New Releases for the Week of December 17, 2021

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

(Columbia) Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Marisa Tomei. Directed by Jon Watts

After Peter Parker’s secret identity has been outed, his life becomes a shambles. In desperation, he turns to Dr. Strange to cast a spell to make everyone forget that information, but Peter’s own insecurities cause the spell to go awry, opening the door for foes familiar (but not to Peter) and the meat of the Multiverse that is the MCU’s Phase IV.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Superhero
Now Playing: Wide
Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of action/violence, some language and brief suggestive content)

The Hand of God

(Netflix) Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo, Marion Joubert. Oscar-winning writer-director Paolo Sorrentino tells his most personal story yet, of growing up in Naples in the 1980s in the days of the coming of Maradona.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Fashion Square Premiere
Rating: R (for sexual content, some graphic nudity and brief drug use)

The Matrix Resurrections

(Warner Brothers) Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Neil Patrick Harris. Plagued by strange memories – and unable to remember people important to him, Neo finds himself back in the Matrix, which has changed a great deal since we saw it last.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Science Fiction
Now Playing: Wide (Also on HBO Max) (Starting Wednesday)
Rating: R (for violence and some language)

Nightmare Alley

(Searchlight) Bradley Cooper, Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, Ron Perlman. A down-on-his-luck grifter befriends a carnival clairvoyant and her husband, turning his newfound knowledge into a path to wealth. But when he chooses to take on a vindictive tycoon, he comes up against an opponent capable of ending his life as he knows it. This is the latest from acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Thriller
Now Playing: Enzian, Wide
Rating: R (for strong/bloody violence, some sexual content, nudity and language)

Pushpa: The Rise – Part I

(Classics Entertainment) Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffman, Woody Norman, Scoot McNairy. A truck driver in the forest region of South India must cope with smugglers of red sandalwood.

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

Swan Song

(AppleTV) Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Glenn Close, Awkwafina. In the near future, a dying man is given an opportunity to shield his family from the grief of his passing and in the process, learns more about life and love than he ever could have thought possible.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Science Fiction
Now Playing: Fashion Square Premiere (also on AppleTV Plus)
Rating: NR

COMING TO VIRTUAL CINEMA/VOD:

A Forbidden Orange
A Walk in Her Shoes
Being the Ricardos (Tuesday)
Dead Asleep (Thursday)
Deadly Girls Night Out (Saturday)
Diego: The Last Goodbye (Thursday)
Juice WRLD: Into the Abyss (Thursday)
Miracles Across 125th Street (Monday)
The Novice
Prince Phillip: The Royal Family Remembers (Thursday)
Puff: Wonders of the Reef (Thursday)
Reopening Night (Monday)
Repossession (Tuesday)
Rolling Like Thunder
Twisted Little Lies

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

Being the Ricardos
Dead Asleep
The Hand of God
The Matrix: Resurrections
Nightmare Alley
The Novice
Prince Phillip: The Royal Family Remembers
Puff: Wonders of the Reef
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Swan Song

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New Releases for the Week of October 8, 2021

NO TIME TO DIE

(MGM) Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga

Daniel Craig takes his last lap as James Bond, as Bond is pulled out of a tranquil retirement to help an old friend on what at first seems to be a simple task. However, it turns into something far more dangerous as he comes up against a mysterious and deadly new villain armed with dangerous technology.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Spy Action
Now Playing: Wide
Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images, brief strong language and some suggestive material)

American Insurrection

(Saban) Nadine Malouf, Nick Westrate, Brandon Perea, Sarah Wharton. In a future America (well, let’s hope not), a civilian militia has begun tracking everyone not white, straight and cisgender through a high-tech barcode system. A group of friends decide to escape the oppression and flee to Canada but that will be no easy task.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Sci-Fi Action
Now Playing: Studio Movie Grille Sunset Walk
Rating: R (for some strong violence, language throughout and some sexuality)

Azor

(MUBI) Fabrizio Rongione, Elli Medeiros, Stéphanie Cléau, Alexandre Trocki. Appropriate material given the recent release of the Pandora papers, a Swiss private banker heads to Buenos Aires during the military junta of the 1970s to reassure their wealthy clients after their representative there mysteriously disappears.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Cinematique Daytona
Rating: NR

I’m Your Man

(Bleecker Street) Maren Eggert, Dan Stevens, Sandra Hüller, Hans Löw. In order to get funding for her own research, a young scientest agrees to live with a humanoid robot tailored to be her perfect mate.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Now Playing: CMX Plaza Café Orlando
Rating: R (for some sexual content and language)

Lamb

(A24) Noomi Rapace, Hilmir Snær, Guðnason, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson. The studio that brought you Midsommar brings you another international horror masterpiece as a childless couple in Iceland find something disturbing in their sheep pen. They will soon face the consequences of defying the will of nature.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Horror
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, Enzian, Regal Waterford Lakes
Rating: R (for some bloody violent images and sexuality/nudity)

Who Do You Think I Am?

(Cohen Media Group) Juliette Binoche, François Civil, Guillaume Goulx, Charles Berling. After being ghosted by her much younger lover, a middle aged single mom creates a fake online profile of a vivacious 20-something woman to snoop on her ex, but finds herself getting into an increasingly more intimate online relationship with his roommate.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Romance
Now Playing: Cinematique Daytona
Rating: NR

COMING TO VIRTUAL CINEMA/VOD:

Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman
Convergence: Courage in a Crisis (Tuesday)
Fever Dream (Wednesday)
The Gig Is Up
Jacinta
Killing Eleanor (Tuesday)
Madame X
Madres
The Manor
Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle
The Secret of Sinchanee
South of Heaven
Survive the Game
Witkin and Witkin

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

Azor
Fever Dream
Lamb
Madres
The Manor
No Time to Die
The Secret of Sinchanee

New Releases for the Week of October 1, 2021

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE

(Columbia) Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu. Directed by Andy Serkis

Eddie Brock continues to have problems reigning his alien symbiote Venom in, but all that changes when serial killer Cletus Kasady gets a symbiote of his own, the evil Carnage.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Superhero
Now Playing: Wide
Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and action, some strong language, disturbing material and suggestive references)

The Addams Family 2

(United Artists) Starring the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Wallace Shawn. Everyone’s favorite creepy and kooky family decide to take one last family vacation in their haunted camper in an attempt to reclaim the bond that they once had before the kids began to want a life of their own. But this will take them out of their element and into an America that may not be ready for them.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Animated Feature
Now Playing: Wide (also on Premium VOD)
Rating: PG (for macabre and rude humor, violence and language)

American Night

(Saban) Emile Hirsch, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Paz Vega, Jeremy Piven. When a highly prized Andy Warhol original appears on the market, a ruthless New York City art dealer and the head of the New York crime syndicate will stop at nothing to obtain it.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Action
Now Playing: Studio Movie Grille Sunset Walk
Rating: R (for violence, sexual content, nudity, and language throughout)

The Jesus Music

(Lionsgate) Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Toby Mac, Kirk Franklin. The story of how Contemporary Christian music rose from a Sixties counterculture movement to become a worldwide phenomenon.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Music Documentary
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, CMX Lakeland Square
Rating: PG-13 (for some drug material and thematic elements)

The Many Saints of Newark

(Warner Brothers) Michael Gandolfini, Vera Farmiga, Corey Stoll, Ray Liotta. The prequel to the legendary HBO series charts the rise of Tony Soprano in the volatile streets of Newark as he rises in the crime family, fueled by the example of a beloved Uncle whom he idolizes.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Crime
Now Playing: Wide (also on HBO Max)
Rating: R (for strong violence, pervasive language, sexual content and some nudity)

Prisoners of the Ghostland

(RLJE) Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella, Nick Cassavetes, Bill Moseley. A bank robber with little or no moral compass is sprung from jail by a ruthless warlord who wants him to find his adopted daughter who has run away. She is in the wilds of the Ghostland, and he has five days to find her, otherwise the suit that he is locked into will self-destruct and him with it. Cage has said this is the wildest movie he has ever done, and that’s saying something.

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

Republic

(Zee) Sai Dharam Tej, Aishwarya Rajesh, Jagapathi Babu, Ramya Krishnan. A corrupt system protects The Collector, a ruthless man who runs his country without pity or conscience. Brave men must take on an entire system to bring him down.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Thriller
Now Playing: Amstar Lake Mary
Rating: NR

Titane

(Neon) Agathe Rousselle, Vincent Lindon, Garance Marillier, Lais Salameh. A father is reunited with his son who has been missing for ten years.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Sci-Fi Horror
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Avenue 16 Melbourne, AMC Disney Springs, Cinemark Universal Citywalk, CMX Plaza Orlando
Rating: R (for strong violence and disturbing material, graphic nudity, sexual content, and language)

COMING TO VIRTUAL CINEMA/VOD:

The Amityville Moon (Tuesday)
Bingo Hell
Black as Night
Coming Home in the Dark
Diana: The Musical
Falling for Figaro
The Ghost and Molly McGee
The Guilty
Implanted
Mayday
Stop and Go
There’s Someone Inside Your House (Wednesday)
The Universality of It All
V/H/S/94 (Wednesday)
Witch Hunt

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

The Guilty
The Jesus Music
The Many Saints of Newark
Stop and Go
Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

You can’t always tell a Jungle Book by its cover.

(2018) Adventure (Netflix) Rohan Chand, Frida Pinto, Christian Bale (voice), Andy Serkis (voice), Benedict Cumberbatch (voice), Cate Blanchett (voice), Tom Hollander (voice), Matthew Rhys, Naomie Harris (voice), Peter Mullan (voice), Jack Reynor (voice), Eddie Marsan (voice), Louis Ashbourne Serkis (voice), Keveshan Pillay, Patrick Godfrey, Lorna Brown. Directed by Andy Serkis

 

Hollywood from time to time gets it in their head to make competing versions of similar stories, whether it’s of apocalyptic astronaut strikes, or remakes of beloved children’s classics.

Most folks are well-aware of the story behind this film, originally a group of short stories penned by British author Rudyard Kipling but not likely from reading the book so much as by seeing the 1967 Disney cartoon. Serkis’ version, which was actually filmed three years before it was released, is a much darker version that in many ways was closer to the stories that Kipling wrote but with enough family-friendly elements to lend confusion as to what this movie wants to be.

The motion capture is generally of facial expressions which becomes a bit of a liability; it’s kind of creepy to see snakes and wolves and bears looking quite that human. The CGI in general is pretty uneven, which considering the amount of post-production time that was available to them seems almost criminal. However, the vocal performances are uniformly swell and American-born child actor Chand shows some impressive athleticism and acting range in this role.

The film was intended to be the first of a trilogy of films establishing what Warner Brothers (the original studio behind the film – see Trivial Pursuit) a franchise but with Disney beating them to the punch doing what they do best, and with that version making like a kajillion dollars at the box office, there was no way this was going to end up as anything other than a footnote, which it really didn’t deserve. Certainly there are flaws, but despite the dark and sometimes brutal tone it is at least a different riff on a familiar tune.

REASONS TO SEE: Impressive voice performances. An interesting subplot about identity.
REASONS TO AVOID: The CGI is uneven. Neither a family film nor one meant for adults.
FAMILY VALUES: There is violence – some of it bloody – peril and some adult themes.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The movie was originally filmed by Warner Brothers to be released in 2016, but Disney’s own version forced them to push back the release a year, and then another as the effects proved more time-consuming than first thought. Only a few months before it was scheduled to be released in theaters, the film was sold to Netflix, the studio rightly thinking that their version would be unfairly compared to the much more family-friendly Disney version.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Netflix
CRITICAL MASS: As of 4/9/20: Rotten Tomatoes: 53% positive reviews: Metacritic: 51/100
COMPARISON SHOPPING: The Jungle Book
FINAL RATING: 6/10
NEXT: Capernaum

New Releases for the Week of October 25, 2019

BLACK AND BLUE

(Screen Gems) Naomie Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Frank Grillo, Reid Scott, Beau Knapp, Mike Colter, Nafessa Williams, Deneen Tyler. Directed by Deon Taylor

A group of corrupt cops are caught in the act of murder on the bodycam of a young rookie cop. With nowhere to turn – chased by the neighborhood gang members who are out for revenge and the cops who are desperate to recover the footage and silence her, she must turn to an unlikely ally.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Action
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for violence and language)

Countdown

(STX) Elizabeth Lail, Peter Facinelli, Anne Winters, Jordan Calloway. A young nurse downloads an app that predicts when the user is going to die – which in her case, is just three days. When she looks into it, she is shocked to discover that the app is horribly accurate.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Horror
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for terror, violence, bloody images, suggestive material, language and thematic elements)

The Current War

(101 Studios) Benedict Cumberbatch, Nicholas Hoult, Katherine Waterston, Michael Shannon. American titans Thomas Edison, Nicola Tesla and George Westinghouse vie for their ideas to set the standard for American electricity. This film was set to come out a couple of years ago in time for Oscar consideration but the demise of Weinstein studios sent it to the shelf until now.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Biographical Drama
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for some violent content and thematic elements)

Housefull 4

(Eros International) Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Bobby Deol, Pooja Hegde. Three couples in ancient India are parted, only to be reincarnated in 2019 with a chance to set things right. Unfortunately, the men are all preparing to marry the wrong women.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: AMC West Oaks, Touchstar Southchase, Universal Cinemark at Citywalk
Rating: NR

The Lighthouse

(A24) Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeria Karaman. Two lighthouse keepers on a remote New England island in the 1890s make an extraordinary discovery that is both beautiful and terrifying. From the director of the modern horror classic The Witch.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Horror
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, Cinemark Orlando, Regal Waterford Lakes, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for sexual content, nudity, violence, disturbing images and some language)

Made in China

(Viva) Rajkummar Rao, Mouni Roy, Amyra Dastur, Roman Irani. Stung by a series of failures, a middle-class Indian businessman tries his luck in China and finds a second chance at life.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: AMC West Oaks
Rating: NR

Pain and Glory

(Sony Classics) Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, Asier Etxeandia, Julieta Serrano. The latest from legendary director Pedro Almodóvar follows an esteemed film director who is suffering through health issues. He encounters people from his past and present that remind him of past glories and present pains while rekindling his love for the eternal cinema.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for drug use, some graphic nudity and language)

Parasite

(NEON) Kang-ho Song, Yeo-jeong Jo, So-dam Park, Woo-sik Choi. This year’s Palme d’Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival follows the fortunes of the Kim family, perpetually unemployed who manage to weasel their way into the service of the wealthy Park family. Things look rosy for the Kim clan until they get caught in an unexpected incident.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Dramedy
Now Playing: Enzian Theater
Rating: R (for language, some violence and sexual content)

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

After Party
Bigil
Farming
The Gallows Act II
The Great Alaskan Race
Isa Pa With Feelings
Jesus is King
One Piece: Stampede
Saand Ki Aankh

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

Bigil
The Great Alaskan Race
Isa Pa With Feelings
Jesus is King
Kaithi
Khaidi
One Piece: Stampede
The Prize
Saand Ki Ankh
The Trouble with You

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG/SARASOTA:

Bigil
Full Count
The Great Alaskan Race
Immortal Hero
Jesus is King
Kaithi
Khaidi
One Piece: Stampede
Saand Ki Aankh

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Bigil
Give Me Liberty
The Great Alaskan Race
Isa Pa with Feelings
Jesus is King
Kaithi
Saand Ki Aankh

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

Black and Blue
Countdown
The Current War
The Lighthouse
Parasite

Rampage

George of the Urban Jungle and the Rock try to out-scary face one another.

(2018) Adventure (New Line) Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello, Marley Shelton, P.J. Byrne, Demetrius Grosse, Jack Quaid, Breanne Hill, Matt Gerald, Will Yun Lee, Urijah Faber, Bruce Blackshear, Jason Liles, Mat Wells, Stephen Dunleavy, Danny Le Boyer, Alan Boell, Alyssa Brooke. Directed by Brad Peyton

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the movies, it’s that when you mess with mother nature it tends to come back and bite you in the ass eventually. That’s a lesson that seems lost on modern corporate America (and the regulatory agencies that are supposed to reign them in but that’s a different story).

When a space station explodes after a lab rat gets loose and tears the crew apart, the pathogen that caused the rat to mutate falls back to Earth, affecting a gator in the Everglades, a wolf in the Minnesota woods – and a gentle albino ape who dwells in the San Diego zoo. The primatologist who is studying George, Davis Okoye (Johnson) is understandably peeved but when government sorts led by the cheerful and shamefully Texan Harvey Russell (Morgan), the Rock’s biceps begin to twitch. When George, like the wolf and the alligator, begins to grow in size to something approaching a Japanese monster movie, behave aggressively and even savagely (they’re animals; who knew?) and for a fairly ludicrous plot reason decide to converge on Chicago and tear the city limb from limb, well the eyebrows arch and the people’s elbow start itching for a fight.

Based on an Atari-era videogame (the console box for which can be seen in the background of the office of the sibling corporate types (Akerman and Lacy) who are behind the pathogen, the movie seemed to have all the elements of a summer blockbuster, particularly Johnson whose easygoing charm and likability have propelled him onto the Hollywood A-list. However, Johnson is essentially on autopilot here. This is far from his finest hour and although he’s not the reason this movie fails to succeed (a painfully cliché script is largely to glame), he certainly doesn’t elevate it either.

Morgan as the federal agent who really wants to be a Texas Ranger and Akerman as a heartless corporate bitch are actually the actors who are the most watchable here. The CGI creations are also pretty nifty. However the mayhem – like many Transformers movies – is so overwhelming it becomes almost too much to take in; the mind becomes numbed to the carnage as buildings fall, helicopters are swatted from the sky and people are eaten like…well, energy pills in a videogame which in the original game, people were.

I’m not against mindless fun but the filmmakers ask us to take an awful lot on faith and after awhile the plot holes become too enormous to overcome. The human characters tend to be more like cartoons than the CGI which I find ironic in an amusing kind of way but I didn’t at the time I was watching this. There were a lot of things that could have been done with this premise to make this film better than it turned out to be but Peyton and perhaps the studio suits went the tried and true safe route and ended up making a cookie cutter movie that is neither satisfying or even more than barely recommendable.

REASONS TO GO: Morgan and Akerman acquit themselves well. The CGI is excellent.
REASONS TO STAY: This movie is dumb as a rock. Most of the characters are straight out of cartoons.
FAMILY VALUES: There is a whole lot of video game-like violence, destruction and general mayhem. There’s also some brief mild profanity  and some crude gestures.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Despite the tepid aggregate score, Rampage is currently the highest-scoring video game adaptation in the history of Rotten Tomatoes.
BEYOND THE THEATERS:  Amazon, Fandango Now, Google Play, iTunes, Movies Anywhere, Vudu
CRITICAL MASS: As of 9/10/18: Rotten Tomatoes: 53% positive reviews. Metacritic: 45/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Kong: Skull Island
FINAL RATING: 5/10
NEXT: Mercury 13

New Releases for the Week of April 13, 2018

RAMPAGE

(New Line/Warner Brothers) Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Joe Manganiello, Marley Shelton, P.J. Byrne. Directed by Brad Peyton

A rogue genetic experiment goes way out of control, turning normal animals into giant monsters. A primatologist whose friend – a rare and unusually intelligent white ape – is a victim of the experiment joins forces with a discredited scientist to come up with a cure not just to save humanity but to save his buddy.

See the trailer and video featurettes here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard, 3D, DBOX, DBOX 3D, Dolby 3D, Dolby Atmos, IMAX, IMAX 3D, RPX, RPX 3D, XD, XD 3D
Genre: Action
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for scenes of action, violence and destruction, brief language, and crude gestures)

Aardvark

(Great Point) Zachary Quinto, Jenny Slate, Jon Hamm, Sheila Vand. The brother of a TV star who has issues with his brother’s popularity falls under the care of a therapist who herself begins to develop obsessive behavior towards his brother. Unable to tell fantasy from reality easily, her patient begins to fall in love with a woman – it’s just that he isn’t sure if she is real or not.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Dramedy
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: PG-13 (for mature thematic issues, language, some sexuality and violence)

Beirut

(Bleecker Street) Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Mark Pellegrino, Dean Norris. A disgraced diplomat who lost everything during an assignment to Beirut is forced to return to that city in the midst of the Lebanese Civil War in the 1980s to negotiate the safe return of his best friend, a CIA operative. However, everyone around him has their own agenda and there’s no way to know who to trust. You can read my review at the link below.

See the trailer, video featurettes and clips here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Thriller
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, Regal Pointe Orlando, Regal Waterford Lakes, Regal Winter Park Village, Rialto Spanish Springs Town Square (opened Wednesday)
Rating: R (for language, some violence and a brief nude image)

Krystal

(Great Point/Paladin) Nick Robinson, Rosario Dawson, Grant Gustin, William Fichtner. A young man who’s led a sheltered life falls hard for the most unlikely woman – a junkie/stripper/prostitute named Krystal. From a completely different world that might as well be another planet, he joins Alcoholics Anonymous even though he doesn’t drink just so he can be in the same room as her. Needless to say, his family does not approve William H. Mach directs this and has a supporting role as well.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: AMC Universal Cineplex
Rating: R (for language throughout, drug use, some nudity and brief sexuality)

Mercury

(Stone Bench) Galaraj, Ramya Nambeeshan, Prabhudheva, Sanath Reddy. Five childhood friends, all disfigured due to mercury poisoning in the town they grew up in, return for a high school reunion. However in a moment of mischief they disturb something that should have better been left alone. The movie was filmed without dialogue.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Now Playing: Cinemark Artegon Marketplace
Rating: NR

Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero

(Fun Academy) Starring the voices of Helena Bonham Carter, Logan Lerman, Gérard Depardieu, Jordan Beck. A soldier adopts a stray dog near the barracks during the First World War. That dog would go on to become the most decorated canine in American military history.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Animated Feature
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG (for war action and some thematic elements)

Truth or Dare

(Blumhouse/Universal) Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane, Sophia Ali. A group of friends playing what seems to be a harmless game of truth or dare discover that they have stumbled into a supernatural entity which insists the game be played properly. Those who lie or refuse to do the dare are punished – terminally.

See the trailer and video featurettes 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 disturbing content, alcohol abuse, some sexuality, language and thematic material)

Where is Kyra?

(Great Point/Paladin) Michelle Pfeiffer, Kiefer Sutherland, Suzanne Shepherd, Sam Robards. An unemployed woman tries to find work and care for her ailing elderly mother as her debts continue to mount up. Desperation drives her to do a dangerous act in order to survive. Find a link to our recent review of this film below.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: NR

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Krishnarjuna Yudham
Venemo

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE:

20 Weeks
Back to Burgundy
Baja
Beauty and the Dogs
Big Fish and Begonia
Borg/McEnroe
Final Portrait
Gultoo
Ismael’s Ghosts
Krishnarjuna Yudham
Mister Lonely
October
Venemo
Women of the Venezuelan Chaos

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG:

Flock of Four
Krishnarjuna Yudham
October

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Fanny
Krishnarjuna Yudham
October
Pandas

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

Back to Burgundy
Beirut
Borg/McEnroe
Rampage
Truth or Dare
Where is Kyra?

FILM FESTIVALS TAKING PLACE IN FLORIDA:

Florida Film Festival, Orlando FL
Sarasota Film Festival, Sarasota FL

Collateral Beauty

Just sitting on a park bench chatting with Death; nothing crazy going on here…

(2016) Drama (New Line) Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Michael Peña, Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jacob Lattimore, Naomie Harris, Ann Dowd, Lisa Colón-Zayas, Natalie Gold, Kylie Rogers, Shirley Rumierk, Alyssa Cheatham, Benjamin Snyder, Mary Beth Peil, Andy Taylor, Michael Cumpsty, Jonathan Rivera Morales, Joseph Castillo-Midyett, Ella Monte-Brown. Directed by David Frankel

 

We all deal with grief in different ways. Some of us pour ourselves into our work; others lose all focus. Some of us rage against the universe; others try to find something constructive to do, such as create or work for a charity. Sooner or later however all of us must deal with the loss of a loved one.

Howard (Smith) is doing just that. His beloved daughter has passed away and now, two years later, the successful advertising agency he built is floundering, losing clients left and right because Howard, their main creative force, just doesn’t care anymore. His best friends all work at the company; Whit (Norton), who co-founded the company with him, Claire (Winslet) who has given up marriage and children to give her full focus on the company and Simon (Peña), the numbers man.

There is an offer on the table to buy the company but Howard won’t even consider it. All of the principals stand to lose everything if they can’t salvage the situation and the window of opportunity is rapidly closing. Whit, Claire and Simon, desperate to understand what’s going on with Howard, hire a private detective (Dowd) to figure out what their friend is doing. Nothing much; mainly building domino constructions, biking back and forth from work and writing letters.

The latter is kind of the peculiar part; they’re not letters to people but to things; concepts, really. He’s been writing to Love, Death and Time. The three partners hit upon an idea that, well, never would have occurred to me; to hire three unemployed actors that Whit has found who can play the parts of Love, Death and Time who will personally answer Howard’s letters. They’re not really hoping that this performance will bring Howard back but the detective can film Howard talking to them (yelling at them really) and then digitally remove the three actors so that Howard can be proven incompetent and the sale go through without him.

The actors that Whit recruits – Brigitte (Mirren) who plays Death, Amy (Knightley) who plays Love (now, that I can believe) and Raffi (Lattimore) who plays Time each begin to spend time with one of the partners – Brigitte with Simon, Amy with Whit and Raffi with Claire – and end up helping them with their own problems. In the meantime, Howard has started attending a support group for grieving parents run by the lovely Madeleine (Harris) and looks like he might finally be emerging from his shell. But will it be in time to save everything he’s built, including his friendships?

If the plot summary sounded implausible that’s pretty much because it is. I can’t imagine “friends” doing something that awful to a friend, and the movie portrays them as genuinely concerned for Howard’s well-being. I can’t really reconcile the actions of concocting an elaborate scam to prove their friend incompetent (which has other ramifications beyond the sale of his company) with all the mea culpa chest-beating about what a great guy Howard is and how much they “miss” the old Howard. I mean, friends just don’t do that.

The cast is one of the best you’ll see gathered in a single movie with a couple of Oscar winners and four nominees. None of them will be adding to their nomination total here but the performances are nonetheless solid. Peña caught my attention for a very emotional performance as a family man facing a terrible crisis of his own, and Smith who is the main performance in what is essentially an ensemble cast gets to keep everything in until the last scene in which he unleashes some of his best acting of his career.

That ending however contains a twist so unbelievable that at that point most people are just going to throw their hands up in the air and give up on the movie, and I can’t blame them. However, if you do as I do and just enjoy the ride rather than try to make sense of things, you’ll be far happier.

Now as you can tell the critical response has been harsh. Keep in mind however that most professional critics don’t like being emotionally manipulated and films that do that tend to get harsh scores. In that sense, critics can’t be trusted with films like this. You really have to go and experience it on your own and judge for yourself. You, after all, may not mind being having your emotions manipulated. Maybe you need it. I do, sometimes. Sometimes I need the release of a good cry. Catharsis makes us all emotionally healthier after all.

REASONS TO GO: Strong performances throughout, particularly by Peña and Smith. The premise is at least intriguing.
REASONS TO STAY: Many of the plot twists are telegraphed. The ending is a bit preposterous.
FAMILY VALUES: There is a little bit of profanity but mostly the themes are pretty adult in nature.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Winslet, Mirren and Smith were all nominated for Oscars in 2007, although only Mirren was victorious.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 1/7/17: Rotten Tomatoes: 12% positive reviews. Metacritic: 24/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Meet Joe Black
FINAL RATING: 6/10
NEXT: The True Memoirs of an International Assassin

New Releases for the Week of November 11, 2016

MOONLIGHT

(A24) Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, André Holland, Trevante Rhodes, Jharrel Jerome, Edson Jean, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jaden Piner. Directed by Barry Jenkins

This highly acclaimed film focuses on a young African-American man at three different points in his life, his experiences with love and connection and how he handles his oncoming sexuality. The movie won a huge buzz at this year’s Toronto Film Festival and has been getting some legitimate Oscar buzz.

See the trailer and clips here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for some sexuality, drug use, brief violence and language throughout)

Almost Christmas

(Universal) Danny Glover, Gabrielle Union, Omar Epps, Mo’nique. The patriarch of an extended family is about to gather his family together for their first holiday season without their mother. His family is on the dysfunctional side and all he wants for Christmas is for them all to just get along for once. However if this family can pull itself together without tearing itself apart it would be a kind of Christmas miracle.

See the trailer, clips, interviews and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Holiday Comedy
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for suggestive material, drug content and language)

Arrival

(Paramount) Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg. When ginormous spacecraft land on sites throughout the globe, a team of world-class scientists – including an expert linguist – are assembled to make contact with the aliens inside the craft. However, with the world teetering on the brink of global war, the linguist will take a chance to find the answers that might just keep humanity from destroying itself.

See the trailer, clips and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Science Fiction
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for brief strong language)

Come and Find Me

(Saban/Lionsgate) Aaron Paul, Annabelle Wallis, Garret Dillahunt, Zachary Knighton. An idyllic romance comes to a baffling halt when David’s girlfriend disappears without a trace. Frantic, he goes out searching for her, finding her trail to be increasingly perilous. Realizing that he didn’t know his girlfriend at all, he reaches a point where if he’s going to see her alive again, he’s going to have to take an enormous risk…but is she worth it?

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Thriller
Now Playing: AMC West Oaks
Rating: R (for language and some violence)

Dog Eat Dog

(RLJ Entertainment) Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Matthew Cook, Louisa Krause. Based on the book by Eddie Bunker and directed by Paul Schrader, this movie follows a trio of ex-cons trying to eke out an existence in the underbelly of Los Angeles. They are hired by a Cleveland mobster to kidnap the baby of a rival. When they botch the kidnapping, they find themselves on the run from both the mobsters and the cops, vowing at every turn that they aren’t going back to jail.

See the trailer and a clip here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Thriller
Now Playing: AMC Loew’s Universal Cineplex
Rating: NR

Don’t Look Down

(Gravitas) Richard Branson, Eve Branson, Per Lindstrand, Mike Kendrick. Richard Branson is best-known as a billionaire who founded Virgin Records and later, Virgin Airlines. He is also a long-time hot air balloon enthusiast who has made his life goal to break world records on that front. This documentary follows his attempts to do just that.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Documentary
Now Playing: AMC Loew’s Universal Cineplex
Rating: NR

Shut In

(EuropaCorp/Relativity) Naomi Watts, Oliver Platt, Charlie Heaton, Jacob Tremblay. A widowed child psychologist cares for her comatose son and a troubled young boy. When the patient turns up missing, the psychologist blames herself for his disappearance but soon begins to believe that his ghost is haunting her and her son. When a vicious storm traps her in her house, she must find a way to defend herself and her defenseless son from something she can’t explain.

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 terror and some violence/bloody images, nudity, thematic elements and brief strong language)

New Releases for the Week of July 1, 2016

THE BFG

(Disney) Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Bill Hader, Jemaine Clement, Rebecca Hall, Rafe Spall, Matt Frewer. Directed by Steven Spielberg

A precocious 10-year-old girl in Victorian London meets a terrifying 24-foot-tall giant, who turns out to be not quite so terrifying at all. Gentle and sweet, the giant befriends the young girl and shows her around Giant Country and Dream Country, where the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) harvests dreams to give to human children. Unfortunately, other giants turn out to be not so friendly, and it will be up to the two of them to convince Queen Victoria that Giants do exist and that they have put the human world in grave peril.

See the trailer and clips here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Fantasy
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG (for action/peril, some scary moments and brief rude humor)

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

(The Orchard) Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House. Ricky is a defiant kid who has been raised in the foster care system of New Zealand and weaned on hip-hop is deposited into the home of Aunt Bella and Uncle Hec, where he might actually have a chance to lose the attitude. However, unexpected events force Hec and Ricky to flee into the bush, resulting in a national manhunt. The two loners, who have relied only on themselves all their lives, are now forced to rely on each other as a family or go out in a blaze of glory. This Florida Film Festival favorite will be reviewed on Cinema365 tomorrow.

See the trailer and clips here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: Enzian Theater
Rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements including violent content, and for some language)

The Legend of Tarzan

(Warner Brothers) Alexander Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz, Margot Robbie. The legendary Tarzan has left the jungles for a gentrified life as John Clayton, Lord Greystoke with his beloved wife Jane at his side. Appointed by Parliament as a trade emissary to the Congo, what he doesn’t realize is that he is being manipulated as a pawn in a game being played by greedy men. However, what they don’t realize is the force of nature they have unleashed on Africa.

See the trailer, interviews, a clip, a promo and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard, 3D, IMAX 3D
Genre: Adventure
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of action and violence, some sensuality and brief rude dialogue)

Marauders

(Lionsgate) Bruce Willis, Christopher Meloni, Dave Bautista, Adrian Grenier. After a bank is robbed by a group of brutal thieves, the evidence initially points to the owner and some of his high-powered clients. But as a group of FBI agents dig deeper into the case and more heists continue with the death toll rising, what seemed simple at first has become a heck of a lot more complicated – and further reaching.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Action
Now Playing: AMC Loew’s Universal Cineplex
Rating: R (for strong violence, language, brief drug use and nudity)

Our Kind of Traitor

(Roadside Attractions) Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgård, Damian Lewis, Naomie Harris. An ordinary English couple befriends a flamboyant and charismatic Russian while on vacation in Morocco. It soon turns out that their new friend is a money launderer for the Russian mob and he wants to co-operate with MI-6 in return for the guaranteed safety of his family. This brings the couple into a world of shadows and intrigue that they may not emerge from alive. From the novel by best-selling author John Le Carré.

See the trailer and clips here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Thriller
Now Playing: AMC Disney Springs, Cinemark Artegon Marketplace, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for violence, language throughout, some sexuality, nudity and brief drug use)

The Purge: Election Year

(Universal/Blumhouse) Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell, Edwin Hodge, Mykelti Williamson. Two years after Leo Barnes survived the Purge and stopped himself from committing an act of vengeance he might have regretted for the rest of his life, he has become head of security for a Senator who is running for President and if elected, promises to put an end to the Purge. This does not sit well with the powers-that-be and on this year’s Purge night, the two of them are betrayed and forced out into the streets where they are targets. This Purge may well be Leo’s last.

See the trailer, clips, a promo and a faux election video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Thriller
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for disturbing bloody violence and strong language)

Swiss Army Man

(A24) Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Richard Gross. Stranded on a deserted island, a man has given up all hope until a corpse washes up on shore. Curious, he discovers that the corpse has a life of its own and the two become fast friends. This inventive fantasy has gotten rave reviews for its imagination and heart and marks the feature debut of music video co-directors DANIELS. Looks to be the kind of movie that lovers of Michel Gondry might appreciate.

See the trailers here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, AMC Loew’s Universal Cineplex, Cobb Plaza Cinema Café, Regal Oviedo Marketplace, Regal Pointe Orlando, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for language and sexual material)