Pixels

In the year 1982, a time capsule containing a videocassette of a video game tournament is launched into space and soon forgotten about by the kids who participated in the tournament. Now, two of those kids' lives have gone in different directions: one is the president of the United States (James), while the other is a home theater installer (Sandler). When giant video game characters from the 1980s attack Earth, confusion reigns until it's realized that the extraterrestrials must have accessed the time capsule and are using the pixilated game characters as models for their weapons. With Earth's armed forces losing every battle, the president recruits his childhood arcade buddies to anticipate the aliens' tactics and save the planet from pixilated destruction.

Director: Chris Columbus. Stars: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Monaghan, Josh Gad. 2015. 106 min. Action.

The Gift

Simon (Bateman) and Robyn (Hall), a happily married couple, have just moved across the country to Los Angeles for Simon's new job when they bump into Gordo (Edgerton), an old high school acquaintance of Simon's. Although Simon can barely remember him, Gordo strikes up a friendship with the couple, and even invites them to visit his home for dinner. When Simon and Robyn cut off the fledgling friendship with the increasingly strange and creepy man, unexplained events start happening around their home. Robyn starts to suspect that Gordo is behind the weird occurrences, and further revelations about her husband threaten her already fragile mental state.

Director: Joel Edgerton. Stars: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton. 2015. 108 min. Thriller.

Max

After marine Kyle Wincott (Amell) is killed in Afghanistan, Max, the dog he handled, starts exhibiting disturbed behavior. Around Kyle's teenage brother Justin (Wiggins), though, Max is calm, and the family agrees to adopt the dog. At first, Justin wants nothing to do with the animal, but when his friend's cousin Carmen (Xitlali) volunteers to help train the dog, he begins to warm up to Max. However, the events that led to Kyle's death were not entirely as they seemed, and Max is still scarred by the events of that fateful day.

Director: Boaz Yakin. Stars: Josh Wiggins, Mia Xitlali, Robbie Amell, Thomas Haden Church, Lauren Graham. 2015. 111 min. Adventure.