Set in a retro-futuristic version of the 1950s, a TV host introduces a televised production of (the in-universe fictional) Asteroid City, a play by famed playwright Conrad Earp. In the play, a grieving father travels with his tech-obsessed family to small rural Asteroid City to compete in a junior stargazing event, only to have his world view disrupted forever.
Rated PG-13
Directed by Wes Anderson
Run time 105 minutes“Presents us a dream within a dream as it ponders our place in the cosmos by setting its story in three separate realities that bump into each other the way subatomic particles swarm around an atomic nucleus.” – Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Review
“Asteroid City has its head looking up to the stars, its feet on the ground, and its heart just barely peeking out of its sleeve.”– Tina Kakadelis, Film Obsessive
Dreamin’ Wild
Dreamin’ Wild, the true story of love and redemption, is about what happened to singer/songwriter Donnie Emerson (Casey Affleck) and his family when the album he and his brother recorded as teens was rediscovered after thirty years of obscurity and was suddenly hailed by music critics as a lost masterpiece. While the album’s rediscovery brings hopes of second chances, it also brings long-buried emotions as Donnie, his wife Nancy (Zooey Deschanel), brother Joe (Walton Goggins), and father Don Sr. (Beau Bridges) come to terms with the past and their newly found fame.
Rated PG
Directed by Bill Pohlad
Run time 111 minutes
“Director Bill Pohlad proves that he’s a deft hand at music biopics. Just like he did with Love & Mercy, he turns his lens and focuses on the people at the centre of the music, showing us their hopes as well as their blistering realities.”– Natasha Alvar, Cultured Vultures
“Almost everyone can relate to a dream dashed or deferred, and the empathetic and honest way with which this film deals with the reality of one such situation makes for a great watch.”– Alex Bentley, CultureMap
Jules
Jules follows Milton (Ben Kingsley) who lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard. Before long, Milton develops a close relationship with the extra-terrestrial he calls “Jules.” Things become complicated when two neighbors (Harriet Sansom Harris and Jane Curtin) discover Jules and the government quickly closes in. What follows is a funny, wildly inventive ride as the three neighbors find meaning and connection later in life – thanks to this unlikely stranger.
Rated PG-13
Directed by Marc Turtletaub
Run time 90 minutes
“The cast is a delight, especially Kingsley, whose befuddled glances make your heart swell to the bursting point once you start to realize this is but a sci-fi-laced parable on the alienation that so many mature adults experience in today’s society.” – Randy Myers, San Jose Mercy News
“Jules is sweet, charming, and often hysterical.” – Mike McGranaghan
The Lesson
Liam (Daryl McCormack), an aspiring and ambitious young writer, eagerly accepts a tutoring position at the family estate of his idol, renowned author J.M. Sinclair (Academy Award nominee Richard E. Grant). But soon, Liam realizes that he is ensnared in a web of family secrets, resentment, and retribution. Sinclair, his wife Hélène (Academy Award nominee Julie Delpy), and their son Bertie (Stephen McMillan) all guard a dark past, one that threatens Liam’s future as well as their own. As the lines between master and protégé blur, class, ambition, and betrayal become a dangerous combination in this taut noir thriller.
Rated R
Directed by Alice Troughton
Run time 103 minutes
“While slow to start, the cerebral story sticks the landing with a twist made even more delicious by the incomparable cast.” – Thelma Adams, AARP Movies for Grownups
“It’s beautifully acted and photographed, with major props due to cinematographer Anna Patarkina.” – Randy Myers, San Jose Mercy News
The Miracle Club
Set in 1967, THE MIRACLE CLUB follows the story of three generations of close friends, Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey) of Ballygar, outside Dublin, who win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that draws millions of visitors each year. Just before their trip, their old friend Chrissie (Laura Linney) arrives in Ballygar for her mother’s funeral. The women set out on the journey that they hope will change their lives, with Chrissie, a skeptical traveler, joining in place of her mother. Along the way, old wounds are reopened, forcing the women to confront their pasts even as they travel in search of a miracle.
Rated PG-13
Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan
Run time 90 minutes
“A fantastic cast. A minor miracle. Check your cynicism at the door, and let these talented actors share their stories.”– Clarence Moye, Awards Daily
“Anything that brings Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Laura Linney together for a smart and engaging movie that will lift your spirits these days is a miracle all by itself. The Miracle Club is a reason to celebrate this summer, if only for the chance to see a sterling and beloved cast. Smith, Bates and Linney are superb.”– Pete Hammond, Deadline
You Hurt My Feelings
From acclaimed filmmaker Nicole Holofcener comes a sharply observed comedy about a novelist (Julia Louis- Dreyfus) whose long-standing marriage is suddenly upended when she overhears her husband (Tobias Menzies) give his honest reaction to her latest book. A film about trust, lies, and the things we say to the people we love most.
Rated R
Directed by Nicole Holofcener
Run time 93 minutes
“Louis-Dreyfus is at her best, and a true sensation, whenever she’s in leading-lady mode in front of writer/director Nicole Holofcener’s lens.”– Sarah Ward, Concrete Playground
“Nicole Holofcener’s marriage comedy You Hurt My Feelings asks, what happens when our professional lives turn us into such good professional liars that it bleeds into our personal lives?” – Alex Heeny, Seventh Row