A number of new movies and limited TV series will be released this week, including the following titles opening in theaters or premiering via video-on-demand on various streaming platforms:
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Tosin Cole, Jacob Latimore, Karen Obilom, DC Young Fly and Scott Mescudi
Directed by: Calmatic
Rating: R
Jacob Latimore stars as Kevin and Tosin Cole as Damon in “House Party”.
From New Line Cinema comes your VIP ticket to the hottest event of the year: “House Party,” a remix of the beloved 90s classic.
Aspiring club promoters and best friends Damon (Tosin Cole) and Kevin (Jacob Latimore) can barely keep things together. Penniless, down on their luck and about to lose their roof over their heads – and freshly fired from their low-stakes jobs as house cleaners – the pair need a huge windfall to make their problems go away.
In “what the hell?” move, they decide to throw the party of the year at an exclusive mansion, the site of their last cleaning job, which happens to belong to none other than LeBron James. Without permission? No problem. What could go wrong?
The film is set to be released on January 13 by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Genre: Action and thriller
Starring: Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Yoson An and Tony Goldwyn
Directed by: Jean-François Richet
Rating: R
Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance and Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in PLANE.
In the action-packed film “Airplane,” pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) saves his passengers from a lightning strike by making a risky landing on a war-torn island — only to discover that surviving the landing was just the beginning.
When most of the passengers are captured by dangerous rebels, the only person Torrance can rely on is Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), an accused murderer transported by the FBI. To save the passengers, Torrance will need Gaspare’s help and discovers that there is more to Gaspare than meets the eye.
The film is scheduled for a January 13 release through Lionsgate.
Genre: Drama
Starring: Rob Lowe, Johnny Berchtold, Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Directed by: Stephen Herek
Not rated
Dog away. Johnny Berchtold as Fielding in Dog Gone. Cr. Bob Mahoney/Netflix © 2022.
A young man and his father begin a desperate search to find their beloved dog on the Appalachian Trail before it’s too late. Based on an incredible true story, “Dog Gone” is the adventure film of the new year
The film is set to premiere on January 13 via Netflix.
Genre: Drama and Anthology
Starring: Gillian Jacobs
Directed by Gillian Jacobs, Ken Jeong, Gia Coppola, Ryan Heffington, Alexandra Cassavetes, Boma Iluma, Julian Acosta and Alex Takacs
Not rated
Jane (Gillian Jacobs) drops her daughter off at sleepaway camp, excited for a break from her otherwise mundane life. She has no idea what awaits her on the way home – from old friends to new, alternate universes, laughter, tears and a little magic. Jane’s road trip was created by playing a gorgeous corpse with eight different filmmakers, each invited to make a part of the film without knowing what came before or after it. Each director was challenged to stay true to their unique life experiences, vision and style.
The film will be released on January 13 on Apple TV.
Genre: Action and thriller
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff and Gigi Zumbado
Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura
Rating: R
After an intense holdup at a pawn shop, Grace (Zumbado) is taken hostage by thieves. When they are forced to take refuge in a remote farmhouse late at night, they discover a secret dungeon with evidence of sadistic violence – and when “Grandpa” returns home, all hell breaks loose. Can Grace pluck up the courage to escape the gruesome fates befalling her criminal associates?
The film is scheduled for a January 13 release through Lionsgate.
Genre: horror
Cast: Lucas Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault, Ross Paul and Jaime Hill
Directed by Kyle Edward Ball
Not rated
Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father missing and all the windows and doors in their house gone.
The release of the film in selected theaters is scheduled for January 13. The film will be available on demand via Shudder starting February 10th.
Genre: Drama
Cast: Oliver Masucci, Rolf Lassgard, Albrecht Schuch, Birgit Minichmayr
Director: Philipp Stolzl
Not rated
Vienna, 1938: Austria is occupied by the Nazis. Dr. Josef Bartok (Oliver Masucci) is preparing to escape to America with his wife Anna when he is arrested by the Gestapo.
As a former notary of the overthrown Austrian aristocracy, he is told to help the leader of the local Gestapo gain access to their private bank accounts in order to finance the Nazi regime. Bartok refuses to cooperate and is locked in solitary confinement. Just as his mind begins to crack, Bartok comes across a book of famous chess games. To endure the torture of isolation, Bartok disappears into the world of chess, maintaining his sanity only by memorizing every move.
As the action approaches the transatlantic crossing on which he is a passenger, Bartók seems to have finally found his freedom. But as he tells his story to his fellow travelers, it’s clear that his encounters with the Gestapo and the royal game itself have not stopped haunting him.
The film will be released in select theaters on January 13 via Film Movement.
Genre: Superhero and Kaiju
Starring: Takumi Saitoh, Masami Nagasawa, Daiki Arioka, Akari Hayami, Tetsushi Tanaka and Hidetoshi Nishijima, with Anno and Bin Furuya as Ultraman
Directed by Shinji Higuchi
Not rated
There’s never a dull day in the newly formed Japanese defense task force SSSP Kaiju, led by Kimio Tamura, played by Hidetoshi Nishijima.
After a particularly challenging encounter, a silver giant descends from the sky to save the planet. Dubbed Ultraman, the identity and purpose of this giant is a mystery. “Shin Ultraman” is a wonderful reimagining of one of the classic Japanese superheroes, full of cosmic twists, charismatic villains and giant Kaiju.
The film will be screened in select theaters January 11-12 via Fathom Events.
This report was first published on the website for Tampa Bay Newspapers.