new movies May little mermaid

New movies to watch in May

The live-action Little Mermaid, the BlackBerry movie, Fast X, Celine Dion in Love Again and more.

Blockbuster season comes out with a bang with two major franchise entries. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5) unites everyone’s favourite Marvel outcasts in an action (and apparently weepy) space adventure. (Read our complete Guardians of the Galaxy 3 review.) In other misfits turned defacto family franchises, Fast X (May 19) sees Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) face off against an unknown threat from his past. Will his family endure? Will they go back to space? You’ll have to watch to find out. 

Love Again (new movies to watch in May)

Our Queen, Celine Dion, comes to the big screen this month in a supporting role in the new romantic comedy Love Again (May 5). Dealing with the death of her fiancé, Mira Ray (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) sends a series of romantic and confessional texts to her deceased lover, not realizing that it has been re-assigned to a journalist, Rob, who is working on a profile on Celine Dion. With the help of Dion, he will figure out how to meet Mira and win her heart.

For family fare, the live-action adaptation of Disney classic The Little Mermaid (May 26) comes to the screen later this month. The film is in good hands with director Rob Marshall (Chicago and Into the Woods), who has made some of the most successful musicals of the past two decades. Will it be able to capture the success of other recent remakes like The Lion King, Aladdin or The Jungle Book

Matt Johnson’s hilarious and breakneck BlackBerry (May 12) charts the rise of the world’s first smartphone. Taking place over 10 years, the movie (starring Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton) is a Canadian cautionary tale about trying to keep up with the Joneses — in this case, trying to compete with the infinite growth of the American capitalist machine.

Master Gardener (new movies to watch in May)

One of the best films we watched last year, Cristian Mungiu’s R.M.N. (May 5), finally makes it to cinemas this month. It’s a non-judgmental analysis of the driving forces of human behaviour when confronted with the unknown, of the way we perceive the other and how we relate to an unsettling future. Mungiu is best known for his harrowing abortion thriller, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. (Read our complete R.M.N. review.)

Paul Schrader has been on a roll for the past decade or so with films like The Card Counter and First Reformed. His latest film, Master Gardener (May 19), is considered the third film in that unofficial trilogy. Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver star in the film about a meticulous horticulturist devoted to tending the grounds of a beautiful estate and pandering to his employer, the wealthy dowager.

Phi 1.618 new movies May
Phi 1.618 (new movies to watch in May)

For some arthouse cinema a little closer to home, animator Theodore Ushev (Blind Vaysha) makes his live-action feature debut with Phi 1.618 (May 5). A predictably unconventional film set in a dystopian future, Phi 1.618 is about a punk girl who bedevils the brutalist world of a new breed of loveless immortal men.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and if you’re looking for some light fare to enjoy with the mother figure in your life, why not check out Book Club 2: The Next Chapter (May 12). The star-studded cast, including Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen, return post-pandemic to go on an Italian adventure inspired by Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist

You Hurt My Feelings new movies May
You Hurt My Feelings (new movies to watch in May)

One of the biggest hits from this year’s Sundance festival, You Hurt My Feelings (May 26), stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a novelist whose marriage threatens to fall apart after she hears her husband give brutally honest feedback about her work. From director Nicole Holofcener (Friends With Money and Enough Said), some critics are already suggesting that Julia Louis-Dreyfus may deserve Oscar attention for her performance.

See what’s screening in Montreal cinemas here.


For more film coverage, please visit the Film & TV section.