New in Theaters This Week for 02/23/18



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 02/23/18, shown in totally random order, because why not? Showtimes are linked on the titles so you can see if it is playing near you.

This week has been the first in quite awhile where I will be unsure if I am 100% on finding every release. I have a couple titles that I just can’t find showtimes for and maybe they have switched to just a digital release or changed their date and not updated their sites. One interesting note is with Death House. Because of the unexpected success of Black Panther some theaters are dropping scheduled screens of films. The director talks about it on the films twitter and it is interesting to hear if you are into the box office side of film.

What happens when the undead return to life? In a world ravaged for years by a virus that turns the infected into zombie-like cannibals, a cure is at last found and the wrenching process of reintegrating the survivors back into society begins. Among the formerly afflicted is Senan (Sam Keeley), a young man haunted by the horrific acts he committed while infected. Welcomed back into the family of his widowed sister-in-law (Ellen Page), Senan attempts to restart his life—but is society ready to forgive him and those like him? Or will fear and prejudice once again tear the world apart?

Three women utilize their newly formed sisterhood to battle sexism, bad relationships and low self-esteem. They soon find the secret to ultimate fulfillment by embracing their wild adventures.

Lena, a biologist and former soldier, joins a mission to uncover what happened to her husband inside Area X – a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. Once inside, the expedition discovers a world of mutated landscape and creatures, as dangerous as it is beautiful, that threatens both their lives and their sanity. From visionary writer and director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, 28 Days Later) and based on the acclaimed best-selling Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer, Annihilation stars Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez and Tuva Novotny.

In this tale of love and survival in 19th century Estonia, peasant girl Liina longs for village boy Hans, but Hans is inexplicably infatuated by the visiting German baroness that possesses all that he longs for. For Liina, winning Hans’ requited love proves incredibly complicated in this dark, harsh landscape where spirits, werewolves, plagues, and the devil himself converge, where thievery is rampant, and where souls are highly regarded, but come quite cheap. With alluring black and white cinematography, Rainer Sarnet vividly captures these motley lives as they toil to exist—is existence worth anything if it lacks a soul?

Operation Red Sea (Well Go USA)

Famed action director Dante Lam returns with this explosive follow-up to his 2016 box office smash OPERATION MEKONG. When a terrorist plot to obtain nuclear materials is hidden under the cover of a violent coup, only the Chinese Navy’s elite Jiaolong Assault Team have the deadly skill and precision needed to take on the situation.

A scientist must break into a top-secret facility in order to travel back in time and prevent a murder after receiving a mysterious phone call from herself.

An immersive and enthralling journey through the Sonoran Desert on the U.S.-Mexico border, EL MAR LA MAR weaves together harrowing oral histories from the area with hand-processed 16mm images of flora, fauna and items left behind by travelers. Subjects speak of intense, mythic experiences in the desert: A man tells of a fifteen-foot-tall monster said to haunt the region, while a border patrolman spins a similarly bizarre tale of man versus beast. A sonically rich soundtrack adds to the eerie atmosphere as the call of birds and other nocturnal noises invisibly populate the austere landscape.

Based on David Levithan’s acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Every Day tells the story of Rhiannon (Angourie Rice), a 16-year old girl who falls in love with a mysterious soul named “A” who inhabits a different body every day. Feeling an unmatched connection, Rhiannon and “A” work each day to find each other, not knowing what or who the next day will bring. The more the two fall in love, the more the realities of loving someone who is a different person every 24 hours takes a toll, leaving Rhiannon and “A” to face the hardest decision either has ever had to make.

King Of Hearts (Cohen Media Group)

During World War I, Scottish soldier Private Plumpick is sent on a mission to a village in the French countryside to disarm a bomb set by the retreating German army. Plumpick encounters a strange town occupied by the former residents of the local psychiatric hospital who escaped after the villagers deserted. Assuming roles like Bishop, Duke, barber, and circus ringmaster, they warmly accept the visitor as their King of Hearts. With his reconnaissance and bomb-defusing mission looming, Plumpick starts to prefer the acceptance of the insane locals over the insanity of the war raging outside. Since its debut, King of Hearts has become a worldwide cult favorite and stands out as one of de Broca’s most memorable films. Fifty years after its original release, this satirical look at the absurdities of war is presented in a gorgeous new 4K restoration for modern audiences to discover.

TNM Notes: I debated whether adding this because it is an older release. However, I have included a few in the past weeks and since the main goal is to provide as much information as far as what you the reader might be able to see in theaters this week, I thought why not. Also, some of the 4K restorations that have been cropping up in theaters as of late have been stunning. So if you are a fan of the film or have been aware of it, it certainly can be worth seeing in theaters.

Pilot Sean Haggerty (Daniel Radcliffe) must deliver a shipment of cocaine across the U.S.-Mexican border for his final run as a drug smuggler. Alone in a small plane, he’s faced with the burden of his allegiance to the cartel, his deal with the Drug Enforcement Administration and his increasingly tense relationship with his wife.

Bateman and McAdams star as Max and Annie, whose weekly couples game night gets kicked up a notch when Max’s charismatic brother, Brooks, arranges a murder mystery party, complete with fake thugs and faux federal agents. So, when Brooks gets kidnapped, it’s all part of the game…right? But as the six uber-competitive gamers set out to solve the case and win, they begin to discover that neither this “game”—nor Brooks—are what they seem to be. Over the course of one chaotic night, the friends find themselves increasingly in over their heads as each twist leads to another unexpected turn. With no rules, no points, and no idea who all the players are, this could turn out to be the most fun they’ve ever had…or, it’s game over.

Agent Mr Chan (China Lion Film)

After a mission failure resulting in a 20 year banishment, agent Chan (Dayo Wong) is reluctantly hired back to take on the mysterious case of the Cyber Goddess. Forced to go undercover as the complete opposite of his suave and debonair self, he’s on a mission to prove he’s ready to take back his position as the world’s top secret agent.

26 year-old Karl Marx embarks with his wife, Jenny, on the road to exile. In 1844 Paris, he meets Friedrich Engels, an industrialist’s son, who investigated the sordid birth of the British working-class. Engels, the dandy, provides the last piece of the puzzle to the young Karl Marx’s new vision of the world. Together, between censorship and the police’s repression, riots and political upheavals, they will lead the labor movement during its development into a modern era.

In this gothic supernatural thriller, a family curse confines orphaned twins Rachel (Charlotte Vega) and Edward (Bill Milner) to their home as punishment for their ancestors’ sins. Bound to the rules of a haunting childhood lullaby, the twins must never let any outsiders inside the house, must be in their rooms by the chime of midnight, and must never be separated from one another. Breaking any of these three rules will incur the wrath of a sinister presence that inhabits the house after midnight.

You’re more likely to go to prison in the United States than any other country in the world, so in the unfortunate case it happens to you, this is the SURVIVORS GUIDE TO PRISON. Narrated by Academy Award® winner Susan Sarandon, the nonstop film chronicles the stories of two men who spent decades behind bars for murders they did not commit. With additional narration by activist celebrities like Patricia Arquette, Jesse Williams, Ice T, RZA, Busta Rhymes, Tom Morello, Macklemore, B-Real, Deepak Chopra, Warren G and more joining forces to change this broken system, the “Survivors Guide” exposes a failed “punishment model.”

A newly elected prime minister is assassinated as part of a conspiracy, and a deliveryman has to flee for his life when he is framed and the evidence against him begins to accumulate.

ARE WE NOT CATS tells the story of a young man attempting to restart his life after losing his job, girlfriend, and apartment in a single day. His plans are diverted when he meets a woman who shares his strangest habit – the impulse to pull out and eat their own hair. Xander Robin’s genre defying feature debut flings the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotions – lovingly balanced by two vulnerable actors, a pulsating soundtrack and gritty, colorful cinematography.

Hopefully, you found some interesting trailers and maybe plan to see a film you normally wouldn’t have. New in Theaters This Week for 02/23/18 brought to you by The Nerd Mentality! Check back each week by bookmarking our Now Playing tag.