Advertisem*nt
SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT
Supported by
SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT
Magic Mike’s finale, M. Night Shyamalan’s patient with 23 personalities, Baz Luhrmann’s “Gatsby” and a copstravaganza with a serious coda after the belly laughs.
By Jason Bailey
Two markedly different Adam Sandler vehicles are among the noteworthy titles departing Netflix in May, along with an unsung family treat, a pair of crisp psychological thrillers and the other dark sitcom from the co-star of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” (Dates indicate the final day a title is available.)
‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ (May 1)
As anyone who’s seen “Ocean’s Twelve” can tell you, Steven Soderbergh is not a director willing to repeat himself — even when making a sequel to one of his hits. After serving only as cinematographer and editor on the first “Magic Mike” follow-up, 2015’s “Magic Mike XXL,” Soderbergh returned to the director’s chair for the third and final story of “Magic Mike” Lane, a charismatic and likable exotic dancer played by Channing Tatum (and a character loosely inspired by his own early years). This time around, he takes up with “Max” Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault), a wealthy socialite who hires him to choreograph a dance extravaganza at her husband’s theater in London. The camaraderie of the first two films is missing (Mike’s fellow dancers are consigned to cameos), but Soderbergh and Tatum clearly relish the opportunity to turn the climactic production into a full-scale movie musical, which is executed with wit, grace and genuine eroticism.
‘Uncut Gems’ (May 8)
Adam Sandler turns in his finest film performance to date as Howard Ratner, an inveterate gambler, serial adulterer and perpetual hustler who owns a jewelry store in the Diamond District of Manhattan. We meet him in mid-crisis, already way over his head in gambling debts and familial trouble, and watch him sink to rock bottom — but it’s a pleasurable experience, thanks to the relentless energy and controlled chaos of the directors Josh and Benny Safdie (“Good Time”). Their films are visceral, less concerned with intricate plotting than the sheer experiences of their protagonists; the result is a movie that is somehow both wildly entertaining and a cinematic anxiety attack.
‘The Boxtrolls’ (May 22)
Disney and Pixar may get all the attention and Illumination may make all the money, but Laika is one of the most reliable purveyors of family entertainment, quietly turning out gorgeous, heartfelt and engaging stop-motion animated features from its headquarters in Oregon. This 2014 fantasy comedy is one of their best, telling the charming story of a kid named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead Wright), who was raised by the title characters, a group of cheerfully grotesque, trash-collecting trolls. The directors Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi have a blast creating this strange, intricately detailed world (it’s set in the late 19th century, in the fictional land of Norvenia), and the impressive cast of voice talents — including Richard Ayoade, Toni Collette, Elle Fanning, Nick Frost, Jared Harris, Ben Kingsley, Tracy Morgan and Simon Pegg — clearly came to play.
‘Boyz N The Hood’ (May 31)
John Singleton became the first African American to be nominated for the best director Oscar (and the youngest, beating even Orson Welles by two years) for this, his debut feature. He made it fresh out of USC film school, based on his experiences, and those of his friends, growing up in Los Angeles surrounded by poverty, crime and police brutality. “Boyz” wasn’t just Singleton’s introduction; it was also the breakthrough film for Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut, who starred as the three young friends on very different paths after high school, as well as Angela Bassett, Regina King and Nia Long in supporting roles. But the 1991 film’s most powerful presence is Laurence Fishburne as Furious Styles, the single father desperate to keep his son on the right course.
‘The Great Gatsby’ (May 31)
The director Baz Luhrmann proved he could modernize and, in doing so, reinvigorate a classic text (assisted by Leonardo DiCaprio) with his 1996 interpretation “Romeo and Juliet”; he took another, even bigger swing with this 2013 interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s beloved novel. Not all of his notions land — home viewing thankfully removes the original release’s headache-inducing 3-D, though the dubious hip-hop needle drops remain. Yet none are off-putting enough to upset the sturdiness of the faithful screenplay and the marvelous performances, particularly Carey Mulligan’s fragile Daisy, Joel Edgerton’s blowhard Tom and, especially, DiCaprio’s complex work in the title role.
‘Happy Gilmore’ (May 31)
This month’s other Adam Sandler recommendation is of a decidedly more lowbrow vintage. After the surprise success of his solo starring debut, the unapologetically juvenile “Billy Madison” (1995), this “Saturday Night Live” sensation teamed up again with his friend and writing partner Tim Herlihy to tell the story of a short-fused would-be hockey player who turns his whiz-bang slap shot into a powerful long drive on the golf course. Christopher McDonald is a delightful villain, Julie Bowen is a game romantic lead and Carl Weathers charms as an Apollo Creed-style mentor while Bob Barker, as himself, gives us one of the most memorable comedy scenes of the era.
‘Lakeview Terrace’ (May 31)
The 1992 thriller “Unlawful Entry” asked a provocative question: What would you do if you were stalked by a cop? This 2008 riff from the director Neil LaBute lights an additional stick of dynamite by throwing in the element of race, as the cop in question is a Black officer (played, with precision and menace, by Samuel L. Jackson), targeting his neighbors (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) primarily because they’re an interracial couple. Throw in the extra baggage of the location — he’s an Los Angeles Police Department officer — and you’ve got a social thriller that’s both thought-provoking and genuinely chilling.
‘The Mick’: Seasons 1-2 (May 31)
Kaitlin Olson kept herself mighty busy circa 2017-2018, not only as a co-star of the long-running “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” but also starring in and executive-producing two seasons of this Fox sitcom. Olson is Mickey Molng, a minor-league con artist who finds herself in charge of her spoiled nieces and nephews when her rich sister gets into trouble with the law. It’s an ideal vehicle for Olson, who gets the space to carve out a new character without sacrificing the anything-goes spirit and cheerful vulgarity that makes her work on “Sunny” so memorable.
‘The Other Guys’ (May 31)
There are, it would seem, two Adam McKays: the guy behind such broad, goofy, Will Ferrell-fronted comedies as “Anchorman” and “Step Brothers,” and the serious social satirist who directed “The Big Short” and “Don’t Look Up.” This 2010 hit is the hinge point between them. Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg star as the title characters, pencil-pushing desk jockeys of the New York Police Department who are forced to step up when the department’s superstars (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson, better known as the Rock, sending up their images with aplomb) are, in the film’s funniest scene, relieved of duty. For most of the running time, “The Other Guys” both satirizes and indulges in the tropes of the buddy cop action comedy, as our heroes investigate the shady finances of a billionaire investor (Steve Coogan), but in the closing credits, McKay gets serious, using this fictional story to shine a light on the considerable misdeeds that led to the then-recent housing and financial crises. It’s an unexpected turn, but an effective one, and our first hint that the filmmaker had more on his mind than fart jokes.
‘Split’ (May 31)
M. Night Shyamalan wrote, produced and directed this 2016 hit psychological thriller, which gave Anya Taylor-Joy one of her first big breaks, and James McAvoy the kind of role most actors would give their eyeteeth for. He stars as Kevin Wendell Crumb, whose dissociative identity disorder has resulted in 23 distinct personalities fighting for space in his head; the quirks and triggers of those personalities are of particular interest to Taylor-Joy’s Casey, one of three teenage girls he’s kidnapped. McAvoy is spectacular in the role, and Shyamalan’s taut direction makes for a gripping if unnerving viewing experience.
ALSO LEAVING: “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (May 9); “St. Vincent” (May 10); “Where the Crawdads Sing” (May 11); “Burlesque,” “The Disaster Artist,” “The Hunger Games,” “The Impossible,” “Insidious,” “L.A. Confidential,” “You’ve Got Mail” (May 31).
Advertisem*nt
SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT
