The Rider

Director Chloé Zhao

Genre Drama

Cast Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Cat Clifford

Rating R

Release Date April 13th, 2018

“After suffering a near fatal head injury, a young cowboy undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.”

Written and directed by Chloé Zhao, The Rider is a drama about a young cowboy who suffers a near fatal head injury and is forced to forge a new path in life in the Heartland of America. The cast Includes Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, and Cat Clifford. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, The Rider:

• The character Brady Blackburn is based on actor Brady Jandreau, who suffered the kind of head injury shown in the film after a fall from a horse.
• Writer and director Chloé Zhao first met Brady Jandreau during her research for her earlier film Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015). She visited the ranch where Jandreau was working and he was teaching her how to ride a horse. She wanted put him in one of her films, and when he had the accident that left him with life changing head injuries, she decided to base the script for her next film on his story.

Beirut

Director Brad Anderson

Genre Drama | Thriller

Cast Rosamund Pike, Jon Hamm, Dean Norris, Douglas Hodge

Rating R

Release Date April 11th, 2018

“A U.S. diplomat flees Lebanon in 1972 after a tragic incident at his home. Ten years later, he is called back to war-torn Beirut by a CIA operative to negotiate for the life of a friend he left behind.”

From director Brad Anderson (Session 9, The Machinest), Beirut is a drama thriller about a U.S. diplomat who flees Lebanon in 1972 after a tragic incident at his home only to be called back to a war-torn Beirut  10 years later. When the trailer dropped it was met with quite a bit of controversy caused by what many claim is "ridiculous in authenticity". The cast includes Rosamund Pike, Jon Hamm, Dean Norris, and Douglas Hodge. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Beirut:

• Writer-producer Tony Gilroy revealed to Kevin Smith at the IMDb Studio at Sundance 2018 that Beirut (2018) was sprung from political conversations he had with a fellow producer on the set of The Cutting Edge (1992), which Gilroy wrote.

20 Weeks

Director Leena Pendharkar

Genre Drama | Romance

Cast Amir Arison, Anna Margaret Hollyman, Richard Riehle, Michelle Krusiec

Rating Unrated

Release Date April 13th, 2018 (Limited)

“A couple must decide on how to move forward when their baby is diagnosed with a serious health condition at the 20 week scan.”

Written and directed by Leena Pendharkar, 20 Weeks is a romantic drama about a couple faced with a very difficult life event after their baby is diagnosed with a serious health condition at the 20-week scan. The cast includes Amir Arison, Anna Margaret Hollyman, Richard Riehle, and Michelle Krusiec. Check out the official trailer below!!

Lost in Space

Genre Sci-Fi

Cast Mina Sundwall, Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Parker Posey

Rating Unrated

Series Premiere April 13th, 2018 (Netflix)

“A remake of the 1960s sci-fi series about a family struggling for survival in outer space.”

A remake of the 1960's sci-fi series about a family struggling for survival in outer space, this Lost in Space series remake is a Netflix exclusive and stars Mina Sundwall, Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, and Parker Posey. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Lost in Space:

• Featuring Parker Posey in a gender flipped character known as Dr. Smith. In the previous two incarnations of this property Dr. Smith was named Zachary Smith, and has been played by male actors. In the original series the character was played by Jonathan Harris for almost the entire run (83 out of 84 episodes), and in the 1998 film adaptation the character was played by Gary Oldman. There was no Dr. Smith in the unsold pilot The Robinsons: Lost in Space (2004) from the last decade.

6 Baloons

Director Marja-Lewis Ryan

Genre Drama

Cast Abbi Jacobson, Dave Franco, Jane Kaczmarek, Dawan Owens

Rating Unrated

Release Date April 6th, 2018 (Netflix)

“Over the course of one night, a woman drives across Los Angeles with her brother, who is addicted to heroin, in search of a detox center.”

Written and directed by Marja-Lewis Ryan, 6 Balloons is a drama about addiction, centering on a woman who finds out her brother has relapsed on heroin and does whatever she can to keep him from killing himself. The cast includes Abbi Jacobson, Dave Franco, Jane Kaczmarek, and Dawan Owens. Check out the official trailer below!!

Submergence

Director Wim Wenders

Genre Drama | Romance | Thriller

Cast James McAvoy, Alicia Vikander, Alexander Siddig, Celyn Jones

Rating Unrated

Release Date April 13th, 2018 (Limited)

“In a room with no windows on the eastern coast of Africa, an Englishman, James More, is held captive by jihadist fighters. Thousands of miles away in the Greenland Sea, Danielle Flinders prepares to dive in a submersible to the ocean floor. In their confines they are drawn back to the Christmas of the previous year, where a chance encounter on a beach in France led to an intense and enduring romance.”

From director Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas), Submergence is a romance drama based on the novel of the same name written by author J.M. Ledgard. The cast includes James McAvoy, Alicia Vikander, Alexander Siddig, and Celyn Jones. Check out the official trailers below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Submergence:

• This is the third time McAvoy will play a soldier (Atonement and Band of Brothers) and the third time Vikander will be in an ocean centric film (Tulip Fever and The Light Between Oceans)

Happy Anniversary

Director Jared Stern

Genre Comedy

Cast Noël Wells, Ben Schwartz, Rahul Kohli, Joe Pantoliano

Rating Unrated

Release Date March 30th, 2018 (Netflix)

“A couple on their three-year anniversary need to decide whether to stay together or call it quits.”

Written and directed by Jared Stern, Happy Anniversary is the story of a couple who reach their 3-year anniversary and must decided whether to stay together or go their separate ways. The cast includes Noël Wells, Ben Schwartz, Rahul Kohli, and Joe Pantoliano. Check out the official trailer below!! 

Birthmarked

Director Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais

Genre Comedy

Cast Matthew Goode, Tonu Collette, Fionnula Flanagan, Michael Smiley

Rating Unrated

Release Date March 30th, 2018 (Limited & On-Demand)

“Two scientists raise 3 children contrarily to their genetic tendencies to prove the ultimate power of nurture over nature.”

From actor turned director Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais (the Day After Tomorrow, Whitewash), Birthmarked is a nature vs nurture comedy about two scientists who raise 3 children contrarily to their genetic predispositions. The cast includes Matthew Goode, Tonu Collette, Fionnula Flanagan, and Michael Smiley. Check out the official trailer below!! 

Ready Player One

Director Steven Spielberg

Genre Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Cast Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe

Rating PG-13

Release Date March 29th, 2018

“When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. Wade Watts finds the first clue and starts a race for the Egg.”

From accomplished director Steven Spielberg, who has a body of work too impressive to dig into right now, Ready Player One is a highly anticipated Sci-Fi thriller based on the book of the same name. I have yet to read the book but a friend of mine swears by it, saying it is easily one of his favorite books of all-time. I will have to give that book a read sooner than later but for now check out this trailer, its pretty awesome!! The cast includes Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Mark Rylance. Check out the official trailers below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Ready Player One:

• Christopher Nolan, Robert Zemeckis, Matthew Vaughn, Peter Jackson, & Edgar Wright were all considered to direct this film. Steven Spielberg was ultimately chosen.
• Ready Player One (2018) depicts characters from pop culture staples from the '80s & '90s, such as The Iron Giant (1999), Tron (1982), Akira (1988), Lord of the Rings (2001-2003), Back to the Future (1985), & Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) to name a few.

Acrimony

Director Tyler Perry

Genre Comedy | Drama

Cast Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Nicolet, Ajiona Alexus, Tika Sumpter

Rating R

Release Date March 30th, 2018

“A faithful wife (Taraji P. Henson) tired of standing by her devious husband (Lyriq Bent) is enraged when it becomes clear she has been betrayed.”

Written and directed by Tyler Perry, Acrimony is a comedy drama about a faithful wife who gets sick and tired of her husband not sharing the same sanctity of marriage. The cast includes Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Nicolet, Ajiona Alexus, and Tika Sumpter. Check out the official trailer below!!

Gemini

Director Aaron Katz

Genre Mystery | Thriller | Crime

Cast Lola Kirke, Zoë Kravitz, John Cho, Greta Lee

Rating R

Release Date March 30th, 2018

“A heinous crime tests the complex relationship between a tenacious personal assistant and her Hollywood starlet boss. As the assistant unravels the mystery, she must confront her own understanding of friendship, truth, and celebrity.”

Written and directed by Aaron Katz, Gemini is an intense crime thriller about the complexities of relationships. The cast includes Lola Kirke, Zoë Kravitz, John Cho, and Greta Lee. Check out the official trailer below!!

First Match

Director Olivia Newman

Genre Drama

Cast Elvire Emanuelle, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Colman Domingo, Jharrel Jerome

Rating Unrated

Release Date March 30th, 2018 (Netflix)

“A teenage girl signs up for an all-boys wrestling team at her high school, causing more trouble than she may be prepared to handle.”

Written and directed by Olivia Newman and based on her 2010 short film of the same name, First Match is a drama about a teenage girl who signs up for a all-boys wrestling team at her high school, which creates more conflict than she anticipated. The cast includes Elvire Emanuelle, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Colman Domingo, and Jharrel Jerome. Check out the official trailer below!!

Barry

Genre Comedy

Cast Bill Hader, Henry "Fonzie" Winkler, Stephen Root, Sarah Greenberg

Rating TV-MA

Series Premiere Sunday March 25th, 2018 10:30PM (HBO)

“A hit man from the Midwest moves to Los Angeles and gets caught up in the city’s theatre arts scene.”

A new HBO comedy series premiering in March, Barry is about a hitman from the Midwest who moves to Los Angeles and finds himself caught up in the city's theatre arts scene. I am just now hearing about this show to be honest but HBO really isn't in the business of making bad T.V. so I am sure this will be pretty damn good. The cast includes Bill Hader, Henry "Fonzie" Winkler, Stephen Root, and Sarah Greenberg. Check out the official trailers below!!  

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Barry:

• Actor Bill Hader's directorial debut.

The Titan

Director Lennart Ruff

Genre Sci-Fi

Cast Sam Worthington, Taylor Schilling, Tom Wilkinson, Agyness Deyn

Rating Unrated

Release Date March 30th, 2018 (Netflix)

“A military family takes part in a ground-breaking experiment of genetic evolution and space exploration.”

From director Lennart Ruff, The Titan is a sci-fi film about a military family that takes part in a groundbreaking experiment of genetic evolution and space exploration. The cast includes Sam Worthington, Taylor Schilling, Tom Wilkinson, and Agyness Deyn. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, The Titan:

• The locations of The Titan belong to the island of Gran Canaria, Spain. It took eight weeks to shoot all the scenes. The crew filmed in different locations and they were assisted by the Spanish Airforce in some of them.
• This is the third time Sam Worthington stars in a movie filmed in the Canary Islands. All of them contain the name "Titan" in their title. The previous ones were Clash of The Titans and Wrath of The Titans even though The Titan is not related to the other two movies.

God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness

Director Michael Mason

Genre Drama

Cast David A.R. White, John Corbett, Shane Harper, Ted McGinley

Rating PG

Release Date March 30th, 2018

“Pastor Dave responds to the unimaginable tragedy of having his church, located on the grounds of the local university, burned down.”

Written and directed by Michael Mason, God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness tells the story fo a Pastor who who is forced to face the unimaginable tragedy of having his church burned to the ground. The cast includes David A.R. White, John Corbett, Shane Harper, and Ted McGinley. Check out the official trailer below!!

Pacific Rim: Uprising

Director Steven S. DeKnight

Genre Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Cast John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Charlie Day, Tian Jing

Rating PG-13

Release Date March 23rd, 2018

“Jake Pentecost, son of Stacker Pentecost, reunites with Mako Mori to lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots, including rival Lambert and 15-year-old hacker Amara, against a new Kaiju threat.”

The feature-film directorial debut for Steven S. DeKnight, Pacific Rim: Uprising is the sequel tio to the hit 2013 film about huge robots battling giant aliens. Sounds corny I agree, but it was actually pretty awesome so I am excited to see this new one. The cast includes John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Charlie Day, and Tian Jing. Check out the official trailers below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Pacific Rim: Uprising:

• Del Toro will not direct the sequel, however he will be producing and writing the story for the movie.
• In a interview with Collider in November 2014, Guillermo del Toro talked about setting the stage for Pacific Rim 2 (2017) in stating: "It's a few years after the first one. It's not an immediate follow-up. It is the world having been freed of Kaiju, what happens to the world after - what happens to the Jaeger technology once the Kaiju are not a threat. It's quite a jump."

Isle of Dogs

Director Wes Anderson

Genre Animation | Adventure | Comedy

Cast Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum

Rating Unrated

Release Date March 23rd, 2018

“Set in Japan, Isle of Dogs follows a boy’s odyssey in search of his dog.”

Written and directed by the uniquely talented Wes Anderson, the man behind The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonride Kingdom, and The Grand Budapest Hotel, amongst others, The Isle of Dogs is his latest creation and is a animation comedy about a boy in Japan and the epic search for his missing dog. The cast includes Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, and Jeff Goldblum. Check out the newly released official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Isle of Dogs:

• Wes Anderson's eighth collaboration with Bill Murray.
• Wes Anderson hosted a competition for someone to be a member of the voice-cast for this film. The only requirement was that you donated $10 or more to the Film Foundation, a non-profit founded by Martin Scorsese which specialises in the preservation and restoration of film across the world.

• The movie was influenced by the work of Akira Kurosawa and Rankin-Bass stop-motion Christmas specials.

Unsane

Director Steven Soderbergh

Genre Thriller | Horror

Cast Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Juno Temple, Jay Pharoah

Rating R

Release Date March 23rd, 2018

“A young woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution where she is confronted by her greatest fear—but is it real or is it a product of her delusion?”

From acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh (Side Effects, Logan Lucky), Unsane is a thriller about a young woman who is involuntarily committed to a mental institution and forced to face her greatest fear. The cast includes Claire Foy, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, and Amy Irving. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Unsane:

• Shot entirely with an iPhone camera.
• Steven Soderbergh's first horror movie.

Sherlock Gnomes

Director John Stevenson

Genre Animation | Adventure | Comedy

Cast Emily Blunt, James McAvoy, Johnny Depp, Michael Caine

Rating PG

Release Date March 23rd, 2018

“Garden gnomes, Gnomeo & Juliet, recruit renown detective, Sherlock Gnomes, to investigate the mysterious disappearance of other garden ornaments.”

From director John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda), Sherlock Gnomes is an animated comedy that turns everyone's favorite detective into a lawn gnome. Why not right? With a stellar cast of voice actors including Emily Blunt, James McAvoy, Johnny Depp, and Michael Caine, this should be pretty good. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Sherlock Gnomes:

• This is Johnny Depp's third animated movie. The other two had been Corpse Bride (2005) and Rango (2011), that latter of which being another film that was distributed by Paramount Pictures.
• The film will release seven years after Gnomeo & Juliet (2011).

Game Over, Man!

Director Kyle Newacheck

Genre Action | Comedy

Cast Adam Devine, Anders Holm, Blake Anderson, Neal McDonough

Rating Unrated

Release Date March 23rd, 2018 (Netflix)

“Three friends are on the verge of getting their video game financed when their benefactor is taken hostage by terrorists.”

Game Over, Man! is a over-the-top comedy drama from director Kyle Newacheck. The primary cast (as pictured above) includes Adam Devine, Anders Holm, and Blake Anderson, the comedic trio from the Comedy Central show Workaholics. Newacheck, who has quite a resume including 41 episodes of Workaholics, actually stars in the show as well as everyone's favorite pot dealer Karl. As dumb as that show may be, I think it is absolutely hilarious and I can't get enough of underrated actor Adam Devine, who was great in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. Surprisingly I had never heard of this movie until I stumbled upon the trailer on Netflix's official YouTube channel (what a happy accident!). The trailer is HILARIOUS so consider me pretty amped up for the movie to hit Netflix on March 23rd! Check out the official trailers below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Game Over, Man!:

• Adam Devine, Anders Holm and Blake Anderson were the leads of Workaholics (2011), and while it isn't explicitly a 'Workaholics' film, it does share a lot of the cast and crew.
• The title of this movie comes from an iconic line in the movie Aliens where Bill Paxton's character says that line