Film Lists

Now in Theaters: 5 New Movies for the Weekend of March 15

Featuring some sick teens who are just dying to stand "Five Feet Apart"

Welcome back to "Now in Theaters: 5 New Movies for the Weekend."

This week we get yet another entry into the "sexy dying teenagers" canon.

WIDE RELEASE:

Five Feet Apart

Some things just go together – peanut butter and jelly, salt and vinegar, romantically-inclined teens and crippling disease. You cried during A Walk to Remember when that girl died from leukemia. You cried during The Fault in Our Stars when that guy died from cancer. You'll probably cry during this one too, because these teens both have cystic fibrosis, meaning they need to stay six feet apart at all times or else they'll die. But wait, this movie is called Five Feet Apart. Does that mean…? Yup. Life-threatening disease can't stand in the way of young love, so they're gonna smooch even if it kills one of them. Which it definitely will. And yes, the guy is half of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase Trailer #1 (2019) | Movieclips Trailerswww.youtube.com

Sophia Lillis (Beverly from It) stars as the legendary teen detective in the newest reboot of Nancy Drew. This iteration sees Nancy Drew as the new kid in town, bored with suburban mediocrity as she skateboards down way-too-safe residential streets. If only there were a spooky, scary mystery to solve! Great news, there is. It's the mystery of the hidden staircase, which happens to be located in an old mansion that Nancy has broken into. Where does this hidden staircase lead? To what ends was it built? Why doesn't she just climb the hidden staircase and find out? Find out this weekend.

Wonder Park

Wonder Park (2019) - New Trailer - Paramount Pictureswww.youtube.com

Imagine if some dumb amusement park you made up as a kid turned out to be real. You had no idea how roller coasters operated. You probably still don't. Those rides you made up would be literal death traps. But Wonder Park is a children's movie, so it can't explore the logical ends of its inane premise. Instead, the fantastical park is now populated by a bunch of annoying, talking forest animals who communicate entirely through flat jokes. Also, the park is overrun by zombie monkeys for some reason. As Nickelodeon Movies' first animated feature since 2015, Wonder Park looks disappointing, at least based on the trailers. But trailers don't always do a movie justice, so if you're a fan of animation, it might be worth checking out for yourself.

LIMITED RELEASE:

Ash is Purest White

Ash is Purest White | Official US Trailer | Starts March 15www.youtube.com

A Chinese crime drama currently holding a 100% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Ash is Purest White follows the relationship between a young dancer and a mobster. While witnessing a fight between her boyfriend and a rival gang, the young dancer shoots one of the attackers and gets sentenced to five years in prison. The epic narrative spans fifteen years of the dancer's life and plays out more like a melodrama than a crime film. If you're a fan of powerful foreign language films with sweeping narratives, Ash is Purest White is definitely up your alley.

The Mustang

THE MUSTANG - Official Trailer [HD] - In Theaters March 2019www.youtube.com

Matthias Schoenaerts plays a violent convict who participates in a prison rehabilitation program revolving around training wild stallions. The Mustang is one of those movies that takes its simple premise, does exactly what you expect with it, but you'll probably enjoy the film if you enjoy the concept. In other words, The Mustang is the same "bad man redeemed" story you've seen many times before, except this time he's redeemed through friendship with a wild horse instead of through sports or raising a baby or whatever.


Dan Kahan is a writer & screenwriter from Brooklyn, usually rocking a man bun. Find more at dankahanwriter.com



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Emmy award winner Lena Waithe's new show about the lives of black citizens of Southern Chicago is something so special.

Most Americans have consumed some form of TV - and those that haven't are surrounded by the remnants of it. They see ads for TV shows, listen to people talking about those shows - TV has managed to become a facet of the modern human experience. So, it begs the question: Why are we only seeing the same stories being told over and over again?

Don't get me wrong, we've seen a bit of a TV renaissance in recent years. The age of reality TV has given way to a new era of scripted dramas, dramedies, and the like ranging from Breaking Bad to Supernatural to Game of Thrones. And as great as this new influx of creative energy is - it's also come with a slew of glaring issues. Issues that range from a lack of representation to the mistreatment of minorities that do get introduced.

The Cast of The Chi (Mathieu Young | SHOWTIME)

That's what makes Lena Waith's The Chi such a beautiful outlier compared to most TV we're getting exposed to. I have to give a special disclaimer - I have only seen the first episode due to my lack of money for Showtime (but I'm saving up! I swear!) - so keep in mind that all of my reactions and thoughts revolve around that episode. And man, what an episode it was. Okay, disclaimer over.
The pilot is one of the strongest I've ever seen. Throughout the pilot, we are shown the tragic deaths of two black youths, Jonah and Coogie. They are both shown to be bright, beautiful young men - and their deaths are portrayed and senseless and heartbreaking. These deaths directly and indirectly interconnect the lives of an astounding cast of characters. And they are each used to their fullest throughout the episode, whether we're seeing young Kevin - played by Moonlight star Alex R. Hibbert - witnessing the tragic shooting of another character, Brandon - played by the brilliant Jason Mitchell - delivering a beautiful eulogy in that character's honor, or Emmet- played by the hilarious Jacob Latimore - trying to hide from the woman who has given his third child.

Through these characters, we are given a full spectrum of human emotion. We are shown immense grief and pain, we are shown pride and love, and we are even treated some well timed moments of humor to bring us back from the heartache. And it's done so with such precise balance - you never feel like it's ever too much. The only thing you do is wonder why? How could that happen?

In a world where racial tensions are running high, Lena Waithe puts forward an idea that shouldn't be as revolutionary as it is: That black stories are not only valid, but just as important as white stories. You can feel her passion and her care for the place and the people she writes about. And as an audience member, she managed to captivate me every second. She doesn't turn the South Side into some seedy crime-filled underbelly. She shows you what it is: A part of the Chicago where real people live and hurt and try their best to get ahead. It's got problems and sometimes it's dangerous, but that's not all this is.

Honestly, you have to watch this show. Especially if, like me, you haven't been exposed to these stories before. Plus, it's a damned good piece of TV.

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