Here Are All the Movies Opening July 4th (and a Few From Wednesday). What Will You See?
These days, the number of indies premiering on a weekly basis can be both thrilling and intimidating. To help sift through the number of new releases (independent or otherwise), we’ve created the Weekly Film Guide. Below you’ll find basic plot, personnel and cinema information for today’s fresh offerings.
Happy viewing!
Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, July 4th. (Synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.)
Deliver Us From Evil
Director: Scott Derrickson
Cast: Olivia Munn, Eric Bana, Joel McHale, Edgar Ramirez
Synopsis: “In ‘Deliver Us From Evil,’ New York police officer Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana), struggling with his own personal issues, begins investigating a series of disturbing and inexplicable crimes. He joins forces with an unconventional priest (Edgar Ramirez), schooled in the rituals of exorcism, to combat the frightening and demonic possessions that are terrorizing their city.”
Criticwire Grade Average: B- (4 reviews)
Theatrical Release: Wide
Earth to Echo
Director: Dave Green
Cast: Teo Halm, Astro, Resse Hartwig, Ella Wahlestedt, Jason Gray-Stanford, Cassius Willis, Drake Kemper
Synopsis: “After a construction project begins digging in their neighborhood, best friends Tuck, Munch and Alex inexplicably begin to receive strange, encoded messages on their cell phones. Convinced something bigger is going on, they go to their parents and the authorities. When everyone around them refuses to take the messages seriously, the three embark on a secret adventure to crack the code and follow it to its source. But taking matters into their own hands gets the trio in way over their heads when they discover a mysterious being from another world who desperately needs their help.”
Criticwire Grade Average: C (5 reviews)
Theatrical Release: Wide
Premature
Director: Dan Beers
Cast: Alan Tudyk, Zoe Myers, Katie Findlay, John Karna, Craig Roberts, Carlson Young, Adam Riegler, Elon Gold, Steve Coulter, Kate Kneeland
Synopsis: “Rob is facing the biggest day of his life. He needs to nail a college interview ensuring his admittance to his parents’ beloved alma mater, keep his cool when life-long crush Angela (nicknamed ‘After School Special’ for a reason) finally seems to show interest, and deal with his best friends as they realize their high school days are ending. As pressure mounts, something weird happens. He finds himself reliving the day’s events over and over again. Is Rob stuck in a dream? Experiencing déjà vu? Having a psychotic break? Whether it’s finding a way to get into Georgetown, into Angela’s pants, or having an even bigger epiphany, Rob must figure out how to break the cycle before losing his mind.” [SXSW Film Festival]
Theatrical Release: Los Angeles
School Dance
Director: Nick Cannon
Cast: Patrick Warburton, Wilmer Valderrama, Efren Ramirez, Mike Epps, Bobb’e J. Thompson, George Lopez, Katt Williams, Liana Mendoza, Melissa Molinaro, Kayla Collins
Synopsis: “High school freshman Jason (Bobb’e J. Thompson) just found the girl of his dreams. But to win her heart, he’ll have to prove he’s got what it takes to make the school’s hottest dance crew.”
Theatrical Release: Wide
Tammy
Director: Ben Falcone
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Allison Janney, Dan Aykroyd, Gary Cole, Sandra Oh, Mark Duplass, Toni Collette, Nat Faxon, Ben Falcone, Sarah Baker, Mia Rose Frampton
Synopsis: “Tammy (McCarthy) is having a bad day. She’s totaled her clunker car, gotten fired from her thankless job at a greasy burger joint, and instead of finding comfort at home, finds her husband getting comfortable with the neighbor in her own house.
Criticwire Grade Average: D+ (6 reviews)
Theatrical Release: Wide
The Girl on the Train
Director: Larry Brand
Cast: Stephen Lang, Charles Aitken, David Margulies, Henry Ian Cusick, James Biberi, John Fugelsang, Nathalie Lyon, Nicki Aycox
Synopsis: “When documentary filmmaker Danny Hart boards a train at Grand Central Station he has no reason to expect anything more than a pleasant ride to upstate New York to intreview the subjects for his latest project. But a chance encounter with a mysterious young woman leads him on a journey of a very different sort. Within the blink of an eye his life of complacency is left behind for a world in which the line between reality and fiction is blurred… a world of intrique, danger, and the possibility of blood.”
Theatrical Release: Los Angeles
Beyond the Edge
Director: Leanne Pooley
Synopsis: “In 1953, the ascent of Everest remained the last of Earth’s great challenges. Standing at over 29,000ft, the world’s highest mountain posed a fearsome challenge and had already claimed thirteen lives in previous expeditions. Faced with treacherous winds, sub-zero temperatures and battling altitude sickness, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay finally achieved the impossible and became the first men to stand atop Everest. It was an event that stunned the world and defined an era. Sir Edmund Hillary’s incredible achievement remains one of the greatest adventure stories of all time; the epic journey of a man from modest beginnings who overcame adversity to reach the highest point on Earth.”
Criticwire Grade Average: B (5 reviews)
Theatrical Release: Los Angeles
Bobby Jasoos
Director: Vidya Balan
Cast: Vidya Balan, Ali Fazal, Kiran Kumar, Arjan Bajwa, Anupriya Goenka, Rajendra Gupta, Supriya Pathak, Benaf Dadachandji, Tanvi Azmi, Aakash Dahiya, Prasad Barve, Zarina Wahab
Synopsis: “A film that celebrates the aspirations of Bobby, who wants to become the number one detective in the old city area of Hyderabad.”
Theatrical Release: Wide
Life Itself
Director: Steve James
Synopsis: “In 2013, we lost Roger Ebert—arguably the nation’s best-known and most influential movie critic. Based on his memoir of the same name, Life Itself recounts Ebert’s fascinating and flawed journey—from politicized school newspaperman, to Chicago Sun-Times movie critic, to Pulitzer Prize winner, to television household name, to the miracle of finding love at 50, and finally his ‘third act’ as a major voice on the Internet when he could no longer physically speak.” [Sundance Film Festival]
Criticwire Grade Average: A- (28 reviews)
Theatrical Release: Various, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC (expands nationwide throughout July)
Me and You
Director: Bernando Bertolucci
Cast: Tea Falco, Jacopo Olmo Antinori
Synopsis: “Lorenzo, a quirky 14-year-old loner who has difficult relationships with his parents and peers, decides to take a break from it all by hiding out in his building’s neglected basement. For an entire week, he will finally avoid all conflict and pressure to be a “normal” teenager. But an unexpected visit from Lorenzo’s older half-sister Olivia changes everything. A worldly 25-year old beauty, her problematic and fragile state upsets Lorenzo’s total escape from reality, and their forced cohabitation in the basement’s confined space brings forth confrontation and old resentments, but also a need for affection and intimacy. A few emotional days and nights with his sister Olivia will inspire Lorenzo to see the world through new eyes.”
Criticwire Grade Average: B- (12 reviews)
Theatrical Release: New York
Mutual Friends
Director: Matthew Watts
Cast: Caitlin Fitzgerald, Peter Scanavino, Cheyenne Jackson, Michael Stahl-David, Christina Cole, Ross Partridge, Michael Chernus, Jennifer Lafleur
Synopsis: “‘Mutual Friends’ showcases the interlocking tales of ten New Yorkers who collide at a surprise party that goes spectacularly wrong. Liv (Fitzgerald) must host the perfect evening to assure the guests and herself that she is truly in love with her too-good-to-be-true fiancé, Christoph (Jackson), while avoiding the realization that she slept with her best friend Nate (Scanavino) on the night of her engagement.”
Digital Release
Missed last week’s? Here are all the releases from the weekend of June 27th.
