New this week
Ricky Stanicky (7 March)
When three childhood best friends pull a prank gone wrong, they invent the imaginary Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble. Twenty years later, Dean, JT, and Wes (Zac Efron, Andrew Santino, and Jermaine Fowler) still use Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behaviour. When their spouses and partners get suspicious, they hire washed-up actor and raunchy celebrity impersonator ‘Rock Hard’ Rod (John Cena) to bring him to life … which doesn’t quite go to plan.
Read: Ricky Stanicky review: enjoyable US romp – with Melbourne gum trees
Beautiful Wedding (8 March)
Picking up where Beautiful Disaster left off, this 2024 film sees Abby and Travis waking up after a crazy night in Vegas as accidental newlyweds. With their best friends in tow and Abby’s six-figure poker winnings, they travel to Mexico, where they can enjoy a wild, lavish honeymoon. But chaos follows at every turn, and they must decide if they belong together. Starring Dylan Sprouse and Virginia Gardner.
Added last week
American Fiction (27 Feb)
Film (2023) by Cord Jefferson, based on the novel Erasure (2001) by Percival Everett. A novelist-professor, sick of the the establishment profiting from Black entertainment, writes a satire of stereotypical ‘Black books’ under a pseudonym, only to see his book lavishly praised and selling widely as a work of serious literature. Starring Jeffrey Wright and Tracee Ellis Ross.
The Equalizer 3 (29 Feb)
Comedy action sequel from 2023, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning. Robert McCall (Washington) is minding his own business at home in Italy – until he finds our his friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As things go south – McCall knows he has no choice but to take on the mafia.
Reina Roja – Season 1 (29 Feb)
A Spanish/ Mexican thriller series in which the smartest woman on Earth becomes the leader of an experimental police project … but things run far from smoothly. Starring Vicky Luengo, Hovik Keuchkerian and Celia Freijeiro.