‘Boyz N The Hood’ (May 31)
John Singleton became the first African American to be nominated for the best director Oscar (and the youngest, beating even Orson Welles by two years) for this, his debut feature. He made it fresh out of USC film school, based on his experiences, and those of his friends, growing up in Los Angeles surrounded by poverty, crime and police brutality. “Boyz” wasn’t just Singleton’s introduction; it was also the breakthrough film for Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut, who starred as the three young friends on very different paths after high school, as well as Angela Bassett, Regina King and Nia Long in supporting roles. But the 1991 film’s most powerful presence is Laurence Fishburne as Furious Styles, the single father desperate to keep his son on the right course.
‘The Great Gatsby’ (May 31)
The director Baz Luhrmann proved he could modernize and, in doing so, reinvigorate a classic text (assisted by Leonardo DiCaprio) with his 1996 interpretation “Romeo and Juliet”; he took another, even bigger swing with this 2013 interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s beloved novel. Not all of his notions land — home viewing thankfully removes the original release’s headache-inducing 3-D, though the dubious hip-hop needle drops remain. Yet none are off-putting enough to upset the sturdiness of the faithful screenplay and the marvelous performances, particularly Carey Mulligan’s fragile Daisy, Joel Edgerton’s blowhard Tom and, especially, DiCaprio’s complex work in the title role.
‘Happy Gilmore’ (May 31)
This month’s other Adam Sandler recommendation is of a decidedly more lowbrow vintage. After the surprise success of his solo starring debut, the unapologetically juvenile “Billy Madison” (1995), this “Saturday Night Live” sensation teamed up again with his friend and writing partner Tim Herlihy to tell the story of a short-fused would-be hockey player who turns his whiz-bang slap shot into a powerful long drive on the golf course. Christopher McDonald is a delightful villain, Julie Bowen is a game romantic lead and Carl Weathers charms as an Apollo Creed-style mentor while Bob Barker, as himself, gives us one of the most memorable comedy scenes of the era.
‘Lakeview Terrace’ (May 31)
The 1992 thriller “Unlawful Entry” asked a provocative question: What would you do if you were stalked by a cop? This 2008 riff from the director Neil LaBute lights an additional stick of dynamite by throwing in the element of race, as the cop in question is a Black officer (played, with precision and menace, by Samuel L. Jackson), targeting his neighbors (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) primarily because they’re an interracial couple. Throw in the extra baggage of the location — he’s an Los Angeles Police Department officer — and you’ve got a social thriller that’s both thought-provoking and genuinely chilling.
‘The Mick’: Seasons 1-2 (May 31)
Kaitlin Olson kept herself mighty busy circa 2017-2018, not only as a co-star of the long-running “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” but also starring in and executive-producing two seasons of this Fox sitcom. Olson is Mickey Molng, a minor-league con artist who finds herself in charge of her spoiled nieces and nephews when her rich sister gets into trouble with the law. It’s an ideal vehicle for Olson, who gets the space to carve out a new character without sacrificing the anything-goes spirit and cheerful vulgarity that makes her work on “Sunny” so memorable.
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