Amy Diaz

The Wedding Banquet (R)

Friends contemplate a green card marriage in The Wedding Banquet, a remake of the 1993 movie by the same name which was directed by Ang Lee and yet isn’t available on streaming or VOD as far as I can tell? Get on that, some streamer.

Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) and Lee (Lily Gladstone) have run through their savings and possibly most of their credit attempting to conceive via IVF for Lee. Maybe Angela, the younger of the two women, should try next, Lee suggests after the second round doesn’t result in a pregnancy. But this idea gets Angela all knotted up in her difficult relationship with her own mother and parenting fears.

Meanwhile, Korean artist Min (Han Gi-Chin) proposes to his long-term boyfriend Chris (Bowen Yang), who lives in Lee’s garage and is Angela’s longtime friend. But Chris, already reluctant to commit to anything (Min, finishing his dissertation) takes umbrage at the fact that Min’s proposal comes immediately after a conversation with Min’s grandmother Ja-Young (Youn Yuh-jung) where she tells Min there will be no more visa extensions and that it’s time for him to come home to Korea and run his family’s business. Chris loves Min but feels stressed about the prospect of marriage even if it’s the only way to keep Min in the country. Chris also knows that marriage won’t be as easy for Min as he claims; Min’s grandfather will disinherit and cut off the wealthy Min if he finds out Min is gay.

While talking with Lee, Min comes up with a plan b: he’ll give Angela and Lee the money they need for another IVF round if Angela will marry him. Min will get to stay in America, Chris will get more time to figure out where their relationship is going, Min’s grandparents will get to believe that he is married to a woman and Angela and Lee will get a chance at a baby. Even Angela’s mother May (Joan Chen), now a literal PFLAG award winner but once someone who had a hard time with Angela coming out, is willing to just go with the marriage if it means there’s a shot at a grandchild. But can Min convince Ja-Young to let him stay in America (without cutting him off) when she shows up to meet Angela?

The story takes some not entirely unexpected twists, which I won’t spoil but I will say that Ja-Young knows what’s up from the jump and this gives the movie something of a grounding in reality. We don’t have to bother with a bunch of Three’s Company secret-hiding silliness and instead get to spend time with the emotions of this gentle dramady. All the actors here are better than the at times too-pat material but the talents of the core six actors help carry the story off. In a world where actual couple Chris and Min can just legally marry, it could feel like extreme movie logic keeping them from doing so but the emotions of the characters and ultimately the premium they put on family in all its forms help all the movie’s choices make sense. B Available for rent or purchase.

Summer Guide 2025

Fairs, festivals, food, fun and more events to look forward to this season

Summer is here!

OK, maybe it’s more like “summer” is here, that time between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend, when we’re all in summer mode with our sunglasses and our shorts and our iced coffees and a desire to get out and enjoy the next three-ish months. Looking for some summer fun? Here are some of the big happenings — the festivals, fairs, sporting events and more — to put on your summer calendar.

Fairs and festivals

• The annual Mill Falls Memorial Weekend Craft Festival is happening Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, May 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Monday, May 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mill Falls Marketplace (312 DW Highway, Meredith). More than 100 New England-based juried artisans will gather to sell their foods and crafts. Admission is free. Visit castleberryfairs.com.

• Celebrate Hillsborough, an event by History Alive, will take place Saturday, May 31, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Hillsborough Center. The day will feature tours, music, activities, demonstrations, student art, workshops and more focused on Hillsborough history, according to historyalivenh.org.

• MakeIt Labs will hold MakeIt Fest 2025 on Saturday, May 31, from noon to 5 p.m. at 25 Crown St. in Nashua. This free outdoor festival will bring together local craftsmen, artists, makers and makerspaces with demonstrations, exhibits and more. See makeitfest.com.

• The Northern New England Book Fair, a book and antiques fair with the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association, will take place Sunday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Everett Arena (15 Loudon Road in Concord). Admission costs $5. Find the book fair on Facebook.

• Anheuser-Busch (221 DW Highway, Merrimack, 595-1202, budweisertours.com) will host the 2nd Annual Fire Truck Pull and Festival on Sunday, June 1, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Teams will work to pull a full-size fire truck and compete on time at this event, which will also include vendors, a car show, food and drinks for sale and more. See budweisertours.com/mmktours.

• Milford Pride 2025 will take place Sunday, June 1, from noon to 4 p.m. at Keyes Park (45 Elm St., Milford) and will feature live music, food, vendors and more. See “Milford NH PRIDE” on Facebook.

• First Fridays in downtown Concord are an event, with food trucks, live music, pop-ups and more from 4 to 8 p.m. On Friday, June 6, the theme is Beach Party with food trucks Batulo’s Kitchen, Kona Ice and Wicked Tasty and music from DJ Nazzy at City Plaza and The Wandering Souls Band in Bicentennial Square. On Friday, Aug. 1 (there’s no July event), the theme is “Dog Days” with an outdoor movie from Red River Theatres. See firstfridayconcord.com.

• The Goffstown Rotary Club’s Car Show is returning for its 11th year on Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Parsons Drive in Goffstown. Check out the classic vehicles along with the food trucks and vendors. See goffstownrotary.org.

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St., Dover, childrens-museum.org) will hold its annual New Hampshire Maker Fest on Saturday, June 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is a suggested donation of $5 per person. This family friendly event will showcase the all-ages engineers, arts, scientists, chefs, hobbyists and more and their inventions, experiments and projects, according to the website.

• The Windham Pride Festival will take place Sunday, June 8, from noon to 4 p.m. at Windham High School, according to a post on the Windham DEI Facebook page. This free, family-friendly event will feature live entertainment, food trucks and more, the post said.

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire will hold its annual Father’s Day Weekend Fly In Barbecue on Saturday, June 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Nashua’s Boire Field, with the event taking place at Nashua Jet Aviation (Nashua Airport, 83 Perimeter Road). Pilots, especially with vintage planes and home-built aircraft, are invited to fly in, according to aviationmuseumofnh.org. The public can come to check out the planes and enjoy the meal. Tickets to the barbecue cost $30 for adults and $10 for ages 6 to 12; kids 5 and under are free, the website said. Check out the planes without the food for $10 per person, kids 5 and under are free, the website said. Purchase tickets at the website or by calling 669-4877.

• This year’s Laconia Motorcycle Week runs from Saturday, June 14, through Sunday, June 22, and will include music, vendors, contests and more around Weirs Beach in Laconia. See laconiamcweek.com.

• Plaistow’s Old Home Day returns on Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a parade and activities on the Town Hall green (145 Main St., Plaistow). See plaistow.com for updates.

• Wilton Main Street Association will hold its annual Summerfest on Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring live music on two stages, food, street vendors, a pancake breakfast, a duck drop and a fireworks display in the evening on Carnival Hill. See visitwilton.com/summerfest.

• Juneteenth New England, hosted by Black Womxn In New Hampshire Collective, will take place Saturday, June 21, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Crossway Christian Church, 33 Pine St. in Nashua, according to givebutter.com/juneteenthne. “It’s a free community celebration in downtown Nashua honoring Black American culture, history, and joy. The event will feature live performances, cultural exhibits, music, games, and more. Everything is free, including the food, thanks to the support of community members and sponsors,” according to an email from organizers.

• The Nashua Pride Festival and Parade will run Saturday, June 21, from 3 to 6 p.m. The parade will kick off at Nashua City Hall on Main Street and conclude at the festival grounds at the Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St., according to a Facebook post about the event. The festival will feature art, health information, activism, food trucks, music and more, the post said. Find “NashuaPideFestival” on Facebook for more.

• Concord’s annual Market Days Festival runs from Thursday, June 26, to Saturday, June 28, in downtown Concord from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with local vendors, live entertainment, family-friendly activities, maybe an in-festival wedding on Friday, June 27, and more. Visit marketdaysfestival.com.

• Manchester Pride 2025 will take place Saturday, June 28, with the theme “Picture Our Future.” The day will start with a parade on Elm Street at 11 a.m. headed to Veterans Park for a festival that runs from noon to 6 p.m. with entertainment, food, vendors and more, according to a Facebook post from Manchester True Collaborative about the event. See manchestertrue.org/pride-2025.

• The next New England Reptile Expo is scheduled for Sunday, June 29, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St., Manchester). The show features more than 200 vendor tables full of reptiles, pet supplies and more. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for kids ages 7 to 12 and free for kids ages 6 and under. Visit reptileexpo.com.

• The Hillsborough Summer Festival at Grimes Field (29 Preston St., Hillsborough) takes place Thursday, July 10, to Sunday, July 13, with live entertainment, carnival rides, a fireworks show on Saturday night, a 5K road race on Friday and a parade on Sunday. Festival hours are 6 to 10 p.m. on Thursday; 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday; noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. Visit hillsborosummerfest.com.

• The Raymond Town Fair, its 50th according to the group’s Facebook page, will take place Friday, July 11, through Sunday, July 13, at the Raymond Town Common (Epping and Main streets, Raymond). It will feature live music, children’s activities, a fireworks display, games, vendors and more. See “Raymond Town Fair” on Facebook.

• The American Independence Museum (1 Governors Lane, Exeter) will hold its American Independence Festival on Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Exeter. The day will feature the arrival and live reading of the Declaration of Independence, historical reenactments and colonial-era artisan demonstrations as well as colonial-era games, music and dances. Visit independencemuseum.org

For the kids
Got kids to entertain over the many weeks of no school? Be sure to pick up our Kids’ Guide to Summer issue, slated to hit stands on June 12.

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road, Londonderry; aviationmuseumofnh.org) will hold its annual Classic Car Show Saturday, July 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• The Stratham 4-H Summerfest returns on Saturday, July 19, at the Stratham Hill Park Fairgrounds (270 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will feature animal shows, agriculture exhibits, competitions and more. See extension.unh.edu/event/2025/07/2025-stratham-4-h-summerfest.

• Organized by the Merrimack Valley Military Vehicle Collectors Club, the Weare Rally will run Thursday, July 24, through Saturday, July 26, at Center Woods School (14 Center Road, Weare). The rally features military vehicle displays, scenic rides, demonstrations, food and more. The cost is $5 per family. See mvmvc.org.

• The Live Free or Die Tattoo Expo runs Friday, July 25, to Sunday, July 27, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St., Manchester). The event features tattoo artists, contests, vendors, live music, food and performances. Show hours are from 5 p.m. to midnight on Friday, from 11 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets cost in advance $20 for a weekend pass ($25 at the door), according to livefreeordietattoo.com.

• The Canterbury Fair is, as always, the last Saturday in July — Saturday, July 26, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Canterbury Center (Baptist and Center roads) with live music, demonstrations from local artisan and antique vendors, children’s activities and more. Admission is free. See canterburyfair.com.

• Find music, art, food, kids activities and more at the Nashua Summer Stroll on Saturday, July 26, from 3 to 8 p.m. in downtown Nashua. Find details and updates on the event’s Facebook page.

• Coppal House Farm (118 N. River Road in Lee; nhsunflower.com) will hold its Sunflower Festival Saturday, July 26, through Sunday, Aug. 3, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily plus sunrise hours on Sunday, July 27, from 5:30 to 7 a.m. The festival also features kid events, a craft fair, music, food and more. See the website for information on tickets and happenings on specific days.

• The Suncook Valley Rotary’s Hot Air Balloon Rally will be held Friday, Aug. 1, through Sunday, Aug. 3 at Drake Field, Barnstead Road in Pittsfield. See nhballoonrally.org for updates on this year’s schedule.

• The Belknap County Fair is set to return on Saturday, Aug. 2, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday, Aug. 3, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 174 Mile Hill Road in Belmont. Admission at the gate is $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens 65 and older, police, fire and EMS personnel, and free for kids under 10 and for military service members. Visit bcfairnh.org.

• The New Hampshire Antiques Show, hosted by the New Hampshire Antique Dealers Association, returns to the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St., Manchester) Thursday, Aug. 7, through Saturday, Aug. 9. Nearly 60 professional antique dealers will exhibit their collections of antique furniture, art, jewelry and more. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $15 on Thursday, and $10 on Friday and Saturday; return visits are free. Visit nhada.org.

• Hudson’s Old Home Days will take place Thursday, Aug. 7, to Sunday, Aug. 10, on the grounds of the Hill House (211 Derry Road, Hudson). There will be carnival games, live music, food, vendors, a craft fair, kids’ activities and more. Event times are Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., Friday from 5 to 11 p.m., Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. See hudsonoldhomedays.com.

• The Sunflower Bloom Festival will take place Saturday, Aug. 9, through Sunday, Aug. 17, at Sunfox Farm on Gully Hill Road in Concord, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m daily. Visit the farm (admission costs $12 per person, ages 10 and under are free). Also at the farm find artisan and craft vendors, live music and food trucks, according to sunfoxfarm.org/sunflowerfestival.

• Salembration!, a celebration of the 275th birthday of Salem, New Hampshire, will take place on Geremonty Drive on Saturday, Aug. 9, from noon to 5 p.m. The event will feature food trucks, craft vendors and more, according to salemnh.gov/1096/salembration, and take place in conjunction with Field of Dreams’ annual Family Fun Day.

• The Hampton Beach Comedy Festival will run Tuesday, Aug. 12, through Sunday, Aug. 17; check hampton-beach-comedy-festival.weebly.com later in the summer for tickets and details on the slate of comedians each night. According to the website, founder Jimmy Dunn won’t be at this year’s festival but you can catch him Friday, Aug. 1, at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, where he will appear on a bill with Jimmy Cash.

Summer of laughs
Looking for comedy this summer? Check out the Comedy This Week listings this week and every week in the Nite section for comedy shows at venues big and small.

• Londonderry’s Old Home Days are scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 13, to Saturday, Aug. 16. See londonderrynh.gov for updates on details.

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road, Londonderry; aviationmuseumofnh.org) will hold Planefest on Saturday, Aug. 16, featuring an exhibit about the Tuskegee Airmen and the World War II-era Woman’s Army Service Pilots, known as the WASPs.

• History Alive 2025 will present a weekend of reenactments on Saturday, Aug. 16, and Sunday, Aug. 17, at Jones Road in Hillsborough. The weekend will feature reenactments of historical battles across the centuries — including Roman and Viking battles, the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I and World War II, according to historyalivenh.org. The event will also feature other historical demonstrations as well as drawing and cartooning workshops with Marek Bennett, whose works include the Freeman Colby graphic novels about a real-life New Hampshire teacher in the Civil War. See the website for details and a schedule. Tickets cost $10 per adult, $8 for seniors and are free for kids 16 and under, the website said.

• Candia’s Old Home Day will take place on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Moore Park (74 High St., Candia). The day will feature local crafters and artisans, town community booths, games, a wildlife exhibit, food and music. See candiaoldhomeday.com.

• Pembroke and Allenstown’s Old Home Day returns on Saturday, Aug. 23, starting with a parade down Main Street in Allenstown to Memorial Field (Exchange Street) in Pembroke. A fun-filled day is planned at the field, featuring two stages of live entertainment, antique cars, children’s games, a craft area, bounce houses and a fireworks display at dusk. Admission and parking are free. See pembrokeallenstownoldhomeday.org.

• The Hopkinton State Fair bills itself as a Labor Day weekend tradition happening this year from Thursday, Aug. 28, to Monday, Sept. 1, at the fairgrounds (392 Kearsarge Ave., Contoocook). There will be livestock shows, a demolition derby, carnival rides, monster trucks, live entertainment, food and more. The fair hours are 5 to 10 p.m. on Thursday; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday. See hsfair.org.

• Cruising Downtown will return to the streets of downtown Manchester for a 23rd year on Saturday, Aug. 30, organized by the Manchester Rotary Club. The day will feature cars on display, along with food, live demonstrations, local vendors and live entertainment. Admission is free for spectators. Visit cruisingdowntownmanchester.com.

• The Exeter UFO Festival returns to downtown Exeter on Saturday, Aug. 30, and Sunday, Aug. 31 — the event commemorates the anniversary of the “Incident at Exeter” (the report of a UFO sighting on Sept. 3, 1965, in nearby Kingston) with speakers, kids events and more. See exeterufofestival.org.

Arts Events

• Watch the four sculptors participating in this year’s Nashua International Sculpture Symposium at work on their pieces at Picker Artists (3 Pine St. in Nashua), where they are working Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Wednesday, May 28, according to nashuasculpturesymposium.org. The pieces, which will become part of Nashua’s townwide exhibit of sculptures, will be unveiled in their installation locations on Saturday, May 31, at 1 p.m.

• Meet the Local Authors on Saturday, May 24, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Manchester Craft Market (inside the Mall of New Hampshire, 1500 S. Willow St., Manchester). About a dozen writers are slated to attend this supersized book signing, according to a Facebook post on the Market’s page about the event. Signed books will be available for purchase, including children’s books, New Hampshire history books, mysteries and more. See manchestercraftmarket.com.

• After a Saturday of tap workshops, the Aaron Tolson Institute of Dance’s Grante State Tap Festival will present a National Tap Dance Day Show on Sunday, May 25, at 4 p.m. at the Dana Center (Saint Anselm College in Manchester; tickets.anselm.edu). Tickets cost $29.50.

Art on display
Find art exhibits at area galleries and museums throughout the summer in our art listings, which appear weekly in the Arts section.

• Catch the Concord Arts Market this summer — Art in the Park, featuring 65+ artists and their works in Rollins Park in Concord from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will take place Saturday, June 7; Saturday, July 12, and Saturday, Aug. 9. Concord Arts Market will also appear at the Market Days Festival Thursday, June 26, through Saturday, June 28, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Pleasant Street in Concord. See concordartsmarket.org.

• The Currier Museum of Art and the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire celebrate Juneteenth with a program called “Never Caught: The Defiant Journey of Ona Marie Judge Staines” that brings Ona’s voice to life on Thursday, June 12, at 5:30 p.m. at the museum (150 Ash St., Manchester, 669-6144, currier.org) through a dramatic reading of her 1845 interview, originally published in The Granite Freeman, featuring New Hampshire actress Sandi Clarke Kaddy as Ona Judge. Following the performance, Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge, will discuss Ona’s story. Admission is free but space is limited; reserve a spot at blackheritagetrailnh.org or by calling 570-8469.

• If you’re heading to the beach, check out the craftspeople at the 25th Annual Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic, which will run Thursday, June 12, through Saturday, June 14, with the sculptures, lit up at night, on view through Monday, June 23. There will be a fireworks display on Saturday, June 14, at 9:30 p.m. See hamptonbeach.org.

• The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org) will hold a Juneteenth Art Off the Walls on Thursday, June 19, from 5 to 8 p.m., when admission is donation based. The evening will feature music, dance, art-making and more in partnership with the Racial Unity Team, according to an email from the museum. Other Art Off the Walls programs will be held this summer on July 17 and Aug. 21.

• The 2025 Manchester International Film Festival is set for Thursday, July 24, and Friday, July 25, at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester). For tickets and an up-to-date schedule of events, see palacetheatre.org/film.

• Uncommon Art on the Common takes place on Saturday, Aug. 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Main Street in downtown Goffstown. Find participating artists and more at goffstownuncommonarts.org.

• Positive Street Arts will present OBSCURE Runway Show on Sunday, Aug. 3, at 1 p.m. (rescheduled from April). The show “represents a convergence of creativity and innovation, bringing together local artists, designers, and boutiques in a spectacular showcase. … Through the fusion of art and fashion, Positive Street Art strives to create a platform where diverse creatives can collaborate and showcase their unique perspectives,” according to a Positive Street Arts post about the event. General admission tickets cost $45. See positivestreetart.org; find Positive Street Arts on Facebook for a link to purchase tickets.

• The Greeley Park Art Show (100 Concord St., Nashua) returns on Saturday, Aug. 16, and Sunday, Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. The annual outdoor juried art show hosted by Nashua Area Artists Association features a variety of artwork for sale. Visit nashuaarts.org/greeleyparkartshow.

• The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen will hold the 91st Annual Craftsmen’s Fair at Mount Sunapee Resort (1398 Route 103, Newbury) Saturday, Aug. 2, through Sunday, Aug. 10. It will feature the juried work of hundreds of members with sales booths, educational workshops, demonstrations and exhibitions. See nhcrafts.org/annual-craftsmens-fair.

• Arts Build Community will hold its Community Canvas Mural Festival Thursday, Aug. 7, through Sunday, Aug. 17, in downtown Manchester, according to a press release. Participating artists and installation sites will be announced in July, the release said. The event will include 10 large-scale murals as well as artist talks, youth paint days, storytelling events, mural tours and a block party, the release said. See artsbuildcommunity.com.

Summer theater
Find information about summer theater in our May 15 issue. Go to hippopress.com and look for the issue in our digital library. The guide to summer theater starts on page 10.

Spectator Sports

• The games continue for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in downtown Manchester. The team began a stretch of games against the Somerset Patriots this week, with games Thursday, May 22, at 6:35 p.m. (when the Cats play as Gatos Feroces de New Hampshire); Friday, May 23, at 6:35 p.m.; Saturday, May 24, at 4:05 p.m. and Sunday, May 25, at 1:35 p.m. The next stretch of games starts Tuesday, June 3, against the Altoona Curve. Regular season games continue, with the final home game on Sunday, Sept. 14. See milb.com/new-hampshire for the game schedule, tickets and promotions.

• The Nashua Silver Knights, members of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, will host their home opener at Holman Stadium (67 Amherst St., Nashua) on Wednesday, May 28, against the Worcester Bravehearts at 10:30 a.m. followed by a game Friday, May 30, at 6 p.m. against the Vermont Lake Monsters with after-game fireworks. Their last home game of the regular season will be on Friday, Aug. 9, at 6 p.m. against Vermont. See nashuasilverknights.com.

• The next home bout for NH Roller Derby at JFK Memorial Coliseum (303 Beech St. in Manchester) is Saturday, May 31, at 4 p.m. when the NH Roller Derby All-Stars take on Maine Roller Derby’s Old Port Brigade; at 6 p.m., the NH Roller Derby Cherry Bombs take on Mass Attack Roller Derby’s Bloody Bordens. Doors open at 3:30 p.m.; tickets are sold at the door: $15 for adults, $5 for veterans and NHRD vets, kids 12 and under get in for free. Future home bouts are Saturday, June 21, and Saturday, July 19. See nhrollerderby.com for updates.

• Join Special Olympics New Hampshire for its 2025 State Summer Games, the organization’s largest competition of the year for its athletes, on Friday, June 6, and Saturday, June 7, at the University of New Hampshire (105 Main St., Durham). The games include competition in athletics, bocce, equestrian, powerlifting, unified sprint triathlons and swimming. Visit sonh.org.

• Granite State Roller Derby has home bouts scheduled for Saturday, June 7, and Saturday, June 28, both at 6 p.m. and held at the Everett Arena (15 Loudon Road in Concord). See granitestaterollerderby.org.

• The 2025 New Hampshire Soap Box Derby Local Championship will be held on Sunday, June 8, at 120 Broadway in Dover — check-ins begin at 7:45 a.m., with side-by-side competitions starting at 10 a.m. Spectators can cheer on the races for free. See nh.soapboxderby.org.

• The 102nd annual Loudon Classic Middleweight Grand Prix, a 1.6-mile road race, will take place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1122 Route 106, Louon) on Saturday, June 14, as part of Laconia Motorcycle Week. See nhms.com.

• High school football players from across the state will participate in the 13th annual NH East-West High School All-Star Football Game, benefiting Dartmouth Health Children’s and the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, scheduled for Friday, June 27, at 6 p.m. at Grappone Stadium at Saint Anselm College (100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester). General admission tickets are $15 in advance, $20 on the day. Kids 5 and under get in for free. See chadkids.org.

• New Hampshire Muscle Cars club will be hosting its Summer Sizzler car show on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Star Speed way (176 Exeter Road in Epping). It will include burnout competitions as well as slalom competitions. See nhmusclecars.com.

Nature Events

• The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Audubon are offering a Black Birders Week 2025 Tour on Saturday, May 31, from 9 to 11 a.m. in Portsmouth. The tour will start at the Black Heritage Trail’s office and head through gardens ending at the water, according to nhaudubon.org, where you can register for a spot. Registration costs $20.

• Sunday, June 1, is World Ocean Day and the Seacoast Science Center at Odiorne Point State Park in Rye is celebrating from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with touch tanks, tide pool tours, activity stations, an inflatable whale, a beach clean-up and more, according to seacoastsciencecenter.org, where you can purchase tickets for the event.

• New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way in Auburn; nhaudubon.org) will hold free Massabesic Garden Tours throughout the summer: Tuesday, June 3, at 5:30 to 7 p.m.; Saturday, June 14, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 16, 10 to 11:30 a.m., and Tuesday, Aug. 26, 5:30 to 7 p.m. RSVP online.

Summer reads
Meet your favorite authors at author readings and other events this summer. Find listings of author events, book sales and more literary fun this week and every week in the Books section.

• Saturday, June 7, is New Hampshire Fish and Game’s summer Free Fishing Day, when state residents and nonresidents are allowed to fish any inland water or saltwater in New Hampshire without a fishing license. Visit wildlife.state.nh.us.

• Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire will celebrate National Trails Day by maintaining the trails at Stonehouse Forest in Barrington on Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to noon. Register to participate at seltnh.org.

• The New Hampshire Audubon will hold its annual Native Plant and Craft Sale on Saturday, June 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the McLean Center (84 Silk Farm Road in Concord). The event will also include the sale of fresh flower bouquets, a fair featuring more than 15 local artisans, the pizza-serving Greenhouse Food Truck, music from Junk Drawer, guided tours of the gardens, animal ambassadors and more. See nhaudubon.org.

• If you enjoy watching the peregrine falcons and their chicks at the Brady Sullivan Tower in downtown Manchester (you can view them in three different live streams via nhaudubon.org/education/birds-and-birding/peregrine-cam) you can learn more about them at a falcon fan meet and greet (for humans) and supply- and fund-raiser for Wings of the Dawn Rescue & Rehab on Saturday, June 21, at 10 a.m. at the Brady Sullivan Tower, according to the daily log. Keep an eye on the cams for falcon updates and to see the daily log.

• The New Hampshire Audubon Nature Challenge will run Sunday, June 22, through Saturday, June 28, when participants can help to “document the birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, flowers, trees, mosses, mushrooms, and everything that either stops at our sanctuaries or calls [the NH Audubon’s wildlife sanctuaries] home!” according to nhaudubon.org, where you can see the list of sanctuaries and get more information about how to participate.

• New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way in Auburn; nhaudubon.org) will hold an Art Walk in the Garden event on Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a guided tour with the garden team from 1 to 2:30 p.m. (register online for the tour). The event will showcase the newly installed All Persons Trail in the Center’s gardens and sanctuary fields, according to the website. Original, local artworks will be placed through the gardens, with some piece available for purchase, the website said. Greenhouse Pizza Truck will be on site selling lunch and there will be an indoor art exhibit as well, the website said. Register on the site by July 5 for free transportation to the center from Veterans Park in Manchester.

• At the Harris Conservation Center for Conservation Education in Hancock, the SuperSanctuary Butterfly Club will hold a Butterfly Count on Saturday, July 19, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Register to help with the survey, whose information will be submitted to the North American Butterfly Association and the New Hampshire Butterfly Monitoring Network. See harriscenter.org.

• The New Hampshire Audubon’s McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road in Concord; nhaudubon.org) will serve as the home base for the NH Butterfly Monitoring Network Capital Region Butterfly Count on Saturday, July 26, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participants can register online to receive more information about the locations in the Concord area that will be part of the count, according to the website.

Music Festivals

• The New Hampshire Gay Men’s Chorus spring concert series “Celebrations” will be performed at four locations: the Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (22 Fox Run Road in Newington) on Saturday, May 31, at 7 p.m.; The Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester) on Sunday, June 1, at 3 p.m.; First Baptist Church of Nashua (121 Manchester St. in Nashua) on Saturday, June 7, at 7 p.m., and the BNH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord) on Sunday, June 8, at 3 p.m. See nhgmc.com/tickets for links to tickets at each venue.

• The Northlands Music and Arts Festival will offer three days of music this year — Friday, June 13, and Sunday, June 15, at the Cheshire Fairground in Swanzey, plus music on Thursday as fans show up at the campground. Headliners include The String Cheese Incident on Friday; Cory Wong and Moe. on Saturday, and Umphrey’s McGee and Lotus on Sunday. Food vendors will be at both the concert and the campground as will arts and craft vendors. The weekend will also feature kids’ activities, wellness activities and more. See northlandslive.com for festival, camping and parking passes as well as for the complete music lineup.

• The “Country by the Coast” Country Music Festival takes place Tuesday, July 8, through Thursday, July 10, with music and line-dancing (with Nashville Line Dance at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and 5 p.m. on Thursday) each evening. The music line-up includes Red Solo Cup (Toby Keith tribute) on July 8 at 7 p.m.; Stefanie Jasmine Band on July 9 at 7 p.m., and David J. followed by Niko Moon on July 10 starting at 7 p.m., according to hamptonbeach.org. All shows are free.

• Brews & Blues ’25 will feature music from noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 19, including Clandestine Funk, Johnny A. & James Montgomery Band at Anheuser-Busch, (221 DW Highway, Merrimack, 595-1202, budweisertours.com). Tickets to this 21+ event cost $35.

Summer of concerts
Michael Witthaus is cooking up a big guide to summer concerts. Look for that issue in June.

• Hillfest 2025, billed as “New England’s Christian Music Festival,” will take place Saturday, July 19, from 1 to 10:30 p.m. at The Lord’s Valley, 100 Locke Road in New Ipswich. The line-up includes Jeremy Camp, We Are Messengers, Ben Fuller, Terrian, Leanna Crawford and Megan Woods. See hillfestevents.com.

• Pizzastock 9, a family community music event featuring 13 music acts on two stages as well as information on mental health, physical health and suicide prevention, will take place on Saturday, July 26, from noon to 6 p.m. at Pinkerton Academy in Derry next to the football field, according to a post on the Jason R. Flood Memorial Facebook page. The event will also feature kid activities, a teen/young adult “tailgate” game area, food trucks and of course pizza from Kendall Pond Pizza, the post said. Entrance to the event is free. See pizzastock.org or find them on Facebook.

• The Granite State Blues Festival will take place Saturday, Aug. 2, in Veterans Memorial Park on Elm Street in downtown Manchester from noon to 6 p.m. See granitestateblues.org for details.

• The Outlaw Music Festival will come to the Bank NH Pavillion in Gilford on Sunday, Aug. 3, at 3:45 p.m. featuring Willie Nelson & Family, Bob Dylan, Wilco, Lucinda Williams and Waylon Payne. Other Brother Darryl plays on the Hazy Little Stage at 3 p.m. See banknhpavilion.com.

• The New Hampshire Irish Festival is slated for Saturday, Aug. 23, at 5 p.m. at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org). The line-up on stage is scheduled to include The Spain Brothers, Ronan Tynan, Screaming Orphans, Mick McAuley and Eileen Ivers, according to the website, where tickets starting at $43 are on sale now.

Food Events

• The Friends of the Library of Windham will hold their 40th annual Strawberry Festival and Book Fair on Saturday, May 31, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Windham High School (64 London Bridge Road, Windham). The festival will feature homemade strawberry shortcake, live music, raffles, local vendors and games. The Book Fair will start with a preview day for Friends members, teachers and seniors at Nesmith Library on Wednesday, May 28, and then open to the public Thursday, May 29, from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m and Friday, May 30, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Saturday the book fair will move to the high school from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a $5 bag of books special from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Visit flowwindham.org.

• Tickets are on sale now for the Palace Theatre’s Kitchen Tour on Sunday, June 1. The tour will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and feature a self-guided tour at kitchens in Amherst, Bedford, Hollis and Manchester, with a lunch offered at Baron’s Major Brands in Manchester. Tickets cost $55 in advance, $65 on the day. See palacetheatre.org.

• Herb & Garden Day, presented by the New Hampshire Herbal Network, returns to the Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum (18 Highlawn Road, Warner) on Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The event features workshops tailored to all skill levels, along with plant walks, an herbal market and plant sale, food vendors and more. Admission is $35 in advance. Visit nhherbalnetwork.org/herbday.

• The Rhubarb Festival at Sawyer Memorial Park (148 Route 202 in Bennington) will take place Saturday, June 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day will feature rhubarb eats as well as food trucks, a craft fair, vendors, children’s activities, a petting zoo, a story walk, music, plants and more, according to townofbennington.com/rhubarb-festival.

• The 97.5 WOKQ Chowder Festival Summer Kick-Off takes place Saturday, June 7, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Prescott Park in Portsmouth. Tickets cost $20 per person. See prescottpark.org/event/97-5-wokq-chowder-festival-2025.

• The New Hampshire Bacon & Beer Festival will take place Saturday, June 7, 1:30 to 5 p.m. at Anheuser-Busch (221 DW Highway, Merrimack, 595-1202, budweisertours.com). This 21+ event will feature 60+ brewers as well as barbecue and bacon vendors as well as live music by The Slakas, according to nhbaconbeer.com. Attendees will get beer and bacon samples and can purchase additional items, the website said. General admission tickets cost $70.90 in advance.

• The St. Nicholas Greek Festival will return on Friday, June 20, and Saturday, June 21, from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. both days, at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (40 Andrew Jarvis Drive, Portsmouth, 436-2733). This year’s Greek Festival will feature fresh lamb, moussaka, spanakopita (spinach pie), gyros and Greek pastry. Visit stnicholasgreekfestival.com.

• The Hollis Strawberry Festival, presented by the Hollis Woman’s Club, will bring strawberry shortcake and other strawberry treats to the Town Common (7 Monument Square, Hollis) on Sunday, June 22, from 2 to 4 p.m. Visit holliswomansclub.org.

• The NH Beer Trail Basecamp Festival on Saturday, June 28, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Tuckerman Brewing in Conway is a new event from the New Hampshire Brewers Association and a kickoff to the relaunched NH Beer Trail Guidebook, according to nhbrewers.org. The event will feature nearly 40 New Hampshire craft breweries, live music, food trucks, local vendors and more, according to the website, where you can buy general admission tickets for $50 each, VIP tickets (with a noon admission time) for $75 and designated driver tickets for $20 each.

• Farm-a-Q, a celebration of local farmers, chefs and brewers,returns to Tuckaway Farm (36 Captain Smith Emerson Road, Lee) on Sunday, June 29, from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets start at $20. The event is billed as family-friendly and supports the Heritage Harvest Project, whose mission is to promote regional heritage foods and agricultural diversity among farmers, chefs and local communities. See “Farm-a-Q” on Eventbrite to purchase tickets.

• The Spicy Shark presents the New England Hot Sauce Fest, returning to Smuttynose Brewing Co. (105 Towle Farm Road, Hampton) on Saturday, July 26, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event features local hot sauce companies selling and offering samples of their spicy products, as well as with bounce houses, food trucks and more. General admission tickets are $15 in advance; VIP tickets are $20 in advance and give you a 10 a.m. admission time. Proceeds will benefit the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation and the Seacoast Science Center, according to newenglandhotsaucefest.com.

• Southern New Hampshire Food Truck Festival will take place on Saturday, Aug. 2, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 3, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Hampshire Dome (34 Emerson Road in Milford). Tickets cost $8 each or two for $15; kids age 14 and under get in free. The fest will feature live music, craft beer and cocktails, more than 50 vendors, a whoopie pie eating contest and a kids’ zone, according to a post at facebook.com/GreatNEFoodTruckFest.

• The Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival (bestfestnh.com) will take place Friday, Aug. 15, to Sunday, Aug. 17, at Our Lady of the Cedars Church (140 Mitchell St., Manchester, 623-8944, olocnh.org). Lebanese foods such as shawarma, falafel, lamb, grilled chicken and many types of pastries will be served. The fest will be open from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

• Assumption Greek Orthodox Church (111 Island Pond Road, Manchester, 623- 2045, assumptionnh.org) will hold its 2025 Greekfest on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 24, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit the Church’s website for more information closer to the event.

Another Simple Favor (R)

Mom-frienemies played by Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively reunite in Another Simple Favor, a sequel to the 2018 movie that lives in a more darkly fantastical world.

Stephanie (Kendrick), mommy vlogger, true crime lady and author, is shocked to see Emily (Blake Lively), the mysterious mom who faked her own death (among other crimes) in the first movie, return after years in prison. When Emily asks Stephanie to be her maid of honor for her upcoming wedding in Capri, Stephanie is pretty sure chic Emily is just taking her to a foreign country to make it easier to get away with revenge-murdering her. But Emily pleads/threatens a lawsuit and Stephanie’s book agent (Alex Newell) says this is excellent sequel material, so Stephanie agrees to go.

Emily’s Italian wedding is as fashion-forward and drama-filled as expected: fiance Danté (Michele Morrone) is the sexy and wealthy scion of a mob family whose rivals he is trying to make peace with at his wedding; Dante’s mother (Elena Sofia Ricci) hates Emily and brings in Emily’s unhinged mother (Elizabeth Perkins) and Emily’s odd aunt Linda (Allison Janney) to needle her; Emily’s ex-husband (Henry Golding) deals with court orders to bring her son Nicky (Ian Ho) to the wedding by staying very drunk, and Stephanie is pretty sure every drink Emily hands her is potentially poisoned. And all of that is before the first person is murdered at this multi-murder affair.

Like the massive sun hat or feather boa robe that Lively’s character sports in this movie, Another Simple Favor isn’t subtle. This is a movie with telenovela-worthy plot points and dramatic ridiculousness but just enough pleasant tartness in the friendship/enemyship of Emily and Stephanie to make the whole thing feel frothy and fun without tipping over into too-much-ness territory. Kendrick does allow us to believe that her character has grown in the ensuing years and Lively is, as always, perfect for this grown-up Gossip Girl-ness. B Streaming on Prime Video.

Drop (PG-13)

A woman on a first date — a first date after years of an abusive marriage and the aftermath as a single mom — finds herself terrorized by an anonymous person via her phone’s AirDrop-like feature in Drop, a well-paced, tense horror-suspense movie.

In the movie’s opening scene, we see Violet (Meghann Fahy) crawl to get away from her violent husband. Years later, she is a therapist, is raising her son Toby (Jacob Robinson) and is preparing for a first date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar). Her sister Jen (Violett Beane) comes over to watch Toby and to suggest Violet change out of her office-blouse attire and into something zazzier for the date. Violet arrives at the fancy restaurant on the top floor of a skyscraper and has interactions with assorted people as she waits for Henry at the bar. Around the time he arrives, she starts to receive “dropped” notifications (but not “AirDropped”; this movie gives its feature a non-Apple-tech name). She ignores a few and then she and Henry break the ice by trying to figure out who in the restaurant may be sending them. But the increasingly insistent messages tell her to check her home security cams, where she sees a masked figure menace her family. The messages tell her not to involve Henry or anyone else and to follow its directions to keep her family members alive.

Drop does a good job of showing us Violet’s state of fear and aloneness, one that recalls the way she felt in her previous abusive relationship. It also gives us a relatively realistic, non-superhero woman trying to figure out how to save her kid and all the others the messenger threatens with the limited resources she has. Drop is tense and well-paced. B Available for rent or purchase.

Nonnas (PG)

Vince Vaughn dials down the Vince-Vaughn-ness to play Joe Scaravella, a man who opens a restaurant dedicated to preserving the art of grandma cuisine, in Nonnas, a Netflix movie based on a real guy and his real grandma-centric restaurant in Staten Island.

After the death of his mother, Joe (Vaughn) decides to take the insurance money and use it to open Enoteca Maria, a restaurant that will attempt to recreate the food and the vibes of his mom’s and grandma’s Italian cooking. He hires as his cooks grandmas and women of grandma age — pastry and dessert maker Gia (Susan Sarandon), former nun Teresa (Talia Shire) and two grandmas with differing opinions about from whence hails the best Italian cuisine, the Sicilian Roberta (Lorraine Bracco) and the Bolognese Antonella (Brenda Vaccaro). Making the restaurant happen requires the assistance of childhood friend Bruno (Joe Manganiello) and Bruno’s wife Stella (Drea de Matteo). Desperate to keep this part of his mother’s memory alive, Joe pours all his time and money into trying to get the restaurant to work — though he does have a little energy left over to try to rekindle a relationship with decades-ago prom date Olivia (Linda Cardellini).

But the rom is pretty light in this movie that is mostly about the comedy of being a guy with no experience opening a restaurant with very opinionated Italian-American ladies. The titular nonnas and the food they make is the real focus here and the movie does a serviceable job of giving the ladies (and loads of hunger-inducing dishes) a chance to shine. C+ Streaming on Netflix.

A Working Man (R)

Jason Statham is a working man in A Working Man, a movie that is basically “what if Taken but The Beekeeper.”

This movie isn’t quite as good as either of those, but it’s pretty solid for when you want some smooth brain Jason Statham nonsense where he is basically playing, straight-faced, his “this arm has been ripped out completely and reattached with this arm” character from Spy. Levon Cade (Statham) is a construction worker but he was a super skilled commando guy in the British military. His employers — Joe Garcia (Michael Peña) and wife Carla (Noemi Gonzalez) — and workers alike admire and trust him and, a girl-dad himself, Levon promises college-age Garcia daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas) that he’ll always have her back. So naturally, during a night out with friends, Jenny goes missing. Joe begs Levon to find Jenny. With some burrowed weaponry and information help from Army buddies, Levon sets out to find her.

Ultimately the bad guys Levon must fight, moving up the echelons in the Bad Guy corporate structure, are Russian mafia types. Well, “Russian” in the sense that maybe the movie doesn’t know the difference between “Russians” and “vampires.” If you told me that actually all the bad guys, particularly the head don with a silver skull on the top of his cane, were vampires, it would track and still work — like it’s always night? And the menace is very theatrical? Jenny also proves herself to be no slouch in the kidnapping victim department — always with a plan to outwit her captors and a sassy comeback when she can’t.

This movie is fine and fun — not as “yippee!” stupid fun as Statham’s The Beekeeper but still dumb, still a good time, still full of violence that straddles the line between “ha!” and “that’s not really how physics works.” B Available for rent and purchase.

Thunderbolts* (PG-13)

A scrappy band of Marvel secondary characters come together in Thunderbolts*, a movie that pretty nicely sells you on the idea of a future of the MCU.

Yelena (Florence Pugh), a former Red Room Black Widow who was the little sister to big sister Natasha “Scarlett Johansson” Black Widow and is still mourning her loss, is sick of working as a covert assassin-type. She finds the work empty and wants something more “public facing,” she tells her boss Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus).

And, look, I haven’t done all the homework on Valentina — all the The Falcon and the Winter Soldier business. But to sum up: she is the CIA director (as she was in Wakanda Forever) and she just generally represents all the most cynical elements of both the government and the biotech weapons world. In the latter capacity, she was behind an attempt to create supersoldiers. She also employs several deadly semi-super-assassins, including Yelena, to clean up any inconvenient messes including those made in the attempt to make supersoldiers. Which is why we see Yelena as she parachutes into a lab, kills a bunch of people and blows it up. And perhaps because Valentina is being investigated by Congress, including first-term Congressman Bucky “Winter Soldier” Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Yelena thinks Valentina is on the level when she tells her one last wetworks job and then you can change careers.

That one last job involves following Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) into an extra-fortified vault. Only Ghost was also given one last job, which was to follow Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) into the vault. And Taskmaster was sent after John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the aggro-one-time Captain America, who was in turn offered a clean slate if he took out Yelena. One of them is dispatched before they figure out that Valentina sent them to take each other out and has locked them in an incinerator to take care of the bodies. But Valentina didn’t factor in Bob (Lewis Pullman), the regular-looking dude in scrubs who shows up. Nor did it occur to her that these malcontents with their trauma-filled backgrounds might be able to work together. And she didn’t realize that the limo driver overhearing her conversation about killing Yelena was the Red Guardian (David Harbour), Yelena’s sometimes father figure.

Thunderbolts* has a Bad Guy and a Worse Guy, which is how a cynical Valentina explains the power dynamics of the world to her young assistant (a fun, underused Geraldine Viswanathan). But I think the Big Bad of this movie — in the way that, say, colonialism is the true Big Bad in Black Panther — is despair. As several people in the movie say, the Avengers are gone and are not coming to save the day. The regular humans that are left are like Valentina — power-mad, self-dealing and seemingly actively trying to make the world a worse place. And those that oppose her but can’t seem to make a dent in the ability of her and those like her to stay in power. The Thunderbolts, as they sort of sarcastically call themselves, are all dealing with varying levels of mental exhaustion — the things from their past that they have to carry are too heavy and the road ahead looks similarly hard. What’s the point of any of it, what can you do except, as Yelena suggests, just try to push all that down and maybe drink. But, of course infinite denial is not a great plan — not for regular people and definitely not for those given super serum.

This is kind of weird territory for a superhero movie, especially one tasked with getting us all excited about Marvel movies again, but it works. It’s grittier (without being bleak), looser and smarter than some of those Eternals/Quantumania movies of late that just feel like dreary attempts at replaying the hits. And Thunderbolts*, while given some MCU business to do, does not suffer in the way that, say, Captain America: Brave New World does from the MCU of it all blotting out this specific movie’s story and characters. Its “we’re the ones we’re waiting for” message isn’t bombastic, it’s more just hopeful and determined. The movie delivers genuine emotion — particularly in the relationship between Yelena and the Red Guardian (David Harbour is having the Most Fun throughout this movie) — and some genuine laughs as well as occasional action scenes that have real stakes. I don’t love the reason for the * in the movie’s title or the movie’s final moments that address it, but I had a pretty good time otherwise. B In theaters. There are two post credits scenes, one fun and one setting up future stuff.

Locked (R)

Bill Skarsgård picks the wrong car to steal from in Locked, a fun example of simplified concept horror.

Eddie (Skarsgård) is behind on his child support, is behind on picking up his young daughter from school and doesn’t have the cash to pay for all of his van’s repairs. And, as a delivery person, he needs his van to work and pick up his daughter and make money to pay child support. To find the cash to cover repairs, he buys a few scratch-offs, he hits up unreceptive friends to borrow money (most of whom hang up on him) and then he nicks a wallet and starts trying the door handles of parked cars. The movie conveys that he’s not a bad guy per se — his thievery is nonviolent and when he’s barked at by a dog locked in one of the cars, he offers the hot pup some water. Then he sees a sleek SUV that is unlocked. He gets in, admires the car’s very lux interior but finding nothing worth stealing decides to leave. But he can’t; the doors are locked. Attempts to push open, kick out and even hit out the windows with a crowbar go nowhere. He even attempts to take a door apart, ignoring the constant ringing of the car’s built-in phone. Eventually, when attempts to call 911 or get the attention of someone walking by fail, he gives in and answers the phone. I am William (Anthony Hopkins) and this is my car, says the voice. And thus do days begin to pass — William can send an electrical shock through the seats, blast the air conditioner or the heat and play yodeling at full volume when Eddie upsets him. He berates Eddie for committing crimes, he rails against society, he drops information about a daughter who we gather was a victim of something worse than a car break-in. Eddie meanwhile tries everything to escape. He learns the hard way that the car is bulletproof. He eats what little food he has, he runs out of water, he fantasizes about a McDonald’s order. He argues with William about the economic inequality of the city, and pleads with William that he is sorry for his crimes. And he is horrified to learn that William can drive the car by autopilot.

Eddie is no dummy. His arguments with William go to a literary place about guilt and morality while William, a wealthy man and a doctor, is actually pretty “kids these days” and “this city has gone to seed.” Hopkins gives William a touch of Hannibal Lecter — sadistic and amoral even as he’s going on about justice. It’s a solid concept for a movie, well-executed and acted, and offers solid suspense and a kind of “hell is other people” horror. B Available for rent or purchase.

Havoc (R)

Tom Hardy is a cop with problems in Havoc, a movie that is 78 percent shooting.

So much shooting that it starts to take on a “heavy rainstorm” kind of white noise quality. This is Netflix, so if you fall asleep during the scene where one group of bad guys mows down another group of bad guys and then wake up during a scene when a third group of bad guys is mowing down them, you can always rewind. You can also not rewind because the who and why are kind of irrelevant to the point of these scenes, which is shooting.

Homicide detective Walker (Tom Hardy) is every single cliché of a TV or movie anti-hero — estranged from wife and child, living in a cruddy apartment, basically a walking mess of a person. He is mired in trauma from a thing that he and other detectives did that “went too far” and has caused his wife to refer to his offer of help as “blood money.” He grumps his way through his night shift, riding along with officer Ellie (Jessie Mei Li), a rookie who seems to find his Whole Thing off-putting.

Walker and Ellie are called to a massacre at a bad guy hangout where Walker learns that Charlie (Justin Cornwell), son of city developer and corrupt political guy Beaumont (Forest Whitaker), is one of the main suspects. Because of some security footage, the police think Charlie and his girlfriend Mia (Quelin Sepulveda) are responsible for mowing down the head of the local Chinese gang. Unfortunately for Charlie, the dead gang leader’s bad-ass mother (Yeo Yann Yann) also thinks he’s to blame. She and her efficient gang of killers are looking for him so Beaumont, who I guess has many police officers on his payroll, tells Walker to find and safeguard Charlie. Meanwhile, Walker’s fellow group of homicide detectives — played by two guys who aren’t Timothy Olyphant and one guy who is Timothy Olyphant — are also mixed up in the massacre, which is related to a shipment of drugs that were hidden in washing machines, one of which wound up being thrown on a cop car during a chase earlier in the movie.

But I’ve made it sound like there’s a lot of story here when really there are just little wisps of story and whole lots of shooting, with a thousand bullets fired for every one that hits somebody. And all of this is situated in a city that feels like the grimmest version of Gotham but without Batman or any costumed bad guys. And it’s at Christmastime, to make everything feel extra sad.

And yet, Tom Hardy almost, not really but almost, makes a good part of this work. He wears down-at-his-heels hopeless-guy well and makes you feel the guilt that his character drags around. C+ Streaming on Netflix.

Sinners (R)

Director Ryan Coogler crafts a very good supernatural thriller studded with a few top-shelf musical set pieces — including one all-timer of a chill-inducing music-on-film moment — in Sinners.

After years away in the military (World War I, it’s implied) and in Chicago, twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown in the Mississippi Delta during what Wikipedia says is 1932. I missed a date title card, if there was one, but the movie makes it clear that we’re in the pre-civil rights era when getting out — joining the Great Migration to the north or west — was the best chance of getting ahead for Black communities. But Smoke and Stack explain to their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) that the relative freedom of Chicago isn’t exactly as advertised so they have decided to return to the devil they know. They’ve come back with a stack of cash, a truck full of booze and a plan to open a juke joint, which will have its opening night the very same day they buy the old mill where it will be housed from some tobacco-spitting racist.

The day is spent gathering necessities for the big opening. Stack and Sammie buy catfish and a sign from general store operators Bo (Yao) and Grace Chow (Li Jun Li). They hire pianist Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) to perform along with guitarist Sammie, and Cornbread (Omar Miller) to serve as a bouncer. Smoke convinces Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), a sort-of ex who perhaps has otherworldly abilities, to cook for the evening. The night promises possibility — Sammie flirts with Pearline (Jayme Lawson), a woman who might sing at the joint — as well as potential dangers. The way Smoke and Stack are told there’s no Klan in the area makes it clear that the Ku Klux Klan is a present danger. The juke joint’s menu of Italian wine and Irish beer suggests the Chicago gangs that may be the booze’s provenance. And then there’s Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a woman with a biracial grandfather who appears to be white and had a youthful romance with Stack. She still (angrily) carries a torch even though Stack tries to convince her that they can not be a couple.

But Sammie can almost make all of that seem like distant worry. His playing of the blues goes beyond simply music well performed into the realm of spiritual experience, something that can connect the people in the present to the people and music of the past and future. He conjures an experience that not only gives the people listening a kind of momentary release from themselves but also attracts a man (Jack O’Connell) we first see running, smoldering as the sun sets, to a house on a dirt farm, begging to be let in.

The creature feature elements of this story are well done but what makes them something more than just standard-issue monster movie fare is the way they’re nestled in a setting that feels like a dark fairy tale even though it’s drawn from actual history. When a trio of white musicians comes to the door of the juke joint, they’re dangerous for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with the supernatural. What, then, does it mean for something to be a monster? The movie also spends a fair amount of time thinking about freedom — momentary freedom, a more lasting state of freedom. What does that mean? How is it achieved?

Anchoring these ideas to something human and real are the performances, which are solid across the board. Jordan of course is the standout. This movie isn’t, in the Fruitvale Station sense, a serious drama but, as Jordan did in Creed and Black Panther — two movies where the IP could do most of the work if you let it — he brings gravitas to less-than-grave subjects. He can convey pain, frustration, desire and anger with an economy of gestures and expressions. And he makes Smoke and Stack two different people who can work in concert without always being in agreement.

The real standout of Sinners is the music — how the movie uses it, how it puts it together. One musical scene in particular felt to me like the equivalent of a set-piece action scene in a different kind of movie. It’s Tom Cruise hanging from a plane or Keanu Reeves fighting in a traffic circle. It is the sort of thing that shocks the movie up to a different level and makes it easier to forgive any wobbly bits, not that this movie has many. It’s a kind of precision designed, choreographed sequence that serves as a showpiece and a bit of a demonstration of mission statement for what the movie wants to convey. A
In theaters.