13 Films To See In May

“Sunset Song”
Synopsis: With World War I brewing and her family scattered across the countryside, a Scottish farm girl struggles to find her way.
What You Need To Know: When Nikola Grozdanovic reviewed this film at TIFF last year, he opened appropriately by stating “some movies demand a certain setting, and while the darkness of a theater has the always-welcome atmosphere of silent unity, Terence Davies‘ ‘Sunset Song’ would seem to suggest that a seat near a crackling fireplace, complete with a warm blanket and a hot cup of tea, would be the perfect place to see it.” Many consider Davies as Britain’s greatest living director, and those familiar with his works —”The Long Day Closes,” “The House of Mirth,” “The Deep Blue Sea,” et al — look forward to his graceful sensibilities. “They will be thoroughly nourished with his latest picture,” our review elaborates. This latest is an adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon‘s 1932 book of the same name, often regarded as the most important Scottish novel of the 20th century. Beyond great Brit thesp Peter Mullan and others in the cast, there’s the introduction of “the considerable acting talents” of model-turned-actress Agyness Deyn.
Release Date: May 13th (limited)

“The Nice Guys”
Synopsis: In 1977 Los Angeles, a down-on-his-luck private eye works with a hired enforcer to investigate the disappearance of a girl and the death of a porn star.
What You Need To Know: So far, several great trailers + Shane Black writing and directing + Ryan Gosling + Russell Crowe looks like the perfect alchemy for a good summer R-rated action flick.  It’s at least more than enough to get our asses in the seats for this 70s-set crime buddy picture. It just looks so much fun, and that high-pitched scream from Gosling found in those trailers is quite possibly the greatest thing ever. Surely this came about after Black directed “Iron Man 3” which went on to be a massive hit (duh) and probably allowed for “The Nice Guys” to actually happen. All the more reason to be excited, especially if you liked his excellent 2005 neo-noir “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” which ‘Nice Guys’ resembles at least in spirit and tone.
Release Date: May 20th

“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising”
Synopsis: After a sorority moves in next door, which is even more debaucherous than the fraternity before it, Mac and Kelly have to ask for help from their former enemy, Teddy.
What You Need To Know: “With the sorority girls, it’s like a glimpse into their daughter’s future, and it terrifies them,” actress Rose Byrne told EW earlier this year. She’s talking about the sorority sisters who are the new antagonists in the sequel to the Seth Rogen and Zac Efron-starring 2014 comedy and huge box office hit, “Neighbors.” With a new baby on the way, the Byrne and Rogen have to struggle with a new set of neighbors devaluing the house they want to sell: a wild sorority run by Chloë Grace Moretz. To fight fire with fire, they enlist their old adversary Teddy (Efron). Slight twist on the same formula, sure, but the first was a fun enough concept and the same creative team, including director Nicholas Stoller and original writers Andrew Jay Cohen and Brendan O’Brien, are back.
Release Date: May 20th

“Maggie’s Plan”
Synopsis: Maggie’s plan to have a baby on her own is derailed when she falls in love with a married man.
What You Need To Know: One of the smaller movies to make the final list this month, but one that we hope you’ll seek out if you have the chance. Kevin Jagernauth’s review from TIFF last year called it “Witty, observational, and hilarious… the kind of richly complex dramedy that proves to be the rare picture that serves both halves of that genre description fully, equally, and satisfyingly.” For Kevin, the film’s MVP is Greta Gerwig, admittedly playing a variation on her roles from recent Noah Baumbach films like “Frances Ha” and “Mistress America,” but still no less wonderful on screen. She’s paired up with Ethan Hawke, and the script is written by director Rebecca Miller, who, sure, is married to acting God Daniel Day-Lewis, which is awesome and all, but hey, she’s also been making films (like “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee“) for a while now so let’s honor that.
Release Date: May 20th (limited)

“X-Men: Apocalypse”
Synopsis: With the emergence of the world’s first mutant, Apocalypse, the X-Men must unite to defeat him.
What You Need To Know: What, you thought ‘Captain America’ was the only comic book movie coming out this month? Think again. Now that the X-Men franchise has become Fox‘s version of the MCU, and especially after the mind blowing success of “Deadpool” earlier this year, expect this one to sell some tickets when it comes out and to open up even more possibilities to arise for movies in this world. We do hope that Bryan Singer (at the director’s chair here for his fourth ‘X-Men’ film) can find the sweet spot like he did with “X2,” still the best of this batch of mutant movies. He’ll be aided by the biggest cast of characters yet in an X-Men movie, as well as Oscar Isaac, easily one of our very best and most exciting young actors working today, as the villain Apocalypse.
Release Date: May 27th

“Chevalier”
Synopsis: In the middle of the Aegean Sea, six men on a fishing trip on a luxury yacht decide to play a game. When the game is over, the man who wins will be the best man and he will wear on his smallest finger the victory ring: the Chevalier.
What You Need To Know: Though our review from TIFF last year was fairly lukewarm on this latest film from Greek writer/director Athina Rachel Tsangari (“Attenberg”), that shouldn’t keep you from seeing it if you get a chance. Like the best of other modern great cinema from the country (“Dogtooth” being the pinnacle of course), it’s a bizarre, alien and at times darkly funny comedy. There’s a lot of talk these days about filmmakers and the industry in general needing to better represent other people’s just-as-valuable stories. And for good reason. There’s still a massive amount of movies being made following white males. “Chevalier” does not qualify as anything new from that perspective, seeing as it follows all rich, white men. But the time is right to watch a highly-skewering character and social study cum black comedy that shows, in highly entertaining detail, just how silly us dudes can be. Especially when our pride and bragging rights are on the line. I thoroughly enjoyed laughing at them and you might too.
Release Date: May 27th (limited)

Honorable Mentions:
So yeah, there’s “Alice Through The Looking Glass,” which maybe you care about more than us? If so, it’s coming this month too, and the whole cast is basically back but this time no Tim Burton directing, as he’s been replaced by James Bobin (“The Muppets“).

For films more off the beaten path coming this month, and ones we actually would pay money to see, there’s the new reissue from Rialto Pictures of French New Wave legend Jean-Luc Godard‘s “Band Of Outsiders,” one of his very best. See it if you have a cool repertory house in your city. 

We got to see “Elstree 1976” last year at the BFI London Film Festival, and stated there’s “something more profound [than mere fan service] that the film touches on: without patronizing or condescending, it’s an examination of how fame can change us and haunt us, and of the complicated relationships that survivors of something like ‘Star Wars‘ can have with it. In that, it finds a way of proving valuable not just to fans, but to Force agnostics as well.”

There’s a number of docs every month worth noting, and May is no different. We caught “Dark Horse” at Sundance and called it a “gentle, winning beautiful little story.” “Pele: Birth Of A Legend” tells of the legendary Brazilian soccer player and his influence on the sport. There’s also “Weiner,” coming just in time as the election continues to heat up, as it’s about the wannabe New York Mayor Anthony Weiner and his sex scandal.