“Asako I & II”
Cast: Masahiro Higashide, Erika Karata
Synopsis: A love triangle unfolds between a young woman and two identical men with different personalities. Unable to clarify her feelings for both of them, she becomes trapped in a confused and indecisive state of mind in this philosophical Japanese romantic film.
What You Need to Know: A powerful blend of naïve, youthful romanticism and the sturdy foundation of mutual compassion and support, “Asako I & II” is your typical relationship drama with slight, fantastical twists, such as the inclusion of a doppelganger love interest. Directed by “Happy Hour” filmmaker Ryūsuke Hamaguchi and starring Erika Karata as the titular role and Masahiro Higashide in an eye-catching and screen burning charismatic performance, “Asako I & II” is a stirring, melancholy fable of the want for wish-fulfillment and truth of the “grass is always greener” platitude. Our critic found it faltering, but commended the beautiful visuals, especially Yasuyuki Sasaki’s “cool, distant cinematography.”
Release Date: May 10
“John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum”
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ian Mcshane, Lance Reddick, Halle Berry
Synopsis: After killing a member of the shadowy international assassin’s guild, the High Table, John Wick is excommunicated, with the world’s most ruthless hit men and women await his every turn.
What You Need to Know: If you look anywhere in Hollywood for the blueprint on how to create original and kinetic action films, look no further than the Keanu Reeves-led “John Wick” saga. The third film comes this month, as director Chad Stahelski returns with Reeves to see our titular protagonist on yet another killing spree, this time with new faces such as Halle Berry joining. While this style of hyper-violence won’t always be to everyone’s taste, it at the very least is refreshing to see a film series with no prior existing material do so well and physical stunt work so highly celebrated.
Release Date: May 17
“The Souvenir”
Cast: Tosin Cole, Jack McMullen, Richard Ayoade, Tilda Swinton
Synopsis: A shy film student begins finding her voice as an artist while navigating a turbulent courtship with a charismatic but untrustworthy man. She defies her protective mother and concerned friends as she slips deeper and deeper into an intense, emotionally fraught relationship which comes dangerously close to destroying her dreams.
What You Need to Know: Joanna Hogg is one of the greatest living independent filmmakers, a fact that could be seen with her prior work with dramas “Unrelated” and “Archipelago.” Working both as an interesting, pre-fame collaboration with Tom Hiddleston and showcase for her ability to build tense and deeply felt emotional drama from stillness, this all culminates to her upcoming film “The Souvenir,” which made its premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Surely the film that will officially put her “on the map” so to speak, our critic found much to love, writing, “Storytelling mastery is unassumingly flaunted to get across the film’s heady notions.”
Release Date: May 17
“The Sun is Also a Star”
Cast: Yara Shahidi, Charles Melton, John Leguizamo
Synopsis: College-bound romantic Daniel Bae and Jamaica-born pragmatist Natasha Kingsley meet–and fall for each other–over one magical day amidst the fervor and flurry of New York City. Sparks immediately fly between these two strangers, who might never have met had fate not given them a little push. But will fate be enough to take these teens from star-crossed to lucky in love?
What You Need to Know: Based on the best selling novel by Nicola Yoon and starring two promising and up and comers best known for their teen dramas, “The Sun is Also a Star” isn’t an easy sell for those romantically averse. Starring Yara Shahidi (“Grown-ish”) and Charles Melton (“Riverdale”) as the would-be lovers, the greatest asset the film has is it’s director Ry Russo-Young who has taken similarly loosely plotted books and transformed them into surprisingly evocative filmmaking, seen primarily in 2017’s “Before I Fall.”
Release Date: May 17
