9 New Movies This Week, Including ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’, ‘Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers’, and More!

There are nine new movies to check out this week!

This week’s new movie releases have us returning to Downton Abbey, going on a wild night adventure in Emergency, and a couple of our favorite TV stars, Chip ‘N Dale, reunite to solve a mystery.

Here’s the rundown of new movies this week that are coming out in theaters, as well as those releasing on the major streaming platforms.

New Movies Coming Out This Week May 16 – May 22, 2022

Downton Abbey: A New Era   (2022)

Rating: PG

Release Date: In select theatres on Wednesday, May 18, and nationwide on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Summary: The Crawley family and its beloved staff are back in Downton Abbey: A New Era. A villa in the south of France has been passed down to Violet (Maggie Smith), and so most of the family travels to France to take ownership, but there is a problem, the previous owners are not happy. Meanwhile, adding to the excitement, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) stays behind at Downton Abbey to help with the filming of a silent movie on the estate. It’s busy times for the Crawley family of Downton Abbey.

What to Watch: The principal cast of the highly successful first film have returned. Joining the cast are Laura Haddock, Hugh Dancy, Nathalie Baye, Dominic West, and Jonathan Zaccaï.

Word on the Street: Following the first film’s release in 2019, both the cast and creator Julian Fellowes stated that they had already had ideas about a sequel.

My Take: While I was not a viewer of the TV series, I thoroughly enjoyed the first Downton Abbey film and look forward to this one.

Emergency    (2022)

Rating: R

Release Date: In select theatres Friday, May 20, 2022, and on the Amazon Prime platform on Friday, May 27, 2022.

Summary: Emergency is a comedy about Sean (RJ Cyler) and Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins), two college friends who have mapped out a party night to remember. Then they discover a young student passed out in their dorm room. Sean and Kunie decide, rather than call 911 and, otherwise, be blamed for something they didn’t do, they will take the woman to the emergency room, but everything will go wrong on a night that started out so promising.

What to Watch For: The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize and won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

Word on the Street: The film is from filmmaker Carey Williams and is based on the award-winning short of the same name he did in 2018.

My Take: A favorite actress of mine, Sabrina Carpenter (Girl Meets World), plays a friend of the young woman who is passed out and goes on a quest to find her in the film.

Chip ’N Dale Rescue Rangers    (2022)

Rating: PG

Release Date: Premiering on the Disney+ platform on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Summary: In Chip ’N Dale Rescue Rangers, the mystery-solving duo are leaving separate lives 30 years after their TV show was canceled. However, cartoon characters are mysteriously disappearing, and the guys will need to get back together and find their missing friends.

What to Watch For: Not only are Andy Samberg as Dale and John Mulaney as Chip starring in the voice cast, we have Will Arnett, Seth Rogan, J.K. Simmons, Eric Bana, Keegan-Michael Key, Dennis Haysbert, and Paula Abdul providing voices for the film.

Word on the Street: Long-time fans of the TV series will be happy that original voice actors Corey Burton and Tress MacNeille have parts in this film.

My Take: I wonder whether the film will address the idea that Chip ’N Dale was modeled after Indiana Jones and Magnum PI?

Men   (2022)

Rating: R

Release Date: In select theatres on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Summary: In Men, after her husband (Paapa Essiedu) committed suicide in their apartment, Harper (Jessie Buckley) goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside to recover and get away. Little does she know that something is lurking in the woods just outside her rented isolated cottage, and no one in the nearby village seems to care.

What to Watch For: Jessie Buckley is hot coming off her Academy Award nomination for her performance in The Lost Daughter.

Word on the Street: The film is from filmmaker Alex Garland, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay of the 2014 film Ex Machina.

My Take: The English countryside is always a great setting for a horror film.

Lux Aeterna    (2019)

Rating: N/A

Release Date: In select theatres on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Summary: Lux Aeterna is about two actresses, Béatrice Dalle and Charlotte Gainsbourg, who are on a film set making a movie about witches, that is until reality blends with fiction.

What to Watch For: The film is from Gaspar Noe, known for his award-winning films Irreversible (2002), Enter the Void (2009), and Vortex (2021).

Word on the Street: Charlotte Gainsbourg is best known for her work with filmmaker Lars von Trier in his films Antichrist (2009), Melancholia (2011), and Nymphomaniac (2013).

My Take: I am always interested in films that take place during the making of a movie.

A Perfect Pairing   (2022)

Rating: N/A

Release Date: Premiering on the Netflix platform on Thursday, May 19, 2022.

Summary: A Perfect Paring is about Lola (Victoria Justice), who after quitting her job as a LA wine company executive, travels to Australia to land a major client to jump-start her own import wine company. Instead, Lola ends up working as a ranch hand at the winery to try to impress the owner, but Lola just might find love with a local, a sheep rancher (Adam Demos).

What to Watch For: Victoria Justice is, of course, best known for her role as Tori Vega on the TV series Victorious.

Word on the Street: This is the fifteenth feature film in Victoria Justice’s career.

My Take: This looks fun, and I always have fun with films taking place in Australia.

Pleasure  (2022)

Rating: N/A

Release Date: In select theatres on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Summary: Pleasure is about Bella (Sofia Kappel), a young woman who comes all the way from Sweden to pursue a career in the porn industry in Los Angeles. Emphatically, Bella doesn’t care about anything else but becoming a star.

What to Watch For: The character of Bella is based partially on the German porn actress Michaela Schaffrath.

Word on the Street: This is director Ninja Thyberg’s feature film debut and a distinguished and award-winning career as a narrative short filmmaker.

My Take: It will be interesting to see this film that has generated not only a lot of buzz on the film festival circuit but also some controversy in the press.

The Valet   (2022)

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: Premiering on the Hulu platform on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Summary: The Valet is about Antonio (Eugenio Derbez), an ordinary guy who works as a valet at a Beverly Hills restaurant. After a chance meeting with infamous actress Olivia (Samara Weaving), Antonio is hired to pose as Olivia’s boyfriend to cover up an affair she is having with a married man that, if it gets out, will ruin her career. Love can find you even in the valet line waiting for your car.

What to Watch For: Eugenio Derez is one of Mexico’s biggest film stars and has successfully transitioned to making films in Hollywood in such films as How to Be a Latin Lover (2017) and Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019).

Word on the Street: Samara Weaving is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Ready or Not (2019), and is the niece of actor Hugo Weaving.

My Take: I am always up for a good rom-com.

Hold Your Fire   (2021)

Rating: N/A

Release Date: In select theatres on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Summary: Hold Your Fire is a documentary about in 1973, four young African-American men were caught stealing guns from a pawn shop in New York City. Quickly, the store was surrounded by the police, starting the longest hostage siege in NYPD history. In walks NYPD psychologist Harvey Schlossberg into the scene, and he is created with starting a movement to get the police to end hostage negotiations not through violence but through using words.

What to Watch For: The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2021) DOC NYC Film Festival.

Word on the Street: The film is produced by legendary hip-hop artist Fab Five Freddy.

My Take: I am a fan of director Stefan Forbes’s award-winning 2008 film Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, so I can’t wait to see this film.

What New Movies This Week Are You Planning to Watch?

And that’s your new releases for the week of May 16 – May 22, 2022.

In our comment section below, let us know what new movies this week you are excited to see!