Six To See Jan 27-Feb 9, 2024

1. Argylle: a new spy action comedy film directed and produced by Matthew Vaughn, and written by Jason Fuchs. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson. It follows Elly Conway, an introverted spy novelist who seldom leaves her home. She is drawn into the real world of espionage when the plots of her books get a little too close to the activities of a sinister underground syndicate. When real-life spy Aiden shows up to save her (he says) from being kidnapped or killed (or both), Elly and her beloved cat Alfie are plunged into a covert world where nothing, and no one, is what it seems. Argylle was released in theatres on February 2 and will release on Apple TV+ at an undetermined date.

2. Orion and the Dark: a new animated fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Sean Charmatz (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Charlie Kaufman, based on the children’s book of the same name by Emma Yarlett. It stars the voices of Jacob Tremblay as Orion and Paul Walter Hauser as Dark with also Werner Herzog, Ike Barinholtz, Angela Bassett, Natasia Demetriou, Golda Rosheuvel, Nat Faxon and Aparna Nancherla voicing a character in the film. We follow Orion, an elementary school kid with a lot of fears. Of all his fears, the thing he’s the most afraid of is what he confronts on a nightly basis: the Dark. So when the literal embodiment of his worst fear pays a visit, the Dark whisks Orion away on a roller coaster ride around the world to prove there is nothing to be afraid of in the night. As the unlikely pair grows closer, Orion must decide if he can learn to accept the unknown, to stop letting fear control his life and finally embrace the joy of living. The film was released on Netflix on February 2.

3. Lisa Frankenstein: a new horror comedy film written by Diablo Cody and directed by Zelda Williams in her feature-length directorial debut. The film stars Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest and Carla Gugino. Set in 1989, we follow a misunderstood teenage goth girl named Lisa Swallows who reanimates a handsome corpse from the Victorian era during a lightning storm and starts to rebuild him into the man of her dreams by using a broken tanning machine in her garage. After going through a playfully horrific transformation, the romantic duo embark on a murderous journey to find true love, happiness, and a few missing body parts along the way. The film was released in theatres in the US and Canada on February 9 and will release in other countries like the UK on March 22.

4. Mr. & Mrs. Smith: the new spy comedy series created by Francesca Sloane and Donald Glover, which is based on the 2005 film of the same name. It stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine in the lead roles as two spies who are paired up together to impersonate a married couple as John and Jane Smith. Also starring in the series are Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González, Paul Dano, John Turturro, Sharon Horgan, Billy Campbell, Sarah Paulson, Parker Posey, Úrsula Corberó, Wagner Moura, Ron Perlman, and Michaela Coel. The series was released on Prime Video on February 2.

5. Halo season 2: the second season of the military science fiction series developed by Kyle Killen and Steven Kane and based on the video game franchise of the same name. The series follows a 26th-century war between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant, a theocratic-military alliance of several advanced alien races determined to eradicate the human race. Pablo Schreiber and Jen Taylor star as Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and Cortana, with the latter reprising her role from the video game series. Also starring are Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray, Yerin Ha, Bentley Kalu, Kate Kennedy, Charlie Murphy, Danny Sapani, Bokeem Woodbine, and Natascha McElhone. This second season of the series premiered on Paramount+ on February 8 with the first two episodes and the remaining six episodes will be released weekly.

6. Suncoast: a new coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Laura Chinn in her feature directorial debut and starring Laura Linney, Nico Parker and Woody Harrelson. Chinn’s screenplay was included in the 2020 Black List and it is also based on Chinn’s life experience from the early 2000s. It’s a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story about a teenage girl dealing with her brother’s serious illness. She lives with her strong-willed mother, who must take her brother to live at a specialized facility. There, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric activist amidst protests surrounding one of the most landmark medical cases of all time. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month, followed by a streaming release in the United States on February 9 on Hulu, on Star+ in Latin America and on Disney+ in other territories.

Two bonus films:

• Upgraded: a new romantic comedy film directed by Carlson Young and starring Camila Mendes, Archie Renaux, Lena Olin and Marisa Tomei. It follows Ana, an aspiring art intern who is invited on a last-minute work trip to London by her super boss. When she is upgraded to first class, she meets handsome and wealthy Will on the plane, who mistakes her for her boss. The white lie sets off a glamorous chain of events, romance, and opportunity, until her fib threatens to surface. The film was released on Amazon Prime Video on February 9.

• Marmalade: a new romantic heist film written and directed by Keir O’Donnell, in his directorial feature debut, and starring Joe Keery, Camila Morrone and Aldis Hodge. It follows Baron (Keery) who reminisces to his prison cell-mate Otis (Hodge) about his relationship with Marmalade (Morrone) and their ill-fated bank robbery. Otis has a long history of prison breaks and the two hatch a plan to get out and reunite Baron with Marmalade. The film was released in theatres and on demand on February 9.