It’s Pegg vs. Pegg this week at the multiplex, with good ol’ Simon Pegg turning up as the voice of the weasel and the co-writer/co-star of a new Star Trek. Plus, the fabulous ladies of Ab Fab hit the big screen. Read all about them – and more flicks besides – by following the handy links:
- The week’s big new release is Star Trek Beyond, which finds Justin Lin taking over directorial duties from J.J. Abrams, and exhibiting a lighter touch overall than the ponderous Into Darkness. Unfortunately, its serious beats can’t match its comic ones, and the great, charismatic Idris Elba is all but invisible behind his pounds of alien prosthetics. Read our full review here.
- There’s a new Ice Age movie out, and, well, it’s a new Ice Age movie – bad puns, peaked-in-the-‘90s-celebrity voice-spotting, and anachronistic pop culture references. It’s not very good, but for family audiences, it doesn’t have to be. More here.
- Edina and Patsy are back in the long awaited Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, and they’re as nasty, vicious, and paradoxically likable as ever. Our editor-in-chief – and resident Ab Fab expert – Tom Hawking reviews here.
- Mike Birbiglia’s Sleepwalk with Me was one of the more charming indie comedies in recent years, and he’s back with his sophomore effort Don’t Think Twice, a lovely rumination on performance, maturity, and improv comedy. Here’s our review and report from its SXSW premiere, and a behind-the-scenes peek from my day on its set.
- Actor Brady Corbett makes his directorial debut with The Childhood of a Leader, a sprawling, ambitious, uncomfortable, and occasionally patience-testing historical familial drama about a spoiled monster of a rich child who goes on to become a powerful leader. So, y’know, timely! Read more in this month’s indie guide.
And if none of these strike your fancy, well, there’s still plenty of last week’s stuff left over. Happy viewing!