Happy Guardians of the Galaxy weekend to all who celebrate! Marvel’s answer to Star Wars works best when the crew, led by Chris Pratt as Star Lord, simply ignores whatever is brewing in the rest of the MCU. This is director James Gunn’s swan song at Marvel, as he was just given the big chair of the rival DC universe, and Dave Bautista’s done with Dax after this one, as well. Karen Gillian, who has long been the best actor in the MCU, finally gets a spotlight worthy of her talents. This is gonna be a hot ticket, so reserve your seats now.
Running into the Guardians buzz saw is the British rom-com What’s Love Got To Do With It? Shazad Latif directs Lily James and Emma Thompson in this acclaimed film, which takes on arranged marriage and the limits of cultural assimilation.
The other attempt at counter-programming against the Guardians juggernaut this weekend is Love Again. You’ve seen this premise before with Sleepless in Seattle, and classic cinephiles will recognize the outlines of the Ernst Lubitsch/Jimmy Stewart masterpiece The Shop Around The Corner. Only this time instead of accidental lonely hearts pen pals or email advice columnists, it’s text messages. We get a reboot of The Shop Around The Corner every time a new communication method become popular.
Director Kelly Reichardt’s latest is a comedy based in the always weird world of art. Showing Up stars Michelle Williams (a frequent Reichardt collaborator) as a mixed media artist preparing for a big show while her world falls apart around her.
On Wednesday night, Indie Memphis is throwing a pay-what-you-can MicroCinema night at Crosstown Theater called “Shifting Lines: New Queer Animation.” The six-film program will include Niki Ang’s terminally charming short “Were You Gay In High School?”