From left, actors Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos and Glen Powell on the set of Twisters.
Twisters
It’s back and it’s better? Although Twisters was originally set to remake the 1996 classic Twister, the new film ultimately ended up being a standalone. The comparisons have occurred none the less and the “new” Twisters has garnered positive feedback with a 79% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes—set to hit theaters July 19. Here, director Lee Isaac Chung follows the story of a new generation of storm chasers. Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Cooper, a former storm chaser who was traumatized by a tornado she lived through. Cooper is then convinced by her friend Javi (Anthony Ramos) to test a groundbreaking new tracking system in the field. This is when she meets Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), a reckless social media star who’s chasing danger for followers. This movie may just blow audiences away. (Rated PG-13, 2h 2m)
Inside Out 2
Inside Out (2015) fans patiently awaited the sequel after the first film had everyone in their feels. Inside Out 2 has now been deemed Pixar’s biggest movie ever with the passing of the $1.25 billion mark globally. And don’t worry you haven’t missed your chance to see this film in theaters. The sequel has even more to love with the introduction of everyone’s favorite emotions: anxiety, envy, embarrassment and ennui (a fancy French word for boredom). Audiences can look forward to seeing Riley navigate these new emotions as she deals with the ups and downs of adolescence. (Rated PG, 1h 36m)
Longlegs
Horror fans have been nonstop talking about the sheer potential of Longlegs. Could this mark the return of horror blockbusters? Maika Monroe plays FBI agent Lee Harker, who is assigned an unsolved serial killer case with a sadistic murderer, Longlegs, played by Nicolas Cage. Through her investigation, Harker discovers a series of occult clues and mysterious connection to the killer. In the promotional trailers for the film, Monroe’s heart rate spikes to 170 bpm upon seeing Cage’s Longlegs for the first time. So will this film live up to the hype and have audiences sleeping with the lights on? With a 68% audience score on Rotton Tomatoes on the day of release, only time will tell. (Rated R, 1h 41m)
Horizon: An American Saga
On a basic level, Sonoma County residents need to see Horizon asap because audience turnout has been so dismal it’s likely to leave theaters at any moment. Kevin Costner’s 3-hour western epic is the first of four planned big screen Horizon installments and its headline-making lack of ticket sales is approaching historic “box-office bomb” status not seen since the actor’s 1990s swings/misses The Postman (1997) and Waterworld (1994). The disastrous word of mouth about Horizon has largely centered on how much money it’s going to lose, so even if it’s just a “meh” on the entertainment scale, viewers might be pleasantly surprised that it’s not so bad after all. (It’s got a respectable 71% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.) See it now before it’s too late. (Rated R, 3 hours)
The Bikeriders
Waifish Austin Butler is miscast as a rough-and-tough 1960s biker dude, but the more grizzled Tom Hardy and Michael Shannon are thankfully on hand to perfectly encapsulate the essence of these Hells Angel OGs: Middle-aged, working-class white guys who prefer shoptalk and day drinking to quality time with the wife and kids. It starts off almost like a bowling league, with matching jackets, cheap beer and the occasional fistfight. But when the scene gets younger and meaner, things turn ugly. Jeff Nichols directs. (Rated R, 2 hours)
