Detective Knight: Independence

Following a last-minute assignment, Detective Knight (Willis) and his partner, Fitzgerald (Munro), find themselves in the midst of a bank robbery. Paramedics Dezi (Kilmer) and Ally (Shields) are also called to the scene after a police officer is shot, but when Dezi attends to the wounded thief instead of the bank manager, he is fired for his actions. Dezi embarks on a trail of chaos and destruction that only Detective Knight can stop in time for the Fourth of July. “Detective Knight: Independence” is the third and final film of the Detective Knight trilogy and a sequel to 2022’s “Detective Knight: Redemption.”

Director: Edward Drake. Stars: Bruce Willis, Jack Kilmer, Lochlyn Munro, Willow Shields, Lorenzo Antonucci, Dina Meyer, Dax Campbell, Nadine Leon Gobet, Jimmy Jean-Louis. 91 mins. 2023. Action.

God’s Country

After her mother’s cremation and burial, university professor Sandra (Newton) returns to her home in remote western Montana to find a red pickup truck parked in her driveway. She leaves a note on the windshield urging the occupants to park elsewhere, but the following day, Sandra find her note on the ground near a dead bird. The truck and its drivers, Nathan (Jarsky) and Samuel (White), return day after day despite Sandra’s strong insistence, and Sandra finds herself pulled into a misogynist and racist world that creeps closer to ultimate violence.

Director: Julian Higgins. Stars: Thandiwe Newton, Joris Jarsky, Jefferson White, Tanaya Beatty, Kai Lennox, Lynn Solomon. 102 mins. 2022. Thriller.

Devotion

This biographical film tells the story of Jesse Brown, the first Black aviator in the U.S. Navy. During the Korean War, Lt. Tom Hudner (Powell) is transferred to Fighter Squadron 32 at Quonset Point Naval Air Station, in Rhode Island. Upon meeting Ensign Jesse Brown (Majors), the only Black member of the squadron, the pair form a quick and close friendship that extends to Brown’s wife, Daisy (Jackson). As Hudner and Brown embark on their mission to support the Marines in South Korea, their close bond is ultimately tested. “Devotion” is based on the book “Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice” by historian Adam Makos.

Director: J.D. Dillard. Stars: Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell, Christina Jackson, Thomas Sadoski, Daren Kagasoff, Joe Jonas, Spencer Neville, Nick Hargrove, Boone Platt, Dean Denton. 139 mins. 2022. Action.