New Releases for the Week of November 12, 2021

BELFAST

(Focus) Jude Hill, Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds, Lewis McAskie, Josie Walker, Freya Yates. Directed by Kenneth Branagh

A nine-year-old Irish boy must suddenly chart his path to adulthood through terrain that is no longer familiar as life in Belfast begins to change in the late 1960s. What keeps him tethered is the ongoing magic of the movie theater. Taken from Branagh’s own childhood experiences.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: PG-13 (for some violence and strong language)

C.S. Lewis Onstage: The Most Reluctant Convert

(Trafalgar) Max McLean, Nicholas Ralph, Eddie Ray Martin, Richard Harrington. The journey of author and creator of The Chronicles of Narnia C.S. Lewis from a hardcore atheist to one of the most renowned Christian writers of his generation.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Biographical Drama
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, CMX Daytona, Regal Waterford Lakes, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: NR

Clifford the Big Red Dog

(Paramount) Darby Camp, David Alan Grier, John Cleese, Kenan Thompson. A middle schooler meets a magical animal rescuer who gifts her with a little red puppy. She wakes up the next morning to a giant red dog walking around her New York City apartment. With her mom away on business and her impulsive Uncle in charge, it’s time for an adventure that’s bigger than the Big Apple.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Family
Now Playing: Wide (Opened on November 10th)
Rating: PG (for impolite humor, thematic elements and mild action)

Multiverse

(Saban) Paloma Kwiatkowski, Munro Chambers, Marlee Matlin, Robert Naylor. Four scientists on the verge of a major breakthrough in quantum physics are struck by tragedy. The survivors are startled, several months later, when their dead colleague suddenly turns back up alive. Something remarkable has happened…and it may not be as beneficial as they at first believe.

See the trailer
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Science Fiction
Now Playing: Studio Movie Grille Sunset Walk
Rating: R (for language throughout and some violence)

Raja Vikramarka

(Sree Chitra) Kartikeya Gummakonda, Tanya Ravichandran, Sudhakar Komakula, Sai Kumar. A green recruit for India’s version of the CIA is given his first case through a set of ironic circumstances, finding that the pressure is changing his life in every way imaginable.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Action
Now Playing: Regal Pointe Orlando
Rating: NR

Soulmate(s)

(Vertical) Stephanie Lynn, Alexandra Case, Mark Famiglietti, Di Quon. A pair of BFFs in Vermont are confronted by a large corporation threatening their small-town way of life. To make matters worse, one of them is falling hard for one of the corporate flunkies. The other, fearing not only for her town but for her friendship, will do anything to prevent the corporation’s plans – and her friend’s budding romance.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Now Playing: Studio Movie Grille Sunset Walk
Rating: NR

COMING TO VIRTUAL CINEMA/VOD:

A Choice of Weapons (Monday)
The Accursed
Apex
Back to Sölöz
Home Sweet Home Alone
Kelvin Garnett: Anything is Possible
Mayor Pete
Night Raiders
Prayers for the Stolen (Wednesday)
Set!
They Say Nothing Stays the Same

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

Belfast
Mayor Pete
Prayers for the Stolen
Set!

New Releases for the Week of November 15, 2019

FORD V. FERRARI

(20^th Century Fox) Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Wallace Langham, Noah Jupe. Directed by James Mangold

In 1966, the auto racing world was dominated by Ferrari. Ford was considered a quaint American manufacturer of sedans. When they enlisted designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles to create a car that could beat Ferrari at the 24 Hours at Le Mans, the two would help create an American legend.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: True Life Sports
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for some language and peril)

Better Days

(Well Go USA) Dongyu Zhou, Jackson Yee, Fang Yin, Jue Huang. A young woman, relentlessly bullied as she prepares to take the college entrance exam, hooks up with a small-time criminal. The two are caught up in the midst of a murder investigation that threatens their fragile budding relationship.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Romance
Now Playing: Regal Waterford Lakes
Rating: NR

Charlie’s Angels

(Columbia) Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Elizabeth Banks, Djimon Hounsou. Three beautiful and incredibly capable private detectives are called on a case to protect a young system engineer who is blowing the whistle on potentially dangerous technology that threatens all our lives.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Action
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for action/violence, language and some suggestive material)

The Good Liar

(Warner Brothers) Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen, Russell Tovey, Jim Carter. A con man sets his sights on a recent widow who is worth millions – millions he means to take for himself. However, the stakes soon become far higher.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Suspense
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for some strong violence, and for language and brief nudity)

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot

(Saban) Kevin Smith, Jay Mewes, Chris Hemsworth, Melissa Benoist. When iconic stoner duo Jay and Silent Bob discover that Hollywood has decided to reboot the movie based on them that they once tried to stop, they decide that second time is the charm and head west to do battle with the powers that be in Tinseltown.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: AMC Disney Springs, Barnstorm Theater
Rating: R (for pervasive crude sexual content, language throughout, drug use and some nudity)

The Warrior Queen of Jhansi

(Roadside Attractions) Devika Bhise, Rupert Everett, Nathaniel Parker, Ben Lamb. The 24-year-old Queen of Jhansi became a national hero of India in 1857 for standing up to British colonialism. This is her epic tale.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Biographical Drama
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, AMC West Oaks, Cinemark Universal Citywalk, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for some violence)

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Autonomy
Feast of the Seven Fishes
No Safe Spaces
Radioflash
The Report
The Shed
Turkey Bowl

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE/KEY WEST:

American Dharma
The Irishman
The Report

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG/SARASOTA:

Everybody’s Everything
Feast of the Seven Fishes
Luce
Mariaavaan

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Bala
Becoming Nobody
Thiparaa Meesam

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

Feast of the Seven Fishes
Ford v. Ferrari
The Good Liar
The Irishman
Radioflash
The Report
Warrior Queen of Jhansi

FILM FESTIVALS TAKING PLACE IN FLORIDA:

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, Fort Lauderdale FL
Jacksonville Film Festival, Jacksonville FL
Jewish Film Festival of SW Florida, Fort Myers, FL

Money Monster

Clooney busts a move.

(2016) Thriller (Tri-Star) George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell, Dominic West, Caitriona Balfe, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Denham, Lenny Venito, Chris Bauer, Dennis Boutsikaris, Emily Meade, Condola Rashad, Aaron Yoo, Carsey Walker Jr., Grant Rosenmeyer, Jim Warden, Joseph D. Reitman, Olivia Luccardi. Directed by Jodie Foster

There are a lot of ways to get a person under your thumb. Economically is usually the best method and involves the least bloodshed. However, it must be said that people can only be pushed so far before bloodshed becomes inevitable.

Lee Gates (Clooney) is a financial expert who has a popular financial advice program on a cable network. It is somewhat wild and crazy like Lee himself; Lee has a tendency, much to the exasperation of his producer Patty Fenn (Roberts), to go off the reservation. So when a flustered young delivery man, carrying a couple of packages wanders onto the set, Lee is sure it’s his crew playing a practical joke on him while Patty thinks that it’s one of Lee’s improvisations.

It’s neither. It’s Kyle Budwell (O’Connell), a working class schmoe who was crazy enough to follow Lee’s investment advice – except that advice turned out to be tragically wrong. IBIS, the software company that Kyle invested in, had seen $800 million of its assets vanish overnight and its charismatic CEO Walt Camby (West) is nowhere to be seen. He was supposed to be a guest on Lee’s program but instead they were sending Diane Lester (Balfe), a publicity flack (whom Camby is  apparently sleeping with).

Kyle has loaded guns which he demonstrates by firing into the ceiling, getting everyone’s attention. He slaps on a bomb vest that he hid in one of the packages onto Lee and proceeds to demand to talk to the absent CEO. Patty manages to clear the studio, but it seems only a matter of time before Kyle loses complete control of the situation. What neither Patty nor Lee count on is that they too would be swept up in Kyle’s saga and want to find out the answers for their own peace of mind as well.

Given the somewhat negative view most people have regarding the shenanigans on Wall Street over the past few years, this movie plays into those feelings pretty much perfectly – almost to the point of cliché. The villain of this piece is too easily spotted and becomes almost laughable. We don’t get a real sense of depth to that person; it’s just greed, greed, greed and a sense that people deserve to get their life savings defrauded from them because they don’t have the kind of fortune that the villain has. It’s a bit of a cop-out in my opinion.

That said, this is the kind of movie that is going to give you a good idea of why people are angry at Wall Street. The Lee Gates character – who is clearly modeled on Jim Cramer and the show clearly Mad Money on steroids – is a bit buffoonish and certainly a paean to poor investment strategies which is something Cramer is sometimes accused of peddling in real life. Clooney gives the character a bit more depth than we might have otherwise. Would the film have worked better if Lee was the kind of insensitive douchebag that he appears to be at the beginning of the movie? I don’t think so, but at least one critic accused the filmmakers of “star saving” Clooney (i.e. making him appear nicer than he appears to be in order to maintain his likability) which is not something Clooney has indulged in over the years.

Roberts is seen far less frequently onscreen than I would like, but continues to be every inch the star she’s been for the past *mumble, mumble* years – has it really been that long? She has deepened into more of a solid actress over the past decade, not needing to rely quite as much on the wattage of her amazing smile and the glow of her incandescent personality that over the years has made her the ultimate girl next door. Here, she’s a working stiff trying to labor for the unappreciative and has been a little bit beaten down by her star’s lack of empathy. Still, she prides herself on her professionalism and when the rubber hits the road, responds with calm and decisive leadership. This is one of those roles that is slightly subversive without being obvious about it; perhaps Foster, certainly one of the strongest women in Hollywood, has something to do with it as well. To my mind, Patty is the real hero of this piece but not many will get that.

O’Connell is best known for his role in Unbroken but to my mind finally really shows what he’s capable of going back to small but memorable roles in films like Harry Brown. His performance as Kyle shows a man beaten down to the bone by a system that chews up and spits out people like Kyle. With nothing else to lose, he demands answers from those who aren’t willing to give them and this leads him to an act of desperation – and yes, stupidity – that becomes the crux of the film’s emotional center.

Foster has been the kind of director who makes magic even when the scripts she’s given to work with don’t necessarily have a lot of it in it. There’s a good deal that’s way too familiar here but Foster works with it well and gives us a credible film despite the predictability of the plot. There’s some sly satire here about America’s penchant for greed and making money without wanting to put in the work. It is counter to our Puritan heritage in which hard work is valued and indeed, rewarded. In this modern era, we seem to be more inclined to value cutting corners – and rewarding those who do inordinately. And maybe that’s at the center of why Main Street is so pissed off at Wall Street. Perhaps some of the captains of industry need to be reminded of those ethics that made this country great in the first place.

REASONS TO GO: Foster is a masterful director. Clooney and Roberts are always eye-catching. Dials in to the anger that a lot of people are feeling about Wall Street.
REASONS TO STAY: Pretty cliché storyline. The villain of the piece is a little too obvious.
FAMILY VALUES: A fair amount of profanity, some sexuality and some violence.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: This is the fourth time Clooney and Roberts have appeared in a film together.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 7/4/16: Rotten Tomatoes: 56% positive reviews. Metacritic: 55/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: The Big Short
FINAL RATING: 7/10
NEXT: The Conjuring 2