Are you more into turtle power or prehistoric sharks?
This weekend, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back on the big screen in an animated comedy headed up by Seth Rogen. The heroes in a half shell are joined by action-movie guru Jason Statham, who's tussling with toothy marauders in a sequel to 2018's "The Meg." Oscar winner Casey Affleck plays a singer-songwriter in a true-life music drama and if you have fond memories of 2000s teen TV dramas, there's a redo of "The River Wild" starring real-life couple Leighton Meester ("Gossip Girl") and Adam Brody ("The O.C.").
Here's a guide to new movies that willsatisfy every cinematic taste, plus some noteworthy theatrical films making their streaming and on-demand debuts this weekend:
If you and your kids need a superhero fix: 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem'
Even if you didn't grow up a "TMNT" nerd, "Mutant Mayhem" is a pleasantly chaotic animated adventure that brilliantly casts actual teenagers as the four color-coded main characters. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey snarf down pizza, dream of going to high school but have to save New York City when a mutated housefly named Superfly (voiced by Ice Cube) and his animal army want to take over the world.
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Where to watch: In theaters
Review:'Mutant Mayhem' is the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' movie we always dreamed of
If you want to see Jason Statham battle ginormous sharks: 'Meg 2: The Trench'
British director Ben Wheatley boasts an eclectic resume (genre-bending horror flick "Kill List," Hitchco*ck remake "Rebecca") that grows even more varied with his first huge Hollywood action movie. The sci-fi seafaring sequel returns Statham as a rescue diver who survived an encounter with a supposedly extinct megalodon in the first movie and now has to face a trio of finned foes, other sea monsters and environmental bad guys.
Where to watch: In theaters
Meet the megalodon:What you need to know about the shark star of 'Meg 2: The Trench'
If you were a big fan of 'Joy Ride': 'Shortcomings'
Randall Park's directorial debut explores identity and Asian American representation, with Justin H. Min starring as a Bay Areaarthouse theater managersuffering from arrested development. His girlfriend (Ally Maki) moves to New York, leaving him to sulk with lesbian best friend Alice (Sherry Cola) and get his life in order. The casting lifts the movie, with Min uncannily good at being an insufferable jerk and "Joy Ride" breakout Cola an absolute hoot.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you dig real-life music stories: 'Dreamin' Wild'
Affleck stars in this true-life, not-so-overnight success story as singer-songwriter Donnie Emerson, who gets a second chance at stardom when an album made with his brother Joe (Walton Goggins) as teens in the '70s becomes a word-of-mouth sensation three decades later. It's a well-acted musical drama that intriguingly explores a man coming to grips with his artistic past and present.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you miss Jon Hamm in 'Mad Men': 'Corner Office'
An engaging combo of "Office Space" and "Black Mirror," the absurdist comedy stars Jon Hamm as a newly hired corporate drone who doesn't get along with his messy cubicle mate (Danny Pudi). Hamm's melancholic loner with a mop mustache discovers a posh secret room on his floor that becomes a much-needed sanctuary where he can get some work done, but its existence creates a divisive wedge between him and his co-workers.
Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon, Google Play
If you enjoy seeing wedding days go bloody wrong: 'Til Death Do Us Part'
It's too bad they went with that title, especially since "Bride Hard" was right there. Former ballerina Natalie Burn shows off all sorts of martial arts moves as a woman who leaves her groom at the altar and then has to survive a night of hell when the cunning best man (Cam Gigandet) and a violent pack of groomsmen try to bring her back. There's a big mystery that unfurls but it just muddies up a B-movie with a nifty premise and some killer action.
Where to watch: In theaters
If you're a fan of overwrought Lifetime dramas: 'What Comes Around'
Grace Van Dien ("Stranger Things") plays a teenager who communicates online with an older man (Kyle Gallner) and on her 17th birthday, she's found he's traveled thousands of miles and suddenly shown up at her doorstep. Naturally, the girl's mom (Summer Phoenix) is not pleased but just as it seems like an overly creepy afterschool special, the movie pulls off an interesting plot twist that at least keeps the uninspired melodrama somewhat watchable.
Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon
If you want more of the real story behind 'Oppenheimer': 'A Compassionate Spy'
One of the more intriguing subplot threads in "Oppenheimer" involves a Russian mole in the Manhattan Project, and that person – physicist Ted Hall – is the subject of this riveting documentary by Steve James ("Hoop Dreams"). Hall was hired at 18 to help develop the atomic bomb, and the film reveals the understandable reason why he worked with Soviet spies and the stressful years spent after World War II keeping the secret.
Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon, Google Play
If you're curious to see a remake no one asked for: 'River Wild'
Meester stars as the sister of a river guide (Taran Killam) who goes on a white-water rafting jaunt with a small group – including their ex-con childhood friend (Brody) – and the situation goes from tragic and murderous to downright ridiculous. Do yourself a favor and just watch the OG Kevin Bacon/Meryl Streep 1994 thriller instead.
Where to watch: Netflix, Apple TV, Vudu
Also on streaming:
- The horror film "Insidious: The Red Door," directed by original "Insidious" actor Patrick Wilson (who plays a haunted dad), is now available to buy on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon and Google Play.
- Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," James Gunn's cosmic swan song starring Chris Pratt, is streaming on Disney+.
- Need a Pratt double feature? He voices Mario opposite Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black and Charlie Day in the animated hit "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," premiering Thursday on Peaco*ck.
- Darren Aronofsky's psychological drama "The Whale," which netted Brendan Fraser a best actor Oscar earlier this year, is streaming on Paramount +.
