New movies this week: Watch Tom Hanks in ‘A Man Called Otto,’ skip Gerard Butler’s ‘Plane’
Tom Hanks play a lovable crank and Gerard Butler crash-land a plane.
This weekend, America’s Dad turns resident grouch for a comedic entry in the expansive Hanks-ography while Butler captains an action thriller alongside Mike Colter. “Scream” writer Kevin Williamson returns with a COVID-19-era slasher movie for Peacock, and Gillian Jacobs collaborates with former “Community” co-stars for an experimental film outing.
Here’s a guide to new movies that will satisfy every cinematic taste, plus some noteworthy theatrical films making their streaming and on-demand debuts:
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Tom Hanks and Gerard Butler offer a one-two movie punch
Hanks and Butler join “M3GAN” at the January box office:
- “A Man Called Otto” is the latest heartfelt outing for America’s Dad.
- The action film “Plane” isn’t as fun a time as it sounds.
- Peacock gets “Sick” with a slasher movie set during the pandemic.
If you want to see Tom Hanks channel Oscar the Grouch: ‘A Man Called Otto’
Even in grump mode, Hanks’ signature charisma comes through in this solidly heartfelt comedy. The actor’s title widower is curt and cross with his neighbors – and pondering the end of his life – until a pregnant woman (Mariana Treviño) moves in next door and, with the help of a stray cat and other folks, gives Otto a reason to keep on living.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you dig Gerard Butler action movies: ‘Plane’
The way-too-simple title gives you hope this thing might be enjoyably bonkers but it’s instead sadly generic. Butler plays a pilot forced to crash-land his commercial flight in a bad part of the Philippines and partner with a skilled fugitive (Mike Colter) to save passengers from bad guys. There’s not even that much plane stuff in a movie that can’t live up to the cheesy ’80s films it copies,
Where to watch: In theaters
If you’re curious to see a pandemic-era slasher: ‘Sick’
From “Scream” writer Kevin Williamson and set in the early days of COVID-19, the horror film centers on two college kids who quarantine in a country mansion but are hunted through the place by a masked killer. It sticks to the slasher script but the humor and plot cleverly bend a few tropes making use of the pandemic gimmick.
Where to watch: Peacock
If you dig cringe comedies with nice scenery: ‘The Drop’
Mani (Jermaine Fowler) and Lex (Anna Konkle) are a married couple traveling to Mexico for a beach wedding with friends but the trip goes painfully awry when she accidentally drops her pal’s baby on the ground, straining relationships within the group and with her spouse. It’s an oddly dark premise that manages some laughs and unleashes a few parenting insights.
Where to watch: Hulu
If you’re a fan of courtroom dramas: ‘Saint Omer’
Director Alice Diop’s French entry to the Oscars’ international film category is an excellently insightful exploration of race and motherhood in the guise of a legal flick. Kayije Kagame plays a pregnant journalist who takes an uncanny interest in – and is increasingly affected by – the trial of a Senegalese immigrant (Guslagie Malanda) accused of murdering her 15-month-old daughter.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you wonder what the ‘Community’ crew has been up to: ‘The Seven Faces of Jane’
This experimental film features seven directors crafting a series of dizzying and surreal episodes featuring Jane (Jacobs), a mom seeking a life restart after dropping her daughter off at camp. Some work, some don’t, but “Community” fans will like a tale pairing Jacobs with Joel McHale (as Jane’s “one that got away”) directed by their old co-star Ken Jeong.
Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon
If you love the Bible and B-movies: ‘The Devil Conspiracy’
With the narrative nerve of a Dan Brown novel, this sci-fi/horror adventure centers on an art student (Alice Orr-Ewing) and a priest (Joe Doyle) caught up in an insane plot involving Lucifer’s escape from hell, a cult of Satanists and the cloning of a baby from Jesus’ DNA (from the Shroud of Turin, of course). For those with a high threshold for ludicrous fantasy, this is your jam.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you want to be unnerved for 100 minutes: ‘Skinamarink’
While not for everyone, horror fans needing a creepy, discombobulating experience get their fill with this found-footage-esque film. Two young kids (Lucas Paul and Dali Rose Tetreault) wake up in the middle of the night and can’t find their dad, leading to an unnerving time spent watching cartoons, seeing doors appear and disappear and wondering what the heck’s wrong with mom in a nightmare come to sleepless life.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you’re into demon possession and Judaism: ‘The Offering’
Nick Blood (Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) stars as the son of a Hasidic funeral director who travels home with his pregnant wife (Emily Wiseman). Things get dicey when an ancient demon known for eating kids is let loose in his dad’s downstairs morgue and sets its sights on the couple’s unborn child. The horror flick is plenty sinister, with creepy visuals and a really cool monster.
Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu
If you grew up with Teddy Ruxpin and other toy companions: ‘M3GAN’
The thriller doles out more laughs than scares with the story of a robotics engineer (Allison Williams) who creates a cutting-edge android doll, “pairs” it with her 9-year-old orphaned niece, and comes to find that wasn’t a great idea. M3GAN herself is a hoot as a 21st-century mean-girl version of Chucky amid a sharply satirical take on parenting and modern technology.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you saw ‘Glass Onion’ and need more mystery: ‘The Pale Blue Eye’
This 19th-century whodunit is full of dark, moody flair and a nifty literary bent. A weathered detective (Christian Bale) is called to West Point circa 1830 to solve a grisly murder, and needing a man on the inside, he recruits Poe (Harry Melling), an oddball cadet years away from becoming a goth icon. One of the “Harry Potter” movie kids, Melling brings an eccentric magnetism to the twisty thriller.
Where to watch: Netflix
If you want to see a gunslinging Nic Cage: ‘The Old Way’
Colton Briggs (Cage) went from cold-blooded outlaw to devoted family man, but when a gang of miscreants brings tragedy to his home, Briggs and his 12-year-old daughter Brooke (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) head off on a quest for vengeance. The straightforward Western leans cookie-cutter with its characters, especially the bad guys, but not with its parent-kid dynamic, where Brooke is way more like her dad than one might expect.
Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Google Play
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If you’re wistful for the nostalgic days of VHS: ‘LandLocked’
This lo-fi indie horror film is a cleverly unsettling do-it-yourself delight. Director Paul Owens weaves in footage from his actual home movies and casts family members, including his brother Mason as a young man who returns to his childhood home before it’s scheduled to be demolished. He finds an old video camera that supernaturally brings past episodes back to life but also unlocks a presence that tells a disturbingly dark tale.
Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Google Play
Also on streaming
- A “Shrek” spinoff, the animated comedy “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” – with Antonio Banderas voicing the title feline swashbuckler – is now available on Apple TV, Vudu and Amazon.
- “The Menu” is streaming on HBO Max, the journalism drama “She Said” is on Peacock and the Korean war drama “Devotion” is playing on Paramount+.