It can be easy to let yourself get wrapped up in the big summer blockbusters about interstellar battles and super heroics, but lets not forget some of the smaller movies that will be coming out in the follow months. Below The Line has compiled a small list, a fraction really, of some of the films heading to cinemas soon.
Rupture
Theatrical, VOD & Digital Release: April 28, 2017
Director: Steven Shainberg
Writers: Brian Nelson, Steven Shainberg
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Peter Stormare, Kerry Bishe, Michael Chiklis
Rupture follows Renee Morgan (Noomi Rapace), a single mom, who is deathly terrified of spiders. While in route to meet up with a friend, she is violently abducted by a group of strangers. After enduring intense yet strange questioning and examinations, some about her fear of spiders, Renee soon discovers that she is now the subject of an underground experiment. Her captors explain to her that she has a genetic abnormality that can potentially allow her to “rupture” and reveal her alien nature. Renee must find a way to escape before it is too late.
Genre: Sci-Fi / Thriller
Distributor: AMBI Media Group
Black Rose
Theatrical Release: April 28, 2017
VOD, DVD, & Digital Release: May 2, 2017
Director: Alexander Nevsky
Writers: Brent Huff, George Saunders
Cast: Alexander Nevsky, Kristanna Loken, Adrian Paul, Robert Davi, Matthias Hues
A Russian Police Major (Alexander Nevsky) is enlisted by the LAPD to help solve a series of gruesome murders perpetrated against young women by a sadistic sociopathic killer on the mean streets of Hollywood.
Genre: Action, Thriller
Distributor: ITN Distribution
Last Men in Aleppo
Theatrical Release: May 3, 2017
Director: Feras Fayyad
Nowhere is the human toll of Syria’s ongoing civil war more brutally manifest than in the lives of Aleppo’s “White Helmets”—first responders to the devastating bombing and terrorist attacks that have pushed this city to the brink of collapse. Volunteers Khaled, Mahmoud, and Subhi rush toward bomb sites while others run away. They search through collapsed buildings for the living and dead. Contending with fatigue, dwindling ranks, and concerns for their families’ safety, they must decide whether to stay or to flee a city in ruins.
Genre: Documentary
Distributor: Grasshopper Films
Take Me
Theatrical Release: May 5, 2017
Director: Pat Healy
Writer: Mike Makowsky
Cast: Taylor Schilling, Pat Healy
Ray Moody (Pat Healy) is a fledgling entrepreneur, trying to get his company off the ground in Los Angeles. His business: the niche Kidnap Solutions, LLC, specializing in abductions that provide alternative therapy for his clients. When a mysterious call contracts him for a weekend kidnapping with a handsome payday at the end, Ray jumps at the opportunity. But the job, and his target – business consultant Anna St. Blair (Taylor Schilling of “Orange is the New Black”) – may not be all that they seem.
Genre: Comedy
Distributor: The Orchard
Enter The Warriors Gate
Theatrical, VOD, Amazon & iTunes Release: May 5, 2017
Director: Matthias Hoene
Writers: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Cast: Mark Chao, Ni Ni, Dave Bautista and Uriah Shelton
Epic fantasy-adventure meets martial arts action in this thrilling film written by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen. After a mysterious chest opens a gateway through time, teen gamer Jack (Uriah Shelton) is transported to an ancient empire terrorized by a cruel barbarian king (former WWE superstar Dave Bautista). Jack will need all of his gaming skills as he battles to defeat the barbarian, protect a beautiful princess, and somehow find his way back home.
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy
Distributor: EuropaCorp
Black Site Delta
Theatrical Release: May 5, 2017
VOD & iTunes Release: May 9, 2017
Director: Jesse Gustafson
Writer: Guy Stevenson
Cast: Cam Gigandet, Teri Reeves, Benjamin Charles Watson, Dion Mucciacito, Casey Hendershot, John Brodsky, Michael Dale, Arash Mokhtar
Cam Gigandet stars as the leader of a “Dirty Dozen” band of military prisoners who must fight off a terrorist attack on the remote “black site” prison where they’re being held, which, unknown to them, is a cover for a secret drone control facility.
Genre: Action
Distributor: XLrator Media
The Drowning
Theatrical Release: May 10, 2017
Director: Bette Gordon
Writers: Stephen Molton, Frank Pugliese; based on the novel by Pat Barker
Cast: Josh Charles, Julia Stiles Avan Jogia, Tracie Thoms, Leo Fitzpatrick
The fourth film from Bette Gordon (Variety, Luminous Motion), and based on the acclaimed book by Pat Barker, The Drowning tells the story of a forensic psychologist haunted by his expert witness testimony that sent a young boy to prison for a chilling murder. When the boy later reappears in his life, he is drawn into a destructive, soul-searching reinvestigation of the case.
Genre: Psychological thriller
Distributor: Paladin
Folk Hero & Funny Guy
Theatrical Release: May 12, 2017
Director: Jeff Grace
Writer: Jeff Grace
Cast: Alex Karpovsky, Wyatt Russell, Meredith Hagner, Michael Ian Black, Hannah Simone, Heather Morris, Melanie Lynskey, David Cross
Recently dumped by his fiancée and with a stagnating standup routine, aspiring comedian-slash-copywriter Paul (Alex Karpovsky) is stuck. The manager of the club where he performs suggests he take some time off to update his comedy material, and in waltzes his childhood friend Jason Black (Wyatt Russell), an acclaimed folk-rock musician about to embark on a solo acoustic tour of the east coast. Jason suggests Paul needs to get his mojo back—and he should start by opening for Jason on tour. They set off on the road together, picking up a new act (folk singer Bryn, played by Meredith Hagner) on the way. But when Jason reveals an ulterior motive behind the tour, rifts are exposed in their otherwise affable camaraderie. Folk Hero & Funny Guy is a music-infused spin on the road-trip buddy comedy.
Genre: Comedy
Distributor: Gravitas Ventures
Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation
Theatrical Release: May 26, 2017
VOD & iTunes Release: June 20, 2017
Director: Peter Spirer & Peter Baxter
Cast: Featuring Oren Lyons, Lyle Thompson, Miles Thompson, Jim Brown and Bill Belichick
Lacrosse originated with the Iroquois, which they call their “medicine game,” and is the lifeblood of their Nation. The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team is not only among the world’s best, but ambassadors for their Nation’s sovereignty and recognition. In 2015, the Iroquois hosted the World Championships on Native soil for the first time ever, in which history, politics and culture all collided on the playing field before the eyes of the world.
Genre: Documentary
Distributor: XLrator Media
Handsome Devil
Theatrical & VOD Release: June 2, 2017
Director: John Butler
Writer: John Butler
Cast: Fionn O’Shea, Nicholas Galitzine, Michael McElhatton, Moe Dunford and Andrew Scott
Ned and Conor are forced to share a bedroom at their boarding school. The loner and the star athlete at this rugby-mad school form an unlikely friendship until it’s tested by the authorities.
Genre: Drama, LGBT
Distributor: Breaking Glass Pictures
Dark Signal
Theatrical Release: June 2, 2017
VOD & iTunes Release: June 6, 2017
Director: Edward Evers-Swindell
Writers: Edward Evers-Swindell and Antony Jones
Cast: Siwan Morris, Gareth David-Lloyd, Joanna Ignaczewska
The spirit of a murdered girl returns with a message for the staff of a local radio station.
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Distributor: XLrator Media
Dean
Theatrical Release: June 3, 2017
Director: Demetri Martin
Writer: Demetri Martin
Cast: Demetri Martin
Writer/Director/Comedian Demetri Martin stars alongside Academy Award winner Kevin Kline in this comedic and heartfelt tale about a father and son coming to terms with love, loss and everything in between. Dean (Martin) is an illustrator whose unwillingness to deal with the recent death of his mother means escaping his hometown of New York for an interview with an ad agency in Los Angeles. His retired engineer dad Robert (Kline) takes a more regimented approach to grief, including putting the family home up for sale. Both father and son set out on their own paths to find a new normal as unexpected circumstances and potential new love interests threaten to thwart all plans.
Genre: Comedy
Distributor: CBS
Once Upon a Time in Venice
Theatrical Release: June 16, 2017
Director: Mark Cullen
Writers: Mark Cullen, Robb Cullen
Cast: Bruce Willis, John Goodman, Jason Momoa, Famke Janssen, Thomas Middleditch, Adam Goldberg, Kal Penn
Bruce Willis (Die Hard) is Venice Beach P.I. Steve Ford: a detective who’s good with the ladies, bad with the punches, and wild about his dog, Buddy. But when his beloved pet is stolen by local thugs, Steve makes a questionable alliance with their devious leader, Spyder (Jason Momoa, “Game of Thrones”). Teaming up with his best friend (John Goodman, The Big Lebowski), Steve pulls out the big guns in search of Spyder’s stolen cocaine and cash in order to set things straight and get Buddy back where he belongs.
Genre: Action/Comedy
Distributor: RLJ Entertainment
The Bad Batch
Theatrical Release: June 23, 2017
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Writer: Ana Lily Amirpour
Cast: Suki Waterhouse, Jason Momoa, Giovanni Ribisi, Yolonda Ross, Keanu Reeves
The aforementioned girl is Arlen, (Suki Waterhouse), one of thousands of Americans deemed unacceptable to society, who is unceremoniously dumped into a hostile desert wasteland fenced off from civilized society. While wandering in her desert exile, she is captured by a savage band of cannibals and quickly realizes she’ll have to fight for her very existence in this human-eat-human world. With electrifying visuals, a score to die for and a stellar cast, Amirpour has created another cinematic chapter that is as uncategorizable as her first.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Distributor: Neon
The Little Hours
Theatrical Release: June 30, 2017
Director: Jeff Baena
Writer: Jeff Baena
Cast: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke, Adam Pally, Nick Offerman
Medieval nuns Alessandra (Alison Brie), Fernanda (Aubrey Plaza), and Ginevra (Kate Micucci) lead a simple life in their convent. Their days are spent chafing at monastic routine, spying on one another, and berating the estate’s day laborer. After a particularly vicious insult session drives the peasant away, Father Tommasso (John C. Reilly) brings on new hired hand Massetto (Dave Franco), a virile young servant forced into hiding by his angry lord. Introduced to the sisters as a deaf-mute to discourage temptation, Massetto struggles to maintain his cover as the repressed nunnery erupts in a whirlwind of pansexual horniness, substance abuse, and wicked revelry.
Genre: Comedy
Distributor: Gunpowder & Sky
A Ghost Story
Theatrical Release: July 7, 2017
Director: David Lowery
Writer: David Lowery
Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Will Oldham
Recently deceased, a white-sheeted ghost (Academy Award-winner Casey Affleck) returns to his suburban home to console his bereft wife (Academy Award-nominee Rooney Mara), only to find that in his spectral state he has become unstuck in time, forced to watch passively as the life he knew and the woman he loves slowly slip away. Increasingly unmoored, the ghost embarks on a cosmic journey through memory and history, confronting life’s ineffable questions and the enormity of existence.
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Distributor: A24
Chasing Coral
Theatrical Release: July 14, 2017
Director: Jeff Orlowski
Chasing Coral taps into the collective will and wisdom of an ad man, a self-proclaimed coral nerd, top-notch camera designers, and renowned marine biologists as they invent the first time-lapse camera to record bleaching events as they happen. Unfortunately, the effort is anything but simple, and the team doggedly battles technical malfunctions and the force of nature in pursuit of their golden fleece: documenting the indisputable and tragic transformation below the waves. With its breathtaking photography, nail-biting suspense, and startling emotion, Chasing Coral is a dramatic revelation that won’t have audiences sitting idle for long.
Genre: Documentary
Distributor: Netflix
Who the F**k is that Guy?
Theatrical Release: July 21, 2017
VOD & iTunes Release: July 25, 2017
Director: Drew Stone
Cast: Michael Alago, Dito Montiel, Rob Zombie, Cyndi Lauper, Jerry Brandt, Lars Ulrich, John Lydon, Eric Bogosian
Discover the incredible life of Michael Alago, a gay Puerto Rican kid from Brooklyn who went on to shape and reinvent the world’s musical landscape — first as a 19-year-old talent booker at the legendary Ritz nightclub in New York City and then as a 24-year-old A&R exec who signed Metallica, White Zombie and worked with other notable artists including Nina Simone, John Lydon and Cyndi Lauper. The film tells the tender, loving and sometimes self-destructive story of a man who “just loved music.” He had the passion to bring it to the world on his terms and lived to talk about it. Barely.
Genre: Documentary
Distributor: XLrator Media
Person to Person
Theatrical Release: July 28, 2017
Director: Dustin Guy Defa
Writer: Dustin Guy Defa
Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Michael Cera, Tavi Gevinson, Philip Baker Hall, Bene Coopersmith, Michaela Watkins, Ben Rosenfield
During a single day in New York City, a variety of characters grapple with the mundane, the unexpected, and the larger questions permeating their lives. An investigative reporter struggles with her first day on the job, despite help from her misguided boss; a rebellious teen attempts to balance her feminist ideals with other desires; and a young man seeks to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend, even as her brother threatens revenge. Meanwhile, an avid music lover traverses the city in search of a rare record for his vinyl collection.
Genre: Drama
Distributor: Netflix
Fun Mom Dinner
Limited Theatrical & VOD Release: August 4, 2017
Director: Alethea Jones
Writer: Julie Rudd
Cast: Katie Aselton, Toni Collette, Bridget Everett, Molly Shannon, Adam Scott, Rob Huebel and Adam Levine
Four moms whose only common ground is their kids’ preschool class, decide to get together for a harmless “fun mom dinner.” The night begins as a disaster, but the combination of alcohol, karaoke, and a cute bartender, leads to an unforgettable night where these seemingly different women realize they have more in common than motherhood and men.
Genre: Comedy
Distributor: Momentum Pictures
Savage Dog
Theatrical Release: August 4, 2017
VOD & iTunes Release: August 8, 2017
Director: Jesse V. Johnson
Writer: Jesse V. Johnson
Cast: Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Cung Lee, Juju Chan, Keith David, Vladimir Kulich
Indochina, 1959. A Wild West town controlled by the criminal class: Vietnamese warlords and European war criminals. Den-Dhin-Chan Labor Camp is run by four such dangerous men. The worst prison in the land, it is here that a European, former-champion boxer Martin Tilman (Scott Adkins) has made a name for himself fighting tournaments, on which wealthy criminals gamble in high stakes events. When Tilman is due for release, he just wants to return home, but the corrupt forces running the jail will do everything in their power to keep him locked down. When all that Tilman holds dear is taken away in a vicious act of violence, he is forced to confront the five men responsible and take his revenge.
Genre: Action
Distributor: XLrator Media
Pilgrimage
Theatrical Release: August 11, 2017
Director: Brendan Muldowney
Writer: Jamie Hannigan
Cast: Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Richard Armitage
Ireland, 1209. A small group of monks begin a reluctant pilgrimage across an island torn between centuries of tribal warfare and the growing power of Norman invaders. As they escort their monastery’s holiest relic to Rome, the true value of the bejeweled relic becomes dangerously apparent and their path becomes increasingly fraught with danger.
Genre: Action
DIistributor: RLJ Entertainment
Bushwick
Theatrical Release: August 25, 2017
Directors: Cary Murnion, Jonathan Milott
Writers: Nick Damici, Graham Reznick
Cast: Dave Bautista, Brittany Snow, Angelic Zambrana, Jeremie Harris
When Lucy (Brittany Snow) steps off the subway, she walks into an utter bloodbath on the streets of Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. Texas is attempting to secede from the Union, and militia forces have descended upon New York City to claim it as an East Coast base of operations and negotiation tool. Faced with a flurry of whizzing bullets and total destruction around every corner, Lucy takes shelter in the basement of Stupe (Dave Bautista), a burly war veteran who reluctantly helps her traverse the treacherous five-block stretch of Bushwhack to reach her destination—assuming it’s still there.
Genre: Action
Distributor: RLJ Entertainment
Beach Rats
Theatrical Release: August 25, 2017
Director: Eliza Hittman
Writer: Eliza Hittman
Cast: Harris Dickinson, Madeline Weinstein
Frankie, an aimless teenager on the outer edges of Brooklyn, is having a miserable summer. With his father dying and his mother wanting him to find a girlfriend, Frankie escapes the bleakness of his home life by causing trouble with his delinquent friends and flirting with older men online. When his chatting and webcamming intensify, he finally starts hooking up with guys at a nearby cruising beach while simultaneously entering into a cautious relationship with a young woman. As Frankie struggles to reconcile his competing desires, his decisions leave him hurtling towards irreparable consequences.
Genre: Drama
Distributor: Neon
