Six To See

• Expend4bles: the fourth film in the Expendables film series and the sequel to The Expendables 3 (2014). This action film is directed by Scott Waugh from a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer, Tad Daggerhart, and Max Adams, and based on a story by Spenser Cohen, Kurt Wimmer, and Tad Daggerhart. It stars an ensemble cast including Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture reprising their roles from previous films, alongside Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, and Andy García. We follow The Expendables who  are drawn into a conspiracy that will ignite a nuclear conflict between Russia and the United States. The film was released in theatres on September 22.

• Cassandro: a new biographical drama film directed by Roger Ross Williams, in his narrative directorial debut, from a screenplay by Ross Williams and David Teague. It stars Gael García Bernal, Roberta Colindrez, Perla De La Rosa, Joaquín Cosío, Raúl Castillo, El Hijo del Santo and Bad Bunny. Set In the early 1980s, we follow gay wrestler Saúl Armendáriz who lives in El Paso, Texas, and regularly crosses the border to Ciudad Juárez in Mexico to participate in lucha libre wrestling matches. He wrestles as El Topo until he meets a new trainer who suggests he should compete as an exótico, leading to his new identity and increasing success as Cassandro. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and was released in a limited release on September 15, prior to streaming via Amazon Prime Video on September 22.

• Spy Kids: Armageddon: a new spy action comedy film co-produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez, who co-wrote it with Racer Max. It is the fifth installment in the Spy Kids film series. The film stars Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Everly Carganilla, and Connor Esterson. It follows the Tango-Torrez family with the parents being spies and the kids finding that out when their parents are being kidnapped. The kids must become spies themselves to save their parents and the world. Spy Kids: Armageddon was released on Netflix on September 22.

• The Continental: a new crime drama miniseries developed by Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward and Shawn Simmons that serves as a prequel spin-off in the John Wick franchise. Greg Coolidge and Kirk Ward also write and serve as showrunners for the series. Starring in the series are Colin Woodell, Mel Gibson, Jessica Allain, Mishel Prada, Ben Robson, and Peter Greene. The series premiered on Peacock in the United States and in other countries on Amazon Prime Video on September 22. The miniseries consists of three episodes that are releasing weekly.

• No One Will Save You: a new mystery thriller horror film written and directed by Brian Duffield and starring Kaitlyn Dever in the lead role as Brynn Adams, a creative and talented young woman who’s been alienated from her community. Lonely but ever hopeful, she finds solace within the walls of the home where she grew up, until she's awakened one night by strange noises from decidedly unearthly intruders. What follows is an action-packed face-off between Brynn and a host of extraterrestrial beings who threaten her future while forcing her to deal with her past. The film is unusual among features for having only a single line of dialogue in 93 minutes of running time. The film was released in the US on Hulu on September 22 and was also released on Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in other territories on the same day.

• The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: a new short film written, directed and co-produced by Wes Anderson which is based on the eponymous short story contained in the 1977 collection The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl. This is the second film adaptation of a Roald Dahl work directed by Wes Anderson, following Fantastic Mr. Fox in 2009. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character alongside Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, Rupert Friend, and Richard Ayoade. The film is the first of a four-part series of short films adapted from Dahl's short stories, including ‘The Swan’, ‘The Ratcatcher’, and ‘Poison’. The short film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on September 1 and had a limited theatrical release on September 20 before releasing on Netflix on September 27.

• Sex Education season 4: the fourth and final season of the teen sex comedy drama series created by Laurie Nunn. It stars an ensemble cast that includes Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Alistair Petrie, Mimi Keene, and Aimee Lou Wood. For the last time, we follow the lives of the students, staff and parents of the fictional Moordale Secondary School as they contend with various personal dilemmas, often related to sexual intimacy. This fourth season follows up on the third one with Otis, Eric and most of the former students at Moordale who have to adjust to the new term at Cavendish Sixth Form College, while Maeve begins her studies at Wallace University in the United States. The fourth and final season of the series was released on Netflix on September 21.

• A Haunting in Venice: the new murder mystery horror film produced and directed by Kenneth Branagh and loosely based on the 1969 novel Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie. The film is a sequel to Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and Death on the Nile (2022). Kenneth Branagh reprises his role as Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, alongside Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio, and Michelle Yeoh. It follows Hercule Poirot, now retired, who must solve the murder of a guest at a séance he attended in Venice. A Haunting in Venice was released in theatres on September 15.

• Love at First Sight: a new romantic comedy film directed by Vanessa Caswill and written by Katie Lovejoy, based on the 2011 novel The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. It stars Haley Lu Richardson, Ben Hardy, Dexter Fletcher, Rob Delaney, Sally Phillips and Jameela Jamil. We follow Hadley and Oliver who meat each other on their flight from New York to London. They start to fall for each other, love at first sight just like the titles says, but once arrived in London their paths go their own way. The probability that they will ever find each other again seems impossible, but love - and London - may have a way of defying the odds. This is a fun rom-com to watch now that the summer is over. The film was released on Netflix on September 15.

• Dumb Money: a new biographical comedy drama film directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, based on the 2021 book The Antisocial Network by Ben Mezrich. The film is based on the true story of the GameStop short squeeze from January 2021 and stars an ensemble cast featuring Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, and Seth Rogen. The film had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month and was released in limited theaters on September 15 before expanding into wide release on October 6.

• A Million Miles Away: a new biographical drama film directed by Alejandra Marquez Abella from a screenplay written by Bettina Gilois and re-written by Hernán Jiménez and Abella. It’s based on José M. Hernandez's autobiography Reaching for the Stars and stars Michael Peña as José M. Hernández, the first Mexican-American astronaut. The film details the life of José, the child of immigrant farm workers who toils with his family in the fields, though his parents also see that he attends school. One day a teacher assigns his class to write an essay on what they dream of doing. That night, José watches the Apollo moon mission launch, and immediately decides he wishes to become an astronaut. He engages in years of hard work and study to become a NASA engineer, and unsuccessfully applies for the astronaut training program numerous times before he is finally accepted. Also starring in the film are Garret Dillahunt, Rosa Salazar, Bobby Soto, Julio César Cedillo, Verónica Falcón, Sarayu Blue, and Michelle Krusiec. The film was released on Amazon Prime Video on September 15.

• The Morning Show season 3: the third season of the drama series inspired by Brian Stelter's 2013 book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV. The show examines the characters and culture behind a network broadcast morning news program. Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are back as Alex and Bradley, the hosts of The Morning Show (TMS). Also starring are Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Néstor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Greta Lee, and Julianna Margulies. They are joined by Nicole Beharie and Jon Hamm in this third season. We follow Alex and Bradley after what happened in the second season during COVID. Now that the pandemic is over, things might be going back to normal until there is a tech billionaire who is looking to buy the network UBA. The first two episodes of the new season were released on Apple TV+ on September 13 with the rest of the episodes releasing weekly.

• The Equalizer 3: the third and last film in the trilogy of the vigilante action film. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, this is the sequel to the 2018 film The Equalizer 2, which was based on the TV series of the same name. The film stars Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, David Denman, Sonia Ammar and Remo Girone. It follows retired U.S. Marine and former DIA officer Robert McCall who has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he's done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, he knows what he has to do: become his friends' protector by taking on the Sicilian Mafia. The film was released in theatres on September 1.

• The Wheel of Time season 2: the second season of the high fantasy series developed by Rafe Judkins. The series is based on the novel series of the same name by Robert Jordan with Brandon Sanderson. It stars Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Zoë Robins, Madeleine Madden, Josha Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford, and Dònal Finn who replaced Barney Harris as Mat Cauthon. It follows Moiraine, a member of the Aes Sedai, a powerful organization of women who can channel the One Power. In the first season, she and her Warder, Lan, found a group of five young villagers from the secluded Two Rivers region of Andor following an attack on their village, believing one of them is the reincarnation of the Dragon, an extremely powerful channeller who broke the world. The Dragon Reborn is prophesied to either save the world from a primordial evil known as the Dark One, or break it once more. Season 2 follows up to what happened in the first one and follows these five young villagers. The second season of the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on September 1 with the three first episodes, the rest of the season is releasing weekly.

• I Am Groot season 2: the second season of the animated series following Groot. Created by Kirsten Lepore, this second season consists of five other new short episodes just like the first season. We follow Baby Groot on various adventures that get him into trouble. From finding a nest to wanting an ice cream, baby Groot is getting in trouble every single time. Vin Diesel reprises his role as the voice of Baby Groot from the MCU films. Bradley Cooper is also back as Rocket and there is one episode in which we also see The Watcher from What If with Jeffrey Wright reprising the role. These are five other fun shorts to watch. They were released on Disney+ on September 6.

• My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3: a new romantic comedy film written and directed by Nia Vardalos who also stars in the film alongside John Corbett, Elena Kampouris, Andrea Martin, and Lainie Kazan. It is the third installment in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise and follows the Portokalos family on a trip to Greece for a family reunion. The film is dedicated to the memory of Michael Constantine who played Gus Portakalos in the first two films and TV show My Big Fat Greek Life and died on August 31, 2021 at the age of 94. The film was released in theatres on September 8.

• The Nun II: the new gothic supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves and the sequel to The Nun from 2018. This is the ninth installment in The Conjuring Universe franchise. The film stars Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet and Bonnie Aarons, returning from the first film, with Storm Reid and Anna Popplewell joining the cast. Peter Safran and James Wan return as producers. Set four years after the ending of the first film, the film follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face to face with the demonic force Valak, the Nun, at a boarding school in France. The film was released in theatres on September 8.

• The Changeling: a new horror fantasy series created by Kelly Marcel and directed by Melina Matsoukas based on the novel of the same name by Victor LaValle. It stars LaKeith Stanfield, Adina Porter, Clark Backo and Samuel T. Herring.We follow Apollo Kagwa who goes in search of his wife after she does something horrific in the aftermath of the birth of their first child. The series premiered on Apple TV+ on September 8 with the first three episodes and the rest of the episodes releasing weekly.

• Blue Beetle: the new DC superhero film based on the DC Comics character Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle directed by Angel Manuel Soto. The film stars Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle alongside Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon, and George Lopez. It follows Jaime Reyes who is chosen to become a symbiotic host to the Scarab, an ancient alien biotechnological relic that grants him a powerful exoskeleton armor, turning him into the superhero Blue Beetle. The film was released in theatres August 18.

• Bottoms: a new teen sex comedy film directed by Emma Seligman and co-written by Rachel Sennott, who also stars opposite Ayo Edebiri. The film is produced by Elizabeth Banks under her Brownstone Productions banner. It follows two high school senior girls who set up a fight club as a guise to hook up with cheerleaders. Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine, Dagmara Domińczyk, and Marshawn Lynch also star in the film. Bottoms headlined the 2023 SXSW film festival earlier this year and was released on August 25 in limited theatres before expanding on September 1.

• One Piece: a new live-action adaptation of the ongoing 1997 Japanese manga series of the same name by Eiichiro Oda.  The series features an ensemble cast including Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero Gibson, and Taz Skylar. It follows the adventures of the fugitive Straw Hat Pirates, as they explore the dangerous oceans, lands and beyond in search of the "One Piece", a fabled treasure that will make their captain The King of the Pirates. The series was released on Netflix on August 31.

• Ahsoka: a new limited series developed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni which is part of the Star Wars franchise and a spin-off from the series The Mandalorian. It takes place in the same timeframe as that series and its other interconnected spin-offs after the events of Return of the Jedi (1983), while also serving as a continuation to the animated series Star Wars Rebels. The series follows Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to the galaxy following the fall of the Empire. Rosario Dawson stars as Ahsoka Tano, reprising her role from The Mandalorian. The series premiered on Disney+ on August 23 with two episodes, and the rest releasing weekly.

• Strays: a new comedy film directed and produced by Josh Greenbaum. The film stars Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Will Forte, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Josh Gad, Harvey Guillén, Rob Riggle, Brett Gelman, Jamie Demetriou, and Sofia Vergara. It follows an abandoned dog named Reggie who teams up with other strays to get revenge on his former owner who abandoned him. Strays was released in theatres on August 18.

• Retribution: a new international co-produced action thriller film directed by Nimród Antal from a screenplay by Chris Salmanpour. It stars Liam Neeson, Noma Dumezweni, Lilly Aspell, Jack Champion, Embeth Davidtz and Matthew Modine. It is a remake of the 2015 Spanish film El desconocido and follows financier Matt Turnerwho who is suddenly threatened by a mysterious bomber while driving his kids to work. The film was released in theatres on August 25.

• Gran Turismo: a new biographical coming-of-age sports drama film directed by Neill Blomkamp. The film is based on the video game series of the same name developed by Polyphony Digital, while inspired by the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a teenage Gran Turismo player aspiring to be a race car driver. It stars David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon Hounsou. The film was released in theatres on August 11.

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem: a new computer-animated superhero film directed by Jeff Rowe, in his feature directorial debut, and written by Brendan O'Brien. Based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it serves as a reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series and is the first theatrical animated film since TMNT (2007). In the film, the Turtle brothers - Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael, voiced respectively by Nicolas Cantu, Shamon Brown Jr., Micah Abbey, and Brady Noo - set out to be accepted as normal teenagers while taking on a mysterious crime syndicate and an army of mutants. The ensemble voice cast also includes Jackie Chan, Ayo Edebiri, Seth Rogen, John Cena, Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, Ice Cube, Post Malone, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, Natasia Demetriou, and Giancarlo Esposito. The film was released in theatres on August 4.

• Heart of Stone : a new spy action thriller film directed by Tom Harper and starring Gal Gadot, Alia Bhatt and Jamie Dornan in the lead roles. It follows international intelligence agent Rachel Stone who must embark on a dangerous mission to protect the mysterious MacGuffin known as ‘The Heart’. Stone is tasked by the peacekeeping operation known as Charter to keep the object safe from falling into enemy hands. The film was released on Netflix on August 11.

• Red, White & Royal Blue: a new romantic comedy film directed by Matthew Lopez and co-written with Ted Malawer. It is based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Casey McQuiston. The film has an ensemble cast of Taylor Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Uma Thurman, Stephen Fry, Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson and Ellie Bamber. The film tells the story of a secret romance between the son of the President of the United States and a British prince. The film was released on Amazon Prime Video on August 11.

Meg 2: The Trench: a new science fiction action film directed by Ben Wheatley from a screenplay by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris. It’s based on the 1999 novel The Trench by Steve Alten and serves as the sequel to The Meg (2018). The film stars Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Shuya Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Skyler Samuels, Sienna Guillory, and Cliff Curtis. The film was released in theatres on August 4.

• The Last Voyage of the Demeter: a new supernatural horror film directed by André Øvredal. It is an adaptation of ‘The Captain's Log’, a chapter from the 1897 Bram Stoker novel Dracula. The film stars Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, Javier Botet, and David Dastmalchian. It follows the crew of the merchant ship known as the Demeter as they are stalked by a dark presence: the vampire known as Dracula. The film was released in theatres on August 11.

• Heartstopper season 2: the second season of the British coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama series written and created by Alice Oseman, and based on her webcomic and graphic novel of the same name. The series tells the story of Charlie Spring, a gay schoolboy who falls in love with classmate Nick Nelson, whom he sits next to in his new form. It also explores the lives of their friends Tao, Elle, Tara and Darcy. It stars Joe Locke, Kit Connor, William Gao, Yasmin Finney, Corinna Brown, and Kizzy Edgell. In this second season Charlie and Nick are together and we follow them as Nick tries to come out to friends and family. They als go on a trip to Paris and get ready for prom. The second season of the series was released on Netflix on August 3.

• Winning Time season 2: the second season of the comedy drama sports series created by Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht, and based on the book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s by Jeff Pearlman. The first season focused on the 1979-1980 NBA season, Jerry Buss' first as owner and Magic Johnson's rookie year. This second season continues the story and takes place between 1980 and 1984. Most of the cast is reprising their roles including John C. Reilly, Quincy Isaiah, Jason Clarke, Jason Segel, Gaby Hoffmann, Rob Morgan, and Adrien Brody. The second season of the series premiered on HBO on August 6 with a new episode releasing weekly.

• Only Murders in the Building season 3: the third season of the mystery comedy-drama series created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman. The plot follows Charles, Oliver and Mabel, played by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, who have a shared interest in true crime podcasts and team up to investigate a death in the apartment building they all live in. In this third season they are joined by Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep and they have to solve the murder of one of the actors of the theatre piece that was going to happen at the end of the second season. The third season of the series premiered on Hulu on August 8 with the first two episodes.

• High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 4: the fourth season of the series and also the last one. In this season our theater students return to East High to stage a production based on the film High School Musical 3: Senior Year. They later learn that a fictionalized film sequel entitled High School Musical 4: The Reunion is being filmed at the school, and that they will become extras in the film with several original cast members being back including Corbin Blue, Monique Coleman and Lucas Grabeel. This fourth and last season of the series was released on Disney+ on August 9.

• Painkiller: a new drama limited series created by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. The six-episode series, which is based on Patrick Radden Keefe's New Yorker article ‘The Family That Built an Empire of Pain’ and Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic by Barry Meier, will focus on the birth of the opioid crisis with an emphasis on Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin. Painkiller was released on Netflix on August 10.

• The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart: a new seven-part miniseries created by Sarah Lambert and starring Sigourney Weaver and Alycia Debnam-Carey in the lead roles. It is based on the novel by Australian author Holly Ringland and all seven episodes are directed by Glendyn Ivin. In the series, we follow Alice Hart, a young girl from a violent upbringing who is orphaned and moves in with her grandmother on a flower farm. The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on August 4 with the first three episodes.

• Barbie: the new comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote it with Noah Baumbach. Based on the Barbie fashion dolls by Mattel, the film is the first live-action Barbie film after several computer-animated direct-to-video and streaming television films. The film stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside a large ensemble supporting cast which includes Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Dua Lipa, Ritu Arya, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Michael Cera, and Will Ferrell. The film follows Barbie and Ken on a journey of self-discovery following an existential crisis. They are going on an adventure in the real world. The film was released in theatres on July 21 and is already the number one film in the box office. I haven’t been able to go see it yet, but I’m going to the theatre later this week.

• Oppenheimer: the new biographical film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the 2005 book American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. The film stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist credited with being the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ for his role in the Manhattan Project, the World War II undertaking that developed the first nuclear weapons. It also stars a supporting ensemble cast that includes Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett and Kenneth Branagh. The film was released in theatres on July 21 and is the other big film right now besides Barbie.

• They Cloned Tyrone: a new science fiction comedy mystery film directed by Juel Taylor in his feature film directorial debut. The film stars John Boyega, Teyonah Parris and Jamie Foxx, who also serves as producer, as an unlikely trio uncovering a government cloning conspiracy. David Alan Grier and Kiefer Sutherland also star in the film. We follow Fontaine or Tyrone, Slick Charles and Yo-Yo who discover that people are being cloned. Together they try to find who is after this and they try to stop it all. The film was released on Netflix on July 21.

• Harley Quinn season 4: the fourth season of the adult animated black comedy superhero series based on the DC Comics character of the same name created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. The series is written and executive-produced by Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker and Dean Lorey, and follows the adventures of Harley Quinn and her best friend and eventual lover, Poison Ivy, after leaving her boyfriend, the Joker. Kaley Cuoco is back voicing Harley Quinn alongside Lake Bell, Alan Tudyk, Ron Funches, J. B. Smoove. In this fourth season we follow Harley and Ivy who are a couple and are trying to do their job while being together. Harley is part of the Bat Family now and Ivy is the CEO of the Legion of Doom. This fourth season of the series premiered on HBO Max on July 27 with the first three episodes and the rest of the episodes releasing weekly.

• Haunted Mansion: a new supernatural horror comedy film directed by Justin Simien from a screenplay by Katie Dippold. The film stars LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jared Leto. This is the second theatrical film adaptation of Walt Disney's theme park attraction The Haunted Mansion, following the 2003 film of the same name. In the film, Gabbie and her son Travis move into a mansion, only to find that it is haunted. To combat the spirits, they hire a team to help exorcise their mansion and destroy the ghosts around them. The film was released in theatres on July 28.

• The Beanie Bubble: a new comedy-drama film directed by Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash and written by Kristin Gore, based on the 2015 book The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute by Zac Bissonnette about the Beanie Babies bubble. It stars Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan. The film was released in select theatres on July 21 and premiered on Apple TV+ a week later on July 28.

Bonus:

• The Witcher season 3 Vol 2: the second part of this third season of the fantasy series. These are the last three episodes of the season that are released after the first part of this season was released last month. It follows up to the first part following Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri. These are the last episodes with Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia. A fourth season is coming with Liam Hemsworth taking over the role of Geralt of Rivia. These last three episodes of season 3 were released on Netflix on July 27.

• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One: the new action spy film directed and produced by Christopher McQuarrie, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Erik Jendresen. It is the sequel to Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) and the seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. The film stars Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, and Henry Czerny. It follows Ethan Hunt whose IMF team matches wits with a powerful rogue AI known as ‘the Entity’. The film was released in theatres on July 12 with the direct sequel, Dead Reckoning Part Two, releasing on June 28, 2024.

• The Afterparty season 2: the second season of the murder mystery comedy series created by Christopher Miller. Tiffany Haddish, Zoe Chao, and Sam Richardson are back in this second season and they are joined by Ken Jeong, John Cho, Elizabeth Perkins, Zach Woods, Paul Walter Hauser, Poppy Liu, Anna Konkle, Jack Whitehall, and Vivian Wu. This is a whodunit mystery series, so just like in the first season, there is a murder and our main cast has to find who did it. This time it’s at a wedding party where the groom is murdered. The second season of the series premiered on Apple TV+ on July 12 with the first two episodes debuting together, the rest of the episodes are releasing weekly.

• Survival of the Thickest: a new comedy-drama series created by Michelle Buteau and Danielle Sanchez Witzel, based on Michelle’s memoir of the same name. The series follows Mavis Beaumont, played by Michelle Buteau, a plus-sized African-American woman who recently got over a breakup. In an attempt to rebuild her life, she finds unexpected obstacles along the way. Also starring in the series are Tone Bell and Tasha Smith. The series was released on Netflix on July 13.

• The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2: the second season of the coming-of-age romantic drama series created by author Jenny, and based on her novel trilogy of the same name. Lola Tung is back as Belly, a teenager involved in a love triangle with two brothers played by Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno. This second season follows up on the first season where the three friends went to their annual summer vacation to their family friends' beach house. She found herself caught in a love triangle and now she has to find out what she wants and who. And if that is not enough drama, they have to find a way to save their summer house that could be on sale. The first three episodes of this second season were released on Amazon Prime Video on July 14 with the rest of the episodes releasing weekly.

• Theater Camp: a new comedy film directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman in their directorial debuts. A feature-length adaptation of the 2020 short film of the same name, the film features an ensemble cast led by Molly Gordon, Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, Jimmy Tatro, Patti Harrison, Ayo Edebiri, Alan Kim, and Amy Sedaris. Set during the summer, we follow a group of people at AdirondACTS, a scrappy theater camp in upstate New York that's a haven for budding performers. After its indomitable founder Joan falls into a coma, her clueless son Troy is tasked with keeping the thespian paradise running. With financial ruin looming, Troy must join forces with Amos, Rebecca-Diane, and their band of eccentric teachers and students to come up with a solution before the curtain rises on opening night. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and was released in theatres on July 14.

• Foundation season 2: the second season of the science fiction series created by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman. It’s loosely based on the Foundation series of stories by Isaac Asimov and stars an ensemble cast led by Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Lou Llobell and Leah Harvey. The series chronicles the thousand-year saga of The Foundation, a band of exiles who discover that the only way to save the Galactic Empire from destruction is to defy it. This second season of the series premiered on Apple TV+ on July 14. A third season is also coming and has already begun filming.

• Joy Ride: a new comedy film directed by Adele Lim, in her feature directorial debut, and written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao. The film stars Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu. It follows friends Audrey, Lolo, Kat, and Deadeye, four Asian-American women who travel through Asia in search of Audrey's birth mother. The film had its world premiere at SXSW on March 17, and was released in theatres on July 7. It’s a fun film to watch and one of the best comedy films I’ve seen in a while.

• The Out-Laws: a new crime comedy film directed by Tyler Spindel, written by Evan Turner and Ben Zazove, and produced by Adam Sandler, Adam DeVine, and Allen Covert. The film stars Adam DeVine, Pierce Brosnan, Ellen Barkin, Nina Dobrev, Michael Rooker, Poorna Jagannathan, Julie Hagerty, Richard Kind, Lil Rel Howery, and Blake Anderson. It follows a bank manager on his wedding week whose bank is robbed by criminals that he very strongly suspects might be his future in-laws. The Out-Laws was released on Netflix on July 7. This is another fun film to watch right now during the summer.

• Insidious: The Red Door: the new supernatural horror film directed by Patrick Wilson in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Scott Teems and based on a story by Leigh Whannell. It is a direct sequel to Insidious (2010) and Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), and the fifth installment in the Insidious film series. Ty Simpkins, Patrick Wilson, Andrew Astor, Rose Byrne, and Lin Shaye reprise their roles from the films. Hiam Abbass and Sinclair Daniel also join the cast. We follow the Lambert family who must go deeper into The Further than ever before to put their demons to rest once and for all. The film was released in theatres on July 7.

• F*ck You Very Very Much season 2: the second season of the Flemish comedy series directed by Bert Scholiers and Jonas Govaerts. It stars Frances Lefebure, Evelien Bosmans and Daphne Wellens who are back as good friends An, Floor and Violet. Also back are Tiny Bertels, Damiaan De Schrijver and Peter De Graef. They are joined by new cast members Flor Van Severen, Herwig Ilegems, Marleen Merckx, Tom Audenaert and Charlotte Timmers in this season. We follow their lives just like we did in the first season with things not always going like they would like to. This second season is set two years after the first one. Some things have changed for our three friends. Floor is a famous actress now and is looking for a sperm donor, Violet is married to Joris, played by Jonas Geirnaert, and An, well, is just being An. The first two episodes of this second season of the series premiered on Streamz on July 5 with the rest of the episodes releasing weekly.

• The Lincoln Lawyer season 2: the second season of the legal drama series created by David E. Kelley and developed by Ted Humphrey, based on the books of Michael Connelly. It stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller, a defense attorney in Los Angeles who works out of a chauffeur-driven Lincoln Navigator rather than an office. Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, Angus Sampson, and Christopher Gorham also star. This second season is based on Connelly's 2011 novel, The Fifth Witness (the fourth book in The Lincoln Lawyer series), and is releasing in two parts. The first part was released on Netflix on July 6 and the second will be released on August 3.

• The Horror of Dolores Roach: a new black comedy horror series created by Aaron Mark, and based on the one-woman off-Broadway play Empanada Loca and the podcast of the same name, created by Aaron Mark. It stars Justina Machado in the title role of Dolores Roach who is released after an unjust 16-year prison sentence. She returns to a now-gentrified Washington Heights neighborhood and reunites with an old stoner friend, Luis, who lets her live and work as a masseuse in the basement under his empanada shop. When the promise of her newfound stability is threatened, she must go to extremes to survive. Also starring in the series are Alejandro Hernandez, Kita Updike, K. Todd Freeman, Marc Maron, Judy Reyes, Jean Yoon, Jeffery Self, and Cyndi Lauper. The series was released on Amazon Prime Video on July 7.

• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: the new action adventure film directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote it with Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and David Koepp. It is the sequel to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull from 2008 and is the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones film series. This is also the first and only film in the series that is neither directed by Steven Spielberg nor written by George Lucas, with both serving as executive producers instead. The film stars Harrison Ford in his final portrayal of archaeologist Indiana Jones. John Rhys-Davies reprises his role as Sallah from earlier films, along with new cast members including Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, and Mads Mikkelsen. Set in 1969, the film follows Indiana Jones who is going on one last adventure with his estranged goddaughter Helena Shaw. They will try to locate a device that could change the course of history before Jürgen Voller, a Nazi-turned-NASA scientist, can get it for himself and alter the outcome of World War II to correct Adolf Hitler's past ‘mistakes’. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and was released in theatres on June 30.

• Asteroid City: the new science fiction romantic comedy drama film written, directed and co-produced by Wes Anderson, based on a story by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola. The film follows the transformative events that occur at an annual Junior Stargazer convention in 1955, staged as a play, and the creation of the play. It is Wes Anderson's homage to popular memory and mythology about extraterrestrials and UFOs witnessed in the Southwestern desert in close proximity to atomic test sites during the postwar period of the American 20th century. It features an ensemble cast that includes Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Maya Hawke, Rupert Friend, Steve Carrell, Margot Robbie, Willem Dafoe, Tony Revolori, and Jeff Goldblum. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and was released in limited theatres on June 16 before expanding wide on June 23.

• No Hard Feelings: a new coming of age sex comedy film directed by Gene Stupnitsky from a screenplay he co-wrote with John Phillips. Jennifer Lawrence produces and stars in the film alongside Andrew Barth Feldman, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Set in Montauk, New York, we follow Maddie, a 30-something delivery driver facing bankruptcy after her car is repossessed. She accepts a Craigslist posting from two parents who fear that their teenage son is becoming a recluse. In exchange for a new car, she agrees to become the son's ‘girlfriend’ and help him come into his own as a man before he goes to college. No Hard Feelings was released in theatres on June 23.

• Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken: a new computer-animated coming-of-age fantasy action comedy film directed by Kirk DeMicco and co-directed by Faryn Pearl. The film features an ensemble voice cast including Lana Condor, Toni Collette, Annie Murphy, Sam Richardson, Liza Koshy, Will Forte, Colman Domingo, Jaboukie Young-White, Blue Chapman, Eduardo Franco, Ramona Young, Echo Kellum, Nicole Byer, and Jane Fonda. In the film, sixteen-year-old Ruby Gillman is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but when she breaks her mother's rule about going on the beach with any would-be friends, Ruby discovers that she is a direct descendant of the warrior Kraken queens and is destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas. The film was released in theatres on June 30.

• God Is a Bullet: a new action thriller film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Jamie Foxx, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe, January Jones and Andrew Dice Clay. It is based on the novel of the same name by Boston Teran and follows detective Bob Hightower, who finds his ex-wife murdered and his daughter kidnapped by an insidious cult. He takes matters into his own hands and infiltrates the secretive cult to try to save his daughter and that with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin. The film was released in theatres on June 23.

• Nimona: a new computer-animated science fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, based on the graphic novel of the same name by ND Stevenson. The film features the voice of Chloë Grace Moretz as the titular character and Riz Ahmed as her partner and former knight. It follows Nimona, a teenager with the power to shapeshift, who is targeted by a knight for assassination. The knight's mission to kill Nimona becomes complicated when he is accused of a crime, and learns that Nimona may be able to exonerate him. Also voicing in the film are Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, Lorraine Toussaint, Beck Bennett, RuPaul, Sarah Sherman, Indya Moore, and Julio Torres. Nimona had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14 and  had a limited theatrical release on June 23 before releasing on Netflix on June 30.

• Secret Invasion: the new Marvel miniseries created by Kyle Bradstreet and based on the Marvel Comics storyline of the same name. It follows Nick Fury, Talos and his allies, who uncover a conspiracy by a group of shapeshifting Skrulls to conquer Earth. Samuel L. Jackson is back as Fury along with Ben Mendelsohn, Cobie Smulders, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Martin Freeman, and Don Cheadle also starring. This the first series of Phase Five of the MCU and is set after the snap. It follows up tot what happened in Captain Marvel in the 90s when Fury promised the Skrulls that he would find a new home for them. Secret Invasion premiered on Disney+ on June 21 with a new episode releasing weekly. I already saw the two first episodes that are released and it's good. In the first episode there is already an important person to Fury that dies. So the tone is set. I look forward to the rest of the season.

• The Witcher season 3 Volume 1: the third season of the fantasy drama series created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and based on the book series of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired landmass known as the Continent, The Witcher explores the legend of Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg and Princess Ciri. It stars Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan who are reprising their roles from the previous seasons. This third season will be the last one with Henry Cavill starring as Geralt of Rivia, with Liam Hemsworth taking over the role starting the fourth season. This third season is inspired by the second installment in Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher book series, Time of Contempt, and will finally see our hero reckoning with his feelings after two seasons of steely, tough-guy detachment. Season 3 of the series consists of eight episodes with the first five released on Netflix on June 29. The other three episodes are releasing on July 27.

• The Bear season 2: the second season of the comedy-drama series created by Christopher Storer. It stars Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, and Abby Elliott. After the first season where Carmy tries to restart his family's Italian beef sandwich shop, he will renovate it all and make a new restaurant which will be a lot of work. In this second season we will follow their journey to try to finish it all on time to open. The second season of the series was released on Disney+ on June 22, in Belgium we have to wait until August 2.

• And Just Like That season 2: the second season of the comedy drama series developed by Michael Patrick King. It’s a revival and sequel of the series Sex and the City created by Darren Star, which is based on Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name. Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis are back as Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte, and Kim Cattrall, who was not in the first season, will be seen again as Samantha Jones in this second season. Set many years after the events of the 2010 film Sex and the City 2, we follow  the women of Sex and the City who are making their transition from their friendship in their 30s to a more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s. The second season of the series premiered on HBO Max on June 22.

• I’m a Virgo: a new absurdist comedy series created by Boots Riley and starring Jharrel Jerome in the lead role as Cootie. He is a 13-foot-tall 19-year-old Black man raised by his Aunt Lafrancine and Uncle Martisse in Oakland, California. He is shielded from the outside world until being accidentally discovered by a group of teenage political activists. The first three episodes premiered at the South by Southwest film festival earlier this year. Now all seven episodes of the series were released on Amazon Prime Video on June 23.

• Hijack: a new British thriller miniseries created by George Kay and Jim Field Smith. It stars Idris Elba in the lead role as Sam, a talented business negotiator, who must use his skills to break a peaceful end to a hijacking of a flight from Dubai to London. Also starring in the series are Neil Maskell, Eve Myles, Christine Adams, Max Beesley, Archie Panjabi, Ben Miles, Zora Bishop, Kate Phillips, Jasper Britton, Aimée Kelly. The series premiered on Apple TV+ on 28 June.