The Must-See Movies of May

May 2nd

Iron Man 3
Director: Shane Black
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall

How successful have Marvel's first two Iron Man movies been? The first two didn't just combine for over $1.1B at the box office, they led to one of the most successful films of all-time in The Avengers, and helped usher in Marvel's dominant movie machine. So what's next? Iron Man 3 kicks off Phase Two, and it finds Tony Stark affected by the tragic destruction of New York after the Avengers' battle with Loki. His vaunted intellect will be put to the test by the Mandarin, a global terrorist utilizing a powerful nano-virus more advanced than anything Stark has ever seen. Expect the usual round of Marvel Easter Eggs and cameos, including a possible appearance from the Guardians of the Galaxy, as the march begins towards The Avengers 2.

May 3rd

Generation Um
Director: Mark Mann
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Adelaide Clemens, Bojana Novakovic

Ever wonder what Keanu Reeves has been doing when not busy revitalizing martial arts cinema with Man of Tai Chi and 47 Ronin? He's busy making low-budget dramas like Generation Um, which unfortunately has been sitting on the shelf for more than two years. Judge expectations accordingly.  Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Reeves plays a driver who looks for personal wisdom by recording one wild night with a pair of sexy escorts.
In what looks like a midlife crisis version of

Greetings from Tim Buckley
Director: Dan Algrant
Cast: Penn Badgley, Imogen Poots, William Sadler

There was initially some bristling at the idea of Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley taking on the role of late singer, Jeff Buckley, but those concerns seem to have quieted down ever since Greetings from Tim Buckley debuted in Toronto last year. In fact, response to his performance has been incredibly positive, with many noting their surprise at his vocal chops. The film beat out a second Buckley biopic from Amy Berg, the estate-sanctioned Mystery White Boy, and may prove successful enough to shut it down for good. Badgley co-stars with Imogen Poots in a story that envisions the days leading up to Jeff's legendary tribute concert in honor of his late father, Tim Buckley.

The Iceman
Director: Ariel Vroman
Cast: Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, James Franco, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, David Schwimmer, Stephen Dorff

The gruesome story of infamous mob enforcer Richard Kuklinski has been told many times before, most notably in a pair of controversial HBO documentaries. But never before have we seen it brought to the big screen, and with such an incredible assemblage of talent. Before Michael Shannon puts that menacing stare to good use in Man of Steel, he'll wield it in The Iceman as Kuklinkski, the Gambino crime family's top contract killer. For more than twenty years he lived a double life as a murderer with over 100 kills to his credit, and as a devoted family man. Current Captain America Chris Evans does an about face as Robert "Mr. Softee" Pronge, who plots his murders from an ice cream truck, and David Schwimmer takes on the role of fellow hitman Josh Rosenthal.

Kiss of the Damned
Director: Xan Cassavetes
Cast: Milo Ventimiglia, Josephine de La Baume, Roxane Mesquida

The inherent danger and eroticism of vampires has largely been muted by teen-skewing franchises and TV series on the CW network, but hopefully that trend is starting to head back in the other direction with Kiss of the Damned. Directed by Xan Cassavetes, the daughter of the legendary John Cassavetes, the film gives an intoxicating look at the torrid relationship between a human screenwriter (Ventimiglia) and the vampire Djuna (de La Baume), one which threatens to destroy them both.

Love is All You Need
Director: Susanne Bier
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Trine Dyrholm

Known for her tough human dramas, Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier has traded in emotional heft for a light romantic comedy set in southern Italy.  The gorgeous locale is the backdrop for the story of Ida (Dyrholm), a hairdresser who discovers that her husband of 25 years has been cheating on her, just before they're supposed to fly off to attend their daughter's wedding. Brosnan plays the groom's father, who she meets and takes a fancy to, while family squabbles and cold feet threaten to ruin what's supposed to be a happy event.

Something in the Air
Director: Olivier Assayas
Cast: Clement Metayer, Lola Créton, Dolores Chaplin, India Menuez

There's a reason why anticipation is so high for Olivier Assayas' Something in the Air, a politically charged drama set in France during the turbulent 1970s. With such modern classics as Summer Hours and Carlos, Assayas has proven himself a unique and enduring voice worth following regardless of the subject matter. The semi-autobiographical tale follows a group of friends swept up in the winds of political and social change, while one begins to realize that his artistic aspirations clash with the ideals of his radicalized girlfriend.

What Maisie Knew
Directors: Scott McGehee, David Siegel
Cast: Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan, Alexander Skarsgard, Onata Aprile, Joanna Vanderham

From the producers of The Kids Are All Right comes another look at the complicated nature of modern relationships. Based on Henry James' best-selling novel, the film tells the story of two terribly flawed parents, one an aging rocker (Moore) and the other a selfish art dealer (Coogan) who are locked in a bitter custody over their daughter, Maisie. Told largely from Maisie's perspective as she watches the world she knew evolve in unpredictable ways, especially as her parents take on new lovers, the performance by Onata Aprile as the titular child could be one of year's big breakouts.

May 10th

Aftershock
Director: Nicolás López
Cast: Eli Roth, Selena Gomez, Nicolas Lopez

And the odd year for Selena Gomez continues as she goes from the reckless abandon of Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers to a natural disaster horror co-written and starring Eli Roth. Set in Chile and based loosely on the 2010 earthquake that killed hundreds, the real danger in this fictional story comes from insane asylum inmates who escape during the devastation. Nicolas Lopez is an unknown quantity as a director, but Roth is a pro at making audiences squirm.

The Great Gatsby
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher
We knew Baz Luhrmann had some serious stones after his contemporary (and quite divisive) take on Romeo & Juliet, but it takes some brass to do the same with F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary classic, The Great Gatsby. Infused with beats provided by Q-Tip, Fergie, Beyonce, Jay-Z and more, Luhrmann's flashy, gaudy adaptation comes with an equal amount of high expectations and quiet concern. Despite the incredible cast, the film had a somewhat troubled production, and Warner Bros. moved it from an Oscar-ready slot last December to now, hinting at a lack of confidence. 'Gatsby' is one of the great American novels, and with such an eye-catching style and powerful assemblage of talent, it's going to be tough to ignore.

No One Lives
Director:  Ryuhei Kitamura
Cast: Luke Evans, Adelaide Clemens, Lee Tergesen, Laura Ramsey, Derek Magyar, Beau Knapp America Olivo, Brodus Clay

If Luke Evans isn't already considered an A-list star, he certainly will be by the time 2013 comes to a close. Later in the month he'll come to blows against Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson in Fast & Furious 6, and in December he'll take on the heroic guise of Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. But before that he'll tackle No One Lives, the latest thriller from WWE Studios, who are still flush after the success of The Call. Also starring Adelaide Clemens, Lee Tergesen, and mammoth WWE superstar Brody Clay, the film centers on a criminal gang who kidnap a young couple, ultimately killing the woman. Her death sets off the other captive (Evans), who reveals himself to be a seasoned killer out to ensure that nobody gets out alive.

Tyler Perry Presents Peeples
Director: Tina Gordon Chism
Cast: Craig Robinson, Kerry Washington, David Alan Grier, S. Epatha Merkerson

Tyler Perry's name may be all over this one, but he's merely adding some star power on the producing side. Peeples marks the directorial debut of Drumline scribe Tina Gordon Chism, and is also the first shot at a leading role for Craig Robinson. Looking like the comedic spawn of Meet the Parents and Jumping the Broom, the film follows Wade Walker (Robinson), a regular guy whose girlfriend (Washington) has been keeping him from meeting her upper-class family. When he crashes their annual family event in the Hamptons to propose her hand in marriage, he comes up against her perfectionist father who has other ideas. Chism has pulled together a great cast, including cameos by screen legends Melvin Van Peebles and Diahann Carroll.

Sightseers
Director: Ben Wheatley
Cast: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram

After his grim and ugly sophomore feature Kill List, Ben Wheatley has become an instant favorite for fans of horror films that are just a little off the beaten path. Word on his follow-up, Sightseers, is that it's more of a pitch black comedy, but no less sick and twisted. Written by and starring Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, the film centers on a couple who go on a camping vacation, only to wind up going on a killing spree.

Stories We Tell (review here)
Director: Sarah Polley

It's safe to say that Sarah Polley's first two directorial features were inspired not just by relationships, but also by memory and perception. Specifically, the way our memory of the people we love can evolve over time, and how it can be strengthened or lessened by others close to us. Polley, who is probably still best known to American audiences from Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead, has made her most personal work yet in Stories We Tell. A documentary that begins ostensibly as a biopic of her late actress mother, Diane, the film unfolds into an engrossing family mystery about the reality of Sarah's parentage. Told through a series of interviews with her siblings and other key figures, in true Rashomon style we see that the truth of Polley's family history is a complicated thing indeed.

May 15th

Star Trek Into Darkness
Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Karl Urban, Alice Eve, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, Simon Pegg

As usual, security has been tighter than Fort Knox when it comes to securing details on the sequel to J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. Much of the attention has instead focused around the mystery of Benedict Cumberbatch's villain, John Harrison, and whether there's something considerably more to him than meets the eye. We've seen Spock trapped in a volcano and London burning to the ground, but otherwise we're still left mostly in the dark. Abrams rarely disappoints, and if this is going to be his Star Trek swansong as he gears up for Star Wars: Episode VII, then it looks like he's going out all guns blazing.  The film opens on the 15th in IMAX 3D, everywhere else two days later.

May 17th

Black Rock (review here)
Director: Katie Aselton
Cast: Kate Bosworth, Lake Bell, Katie Aselton

The League co-star Katie Aselton pulls triple duty on the backwoods thriller, Black Rock. She not only directs and stars, but co-wrote the script with her always-busy husband, Mark Duplass. Aselton stars with Kate Bosworth and Lake Bell as three best friends who look to bond on an island that was their favorite childhood hangout. Only they aren't alone, and soon find themselves the prey in a twisted game perpetrated by three recently returned soldiers.

The English Teacher
Director: Craig Zisk
Cast: Julianne Moore, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, Michael Angarano, Nathan Lane, Nikki Blonsky

A director for Showtime's hit shows Weeds and The Big C, Craig Zisk knows his way around talented ensemble casts. It's a skill that likely came in handy during his feature debut, which stars Julianne Moore as an unmarried English professor who hooks up with a former student when he returns home after failing as a playwright. This looks to be walking the same quirky dramedy territory as Tina Fey's Admission, in which a sexy middle-aged woman is somehow a total dork when it comes to love, and proceeds to stumble into one awkward situation after another. Moore can be counted on to give her all, even when the material doesn't quite measure up to her skills.

Frances Ha
Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Josh Hamilton

Following in the heels of Rashida Jones and Zoe Kazan, two talented actresses who recently took to penning screenplays, Greta Gerwig co-wrote and stars in Frances Ha. Directed by Noah Baumbach, who also helped draft the script, the film follows a 27-year old aspiring dancer in Brooklyn who is still trying to figure out where her life went wrong. Shot in black and white with a whimsical tone, this looks like Baumbach's most accessible film yet, and a potential breakthrough for the talented Gerwig.

May 24th

Before Midnight (review here)
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

So what happened at the end of 2004's Before Sunset? The cliffhanger left fans of Jesse and Celine's 18-year "romance", begun in  1995's Before Sunrise, wondering if he had flown back to the U.S. or decided to stay and be with the woman many think he was destined to be with. Before Midnight, shot in secret in Greece last summer, reveals the answer to that question but also poses some new ones. Now in their 40s, the two lovers have all new problems, new interests, new feelings, and may need to face the possibility that maybe they were never meant to be a couple.

Epic
Director: Chris Wedge
Cast: Beyonce Knowles, Colin Farrell, Christoph Waltz, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Christoph Waltz

In a relatively weak year for animated features, 20th Century Fox is hoping Epic can be a surprise hit on the level of Dreamworks' The Croods. Directed by Chris Wedge (Ice Age), the 3D adventure film follows a young girl who is magically transported to a magical world deep in the woods, locked in a battle between good and evil.


Fast & Furious 6
Director: Justin Lin
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Gina Carano, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot

Most franchises tend to die out by the time they reach their third chapter, but in the case of Fast & Furious, many would say the fifth film is where it's prime was reached. It's basically unheard of, but Fast Five was the highest-grossing of the series yet by nearly a 2:1 margin, leaving many to speculate Fast & Furious 6 will do even better. Certainly, they've added a number of high-profile additions to keep things fresh. Luke Evans comes aboard as the villainous mastermind of a criminal ring, matching muscle cars against Dom (Diesel) and his crew who have been hired by Agent Hobbs (Johnson) to bring him down. Haywire's Gina Carano and The Raid: Redemption star Joe Taslim add an added dose of beauty and brawn into the mix, while the sudden return of Michelle Rodriguez as Letty raises a lot of questions. Some pretty big changes have already been teased for the next film, which begins shooting this summer.

The Hangover Part III
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, John Goodman, Ken Jeong, Mike Epps, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham, Jamie Chung

The Hangover Parts I and II combined to earn over $1B, but that didn't stop fans from tearing intothe sequel, which many said was too similar to the original. Todd Phillips has promised that The Hangover Part III, which he says definitely wraps up The Wolfpack's story, will be unlike anything we've seen before. What we know is that the story will largely be centered on Alan (Galifianakis), who unravels after the death father. Turning to his buddies Stu and Phil, they get sidetracked by a villain played by John Goodman, who has been screwed over by Mr. Chow (Jeong), who is said to have a larger presence than ever.

We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks
Director: Alex Gibney

Famed documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) turns his laser focus on one of the most fascinating and controversial figures in the world today, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Considered a heroic whistleblower by some, a traitor to others, Assange's search for the truth has helped define the way the world looks at information in the digital age. Chronicling Assange's beginnings and the founding of the secret-sharing website, Gibney also weaves in the story of Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier still held in custody for downloading and sharing thousands of classified documents.

May 31st

After Earth
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Zoe Kravitz, Isabelle Fuhrman

Remember the time when M. Night Shyamalan was considered the second coming of Steven Spielberg? It was right there in Time Magazine, but that was a long time and a lot of movies ago. Now he's just the guy with a shtick and major flop in The Last Airbender hanging over his head. So he couldn't have chosen a better avenue for redemption than by hooking up with Will Smith, who has been known to break the bank every now and then. Set 1000 years in the future, Will and his son Jaden play a father and son who crash land on a devastated, abandoned Earth. With his father near death, it's up to the son to make the dangerous trek to signal a rescue beacon and save his life.

The East (review here)
 Director: Zal Batmanglij
Cast: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page, Patricia Clarkson, Julia Ormond

After exploring cult mentality with last year's intoxicating Sound of My Voice, Zal Batmanglij and co-writer/star Brit Marling look at fanatical culture from another angle with The East. Marling plays a corporate investigator who sees her world view turned upside down after she infiltrates an anarchist group targeting  corporations guilty of environmental crime.  Their most accessible, mainstream film yet, it also boasts their most impressive cast with Alexander Skarsgard and Ellen Page leading the anarchist collective. Debuting at Sundance to positive reviews, the film is a political thriller the likes of which Sundance founder Robert Redford would be proud.

The Kings of Summer (review here)
Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie, Erin Moriarty

The words "unique" and "refreshing" will be thrown around a lot to describe The Kings of Summer, a coming-of-age story that will stand apart from what is actually quite a crowded field this season. Fresh, funny, and emotionally true in every respect, the directorial debut by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (his short film Successful Alcoholics is worth tracking down) follows three friends who grow tired of living under the thumb of their parents, and decide to strike out on their own and build a house in the woods. A revelation of the true talents of everyone involved, the three lead performances by Robinson, Basso, and Arias are incredible, and they get veteran comedic support by Offerman, Mullally, and Brie. Look for The Kings of Summer to turn a lot of heads.

Now You See Me
Director: Louis Leterrier
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Mark Ruffalo, Melanie Laurent, Common

Pegged as a potential sleeper smash from the moment its powerhouse cast was finalized, the magician-thriller Now You See Me seems to have lost a little bit of momentum of late. Directed by The Incredible Hulk's Louis Leterrier, the high-concept heist film centers on a team of illusionists known as the Four Horsemen who use their act to perform elaborate, grandiose robberies. But these aren't just your average every day criminals, and their Robin Hood-style crimes make them the targets of a special team of FBI agents assembled to bring them down.

Shadow Dancer
Director: James Marsh
Cast: Clive Owen, Andrea Riseborough, Gillian Anderson

It's safe to say that James Marsh is something of a chameleon behind the camera. The director of prized documentaries Man on Wire and Project Nim, he's nonetheless proven himself capable of some gripping crime thrillers, such as Red Riding: 1980. Now he turns his attention towards Northern Ireland and the murky war between the government and IRA in Shadow Dancer. Starring Clive Owen and rising star Andrea Riseborough (Oblivion, Disconnect), the film follows a single mother who is caught aiding in an IRA terrorist attack. She's placed in what is essentially a no-win situation: Either she can stay quiet, go to jail and loser her child forever; or she can turn informant and rat out her family, risking death and dishonor, but maybe having a chance at a future. It's an impossible choice, and Marsh works the drama for all it's worth, aided by the crackling chemistry between Riseborough and Owen.