ON THE BIG SCREEN

DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA
Not yet rated
Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. return in this next installment of the popular 2018 heist drama. This time the action isn’t Los Angeles, as the crime genius (Jackson, who is the son of rapper-actor Ice Cube) is now operating in Europe, as the story continues right as the first movie ends. His nemesis, the L.A. cop known as “Big Nick” (Butler), is determined to bring him down, as the nonstop action moves into high gear across the Atlantic. If you loved the original, expect more of the same, as Christian Gudegast has helmed and written both flicks.

FLIGHT RISK
Not yet rated
Mel Gibson directs this in-flight thriller featuring Mark Wahlberg as a hitman, Michelle Dockery as an FBI agent, and Topher Grace. He’s the witness she’s moving via small plane from a remote Alaskan wilderness to testify in a crime boss’s trial, but it seems there’s unexpected terror in the skies. This gripping adventure by Jared Rosenberg was on Hollywood’s famed “Black List” of the best unproduced screenplays, and while Mel Gibson is one of Hollywood’s least-likable humans, he is an Oscar-winning film director.

MICKEY 17
R
Triple Oscar-winning director-producer-screenwriter Bong Joon-ho returns to the big screen after his 2019 masterpiece Parasite ruled the 2020 Academy Awards with a new vision set far in the future. Unlike Parasite, this science-fiction adventure comedy is in English, not Bong’s native Korean, a slightly campy romp across the universe. Robert Pattison stars as Mickey, a down-and-out guy who signs up to be an “expendable” astronaut, then finds out the hard way just what that means. Oscar nominees Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo, and Steven Yeun join in the unique madness that makes Bong’s movies so wigged-out and wonderful.

PADDINGTON IN PERU KED
PG
It’s Paddington Bear’s third big-screen outing and this one has singing nuns, a long plane ride, and most importantly, a trip to Peru, returning to his home country to visit his aunt. Of course, his cinematic family is along, although Sally Hawkins has been replaced with Emily Mortimer as Mary Brown. Hugh Bonneville returns as Henry Brown and Ben Whishaw again voices Paddington himself. There’s a reason both kids and adults love the Paddington movies with their delightful mix of fun, adventure, mystery, and stuffed-bear charm.

WOLF MAN
R
Universal Studios loves to go back to the horror classics that helped make them a famed movie studio, which is why there’s yet another Wolf Man flick coming to scare the next unsuspecting generation of moviegoers. This one stars Christopher Abbott and the very talented Julia Garner (Ozark) as a married couple who inherit an old family home in the wilds of Oregon and visit with their young daughter. When a disturbingly weird transformation happens, there’s a lot to unpack as it turns out that monsters truly are real.