Film Fridays: This Week’s Exciting New Releases

Welcome to LATINA’s Film Fridays, our bi-weekly picks for the exciting new film releases on our radar.

With a horror film, a military film, a biopic, a musical, and an action romcom all coming out on the same day, there really is something for everyone this weekend. The biggest release, without a doubt is the latest “Evil Dead” film, which is garnering acclaim from every direction. However, new films from Guy Ritchie and Dexter Fletcher are not to be forgotten. If nothing else, there is a new “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers” special on Netflix with the original cast. And yes, that means more Rocky DeSantos.

“Evil Dead Rise”

Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Metacritic: 74

The long-anticipated follow up to Uruguayan director Fede Alvarez’s 2013 remake, “Evil Dead Rise” is the latest franchise reboot that isn’t really a reboot or a sequel or a remake. It’s just a movie that has the creators of the original film really excited. It also may or may not tie back to the original franchise in a future installment. Regardless, “Evil Dead Rise” is being hailed as one of the franchise’s best. Not that any of them are bad — far from it, honestly — but “Evil Dead Rise” is getting an especially warm welcome from critics and fans alike. With this small-scale update of the “Evil Dead” mythology, the less you know the better. All you need to know is that there’s a Necronomicon, someone gets possessed, and it’s scary as hell.

“Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant”

Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Metacritic: 64

Unless you’re watching one of his well-known crime comedies like “Snatch” or “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels,” you might not know you’re watching a Guy Ritchie movie at all…which is probably why he put his name right in the title. Seriously, this guy directed two Sherlock Holmes movies, a King Arthur movie, and an Aladdin movie. Some were better than others, but you can’t deny the guy’s got range. His latest effort, another huge departure from his post-Tarantino origins, follows Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim as a soldier and interpreter, respectively, as they pursue the Taliban to avenge the death of the latter’s son. Critics are calling it one of Ritchie’s best non-gangster movies and another impressive addition to his increasingly expansive filmography.

“Chevalier”

Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Metacritic: 67

Biopics have a bit of a hit-and-miss reputation, but this biographical film about the life of French-Caribbean violinist Chevalier de Saint-Georges promises to be a powerful and moving story about one of history’s most important musicians. It does reportedly fall into some of the same biopic traps that have been criticized in the past, but “Chevalier” also has the benefit of its titular character, a truly singular figure with a fascinating life story one could only hope to adapt into a film. Even if biopics and historical dramas aren’t really your thing, “Chevalier” might be worth checking out as an exception.

“Carmen”

Rotten Tomatoes: 65%
Metacritic: 46

Starring one of our most recent first-time Oscar nominees, Paul Mescal, this reimagining of the classic Italian opera, “Carmen,” co-stars “Scream” actress Melissa Barrera and features a soundtrack of original music. The film’s director, Benjamin Millepied, started out in Hollywood as a ballet choreographer for films like “Black Swan” and “Vox Lux,” both starring Natalie Portman. “Carmen” also features music from Nicholas Britell, who does the score for “Succession” and is widely considered one of the best new composers around. All that said, critics aren’t exactly loving this one. Regardless, a lot of talented people are involved with this project and, even if it isn’t the best movie you see this year, it might be one of the most interesting.

“Ghosted” (On Apple TV+)

Rotten Tomatoes: 32%
Metacritic: 33

Similarly to “Carmen,” the latest Apple TV+ feature film offering, “Ghosted,” is maybe worth a look even though it’s not on the fast track to winning any Oscars. Chris Evans and Ana de Armas are teaming back up just one year after 2022’s “The Gray Man,” which saw Evans going against type and playing a real scummy piece of work. In “Ghosted,” he returns to Jon Hamm territory (really good looking guy who also knows how to be goofy) for the first time since 2019’s “Knives Out,” which featured one of his best performances to date…and also starred Ana de Armas. Basically, these two have an established chemistry that always works regardless of the dynamic, and that’s something “Ghosted” is very aware of. “Rocketman” director Dexter Fletcher took the reins on this one while “Community” writer Chris McKenna and “Deadpool” writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick penned the script. Long story, short, there are a lot of talented people involved with this movie and seems like a great reason to lay on the couch and decompress from the day.

“Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Once & Always” (On Netflix April 19th)

Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Metacritic: 61

Okay, it’s not technically a movie. But also, we make the rules so we get to break the rules. And for a good reason, too! “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Once & Always” is a reuniting that’s decades in the making. Although it’s only a 55-minute special, fans of the original run of “Power Rangers” series say it successfully captures the spirit of the original shows while giving fans everything they could want from these iconic characters. One of the main reasons we wanted to highlight “Once & Always” is, of course, the one and only Rocky DeSantos. Latino actor Steve Cardenas returns to the role alongside a number of his other former castmates, including Walter Jones and David Yost. When so many reboots, requels, remakes, and reunitings seem to disappoint us, it is with great pleasure we get to say: don’t worry, everyone, this one is good.