Each week on Atom Insider, we’re giving you the heads up on the biggest and most talked about films arriving in theaters. With just one week to go before the summer movie season kicks off with the next massive Marvel event movie, your options include yet another studio horror, a faith-based true story drama, and the latest documentary from Disneynature.
M-m-m-my Llorona
Ghost stories surrounding “The Weeping Woman” have existed in Mexican folklore for many centuries, perhaps all the way back to the Aztec civilization. The familiar sight of a ghostly woman dressed in white has long adorned the iconic figure, who is based on a peasant woman who drowns her own children after their nobleman father leaves her for a woman of higher status. The Curse of La Llorona (Warner Bros.) tells a more contemporary story about a haunting involving “La Llorona” in 1970s Los Angeles and.
It’s actually been over 50 years since a direct film adaptation of the witch herself has been made (La Maldición de la Llorona in 1963), though pop culture has seen influences of the character in many movies and TV shows over the years. James Wan produced this new take on the old story (yes, it’s part of the Conjurverse), which is directed by Michael Chaves (his feature debut after a few short films) with a screenplay by Mikki Daughtry & Tobias Iaconis. The gothic horror stars Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, and Patricia Velásquez.
‘Breakthrough’ Is For Real
Breakthrough is based on the true story of a young Guatemalan teen named John who falls through an icy lake and is without oxygen for at least 15 minutes before getting rushed to the hospital. His life is presumed over by the medical professionals until his adoptive mother Joyce enters the room and prays over him, which apparently keeps him just barely alive and kicks off a fight for his life.
This will be one of the last films we see released by Fox 2000 (if not the last), since Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox. It’s based on the book The Impossible by Joyce Smith with the screenplay by Grant Nieporte. The film was directed by Roxann Dawson (who starred in Star Trek: Voyager and has directed episodes of “House of Cards” and “The Americans”) and stars Chrissy Metz, Marcel Ruiz, Josh Lucas, Topher Grace, Mike Colter, and Dennis Haysbert.
The Secret Life Of ‘Penguins’
The Disneynature films are always a treat for audiences old and young alike because they find ways to tell cute stories about these animals that are as informative as they are entertaining. The best of these films also do well to stress how important it is to appreciate the planet as a whole and think of how our actions as humans affect the other creatures on Earth, which will hopefully be a through line in Penguins, the latest feature from Disneynature. This time, we’ll follow Steve, an Adélie penguin, as he treks across the Antarctic with his new Emperor penguin friend, Wuzzo, in order to find a life partner and start a family of his own.
Nature filmmaker Alastair Fothergill directed the film with the same team that made Bears and Chimpanzee for Disneynature. If you’re hoping to celebrate Earth Day in a few days, then Penguins just might be a worthwhile watch for the whole family.
Stay tuned next week for our recap of how these films fared at the box office. To get tickets to these movies and more, head to the Atom Tickets app.













