Movie Reviews: 'The Courier' And 'Happily'

This weekend, themes of friendship, love and fear of the unknown are headed to theaters and streaming services.

In the spy-thriller "The Courier," Benedict Cumberbatch and Merab Ninidze dazzle as a spy duo tasked with helping defuse the growing tension between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Together, they will have to navigate a treacherous world of intrigue with the help of a CIA operative (Rachel Brosnahan) and an MI6 agent (Angus Wright).

Plus, the dark romantic comedy "Happily" makes its premiere, starring Joel McHale and Kerry Bishé whose perfect, 14-year marital bliss is suddenly upended, setting in motion a series of bizarre events.

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Here's what to see/stream and what to skip this weekend:

“The Courier” — Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze; directed by Dominic Cooke

Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Greville Wynne, an amiable British businessman propelled into the deadliest game of spies, as the entire world sits on the brink of extinction.

Set against the backdrop of the Cold War in 1962, Cooke’s true-to-life spy-thriller opens with Russian intelligence officer Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), who has become increasingly perturbed by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s volatility and aggressiveness. In turn, he discreetly reaches out to the U.S. Embassy in Russia.

Soon, Wynne is recruited to become a conduit for the West at the behest of the U.K.’s MI6 and America’s CIA. Meanwhile, CIA officer Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan) and MI6 chief Dickie Franks (Angus Wright) devise a plan to connect the neophyte agent with Penkovsky.

Together, the duo will have to navigate a treacherous web of international conflict to procure crucial information needed to defuse the escalating Cuban Missile Crisis.

In the end, as we know it, the world would be saved after 13 gripping days of the superpower standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union.

See it. Intriguing and riveting, “The Courier” will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Watch the trailer:

“Happily” — Joel McHale, Kerry Bishé; directed by BenDavid Grabinski

Writer-director BenDavid Grabinski’s dark romantic comedy centers on lovebirds Tom and Janet (Joel McHale and Kerry Bishé), a couple who have been happily married for 14 years. What is their secret? Somehow, after all these years, they still have an insatiable passion for each other, heightened by their PDAs (public display of affection) and incredible connection that are to die for. Besides, they exude charisma and happiness together — just pure marital bliss.

Obviously, the couple’s perfect lives have withstood the test of time, but nothing could have prepared them for the arrival of the mysterious Mr. Goodman (Stephen Root) in their lives, setting in motion a myriad of simmering tensions, violent acts — and the sudden erosion of the couple’s randiness.

Is their perfect marriage truly over?

Skip it. Grabinski’s latest outing is bodaciously original, but ultimately, it loses traction because of muddling subplots.

Watch the trailer: