Best new films: quick links
3 best new films
Fountain of Youth (23 May) – Apple TV+
Film (2025). This heist action adventure from Guy Ritchie – not the first one of those he’s done, hey – tells the tale of an estranged brother and sister who team up to search the planet for the Fountain of Youth, source of returned youth, immortality – and probably just good from the point of view of hydration when you’ve been schlepping all over the world’s deserts trying to find it.
English actor-director Dexter Fletcher (whose acting credits include Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) was meant to be the director but when he left the project Ritchie joined, and the rest is (archeologically-themed and hopefully wildly entertaining) history.
Starring John Krasinski, Natalie Portman, Eiza González and Domhnall Gleeson. Watch the trailer.
The Surrender (23 May) – AMC+ and Shudder
Film (2025). The feature debut by Julia Max, which premiered at SXSW and was promptly snapped up by Shudder, is, on the face of it, a supernatural horror about that most human of realities: grief.
A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to the test when the family patriarch dies. That fraughtness, we’re assuming, isn’t helped much by the mother’s decision to hire a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead.
As the bizarre and brutal resurrection spirals out of control, both women must confront their differences as they fight for their lives – and for each other.
Early critics have praised the film for going beyond shock factor into more interesting territory, including Damon Wise on Deadline, who wrote:
‘Though it delivers some quite serious wince-inducing gore, The Surrender never loses sight of its sincere emotional core, as Megan is forced to rethink her relationships with her parents and see the truth about her beloved but controlling father with new eyes.’
Starring Colby Minifie, Kate Burton and Chelsea Alden. Watch the trailer.
Fear Street: Prom Queen (23 May) – Netflix
Film (2025). Slasher films and American coming-of-age stories go together like, well, slasher films and American coming-of-age stories.
This one – number four in the series of horror films based on RL Stine’s Fear Street book series – sees the students at Shadyside High preparing for the 1988 prom while the school’s ‘It Girls’ are fighting to get support to be voted Prom Queen.
But as an unusual nominee emerges in the race, some of the other candidates begin to vanish without a trace. Du-du-duuuuuu.
Starring India Fowler, Suzanna Son and Fina Strazza. Watch the trailer.
Recent best new films picks
She Came to Me – Paramount+ (17 May)
Film (2023). In this romcom written and directed by Rebecca Miller, we follow Steven, a composer suffering from a creative block that’s preventing him finishing his supposed-to-be comeback opera, and Katerina, a spirited tugboat captain called Katrina who he meets randomly at a bar.
As their lives intertwine, Steven’s world is turned upside down, leading to a series of humorous and heartfelt events that challenge his perceptions of love, creativity, and life.
This one was a decent hit with audiences (71%) but not critics (48%) on Rotten Tomatoes, with the Critics Consensus being:
She Came to Me’s uneasy blend of romantic comedy and drama proves frequently frustrating despite the story’s admirable aims and strong work from an outrageously talented cast.
Look, we’ll be back with some better films (we hope) next week!
Starring Peter Dinklage, Anne Hathaway and Marissa Tomei. Watch the trailer.
Nonnas – Netflix (9 May)
Film (2025). One for the comedy fans … Following his mother’s passing, Joe finds himself struggling with grief, and then, to honour his mother’s life, he decides to open up an Italian restaurant.
But instead of hiring regular chefs, he employs a group of local grandmothers to cook the food. On the face of it, it doesn’t sound particularly comical. But it’s based on the story of the real-life Joe Scaravella, who created the Enoteca Maria restaurant in the US, and if the nonnas tell us to laugh, we’ll laugh!
Starring Susan Sarandon, Vince Vaughn, Lorraine Bracco and Jimmy Smagula. Watch the trailer.
