New Releases for the Week of January 22, 2016

THE 5^TH WAVE

(Columbia) Chloë Grace Moretz, Liev Schreiber, Maggie Siff, Maria Bello, Maika Monroe, Ron Livingston, Nick Robinson. Directed by J Blakeson

Cassie is a normal kid, but times aren’t normal. The Earth is being battered by increasingly more devastating waves of destruction, the products of a vicious alien invasion. Separated from her kid brother and determined to find him, she must put her trust in a young man who may be the key to her survival – or the agent of her demise.

See the trailer, clips and interviews here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Science Fiction
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for violence and destruction, some sci-fi thematic elements and brief teen partying)

Anomalisa

(Paramount) Starring the voices of David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan. A man, caught in life’s mundane embrace, experiences something unexpectedly extraordinary and finds that it changes him in profound ways. This stop motion animated films is definitely not for kids and comes to us from the mind of acclaimed director Charlie Kaufman (who co-directed with Duke Johnson).

See the trailer and featurettes here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Animated Comedy
Now Playing: Enzian Theater
Rating: R (for strong sexual content, graphic nudity and language)

The Boy

(STX) Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, James Russell, Jim Norton. A young American woman takes on the job of a nanny for a strange reclusive couple in a remote village in the English countryside only to find that her charge is a life-sized doll. Thinking this is a way for the couple to cope with the death of their actual son, she humors them initially until she violates a list of strict rules left for her to obey. She begins to experience strange and disturbing events, leading her to believe that the doll may actually be alive.

See the trailer, clips, interviews and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Horror
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for violence and terror, and for some thematic material)

Caged No More

(Freestyle) Loretta Devine, Kevin Sorbo, Cynthia Gibb, Debra Wilson. After the disappearance of her two granddaughters at the hands of their drug-addicted father, a grandmother is determined to find the young girls, discovering to her horror that they’ve been taken overseas to be sold as slaves. Enlisting the aid of a local philanthropist and his son, a former Special Forces combat veteran, the team will stop at nothing to see that the girls are returned home safe and sound. From the producers of God’s Not Dead, this is based on actual events.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Faith-Based Thriller
Now Playing: Regal Oviedo Marketplace, Regal Pointe Orlando, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: PG-13 (for mature thematic content and some violence)

Dirty Grandpa

(Lionsgate) Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Aubrey Plaza, Julianne Hough. It looks like Jason’s life is going the way he intended it to; getting ready to marry the boss’ daughter in a week which puts him on the fast track for partnership, he is tricked into driving his foul-mouthed grandfather to Daytona for Spring Break. Now, everything he’s carefully built is in jeopardy but maybe that’s just the thing he needs.

See the trailer and clips here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for crude sexual content throughout, graphic nudity and for language and drug use)

Monkey Up

(Freestyle) John Ratzenberger, Yasmeene Lilyelle Ball, Caleb Burgess, Erin Allin O’Reilly. A dysfunctional family trying to cope with financial hardship thinks they’ve found the answer to all their problems when they discover a talking monkey. However, rather than bringing them the riches they thought he would, instead he reminds them of what is truly important in life; being together as a family.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Family
Now Playing: AMC Disney Springs, AMC Loew’s Universal Cineplex
Rating: PG (for some rude humor)

Monster Hunt

(FilmRise) Baihe Bai, Boran Jing, Wu Jiang, Elaine Jin. In a fantasy world based on ancient China, monsters are real and co-exist with suspicious humans. When the monster queen bears a child born of a human father, it creates an uproar, upsetting the precarious balance between monsters and humans. Everyone is after the baby for their own purposes but the baby is far less vulnerable than everyone thinks. This is the highest grossing film in the history of Chinese cinema, although there has been some controversy as to whether those figures have been artificially inflated.

See the trailer and a clip here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Fantasy/Martial Arts
Now Playing: AMC Disney Springs
Rating: NR

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New Releases for the Week of March 21, 2014

DIVERGENT

(Summit) Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoe Kravitz, Miles Teller, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer. Directed by Neil Burger

In a future society in which humans are grouped by virtues that they are supposed to exemplify, a young woman discovers she doesn’t fit into any single group but is a combination of many. This makes her dangerous to the government who hunt her down ruthlessly. She joins a mysterious underground group of Divergents who must discover why the government thinks they are so dangerous before they are all eliminated for good.

See the trailer, clips, interviews, featurettes and promos here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard, IMAX (opens Thursday)

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: PG-13 (for intense violence and action, thematic elements and some sensuality)

Bad Words

(Focus) Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Allison Janney, Phillip Baker Hall. When a 40-year-old loser who never graduated from the eighth grade enters the National Spelling Bee through a loophole, parents and educators alike are outraged. However, as he develops an unexpected friendship with a 10-year-old competitor, his motivations for doing this soon turn out to be not what anyone expected. While this is only opening at the AMC Downtown Disney this week, it is expected to expand to other theaters in the region on the 28th.

See the trailer, clips, interviews and videos here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard (opens Thursday)

Genre: Comedy

Rating: R (for crude and sexual content, language and brief nudity)

God’s Not Dead

(Pure|Flix) Willie Robertson, Kevin Sorbo, Shane Harper, Dean Cain. A devout Christian who is in his freshman year at college is challenged by his philosophy professor to prove the existence of God – or face failing the class. With most of his classmates against him, he finds that he’ll need all of his faith to see him through this challenge. You can bet that there’ll be plenty of church groups seeing this one.

See the trailer and clips here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Faith

Rating: PG (for thematic material, brief violence and an accident scene)

The Grand Budapest Hotel

(Fox Searchlight) Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton. Europe between World Wars was both an elegant place and a dangerous place. A concierge at one of the most opulent hotels of the time takes a lobby boy under his wing, only to become embroiled in the theft of a priceless Renaissance-era painting, the inheritance of an enormous family future and a scandalous murder. While this is only opening at the Regal Winter Park Village this week, it is expected to expand to other theaters in the region on the 28th.

See the trailer, clips, interviews, featurettes and footage from the premiere here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Comedy

Rating: R (for language, some sexual content and violence)

The Muppets Most Wanted

(Disney) Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, Stanley Tucci. Kermit the Frog is mistaken for Constantine, the world’s most notorious thief and imprisoned. In the meantime, the nefarious Constantine has taken Kermit’s place and is planning his greatest heist ever. Only the Muppets can stop him – but not all of them are convinced that Constantine isn’t the real Kermit.

See the trailer. clips, interviews and promos here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard (opens Thursday)

Genre: Family

Rating: PG (for some mild action)

Soul Surfer

Helen Hunt doesn't even realize that the wrong husband is next to her.

(2011) True Life Drama (TriStar) AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Carrie Underwood, Kevin Sorbo, Lorraine Nicholson, Jeremy Sumpter, Sonya Balmores Chung, Ross Thomas, Chris Brochu, Craig T. Nelson, Branscombe Richard. Directed by Sean McNamara

 

It is a fact of life that things happen, sometimes terrible things. We want our lives to be sweet and easy but they never are. You can call it God’s will, or bad luck but we are often put into positions where in order to achieve our dreams we must first re-imagine them.

Bethany Hamilton (Robb) lives in paradise. It may be called Hawaii to you and me but she knows as most of those native to those beautiful islands that there are few places on Earth like it. The Pacific swells that rage against the nearby beaches are her heartbeat, and she lives to put board to water and foot to board. She has a talent for surfing and with her blonde hair blue-eyed good girl next door looks, she is already attracting endorsement deals and is a sure bet to turn pro.

When she is attacked by a shark and loses an arm, her plans are put on hold. The media descends on her family and their faith is tested. Dad Tom (Quaid) wants to fix things, while mom Cheri (Hunt) prays for guidance, unable to fathom God’s plan when a spirited good-hearted teen’s dreams are cut short so cruelly.

At first Bethany gives in to depression and despair but gradually realizes as her plight gets more and more coverage, that she is no longer living just for herself and her dreams. Indeed, the dreams of millions of physically challenged people are riding on her as their inspiration to continue and achieve. With that kind of impetus behind her, how could she fail to at least try?

This is of course based on a true story. Hamilton to this day continues to be one of the world’s top surfers and her story is inspirational, not just to those who have physical challenges but to those who don’t as well.

Now, the actual Hamilton family are devout Christians (Bethany often makes personal appearances at churches and for church youth groups) and there was some fear from Hollywood executives early on that a faith-based film might alienate secular audiences and I have to say myself I don’t go to the movies to be preached to. However I was pleasantly surprised – the issues of faith are handled as a natural part of the Hamilton’s lives and I never felt at any point like a message was being pushed on me. If anything, the message is more secular than religious – while Bethany’s faith sustains her and comforts her, it is her desire and will to compete that conquers the mountains that were laid before her. I found that refreshing.

Robb is a sterling actress growing graceful and beautiful as she moves into her teen years. With wonderful performances in Bridge to Terabithia and Race to Witch Mountain, she has a bright future in the business if she chooses to continue along that path. She largely carries this movie, imbuing the real Bethany’s determination and faith into her performance. She’s deserving of the kudos she’s been receiving for the role.

Oscar winner Hunt is a welcome addition to the cast; an actress this good should be around more often. I do hope we see more of her – while she doesn’t have a lot to do, she does have a  couple of scenes that are really effective, elevating the role. The likable Quaid is once again…err, likable. With maybe the best grin in the history of movies, he’s had a soft spot in my critical heart for more years than probably either of us would like to admit. He’s another actor that I wouldn’t mind seeing get more compelling roles.

Now I’ll admit that surfing isn’t really my thing and surfing movies even less so. The mysticism that some of the sport’s faithful attribute to it is something I don’t really tap into. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel the draw of the ocean in the same way, nor does it mean I don’t appreciate the athleticism, the sacrifice or the passion that comes with the sport. It just doesn’t always translate well to the screen and while the surfing sequences are solid, they aren’t enough to get me hooked.

The ending is a bit cheesy and in my opinion does the movie a disservice. Creating a rival (Chung) that treated her like dirt was unnecessary, as is the conversion from rival to admirer. The target audience here is obviously kids from about 11-16 and girls in particular. I think that that audience would have been just as inspired by Bethany’s accomplishments without the jealous rival. She wasn’t needed – there were obstacles a ‘plenty for the real surfer girl.

Bethany and her parents get the lion’s share of character development here and the movie suffers for that too. Too many cliché characters spoil this soup, as does the pulling of the rival onto the medal stand. I don’t know if that actually happened but it seemed disingenuous the way it was portrayed here. So to sum up, a solid movie that is inspirational in places and serves it’s teen and pre-teen audience nicely, one which any family mindful of the values being presented onscreen should feel secure in presenting to their kids.

WHY RENT THIS: Great surfing footage. Robb does an impressive job. Displays the family’s faith without becoming preachy.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: The ending is a bit heavy on the schmaltz. A few cookie-cutter characters added for dramatic value and some factual inconsistencies..

FAMILY VALUES:  The shark attack sequence may be a little too intense for impressionable sorts (although it isn’t especially gory or realistic) and some of the thematic elements might go over the heads of the smaller set.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The dog in the movie is Bethany’s own dog Hana; she makes a cameo appearance herself carrying a large box in the Thailand relief scene and her family can be seen just behind Quaid and Hunt in the church scene and Bethany performed the surf stunts for Robb.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: There are featurettes on how Robb learned to surf and, eventually, inhabit the role of Bethany. There are a couple of featurettes on the real Bethany Hamilton, including some actual camcorder footage shot by her brother.

BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE: $44.3M on an $18M production budget; the movie had a slightly profitable theatrical run.

FINAL RATING: 5.5/10

TOMORROW: You Don’t Mess With the Zohan