Part of one of the most venerable franchises in Hollywood history, the modern Planet of the Apes films effectively removed themselves from the “intellectual property is destroying cinema” debate by simply telling captivating stories with some of the best motion-capture effects around. Plus, y’know, monkeys are always fun. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a (time-jump-assisted) follow-up to that loose trilogy, and pre-release murmurings suggest the idea here is to broaden the series beyond the sci-fi faithful and deliver a proper giant four-quadrant blockbuster. Which doesn’t seem like a good sign. That said, Alexei reckons it “makes some very clever choices in how to continue the story of this world.” Gamma17 affirms that it “meets the expectations set by the first three” with Aiden concurring that new-to-the-franchise director “Wes Ball did a really great job carrying over the awe and wonder of this world while not sacrificing the deep characters and emotions.” And Del simply wants to relish in the simian splendor of 2024 at the movies: “The Father (Monkey Man), The Son (Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire) and The Holy Spirit (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes)”. Now in theaters.

Star Eric Bana and writer-director Robert Connolly return to the world of Australian federal cop Aaron Falk in Force of Nature: The Dry 2, the follow-up to 2020’s The Dry, the release of which got a bit pandemic-squished. Both features were adapted from books by Jane Harper, and the new one sees Falk investigating events after a corporate retreat in the bush goes awry. BERT calls it “a huge improvement over the first film… injected some cleverness and twisty storytelling to create a far better film.” “Crime drama set in a foggy, wet Australian forest. My favorite kind of gender,” is Buddy’s endorsement. Or, as A says, “Outback crime thriller set in a rainy fern forest. Sign me the fuggggg up.” Upon the movie’s Australian release earlier this year, Bana sat down for a career retrospective interview with Mitchell Beaupre for Journal. Now in US theaters and on VOD.

Resolutely independent filmmaker-actor-Letterboxd-early-adopter-bestie Jim Cummings has affected a nice balance between starring in his own films (like Thunder Road and The Beta Test) and popping up for small acting roles in other people’s projects, like Halloween Kills and a hilarious cameo in Barry’s final season. The Last Stop in Yuma County marks his first leading role in a movie that he didn’t direct (although he is an executive producer), playing a knife salesman who gets caught up in a hostage situation at a remote diner. Many of the reviews are hailing writer-director Francis Galluppi—making his feature debut here—as one to watch. “A marvelous exercise in tension as comedy, where small arguments are underlaid with devastating cruelty,” says SplitInfinity. “Great slow burn setup leading to a blazing conclusion,” hails Ian. Dan calls it “Fargo by way of Breaking Bad. Shocking plot developments come at a clip and don’t stop.” Now in select US theaters.

Coming across at first glance as a three-way hybrid of Shampoo, Chinatown and The Big Lebowski, Poolman marks actor Chris Pine’s feature directorial debut. Pine also co-wrote the script with Ian Gotler and stars as the titular layabout, whose days tending to an apartment complex’s swimming facilities are upended when he stumbles upon a water-centric conspiracy. Reviews following its TIFF 2023 premiere weren’t super encouraging, but some viewers have found things to like in Pine’s sunny neo-noir. “I couldn’t stop laughing. This is the exact amount of goofy that I love to see in comedies,” endorses Ian. “A solid new entry into my favorite genre: stoner noir,” says Luca, lumping it in with Inherent Vice, Under the Silver Lake and The Long Goodbye. And although she didn’t particularly like the film, Katey reassures us that “Chris Pine remains the best Chris despite this.” Now in select US theaters.

Those of us who feel like we really should’ve been seeing more of Ilana Glazer since Broad City ended will be happy that she’s headlining (alongside Michelle Buteau from Always Be My Maybe) a new comedy called Babes. Glazer co-wrote the film (with Josh Rabinowitz, who worked on Broad City) and plays a woman suddenly navigating an unplanned pregnancy with the guidance of her married friend (Buteau). Babes marks the feature directorial debut for actor-writer-director Pamela Adlon, most known for her acclaimed series Better Things—and for voicing Bobby in King of the Hill—but who’ll always be Willy/Milly to me. Celina assures Broad City fans that they’ll be eating well: “Basically: what if Ilana Wexler from Broad City was older, having babies and her Abbi was Michelle freaking Buteau!” Grace says it’s “REALLY funny” but that she “did not anticipate crying so hard at the most real depiction of chosen family, love and womanhood.” Finally, Immaculate director Michael Mohan declares, “Calling it now: the next Bridesmaids.” In select US theaters May 17 before expanding on June 7.

If the endless stream of pop-star biopics that followed Bohemian Rhapsody has taught us anything, it’s that they don’t necessarily need to be very good to be successful. It’s one subgenre where the music can actually carry you through. Into that realm of muted expectations comes Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Back to Black, in which Marisa Abela plays the late Amy Winehouse. Released last month in most territories (including Winehouse’s native UK), the film has been drawing in large audiences but not generating many positive notices. Noen is choosing to look on the bright side: “Omfg the choices of songs are absurdly good, jazz lives forever.” “There are glimpses of charm throughout, but this movie reduces Amy Winehouse’s story to ‘ugh, if only she hadn’t met that shitty guy’,” says Liz. “Did you know that there’s more to women than their relationships with men? Cause this film sure doesn’t!” decries Therese. Ren calls it “Amy Winehouse’s Wikipedia Page: The Movie”. Dan says it’s “the worst kind of biopic” and recommends that you “just watch the documentary Amy by Asif Kapadia if you want an insight into the brilliantly talented singer.” In US theaters May 17.

Having established his genre directorial bonafides with A Quiet Place and its sequel, actor-filmmaker John Krasinski takes a bigger swing with IF, which lead Ryan Reynolds has described as a “live-action Pixar movie”. It concerns a young girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends (the ‘IF’ of the title), so the movie is populated by a variety of CG characters voiced by the likes of Emily Blunt; Ocean’s stars George Clooney and Matt Damon; Phoebe Waller-Bridge; the late Louis Gossett Jr. and Krasinski’s The Office co-star Steve Carell, among others. It’s the second imaginary-friend-centric film to be released this year (after March horror Imaginary) and is sure to stoke nostalgic feelings in people who remember 1991’s Drop Dead Fred.  In theaters the world over May 17.

With horror proving a reliable (well, more reliable than most) theatrical draw in uncertain cinematic times, it feels like every dormant horror franchise is coming back to life. So with its frugal central conceit (a couple or family is terrorized in their home by mask-wearing psychos with never-revealed motivations), it’s perhaps no surprise that The Strangers: Chapter 1 is here to expand on the 2008 sleeper hit and its 2018 follow-up. What is notable about this film is that it’s directed by Finnish filmmaker Renny Harlin, who was once one of Hollywood’s top blockbuster filmmakers, having helmed such all-timers as Die Hard 2 and the massively underrated Geena Davis/Samuel L. Jackson action-noir The Long Kiss Goodnight. Even more notably, Harlin broke into Hollywood by directing the hugely successful A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, so he has form in the horror arena. Although the less said about Exorcist: The Beginning, the better, it’s nice to see Renny Harlin back in the multiplex. In theaters the world over May 17.