Indie Film Release Guide: May 17th [An ONTD Original]

[scriptedending]

Greetings from an East Coast beach town! This week in major studio releases, we've got A Dog's Journey from Universal, and The Sun is Also a Star from Warner Brothers. The weekend's box office crown won't go to either one of those, though. It will end up going to either Lionsgate's newcomer John Wick 3 or the endlessly profitable Endgame. There are a bunch of new indies coming out this week, so be sure to check them out below.

The films listed are from studios other than the “Big Six” - Paramount, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Columbia and Disney. Note that some of the movies listed are in their first week or two of limited release in the USA, so it may take them a few more weeks (or months) to show up in your local arthouse theater or on VOD. Check out the posts from the past few weeks for more movies that may have just opened near you: May 10th, May 3rd, and April 26th.

The Souvenir

Click to view

Stars: Honor Swinton Byrne, Tom Burke, Tilda Swinton, Richard Ayoade
Writer/Director: Joanna Hogg
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Plot: A young film student in the early 80s becomes romantically involved with a complicated and untrustworthy man.
What you should know: The film is named after an 18th century rococo painting, depicting a woman scratching her lover’s initials on a tree.
Opens in: Select cities



John Wick 3

Click to view

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne
Writer: Derek Holstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, Marc Abrams
Director: Chad Stahelski
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Plot: Super-assassin John Wick is on the run after killing a member of the international assassin's guild, and with a $14 million price tag on his head - he is the target of hit men and women everywhere.
What you should know: The title "Parabellum" comes from the Latin phrase: "Si vis pacem, para bellum" which means "If you want peace, prepare for war." It is also an alternate name for the ubiquitous 9mm handgun cartridge ("9mm Parabellum").
Opens in: Wide

All Creatures Here Below

Click to view

Stars: Karen Gillan, Jennifer Morrison, David Dastmalchian, David Koechner
Writer: Collin Schiffli
Director: David Dastmalchian
Genre: Drama
Plot: A desperate young couple on the run seek refuge in Kansas City.
What you should know: The film was shot in Kansas City due to new film incentives.
Opens in: Select cities and on demand

Photograph

Click to view

Stars: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Sachin Khedekar, Denzil Smith
Writer/Director: Ritesh Batra
Genre: Drama, Romance
Plot: A struggling street photographer in Mumbai, pressured to marry by his grandmother, convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. The pair develop a connection that transforms them in ways they could not expect.
What you should know: It’s in Hindi, Gujarati and English
Opens in: Select cities

Aniara

Click to view

Stars: Emelie Jonsson, Bianca Cruzeiro, Arvin Kananian, Leon Jiber
Writer: Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja
Director: Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Plot: A spaceship carrying settlers to Mars is knocked off course, causing the consumption-obsessed passengers to consider their place in the universe.
What you should know: Based on a poem by Harry Martinson, it’s in Swedish.
Opens in: Select cities

Amaurosis (aka The Unseen)

Click to view

Stars: Richard Flood, Simon Cotton, Jasmine Hyde, Derek Horsham
Writer/Director: Gary Sinyor
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Plot: Gemma and Will are shattered when their son dies in an accident. Gemma blames herself and starts to have panic attacks that affect her eyesight - and the audience's point of view.
What you should know: The title is a term for vision loss without change to the eye.
Opens in: Select cities and on demand

A Violent Separation

Click to view

Stars: Alycia Debnam-Carey, Brenton Thwaites, Ted Levine, Claire Holt
Writer: Kevin Goetz, Michael Goetz
Director: Michael Arkof
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Plot: Two brothers struggle with a terrible truth behind a tragedy that aims to tear three generations of a family apart.
What you should know: Three of the four leads all hail from Australia.
Opens in: Select cities

Perfect

Click to view

Stars: Abbie Cornish, Courtney Eaton, Garrett Wareing, Tao Okamato
Writer: Ted Kupper
Director: Eddie Alcazar
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Plot: Garrett, an emotionally-troubled young man, is sent to a clinic, whispering soothing promises of perfection. By planting characteristics directly into his own body, he's relieved of his dark visions, but pays the price for purity of mind.
What you should know: The film’s music comes from Flying Lotus.
Opens in: NYC

Trial By Fire

Click to view

Stars: Laura Dern, Jack O’Connell, Emily Meade, Jade Pettyjohn
Writer: Geoffrey Fletcher
Director: Edward Zwick
Genre: Biography, Drama
Plot: The tragic and controversial story of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas for killing his three children after scientific evidence and expert testimony that bolstered his claims of innocence were suppressed.
What you should know: Based on the New Yorker article by David Grann
Opens in: Select cities

Zilla and Zoe

Click to view

Stars: Greg James, Aida Valentine, Sam Kamerman, Kurt Conroyd
Writer/Director: Jessica Scalise
Genre: Comedy
Plot: To win the contest of her dreams, Zoe will have to turn her sister's wedding into a horror film.
What you should know: This is director Jessica Scalise’s first film.
Opens in: Select cities & on demand

Also opening: Q Ball (Trailer), Quartet (1981) (Trailer), The Meanest Man in Texas (Trailer), Walking on Water (Trailer), The Third Wife (Trailer), Richard Says Goodbye (aka The Professor (Trailer)

Source 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

What have you been watching lately, ONTD? Seeing anything this weekend?