By John Corrado

New releases for the week of July 5th, 2024.

Theatrical Releases:

Despicable Me 4 (Wide Release): This fourth entry in the Despicable Me series (sixth if you count the two Minions spinoffs) is already making bank at the box office following its release for the Fourth of July. The animated sequel finds Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), who has a new baby, trying to protect his family from old nemesis Maxime Le Mal (voiced Will Ferrell), while some of those little yellow Minions get superpowers. The other franchise entries delivered reliably goofy cartoon entertainment, so I suspect this latest one will offer more of the same. (July 3rd)

Kill (Limited Release): This Indian action movie is now arriving in theatres following its sold-out Midnight Madness premiere at TIFF last year, and it’s a lot of fun. It plays like a mix of Bollywood romantic melodrama and very bloody, kick-ass action flick, finding hero Amrit (Lakshya) fighting his way across a packed train heading to his girlfriend (Tanya Maniktala) in New Delhi, that has been hijacked by a gang of violent criminals. I saw this one at Midnight Madness last year, where the crowd positively ate it up. The story takes a bit to get going, but once the action really kicks in, it blew the roof off the theatre. It’s kinda like The Raid meets John Wick on a train in India, with some impressive fight choreography and production design across the different cabins. A total blast for action fans. (July 4th)

MaXXXine (Limited Release): This is the third film in Ti West’s horror trilogy starring Mia Goth, following the one-two punch of X and Pearl in 2022. The 1980s-set instalment finds Goth reprising her role as Maxine Minx, the adult film star from X who is now seeking a mainstream career as scream queen. I liked the first two (especially Pearl), and this looks like an entertaining ’80s slasher movie throwback, so I’m looking forward to it. (July 3rd)

More Releases: June Zero (Limited), Valley of Exile (Limited), Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot (Limited)

Streaming Releases:

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (Netflix): Eddie Murphy returns to the role of Detroit cop Axel Foley in this Netflix legacy sequel that arrives forty years after the first film (and thirty years after the third). As a made-for-streaming legacy sequel, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is enjoyable enough to pass the time, and if it doesn’t reach the heights of the first two instalments, it’s still fun to see Eddie Murphy back in this role. (Full Review)