I Can Only Imagine (2018)

Released March 16th in the US.

Filmed in Oklahoma.

Based on truths.

The story: When Bart Millard was 10 years old, the only thing that got him through his father's abuse was his love of music.

After a short stay at a Christian camp, Bart returned home to find that his mother had left the house for good.

When Bart was in high school, the only thing he wanted to do was please his still abusive father.

His father had dreams of being a football player, so of course Bart joined his high school team.

When an injury made Bart unable to play football, he found himself in the glee club.

But he didn't sing or act.

While working on learning how to run the sound system, Bart put one of his favorite cassettes in the player and began singing along.

That's when his teacher cast him in the lead of the clubs' upcoming musical.

Bart was unsure about pulling it off, but when he did, it changed his whole outlook.

Now he believed he should set his sights on becoming a singer and quickly he finds himself the lead singer of the band they named Mercy Me.

Just when they finally think they are good enough to be signed to a major label, Bart is told he "isn't ready yet".

He decides after his manager's advice, to go home and clear up the problems that he is avoiding.

Although Bart has almost always kept a journal, he has never actually used those words in his songwriting, nor has he ever confided in anyone about his problems with his dad.

When Bart makes amends with his dad and his dad finally becomes the man Bart always wanted him to be, that is when Bart finally writes the song that throws him into stardom.

Stars Brody Rose, Dennis Quaid, Tanya Clarke, Taegen Burns, Cloris Leachman, Samuel Sadovnik, J Michael Finley, Madeline Carroll, Alexander Dominguez, Priscilla C Shirer, Jason Burkey, Mark Furze, Randy McDowell, Cole Marcus, JR Cacia, Gianna Simone, Amy Grant, Brandon E Jackson

Directed by Andrew Erwin & Jon Erwin

Rated PG
BIOGRAPHY/HISTORY/DRAMA

Firestarter (2022)

Released May 12th in the US.

Filmed entirely in Canada.

The story: Married couple Andy and Vicky have a dilemma.

When they were in college, they were involved in a failed, dangerous scientific experiment, because they had extraordinary powers.

Poisons were tested on them and the results aren't pretty.

Andy and Vicky have been in hiding since.

Now, they are realizing that their young daughter Charlie has inherited those powers and that makes her very dangerous as well.

Charlie doesn't know what is going on with her and while being in school is tough on most kids, it's even worse for Charlie.

She can usually work through her anger but one day at school, after being bullied, Charlie loses it.

The result gets her parents worried and they scurry to find a solution before Charlie kills someone.

Knowing just how powerful Charlie can be, things get out of hand quickly, sending her parents into desperation and panic due to being found by the very people they've been hiding from.

Stars Sydney Lemmon, Zac Efron, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Tina Jung, Hannan Young, Michael Greyeyes, Gloria Reuben, Kurtwood Smith, Gavin Maciver Wright, John Beasley, Jeremy Ferdman, Jamillah Ross, Morrissa Nicole, Sheila Boyd, Darrin Maharaj, Danny Waugh, Lanette Ware, Hunter Smalley

Directed by Keith Thomas 

Rated R
REMAKE/SCIFI/THRILLER

Beautiful Boy (2018)

Released October 25th in the US.

Filmed in California.

Based on truths.

The story: David Sheff is a freelance writer who is a proud, protective father.

His oldest son Nic, 18, is a talented budding writer and artist.

He has applied to six colleges and been accepted by all of them.

But before Nic can get to college, David discovers that his son has a serious drug problem.

David gets Nic into a rehab program which he isn't thrilled about.

As expected by the rehab, Nic relapses but just as quickly decides he wants to go to college rather than not.

Shortly after starting college, things seem to be going in the right direction.

But Nic is still using and he is keeping it hidden from everyone around him.

After some money goes missing, David questions Nic and even though he denies using , David knows he is.

David spends his time remembering how close he and Nic were before the drugs and struggles to figure out what is happening to his son, so he can help him stop for good.

Stars Steve Carell, Maura Tierney, Timothee Chalamet, Jack Dylan Grazer, Christian Convery, Oakley Bull, Amy Aquino, Carlton Wilborn, Stefanie Scott, Marypat Farrell, Amy Forsyth, Timothy Hutton, Kaitlyn Dever

Directed by Felix van Groeningen 

Rated R

BIOGRAPHY/DRAMA

The Black Phone (2021)

Released June 24, 2022, in the US.

Filmed entirely in North Carolina.

The story: Young brother and sister Finney and Gwen live with their widower father.

They are good kids and do as they are told.

Gwen has a gift that she inherited from her mother, a gift of having her dreams become reality.

But her father forbids her to use her gift.

There have been quite a few kids in the neighborhood that have been snagged up by "The Grabber".

Finney and Gwen are aware of this but don't make too much about it.

That is until Finney is taken.

Gwen had seen some things involving The Grabber in her dreams before and now she wants to use her dreams to find her beloved brother.

While, with the help of a telephone in the room where Finney is kept, that channels the other kids who were taken and kept there, Finney will defeat his captor.

Stars Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, Tristan Pravong, Miguel Cazarez Mora, J Gaven Wilde, Spencer Fitzgerald, Jordan Isaiah White, Rebecca Clarke, Brady M Ryan, Ethan Hawke, Jacob Morgan, Brady Hepner, Banks Repeta, E Roger Mitchell, Troy Rudeseal, James Ransone

Directed by Scott Derrickson

Rated R
MYSTERY/THRILLER/HORROR

The Wonder (2022)

Made for Netflix, released on instant streaming, November 16th in the US.

Filmed entirely in Ireland.

The story: It is 1862.

Traveling nurse, English Mrs. Wright , has been summoned to Ireland for work.

Her job there is to "watch" over Anna, a young girl who has been fasting since her 9th birthday/first communion, which was four months ago.

People are amazed by Anna and come from miles around to see her.

Everyone near her believes she is an angel chosen by God.

Mrs. Wright and a nun are to alternate shifts watching over Anna.

Neither of them are allowed to intervene in any way,  just to watch over the child to see if they can come to a conclusion as to why she will not eat and continues to stay healthy.

From the beginning, Mrs. Wright is completely suspicious of the situation.

At every turn, she finds no one will listen to her or take her advice.

Mrs. Wright knows that if this continues, Anna will die.

Increasingly worried for Anna's safety, Mrs. Wright gets to the bottom of the mystery.

But with her hands tied, things are allowed to get much worse. 

When she knows the end is near for Anna, Mrs. Wright comes up with a quick plan to save the child's life.

Stars Florence Pugh, Niamh Algar, Kila Lord Cassidy, Ruth Bradley, Darcey Campion,  Toby Jones, Dermot Crowley, Ciaran Hinds , Brian F OBryan, Josie Walker, Elaine Cassidy, Caolan Bryne

Directed by Sebastian Lelio

Rated R
MYSTERY

Pinocchio ; Guillermo del Toro's (2022)

Airing on live streaming December 9th in the US.

Filmed in Mexico and Oregon.

The story: Once upon a time there lived a man named Geppetto who made ends meet by woodworking.

He shared his life with his young son Carlo and the two could not be more content.

One day while working, Geppetto lost his beloved Carlo due to the war.

From that day forward, Geppetto lost his will to live.

On an evening while drunk and heartbroken, Geppetto decided to cut down the oak he had planted for Carlo and make a boy just like Carlo...

Little did Geppetto know, spirits had been watching him and looking for a way to make him happy once again.

When Geppetto woke up the next morning he was shocked to find Pinocchio, the wooden boy he had made the night before, alive.

Geppetto could not believe it and couldn't understand why on earth Pinocchio was alive and so disobedient.

But he would learn.

Stars (voices by) David Bradley, Alfie Tempest, Burn Gorman, Ewan McGregor, Ron Perlman, John Turturro, Gregory Mann, Finn Wolfhard, Christoph Waltz, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Tom Kenny, Tim Blake Nelson, Anthea Greco, Rio Mangini, Benjamin Valic 

Directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson

Rated PG
REMAKE/ANIMATION/FAMILY/DRAMA/ADVENTURE

"What happens, happens...and then, we're gone."

Barbarian (2022)

Released September 9th in the US.

Filmed in Bulgaria, Michigan, and California...

The story: Tess is a young woman looking to make a new start.

She has rented some time at an Airbnb to be close to her latest job interview.

When she arrives, she finds the key is not in the lockbox.

While waiting for the agent who rented to her call, Tess sees a light turn on inside the house.

She knocks at the door to find Keith, who claims to have also rented the Airbnb...

Tess is completely suspicious of Keith and the situation while Keith does the very best he can to try to help.

After some time of chatting and finding they have a lot in common, Tess warms up to Keith.

The next day she goes on her interview and is advised to get out of the neighborhood she is currently staying in.

Tess shrugs that off, considering Keith is staying with her, she feels she has nothing to worry about.

When she returns to the Airbnb she notices, as she did on her way to her interview, that all the surrounding homes where she's staying are abandoned.

Tess is then chased into the house by a random man running her way, calling to her - which scares the daylights out of her.

She calls the police but no one comes out.

After a while, she gets her composure back.

Tess then makes her way into the basement, where she then finds she has accidentally locked herself into.

After a while, she begins exploring the basement and does not like what she sees.

When Keith returns, he gets her out of the basement but will not exactly listen when she tells him that they need to leave the house, immediately.

Keith insists on checking out the basement himself...

Stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgard, Kate Nichols, Sophie Sorensen, Jaymes Butler, Matthew Patrick Davis, Justin Long, Rachel Fowler, JR Esposito, Richard Blake, Kurt Braunohler, Kate Bosworth, Brooke Dillman, Derek Morse, Trevor Van Uden, Zach Cregger, Sara Paxton

Directed by (& story written) Zach Cregger

Rated R
MYSTERY/THRILLER/HORROR

Orphan : First Kill (2022)

Released August 19th in the US.

Filmed entirely in Canada.

The story: A few years after Esther tried ruining another family, she finds herself in a maximum security psychiatric facility in Estonia.

As usual, she comes up with the brilliant plan of escaping and making her way into another unsuspecting family, posing as their missing daughter.

Little does Esther know, her new mother is onto her and that's only because her new mother has her own scheme going on.

This changes the whole game for Esther.

Now she finds herself the victim.

Stars Isabelle Fuhrman, David Lawrence Brown, Gwendolyn Collins, Kristen Sawatzky, Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland, Hiro Kanagawa, Matthew Finlan, Samantha Walkes, Lauren Cochrane 

Directed by William Brent Bell

Rated R
SEQUEL/MYSTERY/THRILLER/HORROR