New in Theaters This Week for 02/09/18



Welcome to a recurring feature here at The Nerd Mentality. As movie lovers, we often scramble to find all the films coming out in a given week. We thought we would take some of the guesswork out of it for our readers. We’ll be showcasing both wide and limited releases. So sit back watch some trailers and you might find something new to go watch this weekend. These films are what’s New in Theaters This Week for 02/09/18, shown in totally random order, because why not? Showtimes are linked on the titles so you can see if it is playing near you.

Permission (Good Deed Entertainment)

Anna (Rebecca Hall) and Will (Dan Stevens), were each other’s first every-things: first kiss, first love, first and only relationship. Now, 10 years in, at Anna’s 30th birthday party, as Will is about to propose, the couple’s best friend makes a drunken toast, suggesting that they should sleep around before their inevitable marriage. The joke lands like a lead balloon, but the thought lingers until Anna proposes that they try opening their relationship – as a sexual experiment. Together, they venture out of the purely monogamous boundaries of their relationship and, along the way, evolve.

Peter Rabbit, the mischievous and adventurous hero who has captivated generations of readers, now takes on the starring role of his own irreverent, contemporary comedy with attitude. In the film, Peter’s feud with Mr. McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson) escalates to greater heights than ever before as they rival for the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover who lives next door (Rose Byrne). James Corden voices the character of Peter with playful spirit and wild charm, with Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, and Daisy Ridley performing the voice roles of the triplets, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail.

Thirteen-year-old Alice, who lives with her father in a secluded house in the woods, discovers a mysterious device that can send messages through time.

This enchanting musical romantic comedy stars Brie Larson as Dr. Linda Watt, a sheltered young scientist whose company CEO (Donald Sutherland) orders her to India to sell farmers the GMO rice that she created. There Linda meets Rajit (Utkarsh Ambudkar), a rebellious college student forced to drop out for lack of funds. Through his playful and often infuriating antagonism, Linda learns she has unwittingly aided a destructive plan against the farmers she was supposedly sent to help. A passionate battle erupts and the future rests on whether Linda and Rajit can quit arguing long enough to admit they love each other and save the day.

Nick (Adam Horovitz) has settled into a safe existence in a small pocket of Brooklyn, where he currently toils on an archival project for his father-in-law. Soon, 20-something Naomi (Emily Browning) arrives from Australia to assist Nick for the semester. She has no acquaintances in the city beyond a loose family connection to Buddy (Jason Schwartzman), a music producer who lives in the same neighborhood. For the few months she spends around Nick, Buddy, and their families, Naomi’s presence upsets the precarious balance holding these two households. Also starring Mary-Louise Parker, Lily Rabe, Chloe Sevigny, and Analeigh Tipton.

TNM Note: Even though the trailer says 2/16, it does open on 2/9 at the Metrograph with a few Q&A events. It expands in the coming weeks but is very limited.

In the early evening of August 21, 2015, the world watched in stunned silence as the media reported a thwarted terrorist attack on Thalys train #9364 bound for Paris, an attempt prevented by three courageous young Americans traveling through Europe. The film follows the course of the friends’ lives, from the struggles of childhood through finding their footing in life, to the series of unlikely events leading up to the attack. Throughout the harrowing ordeal, their friendship never wavers, making it their greatest weapon and allowing them to save the lives of the more than 500 passengers on board.

Mikki moves to Brooklyn to start over after his release from one of Israel’s toughest prisons. He soon revisits his dark past when he is forced into the underworld by a turf war with the Russian mob.

Entanglement (Dark Star Pictures)

While searching for the meaning of his existence, Ben Layten (Thomas Middleditch) uncovers a family secret that leads him to a woman named Hanna (Jess Weixler)… But when he and Hanna inadvertently fall in love, his life becomes increasingly and strangely complicated. Ben starts to realize that everything is amazingly and incredibly connected – and that the world might just be more inexplicable than he ever imagined.

TNM Note: We got an early look at the film and have a full review up here.

The Next Big Thing is a dark comedy about friendship, revenge and the lust for fame. The protagonist is Julian, who, despite his “talent”, has never achieved the level of fame he thinks he deserves. When his deranged and estranged best friend Chuck shows up with a plan to make Julian famous by making a film about Julian becoming famous, Julian agrees to do it. Unfortunately for Julian, Chuck’s real aim is to make a prank show centered on ruining Julian’s life. After a series of embarrassing and painful events Julian begins to regret his decision, but the worse the situation is for Julian, the more popular the videos become. Julian’s ego allows Chuck to bring him to the edge of his sanity and beyond.

Believing they have left behind shadowy figures from their past, newlyweds Christian and Ana fully embrace an inextricable connection and shared life of luxury. But just as she steps into her role as Mrs. Grey and he relaxes into an unfamiliar stability, new threats could jeopardize their happy ending before it even begins.

Fake Blood (levelFILM) Rob Grant and Mike Kovac receive a disturbing fan video inspired by their previous horror movie Mon Ami, motivating them to investigate the responsibility of filmmakers in portraying violence in movies. In their pursuit of the truth they are unwittingly introduced to the real world of violent criminals and their victims.

The Wishbone family is far from happy. With a struggling bookshop, an overworked husband, and two misunderstood teenagers, Emma is at her wit’s end trying to be the perfect mom. After dragging her family to a costume party on Halloween night, they are cursed by an evil witch and transformed into a Vampire, a Mummy, a Werewolf, and Frankenstein’s monster. Now Emma will fight to keep her Monster Family together and uncover the secret of their curse? eventually leading them to the Prince of Darkness himself, Dracula! The Female Brain (IFC Films) What makes a woman swipe right for Mr. Wrong and left for Mr. Right? This simultaneously entertaining and enlightening comedy is a fresh, witty, and all-too-relatable look at the real-life science behind our (often regrettable) romantic impulses. Writer-director Whitney Cummings (2 Broke Girls) stars as no-nonsense neuroscientist Julia, whose research into the biochemistry of the female brain is illustrated by three couples: newlyweds Zoe (Cecily Strong) and Greg (Blake Griffin), whose career troubles seep into their relationship; Lisa (Sofia Vergara) and Steven (Deon Cole), who are looking to spice up their stuck-in-a-rut marriage; and Lexi (Lucy Punch) who can’t help trying to change her boyfriend Adam (James Marsden). Meanwhile, the straight-laced Julia’s own synapses start to fire when a handsome new subject (Toby Kebbell) joins her study… La Boda de Valentina (Lionsgate/Pantelion) Valentina (Marimar Vega) seems to have the perfect life in New York, with a perfect job and a perfect boyfriend, Jason Tate (Ryan Carnes)—far, far away from her scandalous political family in Mexico. When Jason proposes to her and wants to go to home to meet the family she has been keeping a secret, her two worlds clash. Adding to the hilarious chaos, her family brings her ex, Angel, (Omar Chaparro) into the picture and convinces Valentina to go along with a sham marriage to him in an effort to stop further negative press as her father runs for re-election. In the end, Valentina must choose where her heart belongs. Still/Born (Vertical Entertainment) For Mary, the joy of her infant son Adam’s birth is overshadowed by the devastating stillborn death of his twin brother Thomas. Concerned husband Jack relocates them to a spacious new home in secluded suburbia while Mary makes fast friends with their neighbor Rachel. But fresh faces, new surroundings, and even post-partum medication can’t spin Mary’s haunted motherhood mindset off its deepening descent into horrifying depression. Soon she’s convinced that an otherworldly evil wants to claim her remaining baby for its own. Is it madness or is something paranormal not going to stop until another child has been eaten alive? The Peacemaker (Central Square) THE PEACEMAKER follows international peacemaker Padraig O’Malley, who helps make peace for others but struggles to find it for himself. The film takes us from Padraig’s isolated life in Cambridge, Massachusetts to some of the most dangerous crisis zones on Earth – from Northern Ireland to Kosovo, Nigeria to Iraq over five years – as he works a peacemaking model based on his recovery from addiction. We meet Padraig in the third act of his life in a race against time to find some kind of salvation for both the world and himself. Bomb City (Gravitas Ventures) A crime-drama, about the cultural aversion of a group of punk rockers in a conservative Texas town. Their ongoing battle with a rival, more-affluent clique leads to a controversial hate crime that questions the morality of American justice. Becks (Blue Fox Entertainment) After a crushing breakup with her girlfriend, a Brooklyn musician moves back in with her Midwestern mother. As she navigates her hometown, playing for tip money in an old friend’s bar, an unexpected relationship begins to take shape. Pad Man (SONY Pictures International) Pad Man is a fictionalized account of Padmashri Arunachalam Muruganatham, the man who revolutionized the manufacture of the low cost sanitary napkin in India. Lakshmi is a newly married, humble welder from a rural village in the heart of India. Lakshmi’s incredible journey starts when he is shocked to discover that his wife uses an unhygienic cloth during her periods. Unable to afford a branded pad, he decides to make a sanitary pad himself. After several attempts, his irate wife refuses to be a part of his experiments. Lakshmi’s love and concern for his wife, his determination to make the pad, leads him into situations that cause so much shock and embarrassment that it compels his wife to leave him and his village to banish him. Lakshmi doesn’t give up! 2018 Oscar® Nominated Short Films (Shorts TV) The 2018 Oscar Nominated Short Films will be released in theaters on February 9th, giving you the opportunity to see the nominated short films before the Oscar Awards ceremony on March 4th.

Hopefully, you found some interesting trailers and maybe plan to see a film you normally wouldn’t have. New in Theaters This Week for 02/09/18 brought to you by The Nerd Mentality! Check back each week by bookmarking our Now Playing tag.