New Releases for the week of May 16 - May 22
Minari
Jacob (Yeun) and Monica Yi (Ye-ri) are first-generation Korean Americans trying to carve a place of their own in a country that often feels like the farthest place from home. Led by little more than his need to build beyond their sparse belongings and back-breaking jobs in California, Jacob pours his family’s savings into a plot of land in rural Arkansas and promises his wife and children, David (Kim) and Anne (Cho), that this farming venture will mark the beginning of their new life. What unfolds is a tale of the immigrant experience, marked by failures that test the loyalty and patience of a marriage and challenge the strength of the kids caught in the middle of it. As the family desperately tries to hold itself together, Monica’s eccentric mother, Soonja (Youn), comes at her request from Korea, her presence reminding the Yis that there is still presence and calm to be prioritized on their road to the American dream.
Director: Lee Isaac Chung. Stars: Steven Yeun, Ye-ri Han, Yuh-jung Youn, Alan S. Kim, Noel Kate Cho. 2020. 115 mins. Drama.
The Nest
Rory O’Hara (Law) is an investment banker fixated on providing a luxurious life for his family. Often omitting the details of the true nature of their wealth to his wife, Allison (Coon), he has moved his family throughout the United States with vague explanations that she had rarely bothered to question. This time, however, Rory has made the decision to move Allison and their children, Samantha (Roche) and Benjamin (Shotwell), to an old, unkept manor in England; a far cry from the upstate, apparently squeaky-clean life they had known up to that point. As time passes, facades begin to crack and Allison comes to realize a series of twisted truths about her husband.
Director: Sean Durkin. Stars: Jude Law, Carrie Coon, Oona Roche, Charlie Shotwell. 2020. 107 mins. Thriller.
Hunted
Rebellious Ève’s (Debay) night begins innocently enough: she meets a couple of handsome men at a nightclub and agrees to go for a car ride with them. Immediately, she is violently tied up and thrown into the trunk of their vehicle. Managing to escape after they wreck the car, she finds herself deep in the dark woods with her assailants trailing closely behind.
Director: Vincent Paronnaud. Stars: Lucie Debay, Ryan Brodie, Christian Bronchart, Ciaran O’Brien. 2020. 87 mins. Thriller.
Magnum P.I., on CBS
Jay Hernandez and Perdita Weeks star in this hit reboot of the classic series as roguish private detective Thomas Magnum and the steward of the luxurious estate he calls home, former MI6 agent Juliet Higgins, whose second job is keeping Magnum in line.
Q: Why don't I see "The Comedians" with Taylor and Burton on TV very often? It was a classic.
Anything with Hollywood power couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton has always drawn attention, but people going to cinemas at the time didn't agree with your "classic" description.
Bosley Crowther, a New York Times film reviewer at the time of "The Comedians'" release, said the film was "conventional and obvious." Audiences agreed, and it was a flop at the box office.
Q: Why don't I see "The Comedians" with Taylor and Burton on TV very often? It was a classic.
Anything with Hollywood power couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton has always drawn attention, but people going to cinemas at the time didn't agree with your "classic" description.
Bosley Crowther, a New York Times film reviewer at the time of "The Comedians'" release, said the film was "conventional and obvious." Audiences agreed, and it was a flop at the box office.
The Young and the Restless, on CBS
Get involved with Genoa City's elite with a new episode of this long-running soap opera. The No. 1 daytime drama for 28 years, the series follows the Newmans and the Abbotts through various scandals, romances, successes and failures. Sharon Case stars.
Bewitched: Catherine Bell casts a spell in 'Good Witch'
Catherine Bell stars in "Good Witch"
Television has been wielding its own special brand of magic for decades, offering viewers a welcome escape from the everyday, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This month, a beloved benevolent witch is about to cast her spell over audiences yet again.
Bewitched: Catherine Bell casts a spell in 'Good Witch'
Catherine Bell stars in "Good Witch"
Television has been wielding its own special brand of magic for decades, offering viewers a welcome escape from the everyday, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This month, a beloved benevolent witch is about to cast her spell over audiences yet again.
Grey's Anatomy, on ABC
COVID-19 has rocked Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital hard in Season 17 of this beloved medical drama by Shonda Rhimes. This season, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) has been battling the virus from her hospital bed as the rest of the team works on the front lines.
Q: I just saw a listing for a movie called "Iron Mask," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan, that's apparently a year old. How have I never heard of this before?
Frankly, because it wasn't made for you.
Everything about this movie defies belief, from the outlandish hairpieces worn by stars Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger to the fact that it's actually a sequel to one of the biggest hits of all time (in Russia).
This film, a Chinese-Russian co-production, is actually a sequel to the 2014 adventure "Forbidden Kingdom" (or "Forbidden Empire," depending on which country you're in), which featured neither Chan nor Schwarzenneger.
Q: I just saw a listing for a movie called "Iron Mask," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan, that's apparently a year old. How have I never heard of this before?
Frankly, because it wasn't made for you.
Everything about this movie defies belief, from the outlandish hairpieces worn by stars Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger to the fact that it's actually a sequel to one of the biggest hits of all time (in Russia).
This film, a Chinese-Russian co-production, is actually a sequel to the 2014 adventure "Forbidden Kingdom" (or "Forbidden Empire," depending on which country you're in), which featured neither Chan nor Schwarzenneger.