Every must-see movie for May, from Doctor Strange to Top Gun: Maverick

Also, Downton returns, Bob’s Burgers gets super-sized, and lots of other great reasons to head back to the multiplex

Matt Schimkowitz,

Alison Foreman,

Todd Gilchrist,

and Jack Smart

4/29/22 5:00AM

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From left: Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness (Photo: Courtesy of Marvel Studios), Bob's Burgers Movie (Photo: 20th Century Studios), Downton Abbey: A New Era (Photo: Ben Blackall / © 2022 Focus Features, LLC), Top Gun: Maverick (Photo: Paramount Pictures) — From left: *Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness* (Photo: Courtesy of Marvel Studios), Bob’s Burgers Movie (Photo: 20th Century Studios), *Downton Abbey: A New Era* (Photo: Ben Blackall / © 2022 Focus Features, LLC), *Top Gun: Maverick* (Photo: Paramount Pictures)

Of all the months that make up this year’s blockbuster-filled summer movie season, May might be the most deserving of top billing. Not only does it kick off the popcorn season for film fans—who are likely to turn out in a big way in 2022 after two years of a pandemic-driven downturn at the cineplex—but May also happens to host some of this year’s most anticipated titles. That includes the latest Marvel offering (Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness), Tom Cruise’s long-awaited return to the skies with Top Gun: Maverick, and a pair of TV-to-film transfers in Downton Abbey: A New Era and The Bob’s Burgers Movie. Keep reading to get a closer look at these films as well as the rest of May’s most worthwhile titles.

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Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Theaters everywhere May 6

It hasn’t been that long since our last appointment with the good Doctor Strange. After splitting the multiverse into a thousand itty-bitty pieces in Spider-Man: No Way Home, accidentally creating a timeline where people re-evaluate those Marc Webb Spider-Man movies, Doctor Strange gets a sequel to himself with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. But as exciting as it is to see Benedict Cumberbatch back in the goatee, Rachel McAdams back in the MCU, and Elizabeth Olsen’s follow-up to WandaVision, it’s even more exciting to see Sam Raimi, director of the original Spider-Man trilogy, behind the camera again. It’s Raimi’s first movie since 2013, and if Spider-Man 2 proves anything, it’s that this guy knows how to direct a superhero movie. [Matt Schimkowitz]

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Operation Mincemeat

Theaters everywhere May 6

Operation Mincemeat actually marks the second British film about this real-life World War II military operation (the first was the 1956 film The Man Who Never Was). In the new version, Colin Firth stars as Ewen Montagu, a Naval intelligence officer who decides to supply fake information to German forces in an effort to prevent them from learning about the impending Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. Matthew Macfayden (Succession), Kelly Macdonald (Holmes & Watson), Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey), and Jason Isaacs (Mass) co-star as Montagu’s co-conspirators, while director John Madden, the helmer of Shakespeare In Love, offers another example of the power of historic stories. [Todd Gilchrist]

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Happening

In limited theaters May 6

Based on Annie Ernaux’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, Happening (or L’événement in French) won the Golden Lion at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival before the intimate drama premiered to positive reviews in France last fall. Now the story of Anne—a young woman grappling with an unexpected pregnancy—arrives in international theaters as the fight for women’s right to choose rages across the globe. It’s thematically as relevant as ever and, based on the movie’s trophy case (which also boasts nods from the European Film Awards, British Academy Film Awards, and more), it seems to be brilliantly executed. [Alison Foreman]

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Firestarter

Theaters everywhere May 13

Director Keith Thomas (The Vigil) looks to heat things up this month with a remake of Mark L. Lester’s flawlessly campy Firestarter. Adapted from the same Stephen King novel as the 1984 film, this film tells the story of a young girl with pyrokinesis (played originally by Drew Barrymore) and stars Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Charlie. Zac Efron and Sydney Lemmon play Charlie’s parents, who find themselves at odds over how to conceal their daughter’s powers from the government. It’s tough to say if this—yet another ’80s horror remake!—will be any good, but at least we can count on seeing things go boom. [Alison Foreman]

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Mau

In limited theaters May 13

Attention, design nerds: Bruce Mau, the visionary behind everything from Coca-Cola’s global sustainability efforts to a 1,000-year plan for Mecca, is getting his own documentary. Talking heads in the trailer describe him as “problematic,” “enigmatic,” and, despite Mau’s vast experience thinking and rethinking the state of the world, “optimistic.” An homage to human imagination like this could get viewers thinking about how individuals can impact systems—and who couldn’t use a little inspiration right about now? [Jack Smart]

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Senior Year

Streaming on Netflix May 13

Never Been Kissed meets serious head trauma in this Netflix comedy starring Rebel Wilson. When high school cheerleader Stephanie falls into a coma—only to wake up decades later as a 37-year-old woman—she’s determined to pick up where she left off and finally win prom queen. Hilarity ensues (presumably) from there. Sure, adults returning to high school is well-trodden comedic territory, but Senior Year’s focus on parodying early-aughts pop culture seems like it could be especially fun. Plus, who doesn’t love Sam Richardson? [Alison Foreman]

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Downton Abbey: A New Era

Theaters everywhere May 20

Julian Fellowes continues to draw more stories out of this complex world of the aristocracy and the working-class individuals that keep it afloat. In A New Era, Violet Crowley (Maggie Smith) unexpectedly inherits a villa in the south of France, while Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) navigates the arrival of a film crew that decides to stage its latest production at the eponymous estate. Hugh Dancy and Dominic West, newcomers to the Downton universe, join mainstays like Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter, Elizabeth McGovern, and Penelope Wilton as this hermetically sealed world of wealth and privilege gets pulled into, well, a new era—not just for audiences, but for the characters themselves. [Todd Gilchrist]

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Men

Theaters everywhere May 20

Over the last decade, Alex Garland has become one of the best sci-fi directors in the world. Ex Machina was more than enough to get us interested in anything he works on, but his vastly superior and woefully underrated followup, Annihilation, makes Men one of our most anticipated movies of the year. Plus, he’s got Jessie Buckley, who’s on something of a hot streak, following the last season of Fargo, I’m Thinking Of Ending Things, and an Oscar nod for The Lost Daughter. Who better to question reality than her? [Matt Schimkowitz]

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Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers

Streaming on Disney+ May 20

We can’t disagree with the assertion in the teaser trailer for Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers—those two furry detectives sure did define a generation. While the meta-winking nostalgia may not be fresh, this 30-years-later reboot-sequel impressively blends live action with both computer-generated and drawn animation because Chip (voiced by John Mulaney) is his traditional 2-D self while Dale (Andy Samberg) got “CGI surgery.” Directed by The Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer, this action-packed toon figures to be smarter and funnier than your average kid fare. [Jack Smart]

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Emergency

In limited theaters May 20, streaming on Amazon Prime Video May 27

Can American society today see young Black and Latino men as Good Samaritans? That’s the question at the heart of this short-to-feature adaptation from director Carey Williams and screenwriter KD Dávila, which dares to throw laughs into the mix with its social commentary. Emergency stars the always-excellent RJ Cyler, Donald Elise Watkins, Sebastian Chacon, Sabrina Carpenter, and Maddie Nichols as the passed-out white girl whose appearance in a college dorm room sets off the hijinks. [Jack Smart]

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The Valet

Streaming on Hulu May 20

Eugenio Derbez, a scene-stealer in Sian Heder’s CODA, is apparently making a habit of appearing in French-to-English film adaptations. Here, Derbez follows up the Oscar Best Picture winner with a fish-out-of-water comedy in which he stars as a Beverly Hills parking attendant roped into a PR nightmare by a movie star (Samara Weaving) covering up her relationship with a married man (Max Greenfield). Sounds perfect for Hulu audiences who enjoyed a similarly star-crossed romp with 2020's Palm Springs. [Jack Smart]

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Top Gun: Maverick

Theaters everywhere May 27

Four out of five doctors agree: The need for speed never goes away. That certainly must be true in the case of Tom Cruise, who’s only doubled down on his interest in visceral, realistic action movies. Cruise is Buster Keaton meets Jackie Chan, except he can also fly a jet. In Top Gun: Maverick, the 35-years-in-the-making legacy sequel to Tony Scott’s 1986 blockbuster, Maverick (Cruise) returns to the flight school that made him a star to see if a crew of up-and-comers has the right stuff. The film, directed by Cruise’s Oblivion collaborator Joseph Kosinski, endured several pandemic-related delays, but now we finally get to see Cruise back in the cockpit for some actual hot dogging in an actual fighter jet. No one is willing to put themselves in harm’s way for a silly action movie like Cruise. We owe it to him to see how it goes. [Matt Schimkowitz]

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The Bob’s Burgers Movie

Theaters everywhere May 27

It’s easy to forget that Bob’s Burgers has been on TV for over a decade. And across its 12 seasons of burger puns and musical numbers, its ambition never waned. Now, the sweet, hilarious, and surprising show is finally stretching its legs as a feature film. It’s always a risky endeavor bringing a beloved sitcom to the movies. But if South Park or The Simpsons are any indication, a break from the format can help a cartoon reach new heights. Judging by the animation in the trailer, The Bob’s Burgers Movie is shooting for the moon by making a movie, not just an extended episode of the show. [Matt Schimkowitz]

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Plus:

Eugene Brave Rock, Owen Teague, and Haley Lu Richardson in Montana Story: Bleecker Street — Eugene Brave Rock, Owen Teague, and Haley Lu Richardson in *Montana Story* (Bleecker Street)

Toronto Film Festival standout All My Puny Sorrows, starring the great Alison Pill, Sarah Gadon, and Mare Winningham, explores grief and its sprawling, thorny effects (on digital and on demand May 3). Neon’s Pleasure, directed by newcomer Ninja Thyberg and starring newcomer Sofia Kappel, gives indie audiences a visceral look at the Los Angeles porn industry (theaters May 13). Horror audiences this month have Shudder’s The Twin (theaters May 6), Screen Media’s Monstrous starring Christina Ricci (theaters May 13), and Brainstorm Media’s Homebound from writer-director Sebastian Godwin (theaters May 13). Fans of the true-crime side of horror, on the other hand, have Netflix’s documentary Our Father, about the fertility doctor inseminating his patients (streaming May 11). IFC’s Hold Your Fire tells the real-life story of the NYPD’s longest-ever hostage siege (theaters May 20). And Haley Lu Richardson and Owen Teague bring a quiet family drama to the big screen with Montana Story (theaters May 13).

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