Brandon A. DuHamel

The dramedy action film American Made from director Doug Liman (Swingers, Edge of Tomorrow) is based on the true story of airline pilot Barry Seal (played here by Tom Cruise), who in the late 1970s was recruited by the CIA to become a drug runner for the Medellin cartel in Central America. Seal eventually became a key figure in what would turn out to be one of the biggest political scandals in the following decade, the Iran-Contra “gate.” While this might sound like heavy material, American Made is far from a heavy film.

Apollo 13 launched on April 11, 1970, to a world unconcerned. Manned space flights were routine and no longer covered on TV. It wasn’t until a fateful explosion left the crew potentially stranded in space that anyone cared about the mission and its three-man crew. Ron Howard’s 1995 historical docudrama about the ill-fated mission won two Oscars for its taut editing and its brilliant sound design. Tom Hanks’ portrayal of Jim Lovell catapulted him into the stratosphere as a serious dramatic actor, and Bill Paxton also put in one of the strongest performances of his career as Fred Haise.

Director Bill Condon brings his experience adapting the Broadway smash Dreamgirls to this lavish, live-action reimagining of Disney’s 1991 Golden Globe–winning (Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical) animated film Beauty and the Beast. The CGI-laden visual spectacle stars the lovely Emma Watson as the titular beauty Belle who is imprisoned in a castle by an irascible prince cursed by a witch for his failure to aid her on a stormy night and forced to live life out as the Beast (Dan Stevens).

The 2014 wuxia film Brotherhood of Blades established the story of three members of an elite palace guard unit during the Ming Dynasty who must abandon their brotherhood and apprehend one of their own after he goes rogue, only to find themselves caught up in an even larger conspiracy. The Infernal Battlefield continues the story of these best-of-the-best guardsmen. It brings back much of the cast, but this is a standalone film that doesn’t require viewing the first to be understood.