Latest news with #ADesert
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Following the record-breaking opening weekend for 'A Minecraft Movie' and the breakout success of Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners,' a new slate of blockbusters and indie films are hoping to drum up excitement in May about what 2025 has to offer in the cinema landscape. Starting with the weekend's wide releases, Marvel is betting big on 'Thunderbolts' after a series of underwhelming releases with 'Captain America: Brave New World' and 'The Marvels.' Starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Sebastian Stan and Wyatt Russell, the film follows an unconventional team that bands together after being sent on a rogue operative mission. To give 'Thunderbolts*' a different flair, Marvel's marketing has focused on the talent behind the camera that previously worked on A24 projects like 'Beef,' 'Midsommar' and 'A Different Man.' More from Variety For moviegoers not quite on the Marvel train, Nicolas Cage stars in the new psychological thriller 'The Surfer' directed by Lorcan Finnegan ('Vivarium' starring Jesse Eisenberg), which premiered at last year's Cannes. After returning to surf with his son at his childhood beach, Cage's character gets humiliated by the locals in 'a trippy slapdash comic nightmare,' Variety's Owen Gleiberman said in his review. So far, the film has an 88% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Beginning Sunday, May 4, 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' will be back in theaters for its 50th anniversary re-release. Over limited release, audiences can check out director Durga Chew-Bose's new take on Françoise Sagan's classic novel 'Bonjour Tristesse,' now starring Chloë Sevigny and Lily McInerny, while the indie neo-noir thriller 'A Desert,' featuring Sarah Lind, Kai Lennox and David Yow, follows a photographer in the American Southwest. Check back each week to find the latest releases in theaters, from major wide releases to niche independent titles. Friday, May 2 'Thunderbolts' Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Wide and Imax) 'The Surfer' Roadside Attractions (Wide) 'Magic Farm' Mubi (Wide) 'Bonjour Tristesse' Greenwich Entertainment (Limited) 'A Desert' Dark Sky Films (Limited) 'The Dumpling Queen' CMC Pictures (Limited) Sunday, May 4 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' Fathom Events (50th Anniversary re-release) Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
New York Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘A Desert' Review: Motel Hell
Alex (Kai Lennox), the hero of Joshua Erkman's languid, atmospheric neo-noir 'A Desert,' is a photographer past his prime. His first book, a collection of landscapes channeling the desuetude of small-town America, put him on the map 20 years ago, and now he's cruising the highways and byways of the Yucca Valley in California, chasing his former glory. It's in the nature of stories like this to offer its hero the reprieve of a disruption, and it arrives, violently, in the form of Renny (Zachary Ray Sherman), a lanky, keyed-up stranger Alex befriends at a roadside motel. Renny is clearly bad news, and for about 40 minutes, it seems obvious where 'A Desert' is going. But Ekrman's screenplay is slyly intelligent, and in the second act the film takes a sharp turn that is genuinely shocking. Erkman's use of stark lighting — high beams cutting through the desert night — evokes 'Lost Highway,' and there's some 'Mulholland Drive' in the underworld theatrics detailed on the story's periphery. Lynch is a difficult influence to wield responsibly, yet Erkman keeps it largely under control: 'A Desert,' if at times too ambitious, certainly feels distinct. It's a strange film, but it works, and feels grounded, because of its ensemble cast. Both Lennox and Sarah Lind, as Alex's wife, Sam, are serious and convincing, and the musician David Yow, as an oddball private detective following in Alex's wake, gives the movie some idiosyncratic flair. But the highlight is Sherman, whose menacing Renny is truly creepy and, when he really goes berserk, electrifying.
