Weekend Movie Reviews: 'Synchronic' And 'On The Rocks'

This weekend, time travel and high jinks dominate the new releases headed to select theaters near you.

In the sci-fi thriller "Synchronic," Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan play two New Orleans paramedics who stumble upon a new synthetic pill that can alter time and space.

And if you're in the mood for a comedy-drama adventure, you can check out "On the Rocks," starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones as a father-daughter duo on a stakeout mission.

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

“Synchronic” — Jamie Dornan, Anthony Mackie; directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead

The latest outing from the filmmaking duo of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead is a time travel sci-fi that offers a concoction of humanism, mathematical randomness and otherworldly forces.

At the center of the story are two longtime pals — New Orleans paramedics Dennis (Jamie Dornan) and Steve (Anthony Mackie) — who have been called to tend to a myriad of increasingly inexplicable cases involving drug overdose, sword wounds, snake bites, spontaneous human combustion and mysterious disappearances.

In turn, the pair has discovered that the macabre series of deaths and injuries are seemingly tied to Synchronic, a new synthetic pill that can alter time and space. However, when Dennis’ teenage daughter Brianna (Ally Ioannides) suddenly vanishes without a trace at a college party, the duo will learn the ghastly truth about the drug.

Will they ever find Brianna?

See it. “Synchronic” is a provocative, stylish time-travel sci-fi with a beating heart and a spunky soul, notwithstanding some plot holes and gaps in logic.

Watch the trailer:

“On the Rocks” — Bill Murray, Rashida Jones, Marlon Wayans; directed by Sofia Coppola

Bill Murray reunites with his “Lost in Translation” director Sofia Coppola in the comedy-drama “On the Rocks,” a story about two wealthy New Yorkers, a father-daughter duo flirting with a slippery slope.

In the film, Rashida Jones plays the 39-year-old Laura, an accomplished author who is married to the successful businessman Dean (Marlon Wayans). Together, the couple are raising two adorable girls, toddler Theo (twins Anna and Alexandra Reimer) and grade-schooler Maya (Liyanna Muscat).

Everything in their marriage seems to be perfect — that is, until Laura suddenly starts to suspect that her husband is having an affair with his young, attractive co-worker, Fiona (Jessica Henwick).

What is Laura to do now? Enter the aging playboy and art dealer Felix (Murray), Laura’s dad, who pesters her into stalking Dean — all the way to Mexico, where Dean is supposedly having a business meeting. Can Felix and Laura catch Dean and Fiona in the act?

See it. Simply put: Murray and Jones will keep viewers engaged and entertained, though at times, the screenplay feels somewhat flat.

Watch the trailer: