New Releases for the Week of September 21, 2018

THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS

(Universal) Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Kyle McLaughlin, Colleen Camp, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sunny Suljic, Lorenza Izzo. Directed by Eli Roth

Horror auteur Roth goes the Spielberg route with this young adult book-adaption.  A young orphan goes to live with his eccentric uncle who lives in a creepy old house in a sleepy old town. When the orphan accidentally wakes the dead, he, his uncle (who turns out to be a warlock) and a kindly neighbor (who is also a witch) race to stop a clock hidden inside the house from counting down to zero which will bring about the end of everything

See the trailer and trailer commentary here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard, D-Box, Dolby, IMAX, RPX, XD
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG (for thematic elements including sorcery, some action, scary images, rude humor and language)

Assassination Nation

(Neon) Suki Waterhouse, Anika Noni Rose, Joel McHale, Bill Skarsgård. A quartet of high school girls and BFFs in a small town live like most girls their age do – through social media, texts, selfies and gossip. When an anonymous hacker starts posting intimate details of the lives of people in their town, things start to go more than a little crazy and soon there’s a 50-50 chance the girls will live through the night but what nobody gets is these aren’t girls you want to mess with.

See the trailer and video featurettes here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Action
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for disturbing bloody violence, strong sexual material including menace, pervasive language, and for drug and alcohol abuse – all involving teens)

Bad Reputation

(Magnolia) Joan Jett, Michael J. Fox, Deborah Harry, Kenny Laguna. Ever since founding the Runaways, Joan Jett has been an inspiration for women rockers everywhere. Over the years she has managed to become a feminist icon as well. This is the story of a woman who decided to play by her own rules.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Music Documentary
Now Playing: Enzian Theater (Wednesday only)
Rating: R (for language, sexual references, some drug use and brief nudity)

Fahrenheit 11/9

(Briarcliff) Michael Moore, David Hogg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Donald Trump. Gadfly and agent provocateur Moore is back and once again looking at our society and asking the tough questions. How did we elect someone who plainly is not fit for the job and how do we get out of the situation we’re in?

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Documentary
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for language and some disturbing material/images)

Life Itself

(Amazon) Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Annette Bening, Mandy Patinkin. When a young couple get pregnant, the reverberations sent by the happy event go through their extended family and across the country.

See the trailer, video featurettes and a clip here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for language including sexual references, some violent images and brief drug use)

Lizzie

(Saban/Roadside Attractions) Chloë Sevigny, Kristen Stewart, Kim Dickens, Jamie Sheridan. This is an unusual take on the Lizzie Borden mystery which more than a century later remains unsolved.

See the trailer, clips, video featurettes and an interview here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: True Life Mystery
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for violence and grisly images, nudity, a scene of sexuality and some language)

Love, Gilda

(Magnolia) Gilda Radner, Gene Wilder, Melissa McCarthy, Chevy Chase. Radner was one of the stars of the original Saturday Night Live and her characters continue to live on in popular culture more than 40 years later. She remains a major influence on comics – especially those of the fairer sex – to this day.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Biographical Documentary
Now Playing: Enzian Theater
Rating: NR

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

American Dresser
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Beyond the Sky
The Cakemaker
The Children Act
Little Italy
Miss Granny
Nannu Dochukunduvate
Saamy Square

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE:

Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Bel Canto
Bye Bye Brazil
The Children Act
I Think We’re Alone Now
Mandy
Nannu Dochukunduvate
Pick of the Litter
Saamy Square
The Song of Sway Lake

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG:

American Dresser
The Children Act
Little Italy
Nannu Dochukunduvate
The Pagan King
Saamy Square

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Custody
Miss Granny
Nannu Dochukunduvate
Saamy Square

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

American Dresser
Assassination Nation
Bad Reputation
Bel Canto
The Cakemaker
Fahrenheit 11/9
The House With a Clock In Its Walls
Life Itself
Love, Gilda

Pick of the Litter – September 2018

BLOCKBUSTER OF THE MONTH

The Nun

(New Line) Taissa Farmiga, Demián Bichir, Bonnie Aarons, Jonny Coyne. The second spin-off film from the Conjuring film universe focuses on a demonic nun who has appeared in the visions of Lorraine Warren – played by Vera Farmiga, the older sister of Taissa. In this period piece, a young novitiate about to take her final vows and a priest with a troubled past are sent to a Romanian convent to investigate the suicide of a nun there. They find a terrifying apparition who heralds a desperate battle between the living and the damned with the fate of their souls on the line. Could be another winner for the series.  September 7

INDEPENDENT PICKS

Hal

(Oscilloscope) Hal Ashby, Jon Voight, Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges. Hal Ashby directed some of the most seminal films of the 70s including Harold and Maude, The Last Detail, Being There, Coming Home, Shampoo and Bound for Glory. Despite a resume of that caliber he remains largely unsung today, his later career being marked by drug use and a reputation for being difficult to work with. Still, many contemporary directors are influenced by his passion and his eye for a great story. September 7

Life in the Doghouse

(FilmRise) Ron Davis. Danny and Ron’s Dog Rescue is a unique operation. They are contacted regularly by animal shelters to take dogs that are on the euthanasia list and bring the animals into their home. Since beginning their business, they’ve rescued over 10,000 dogs, many of them who are basically unadoptable. Their pledge is that these animals will never see the inside of a shelter again, and if nobody adopts them, they’ll live their lives out with Danny and Ron. September 12

The Children’s Act

(A24) Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, Finn Whitehead, Ben Chaplin. A judge whose marriage is crumbling is assigned a particularly difficult case in which a young teen with leukemia refuses blood transfusions that he needs to survive because of his faith. The judge must determine whether the teen is being unduly influenced by his parents who are devout Jehovah’s Witnesses or that the boy has arrived at his stand on his own. The two will find inspiration in one another as time ticks down on the seriously ill young man. September 14

Lizzie

(Roadside Attractions/Saban) Chloë Sevigny, Kristen Stewart, Jamey Sheridan, Fiona Shaw. The story of Lizzie Borden is a familiar one; in 1892, her mother and father were brutally murdered with an axe. Lizzie was accused of the heinous crime but was never convicted. This is a reimagining of the notorious case which remains unsolved more than 125 years later. September 14

Love, Gilda

(Magnolia/CNN) Gilda Radner, Gene Wilder, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader. She was one of the most beloved comedians of her time. She was also the first person selected for the original Saturday Night Live cast. In this intimate documentary, we hear her thoughts and her life in her own words through tape recordings made during her illness and in journal entries throughout her life. September 21

 Tea With the Dames

(Sundance Selects) Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, Eileen Atkins. Four of the greatest actresses of the 21^st century (and the 20^th) get together for a spot of tea and a bit of idle gossip. The results are hilarious, heartwarming and vivacious. September 21

The Old Man and the Gun

(Fox Searchlight) Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover. This is the story of Forrest Tucker, an enigmatic bank robber who at 70 years old  escapes from San Quentin and embarks on a series of daring heists that frustrate law enforcement authorities and captivate the public. Redford has stated that this will be his final acting role. September 28

Bad Reputation

(Magnolia) Joan Jett, Kenny Laguna, Iggy Pop, Pete Townshend. Joan Jett has gone from an upstart who dared to play rock and roll as a woman to an icon who has inspired generations of female rockers. This is her story from her time in the Runaways to her battles with the powers that be to her acceptance as one of the most influential figures in the annals of rock and roll. September 28

Monsters and Men

(Neon) Anthony Ramos, John David Washington, Rob Morgan, Chanté Adams. A young man with a future films an unjustified police shooting of an unarmed man in front of a Brooklyn bodega. He is faced with the choice of posting the video and potentially jeopardizing everything he has worked so hard to achieve, or keep it hidden and in doing so becoming complicit in the cover-up. September 28