It’s on the fringe of indie filmmaking that we find this week’s new release. It’s called “Pig” and stars Nicolas Cage, who left mainstream films about a decade ago.

It took seven previous movies for two-time Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson, playing Natasha Romanoff, dying in the most recent Avengers film, and the #MeToo movement, to get her own Black Widow film.

"The Forever Purge” is less violent than its predecessors, but more social points are being made between the jump scares.

When Universal won’t screen its latest franchise flick to critics in IMAX, you should already start anticipating the worst. For a decade (counting “Hobbs & Shaw”), audiences have either been entertained by these brainless action sequels or repelled by their lack of restraint for the absurd.

“Summer of ’85” is the latest film from François Ozon, whose 2003 provocative thriller “Swimming Pool,” starring Charlotte Rampling, made a splash in the United States.

Manjari Makijany’s new film “Skater Girl” breaks much ground all at once. Not only is it her first feature, (she is also the writer and producer), but it’s the first film in India to center around skateboarding.

In his first film since the smash hit “Crazy Rich Asians,” director Jon M. Chu teams with Tony award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda bringing his Broadway hit “In the Heights” to the big screen.

The movie studios' gamble of holding off releasing these two films proves worth the wait. 

Kudos to the director and writing team for selling us an action movie that allows the audience to invest more in the characters than the shootouts or the violence. You will be hard pressed to find a more satisfying new release this week, in English or otherwise.

"Sicario," "Hell or High Water," "Wind River" — all films written by American screenwriter and director Taylor Sheridan. "Those Who Wish Me Dead" marks the second of his “law enforcement” thrillers he has directed.

Technically, “Spiral” is the ninth film in the franchise, and while there is new blood in front of the camera, director Darren Lynn Bousman, who directed Saw 2-4, doesn’t bring a sense of inventiveness to the series or the genre as a whole.

Guy Ritchie’s new film “Wrath of Man” opens much like Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” which was inspired by Michael Mann’s “Heat."

The Galveston Historic Homes Tour is back and celebrating its 47th annual event this weekend on Galveston Island.

Glenn Close again portrays a mother who has all but given up on an addicted daughter, this time portrayed by Mila Kunis (“Black Swan”). Rodrigo García writes and directors here, and while he’s an under-appreciated director of drama and female leading roles, this isn’t his strongest work.

For those of you looking for something to do with the entire family, look no further than The Grand Kids Festival, which will celebrate its 25th year from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 1 between 20th and 23rd streets on Postoffice Street in Galveston.

Typically, the Academy Awards provide a spotlight for general audiences to gain awareness of films they may never heard of. This year, with all nominees being available from our living rooms, more viewers will have seen this years nominees than ever before.

“Stowaway” is less of a space thriller and more a study of humanity.

If you’re curious how the pandemic has affected the quality of some upcoming films, “Vanquish” is a good example of a bad one.

“Voyagers,” from Neil Burger, the director of “Divergent,” is a mixed bag of different genre elements, wrapped up into one sci-fi political allegory.