Memorial Day Movie Guide: 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' And More

"Star Wars" fans, mark your calendars. This Memorial Day weekend, Ron Howard's highly anticipated "Solo: A Star Wars Story" hits theaters, giving moviegoers a glimpse into space scoundrel Han Solo's earlier years.

Meanwhile, you can catch Elle Fanning on multiple theater screens this weekend. In "Mary Shelley," the talented actress plays the famous author of "Frankenstein." In the sci-fi romance "How to Talk to Girls at Parties," Fanning switches gears, starring opposite Alex Sparks as an alien who falls for a teenager from Earth.

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

Movies Out This Weekend

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” — Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, directed by Ron Howard

The latest chapter in the “Star Wars” saga sheds some light onto the mysterious beginnings of Han Solo, the roguish space smuggler made famous by Harrison Ford 40 years ago.

In the film, which takes place 10 years before the events of "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope," 20-year-old Han (Alden Ehrenreich) and his girlfriend, Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), are desperately trying to escape their toilsome life on the planet of Corellia. Yet when their shot at freedom finally comes, Qi'ra is left behind. Can our young hero go back and save the love of his life?

See it. Howard's well-thought-out direction and the delightful ensemble work of the cast make "Solo: A Star Wars Story" a fun ride, notwithstanding the narrative's shortage of high-stakes adventures.

Check out Patch’s no-spoiler review of the film.

Watch the trailer:

“Mary Shelley” — Elle Fanning, Douglas Booth, directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour

The origin story of the widely read, seminal “Frankenstein” comes to life in Haifaa Al-Mansour’s latest outing, “Mary Shelley.”

In the movie, Elle Fanning plays Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, a 16-year-old writer who has long held a morbid fascination with scary tales. But her wicked stepmother (Joanne Froggatt) disapproves of her writing endeavors.

To maintain peace and quiet in their household, Mary's father (Stephen Dillane) sends her off to stay with relatives in Scotland, where she meets and begins a torrid love affair with a 21-year-old married poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley (Douglas Booth). In the wake of the shocking scandal, her beloved Gothic novel, “Frankenstein,” is born.

See it. Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth are both mesmerizing. Their on-screen chemistry evokes a poetry in motion both in their mannerisms and well-accented, emotive prose.

Watch the trailer:

“How to Talk to Girls at Parties” — Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Alex Sharp, directed by John Cameron Mitchell

In John Cameron Mitchell’s sci-fi feature, Alex Sharp and Elle Fanning star as a couple of young lovers from different planets.

Set in London in 1977, the romance begins with young punker Enn (Sharp) and his buddies stumbling into a house full of odd, inexpressive people. That's where the sensitive boy unexpectedly meets young alien Zan (Fanning), setting in motion an intergalactic love story. Can they survive a culture clash?

Skip it. Mitchell’s young-love sci-fi drowns in its meandering themes, confusing subplots and one-dimensional characters.

Watch the trailer:

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Photo: Elle Fanning attends the Tiffany & Co. Paper Flowers event and Believe In Dreams campaign launch on May 3, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tiffany & Co.)