Sue Ramirez (left) and Shinwoo in “Sunshine Family”
Sunshine Family
Directed by Kim Tai-sik; stars Sue Ramirez, Nonie Buencamino, Shamaine Buencamino, Shinwoo, Marco Masa
A family in South Korea prepares to go home to the Philippines, but the father gets involved in a hit and run incident.
According to a report from Inquirer Bandera, Ramirez handpicked the director, after getting familiar with the country’s culture through her job as Korean tourism ambassador. On the film’s story, she described her character as conflicted. “My character is trapped in a difficult situation … whatever happens, I am with my family. But in real life, I wouldn’t know what to do. Maybe I’ll cross the bridge when I get there.”
“The Secret Life of Pets 2”
The Secret Life of Pets 2
Directed by Chris Renaud; features the voices of Patton Oswalt, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Harrison Ford
Pet animals with secret adventures return, and their sophisticated connection with their human owners is explored.
IndieWire’s Kate Erbland says, “The imagination that fuels the series’ furry and frisky characters makes it fine entertainment for anyone who ever gazed at a pup or kitten and wondered what the hell they were thinking.”
But The Wrap’s Carlos Aguilar is unimpressed: “[It] effectively acts as an animated ode to heteronormativity, toxic masculinity and patriarchal worldviews, passed off as harmless plot points to entertain young audiences.”
Sophie Turner in “X-Men: Dark Phoenix”
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Directed by Simon Kinberg; stars Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Sophie Turner, Jessica Chastain
The powerful mutant Jean Grey is corrupted and violently turns on her trusted allies.
Turner recently told HBO’s “The Interview” of the similarities between her recently concluded show “Game of Thrones” and the film “Dark Phoenix”: “[It’s] one of those programs that gets the [balance between] fantasy and reality perfectly. This ‘X-Men’ movie is the same … You have these very supernatural things happening to Jean, but it’s filled with real emotion, human connection and relationships. If the worlds were to collide, I think Jean should be a Targaryen. She’s the Phoenix; she rises from the ashes just like Daenerys does.”
Hannah Arteron in “Heretiks”
Heretiks
Directed by Paul Hyett; stars Michael Ironside, Rosie Day, Hannah Arterton
A young woman discovers greater evil after she is saved from execution and is taken to a priory. Jim Morazzini of Voices from the Balcony describes it as “one of the best of the recent crop of “evil nun” films. TheHollywoodNews calls it “a creepy and atmospheric affair” that features cruel nuns and an evil entity, but “suffers greatly from a lack of lighting.”