you're like me, you'll despair when her hat falls to the ground--these toys suffer damage and loss.)
"In today's fragmented world, the idea of acceptance, of rejecting shame, could not be more important. Even if you have to swallow platitudes about 'good' tech along with it."
Now playing celebrates the cinematic experience, in movie theaters and at home.