By Hans Pedersen, June 2016 Issue.
Ghostbusters
In theaters July 15 | Not yet rated
Director Paul Feig helms this all-female Ghostbusters reboot, explaining these four women were cast because they happen to be the funniest actors around right now. Kate McKinnon plays Jillian Holtzmann, a scientist who specializes in the supernatural, who joins her colleagues Abby (Melissa McCarthy), Erin (Kristen Wiig) and Patty (Leslie Jones) to battle supernatural forces that seem hell-bent on wreaking havoc in Manhattan. Chris Hemsworth plays their secretary, Kevin, and don’t be surprised if you see some cameos by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver.
Margarita With a Straw
Now Playing On-Demand/DVD | 100 minutes
Sensitive and frank, this fresh new indie film by Indian director and writer Shonali Bose is earning rave reviews from critics around the world. Bollywood star Kalki Koechlin plays Laila, a defiant young girl with cerebral palsy who leaves her home in India to study in New York City. There she finds a sexual connection and falls in love with Khanum (Sayani Gupta), a young blind woman from Pakistan. Inspired by a desire to reflect the life of her cousin, who has cerebral palsy, Bose has crafted a movie that’s about loving and accepting oneself, and fans say by virtue of its sheer authenticity, this movie’s a winner.
The Legend of Tarzan
In theaters July 1 | PG-13
Years ago, Tarzan (aka Lord Greystoke) left behind the primates in the jungle to assimilate among humans, under the guidance of his wife, Jane. When he is called upon to return to the Congo as an emissary of Parliament to investigate a mining operation, he’s ensnared in a dangerous trap set by a deceitful Belgian man. Returning to the jungle brings out the beast in Greystoke, and the greedy tyrant must face off with the legendary Tarzan and his menagerie of pals. Hunky Alexander Skarsgård shows off lots of skin as man of the apes. Margot Robbie, as Jane, Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson co-star.
The Neon Demon
In theaters June 24 | Not Rated | 110 minutes
This thriller with a lesbian vibe premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, but it’s the eye-catching poster art of a gorgeous Elle Fanning doused below the neck in purple goo that’s really turning heads. Fanning plays Jesse, an aspiring model who is new to Tinseltown and soon becomes the target of a clique of women that seem to crave this lovely young girl’s attributes. Named for the glitz and artifice of Hollywood and its devilish obsession with youth, one of its stars, Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men”), says it’s about “the dark underbelly of beauty.” Jena Malone and Keanu Reeves co-star.
