New movies this weekend: Watch R-rated comedy 'Joy Ride,' freaky 'Insidious: The Red Door'
Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones came back to theaters a week ago, and Tom Cruise's next "Mission: Impossible" arrives Wednesday, so why not cleanse your action-movie palate with some laughs and a few scares?
This weekend, "Emily in Paris" breakout Ashley Park heads up a hard-R road-trip comedy about four Asian American friends on a wild time in China while Patrick Wilson stars in the fifth movie in the "Insidious" horror franchise, making his directorial debut as he wraps up the freaky family saga. In addition, Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass play the last two dudes on Earth in a sci-fi comedy, and a pair of new documentaries center on the 1980s pop duo Wham! and the Negro baseball leagues.
Here's a guide to new movies that will satisfy every cinematic taste, plus some noteworthy theatrical films making their streaming and on-demand debuts:
If you love movies about slap fights, tattooed genitalia and good friends: 'Joy Ride'
Park stars as a lawyer who was adopted from China by a white couple when she was little and decides to try to find her birth mother on a business trip to Beijing with her artsy best friend Lolo (Sherry Cola). However, with Lolo's eccentric cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu) and Audrey's actress college pal (Stephanie Hsu) in tow, a simple road trip turns into an increasingly bonkers series of misadventures when the quartet runs afoul of a jittery drug dealer, meets ex-NBA star Baron Davis and becomes a faux K-pop group in one of the year's best comedies.
Where to watch: In theaters
'Joy Ride': Ashley Park takes the wheel in this summer's wildest R-rated movie
If you dig a horror flick that tackles mental health and awesome scares: 'Insidious: The Red Door'
Wilson rounds up his fellow stars from the original 2010 "Insidious" for the fifth film, which finds haunted dad Josh (Wilson) and his now-estranged college-age son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) having to venture back into the frightening realm of The Further. Nine years after being hypnotized to forget their disturbing experiences there, they both encounter dark visions of tortured souls (and the Lipstick-Face Demon!) but have to find a way to reconnect in a rather insightful outing about dealing with your past traumas in the present rather than ignoring them.
Where to watch: In theaters
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If you dig buddy comedies and end-of-the-world narratives: 'Biosphere'
After an apocalyptic situation that has wiped out everyone but them, Ray (Brown) and Billy (Duplass) are best buds living in a biosphere who have odd conversations about Mario and Luigi, struggle to keep their fish alive and wonder about the green light coming closer to them every day. But a new concern neither of them was expecting arises when evolution throws them quite a curve ball in debuting director Mel Eslyn's clever character study about sexuality, masculinity and friendship.
Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon
If you're a Pierce Brosnan completist: 'The Out-Laws'
Straitlaced bank manager Owen (Adam Devine) is getting ready to marry his fiancee (Nina Dobrev), and on the way to the big day, he gets robbed by the infamous Ghost Bandits. But the holdup just happens to coincide with the arrival of his mysterious future in-laws (Brosnan and Ellen Barkin) he has never met. Shenanigans ensue when Owen (rightly) assumes they're the culprits, though a hard-nosed cop (Michael Rooker) thinks it's him, and circumstances lead Owen to go to extremes for his sweetie in this criminally predictable comedy.
Where to watch: Netflix
If you still can't get 'Careless Whisper' out of your head: 'Wham!'
Get ready to be earwormed by all the hits from the '80s group in a documentary that mostly lets Andrew Ridgeley and the late George Michael tell their own story, tracking their rise from ska-playing childhood pals to chart-topping pop stars to their final 1986 concert. Rather than a deep dive into the songs themselves, "Wham!" keeps the focus on the friendship between the two (who remained close even after the duo split), the personal and professional successes as well as struggles, and the pop history made in their short four-year run.
Where to watch: Netflix
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If you're a fan of baseball history: 'The League'
Director Sam Pollard delivered one essential documentary with "MLK/FBI" and has another here with a captivating chronicle of the Negro Leagues in the early 20th century. Against the backdrop of a changing America amid segregation and the Great Depression, Black players and teams created an exciting style that drew fans in – and became very much a part of today's game – and "The League" entertains with tales of storied squads (including the Homestead Grays and their crosstown rival Pittsburgh Crawfords) and greats like Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige.
Where to watch: In theaters
Also on streaming:
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," the concluding chapter of James Gunn's cosmic Marvel trilogy starring Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista, is available to buy Friday on Apple TV, Vudu and Google Play.
Director Tim Story's horror satire "The Blackening," about a reunion of Black friends that turns into a scary and hilarious quest to avoid a masked slasher, arrives Friday to buy on Apple TV and other on-demand platforms.
The sci-fi action thriller "65," featuring Adam Driver as a pilot who crash-lands on Earth 65 million years ago and has to deal with dinosaurs, premieres on Netflix Saturday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New movies to watch: 'Joy Ride,' 'Insidious: The Red Door,' 'Wham!'