MOVIES

New movies this week: Watch crazy 'Cocaine Bear,' stream Netflix's 'We Have a Ghost'

Brian Truitt
USA TODAY

Folks, here's a cinematic trinity for the ages: God, a drug-addicted bear and a friendly ghost.

This weekend, the true-life 1980s tale of Cocaine Bear gets fictionalized for a wild dark comedy starring Keri Russell and directed by Elizabeth Banks, Kelsey Grammer stars as a pastor for hippies in a 1960s-set faith-based drama, and David Harbour plays a good-hearted phantom needing to figure some stuff out in a Netflix supernatural flick co-starring fellow Marvel man Anthony Mackie.

Here's a guide to new movies that will satisfy every cinematic taste, plus some noteworthy theatrical films making their streaming and on-demand debuts. 

Fact checking 'Cocaine Bear':What's true (and what's not) in 'super-charged' survival movie

Review:We hope you're ready for 'Cocaine Bear,' the 'Citizen Kane' of coked-out animal movies

If you yearn for bloody, over-the-top escapism: 'Cocaine Bear'

Keri Russell stars as a Georgia mom who tries to survive with a drug-addicted bear on the loose in the action horror comedy "Cocaine Bear."

A Reagan-era throwback in tone and chutzpah, the dark comedy centers on a black bear that tears into a duffel bag of coke and goes berserk in a national park in Georgia. A single mom (Keri Russell), a St. Louis drug dealer (the late Ray Liotta) and a pair of fellow crooks (O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Alden Ehrenreich), and a park ranger (Margo Martindale) all try not to die in a gloriously absurd film with a surprising bit of heart.

Where to watch: In theaters

If you could use a religious history lesson: 'Jesus Revolution'

Based on a true story, the 1960s-set faith-based drama "Jesus Revolution" features Kelsey Grammer as a pastor whose languishing church gets a revival when he opens the doors to hippies and the younger generation.

Inspired by real people and events, the Christian film follows a "square" California pastor (Grammer) in the '60s struggling with a dwindling following when he meets a messiah-looking dude (Jonathan Roumie), and the pair inspire a spiritual awakening of the hippie crowd. Joel Courtney and Anna Grace Barlow play teens brought into their flock in an aggressively anti-drug melodrama that, if nothing else, preaches to its own choir.

Where to watch: In theaters

'Jesus made a difference in my life':Kelsey Grammer won't apologize for his faith

If you're cool with haunting family flicks: 'We Have a Ghost'

The spirited Ernest (David Harbour, back) pokes fun at dad Frank (Anthony Mackie) as Kevin (Jahi Winston) looks on in the supernatural comedy "We Have a Ghost."

Kevin (Jahi Winston) makes the spooky discovery that their house is inhabited by a bowling-shirted spirit named Ernest (Harbour), who can't talk but forms a bond with the youngster. When Kevin's dad (Mackie) puts a video of Ernest online, the ghost becomes a viral sensation and a target of the government. It's an enjoyable horror comedy from Christopher Landon ("Happy Death Day") that's family-friendly yet plenty dark.

Where to watch:Netflix

If you're looking for a gripping coming-of-age drama: 'Bruiser'

Teenage Darious (Jalyn Hall, left) bonds with enigmatic drifter Porter (Trevante Rhodes), who has a past connection with the kid's parents, in director Miles Warren’s "Bruiser."

Darious (Jalyn Hall) is a 14-year-old home from boarding school for the summer who immediately butts heads with his strict father (Shamier Anderson) and is beat up by an old friend. The teen finds understanding and comfort via an enigmatic drifter (a great Trevante Rhodes) with past ties to his parents. Darious finds the man he should be while beset on all sides by intense toxic masculinity in director Miles Warren's exceptional film, 

Where to watch: Hulu

If you need double the Jim Gaffigan: 'Linoleum'

Jim Gaffigan (with Rhea Seehorn) stars as a science-show host who has a midlife crisis and tries to build a rocket ship in the sci-fi dramedy "Linoleum."

The comedian is a standout in this thoughtful sci-fi dramedy as Cam, the host of a kid's science show with astronaut dreams. His wife (Rhea Seehorn) wants a divorce, Cam loses his gig to a "younger, better-looking" but meaner doppelganger (also Gaffigan), and a space satellite landing in the backyard leads to a midlife crisis project. Come for the weird science, stay for a touching reveal and one whopper of an ending.

Where to watch: In theaters

If you're an Andie MacDowell super-fan: 'My Happy Ending'

After she's diagnosed with colon cancer, a big Hollywood star (Andie MacDowell, right) begs her agent (Tamsin Greig) to get her a private room in a busy British hospital in the comedy "My Happy Ending."

In the ensemble comedy, an A-list movie star (MacDowell) is diagnosed with colon cancer while in the U.K. and is admitted to a hospital for treatment. She's at first put off by a tight-knit group of three British women (Sally Phillips, Rakhee Thakrar and Miriam Margolyes) already undergoing chemotherapy but soon becomes a fourth on their beneficial, fantastical "trips" in a sentimental narrative that smartly leans on MacDowell's Southern charms.

Where to watch: In theaters

If you dig a bromantic story that really moves: 'God's Time'

Ben Groh (left) and Dion Costelloe play best friends trying to stop a fellow recovering addict from murdering her ex in the comedy "God's Time."

There's a manic rhythm and a propulsive energy to this solid, pandemic-era indie comedy, which stars Ben Groh and Dion Costelloe as New York City best friends and recovering addicts. When a tempestuous young woman (Liz Caribel) in their recovery group hints she's going to murder her ex, the pals race across town to stop a fatal mistake. (And did we mention they're both in love with her, too?)

Where to watch: In theaters and on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play

Also on streaming

Wen (Kristen Cui, left) and her parents are held hostage and asked to make a terrible choice by a group of strangers (including Dave Bautista and Abby Quinn) in "Knock at the Cabin."