What To Watch This Weekend: 'Clayface,' 'Klara And The Sun,' 'Ali G: Who Iz I?,' 'Wildwood' And More

HOLLYWOOD, CA — This week's lineup explores what happens when familiar worlds suddenly become unfamiliar.

In theaters, “Clayface” and “Klara and the Sun” examine questions of identity, selfhood and transformation, while “Wicker” and “Wildwood” venture into fantastical realms shaped by community, belonging and responsibility. Elsewhere, “Ali G: Who Iz I?” follows a familiar comic persona confronting the unexpected realities of adulthood.

On the small screen, Disney+'s “Phony” blends mystery and coming-of-age drama as a teenager begins to suspect that the person he trusts most may not be who she appears to be.

Ready to dive in? Scroll on for the full lineup, where the capsules below explore the stories, themes and creative ambitions behind this week's most notable releases.

Related:

• Other Titles To Watch: 'Whalefall,' 'Sense And Sensibility,' 'Street Fighter,' 'VisionQuest,' And 'Crystal Lake'
• Other Titles To Watch: 'Digger,' 'Verity,' 'East Of Eden' Season 1, And 'War' Season 1

• Other Titles To Watch: 'Primetime,' 'Heart Of The Beast,' 'Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother' 'Youth,' And 'Forgotten Island'

• Other Titles To Watch: 'The Weight,' 'The Beast Of Mossy Bottom,' And 'Bad Apples'

What To Watch This Weekend

“Clayface”

Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, David Dencik; directed by James Watkins

James Watkins' “Clayface” reimagines one of Batman's most malleable villains through the lens of body horror, transforming a familiar comic-book origin story into an exploration of identity, self-worth and self-destruction. Working from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, Watkins approaches Matt Hagen's (Tom Rhys Harries) descent less as the making of a supervillain than as a crisis of selfhood, tracing the consequences of a transformation that gradually consumes the life he has built around ambition, appearance and public image.

Drawing inspiration from David Cronenberg's “The Fly” and the tragic mutations of “Darkman,” the film treats bodily change as both horror spectacle and psychological metaphor. Harries anchors the material with a performance that threads a recognizable human pulse through its grotesque terrain, charting Matt's progression from self-assured rising star to a figure increasingly consumed by resentment and self-destruction.

Though its exploration of identity proves less fully realized than its increasingly elaborate horrors, “Clayface” remains an ambitious and visually inventive body-horror tragedy.

“Klara and the Sun”

Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams, Mia Tharia; directed by Taika Waititi

Based on Kazuo Ishiguro's acclaimed novel, “Klara and the Sun” follows Klara (Jenna Ortega), an Artificial Friend designed to provide companionship in a future shaped by technological advancement and deep social divisions. When Klara is chosen by Josie (Mia Tharia), a girl grappling with illness and family difficulties, the two form a connection that gradually reshapes the lives of those around them. In a society increasingly divided by access, privilege and technology, their relationship unfolds against broader questions involving human worth, belonging and the role artificial intelligence may play in an increasingly fragmented world.

Written and directed by Taika Waititi, the adaptation appears to retain the novel's interest in loneliness, empathy and human connection while examining the increasingly blurred boundary between artificial intelligence and emotional life. Through Klara's perspective, the story explores what it means to love, sacrifice and care for another person, raising questions about consciousness, identity and humanity itself.

“Wildwood”

Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali; directed by Travis Knight

When her infant brother is abducted and carried into the forbidden wilderness beyond Portland, Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) embarks on a rescue mission that leads her into a hidden world populated by talking animals, rival factions and lingering mysteries. Joined by her classmate Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), Prue soon discovers that what begins as a search for her brother is connected to a much larger struggle unfolding within the borders of Wildwood.

Directed by Travis Knight and adapted from the novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, the stop-motion animated film blends fantasy and adventure with a coming-of-age story centered on courage, sacrifice and self-discovery. Through Prue's journey into an unfamiliar realm, “Wildwood” explores the responsibilities that accompany growing up and the extraordinary worlds that can exist just beyond the boundaries of everyday life.

“Ali G: Who Iz I?”

Sacha Baron Cohen, Morgana Robinson; directed by Sacha Baron Cohen

More than two decades after first appearing on television, Ali G returns in a new feature written, directed and headlined by Sacha Baron Cohen. Framed as a documentary following the self-styled journalist and provocateur, the film finds Ali confronting an unexpected turning point after learning that his longtime girlfriend Julie (Morgana Robinson) is pregnant, prompting an attempt to reclaim the notoriety and relevance that once made him a cultural phenomenon.

Shot largely in secret, the project revisits the blend of character comedy, improvised encounters and real-world interactions that helped define Cohen's earlier work. As Ali navigates public appearances, interviews and increasingly uncomfortable situations, the film appears positioned as both a return to one of Cohen's most recognizable creations and a reflection on celebrity, identity and the uneasy relationship between public performance and personal reinvention.

“Wicker”

Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki; directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson

Olivia Colman stars as an ostracized fisherwoman whose refusal to conform to the expectations of her small seaside village leaves her perpetually at odds with those around her. When she commissions a husband made of wicker (Alexander Skarsgård), what begins as an act of defiance grows into an unconventional romance that unsettles the assumptions governing village life.

Written and directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, “Wicker” blends fantasy, comedy and romance, transforming its fairy-tale premise into a fable about belonging, companionship and the pressures of communal expectation. As fascination, jealousy and resentment ripple through the village, the story explores how rigid social conventions can shape perceptions of love, happiness and personal fulfillment. At its center lies a question that feels both whimsical and surprisingly resonant: what happens when an unconventional relationship challenges an entire community's understanding of what a life should look like?

“Phony” Season 1

Connie Britton, Sam Nivola, Maliq Johnson; created by Nick Paley

After surviving a car accident, high school student Sonny Cooke (Sam Nivola) becomes convinced that his mother Ellen (Connie Britton) has been replaced by an impostor. As he searches for evidence to support his increasingly unsettling suspicions, Sonny finds himself isolated by a mystery that nobody else appears able, or willing, to see.

Blending comedy, mystery and coming-of-age drama, “Phony” uses its central premise to explore questions of identity, trust and perception. The series places Sonny's investigation alongside the uncertainties of adolescence, creating a story in which the line between genuine danger and personal anxiety becomes increasingly difficult to discern. Through that uncertainty, the show examines how relationships evolve as children begin to see their parents, and themselves, in a different light.