If movies are therapy, schedule a session with these five-star films • Journal • A Magazine • , Life in canada

Written and directed by Sam Hayes
Available in: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Mexico, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland

“There’s always something entrancing about a good coming-of-age summer movie, like one of those movie scenes where time stops for everyone but the protagonist and they’re able to float through unobserved. It’s comforting, no matter how sad it may be. Starring Odessa A’zion just before her star launched, and you get to see how inevitable that was.” — Kit Lazer

Stuck in summer school with one day to get her life back together or get kicked out, Kennedy (Odessa A’Zion) defies all responsibilities and rallies a ragtag crew for a midnight pool-hopping adventure through the lavish estates of her college town. But as the secrets spill, this wild escape becomes a cathartic journey of self-discovery. With A’Zion delivering a magnetic, raw and foul-mouthed yet heartbreakingly real performance, while also performing original songs she wrote for the film, the breakout star of Marty Supreme and I Love LA powers a young ensemble cast that also includes Ariel Winter (Modern Family), Mason Gooding (Booksmart) and Tyler Alvarez (American Vandal).

A buzzy festival favorite that promoted its theatrical release last summer by hosting pool-party premieres across the country and is now available in Video Store as a digital exclusive, Pools has been lapping up praise from the community.  “Damn this might be a new peak summer classic,” declares AJ, while Tyler calls it “a marriage of Booksmart and Cooper Raiff’s Cha Cha Real Smooth.” “Vibrant, silly, and unwaveringly vulnerable, Pools is an invigorating party movie,” Robert writes, while Filmswithk contentedly reflects, “man, I love movies like this. simple and fun to watch but full of so much meaning and emotion.” Rent Pools now; or add it to your watchlist for later.