Owen Wilson is best known for his comedic roles like Shanghai Noon, The Wedding Crashers and Zoolander but he has tackled more serious roles as well. Most notably, he starred alongside Gene Hackman in the box office hit Behind Enemy Lines and Permanent Midnight with frequent co-star Ben Stiller. He has also garnered critical acclaim for his numerous collaborations with Wes Anderson in films like Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited.
His latest is the action thriller No Escape, in which he plays an American businessman who moves his wife (Lake Bell) and two children to their new home in Southeast Asia, only to get caught in the middle of a violent political uprising. He must frantically try to save his family from rebels who mercilessly execute foreigners. No Escape also stars Pierce Brosnan and is written and directed by John Erick Dowdle, best known for the thrillers Quarantine, Devil and As Above, So Below.
If you are a fan of electronic dance music, you may want to check out We Are Your Friends. Even if you are not, it looks like an interesting drama starring Zac Efron as Cole, a struggling 23-year-old DJ who dreams of becoming a major record producer. When an older DJ (Wes Bentley) becomes his mentor, his life starts to change for the better. But when Cole starts falling for his mentor’s girlfriend (Emily Ratajkowski), things start falling apart. Fans of The Hunger Games will likely recognize Bentley as Seneca Crane and Ratajkoski is best known for her appearance in Robin Thicke’s infamous Blurred Lines video but also for her appearance as Ben Affleck’s mistress in Gone Girl.
Set in 1976 San Francisco, The Diary of a Teenage Girl is the coming of age story of Minnie Goetze (Bel Powley) who is longing for love, acceptance and a sense of purpose in the world at the end of the hippie movement and the dawn of punk rock. What could make this story controversial is the complex love affair with her mother’s (Kristen Wiig) boyfriend who Minnie describes as “the handsomest man in the world” (played by Alexander Skarsgård). However, the subject matter is said to be a sharp, funny and provocative account of one girl’s sexual and artistic awakening and the frank coming-of-age story addresses its themes without judgement. It will not be for everybody (it has an 18A rating for sexually suggestive scenes involving minors), but critics are heaping praise on it, calling it a bold and unconventional dramatic comedy.
If none of these films pique your interest, you still have a chance to see the biggest movie of the summer. Jurassic World is still playing at the Grand 10 Cinemas and it is reopening this weekend in the Xtreme auditorium at the Landmark 8 in West Kelowna. As well, Amy Schumer’s hit Trainwreck is opening at Landmark Cinemas Encore in West Kelowna as well as Ian McKellen as an elder Sherlock Holmes in Mr. Holmes.
