New Releases for the Week of February 21, 2020

THE CALL OF THE WILD

(20^th Century Fox) Harrison Ford, Karen Gillan, Omar Sy, Bradley Whitford, Dan Stevens, Cara Gee, Jean Louisa Kelly, Wes Brown, Terry Notary. Directed by Chris Sanders

Based on the classic Jack London novel, this is the tale of Buck, a dog with a big heart but unfortunately a clumsy manner, the latter of which gets him exiled from his comfortable California home to the wilds of Alaska, He makes friends with a curmudgeonly loner and ends up making his own destiny as the leader of a mail sled dog team.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Adventure
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG (for some violence, peril, thematic elements and mild language)

10 Things to Do Before We Break Up

(Vision) Christina Ricci, Hamish Linklater, Jon Abrahams, Katia Winter. Two people who don’t believe in love get together in a relationship they both know is doomed, but it soon becomes apparent neither one of them wants it to end.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Romance
Now Playing: Old Mill Playhouse
Rating: NR

The Assistant

(Bleecker Street) Julia Garner, Matthew Macfadyen, Mackenzie Leigh, Kristine Froseth. A young woman fresh out of college gets her dream job working as an executive assistant to a powerful entertainment mogul. As her day goes by, she begins to notice the subtle degradation that permeates her job and decides at last to take a stand.

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

Atlantics

(Netflix) Mame Sane, Amadou Mbow, Nicole Sougou, Aminata Kane. A group of construction workers in Dakar who haven’t been paid for months abandon their jobs and decide to take to the sea to find better opportunities elsewhere. One of them is Suleiman, the lover of Ada, who is promised to another man but who loves Suleiman.

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

Bheeshma

(Blue Sky) Bishu Sengupta, Rashmika Mandanna, Nithin, Vennela Kishore. A young man who creates memes for a living is determined to remain a bachelor for the rest of his days, but fate seems to be conspiring against him.

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

BHOOT: Part One – The Haunted Ship

(ZEE) Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar, Ashutosh Rana. A bereaved shipping officer must save a girl he believes to be real who has been appearing on a derelict ship – the Sea Bird – that is believed to be haunted. The first of two parts.

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

Brahms: The Boy II

(STX) Katie Holmes, Owain Yeoman, Christopher Convery, Ralph Ineson. When a family moves into a stately old home with a checkered past, their young son makes friends with a life-sized doll named Brahms.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Horror
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for violence, terror, brief strong language and thematic elements)

The Lodge

(NEON) Riley Keough, Richard Armitage, Alicia Silverstone, Jaeden Lieberher. A family vacations at a remote mountain cabin for the holidays but when the father is forced to return to work abruptly, he leaves his two children in the care of his new girlfriend. However, terrifying events powered by spectres from her dark past haunt the three of them as a blizzard traps them there.

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 disturbing violence, some bloody images, language and brief nudity)

My Boyfriend’s Meds (Las píladoras de mi novio)

(Pantelion) Jaime Camil, Sandra Echévarria, Jason Alexander, Brooke Shields. A dream trip to a tropical paradise turns into a nightmare when her boyfriend accidentally leaves his prescription meds behind..

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: AMC Disney Springs, Epic Theaters of Lee Vista, Regal The Loop
Rating: NR

The Night Clerk

(Saban) Ana de Armas, Helen Hunt, John Leguizamo, Tye Sheridan. A young, socially challenged night clerk at a hotel witnesses a murder in one of the rooms. However, his actions are deemed suspicious by the detective in charge who makes him the number one suspect.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Suspense
Now Playing: Old Mill Playhouse
Rating: R (for language, some sexual references, brief nudity and violent images)

Olympic Dreams

(IFC) Nick Kroll, Alexi Pappas, Gus Kenworthy, Morgan Schild. A cross-country skier at the 2018 Winter Olympic games feels alone in a crowd in the Village. She links up with a volunteer dentist who is having relationship problems and maybe the spark of something is ignited. This was reviewed last week by Cinema365; you can follow the link to review by clicking on the movie’s name under “Scheduled To Be Reviewed” below.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Now Playing: Barnstorm Theater
Rating: PG-13 (for some language and sexual references)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

(NEON) Noémie Merlant, Adele Haenel, Laura Bajrami, Valeria Golino. A woman is commissioned to paint a portrait of a reluctant bride to send to a potential suitor in 18^th century France. However, the painter who is there under the guise of being a companion (and paints her portrait by night) soon develops romantic feelings for her subject.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Historical Drama
Now Playing: Enzian Theater
Rating: R (for some nudity and sexuality)

Standing Up, Falling Down

(SHOUT!) Billy Crystal, Ben Schwartz, Grace Gummer, Nathan Corddry. After his stand-up career fails to take off in Los Angeles, a man returns home to Long Island to regroup. Along the way he rekindles old relationships and strikes up a new one with an eccentric dermatologist who has regrets of his own.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: Old Mill Playhouse
Rating: NR

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Hai Tang Hong
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
Swift

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

Citizen K
Corpus Christi]
Hai Tang Hong
Hump!
India vs. England
Mafia: Chapter 1
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
Those Who Remained
True Fiction
Varda by Agnes

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG/SARASOTA:

Impractical Jokers: The Movie
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Emerald Run
Impractical Jokers: The Movie
Mafia: Chapter 1
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

Brahms: The Boy II
Call of the Wild
The Lodge
Olympic Dreams
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Standing Up, Falling Down

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War for the Planet of the Apes

Caesar can be a little grumpy sometimes.

(2017) Science Fiction (20^th Century Fox) Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karen Konoval, Amiah Miller, Terry Notary, Ty Olsson, Michael Adamthwaite, Toby Kebbell, Gabriel Chavarria, Judy Greer, Sara Canning, Devyn Dalton, Aleks Paunovic, Alessandro Juliani, Max Lloyd-Jones, Timothy Webber, Lauro Chartrand, Shaun Omaid, Roger Cross, Mercedes de la Zerda. Directed by Matt Reeves

 

This past summer was largely disappointing when it came to quality blockbusters. Sure, there were the usual suspects; loud sci-fi action, crude comedies, big superhero epics and so on. Mostly all of the high expectations for some of these wannabe billion dollar franchises fizzled out of the gate with only a few exceptions.

War for the Planet of the Apes however was one of the best-reviewed films of the entire summer. That rarely translates to big box office bucks – it didn’t recoup its $150 million production budget at the domestic box office and it finished with under $500 million at the worldwide box office, a decent enough number but surely not to the expectations of the suits at Fox.

The movie was curiously light on action despite the title; what it turned out to be was an ape character study of Caesar (Serkis), leader of the intelligent apes and the Colonel (Harrelson), the militaristic dictator of the remnants of humankind. You see the virus that made the apes smart is making humans dumb as rocks. Few thinking, rational human beings remain. The Colonel thinks all of the apes should be wiped off the face of the Earth so that humans can survive; in his mind, Homo sapiens won’t go gently into that good night.

Serkis delivers the best performance of his diverse career. Caesar is extremely conflicted; he wants peace but there is no reasoning with a fanatic. When struck by a personal tragedy, Caesar feels despair and fury but he is still tempered by the basically decent simian that he is. Of course, he’s an inspiring leader of his tribe who look to him as their savior while to the Colonel he’s a different kind of symbol. Zahn provides comic relief (and pathos) as Bad Ape.

There is a subplot involving a mute human child that ties into the ape movies of the 60s and 70s which aficionados of those films will appreciate; I surely did. There aren’t a ton of action sequences but the ones there are Reeves pretty much nails.

The CGI is surprisingly substandard for a film of this importance; there are some sequences in which it is painfully obviously computer-generated. Good CGI is seamless and fits into “reality” like a glove. That doesn’t happen here and it takes the viewer right out of the film from time to time.

I wasn’t among the critics singing the praises of this film. To my eye, it isn’t as good as the first two films in the series. I’m not sure the studio initially had faith in it either as  the movie could easily end the franchise right here; however with a fourth film already approved by Fox and a strong overseas box office chances are the franchise will continue, hopefully with films better than this one. However it is still a better than average summer movie and despite its flaws one of the best to come out this past summer which isn’t saying much.

REASONS TO GO: Serkis does some of his best work ever here. The Nova subplot is truly captivating.
REASONS TO STAY: The film is sadly uneven and isn’t up to the high standards of the franchise. Some of the CGI looked too much like CGI.
FAMILY VALUES: There are a few disturbing images, plenty of sci-fi violence and battle scenes as well as adult themes.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Serkis in interviews promoting the film indicated that this won’t be the conclusion of the series which may come in the fourth or fifth film of the series; in fact, Fox has already greenlit a fourth film in the franchise.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Amazon, Fandango Now, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, Vudu, YouTube
CRITICAL MASS: As of 12/16/17: Rotten Tomatoes: 93% positive reviews. Metacritic: 82/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Starship Troopers
FINAL RATING: 7/10
NEXT: Mother, I Love You

New Releases for the Week of December 1, 2017

DAISY WINTERS

(Hannover House) Brooke Shields, Iwan Rheon, Paul Blackthorne, Carrie Preston, Sterling Jerins, Poorna Jagannathan, Clayton Rohner, Suzy Nakamura. Directed by Beth LaMure

An 11-year-old girl sees her close but unconventional bond with her mother broken. Somewhat cast adrift, she sets out to find her father and take on all comers as she approaches life with an eagerness for adventure and an unshakable belief in herself.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Regal Oviedo Marketplace, Regal Pointe Orlando
Rating: PG=13 (for mature thematic content including some drug material, brief strong language and some suggestive images)

Aida’s Secrets

(Music Box) Aida Zasadsinska, Shep Shell, Izak Sagi. This highly emotional documentary is about two brothers, one born in a concentration camp, both separated at birth. The search to find each other takes many years but this reunion carries with it an additional wallop as well.

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

Gangster Land

(Cinedigm) Sean Faris, Milo Gibson, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Jason Patric. The rise of Al Capone is seen through the eyes of his right hand man “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn. The tale follows McGurn as he rises from prize fighter to hired muscle to hit man, culminating in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

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

Jane

(Abramorama) Jane Goodall. This is the story of Jane Goodall, a naturalist who began working in an era where very little was known or understood about chimpanzees. She went out into the field into some dangerous parts of Africa to study her beloved chimps and became not only a tireless activist for the preservation of the species but a role model for women everywhere.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Documentary
Now Playing: Enzian Theater (Saturday only)
Rating: NR

The Square

(Magnolia) Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West, Claes Bang, Terry Notary. A satirical drama about the role of egocentrism in our society particularly among the affluent, and the eroding role of community and moral courage in an increasingly uncertain world.

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

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Firangi
Punyalan Private Limited
Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE:

The Divine Order
Firangi
God’s Own Country
I Remember You
Oro
Punyalan Private Limited
Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas
Ten Days Without Mom
Thelma

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG:

A Bad Idea Gone Wrong
Alien Invasion: S.U.M. 1
Firangi
Inoperable
Jawaan
Love Beats Rhymes
Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Firangi
Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

Aida’s Secrets
Gangster Land
Jane

New Releases for the Week of July 14, 2017

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

(20^th Century Fox) Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Toby Kebbell, Judy Greer, Terry Notary, Gabriel Chavarria, Karin Konoval, Amiah Miller. Directed by Matt Reeves

There can be no peace between apes and humans as Caesar, the aging leader of the Apes, goes head to head with a Colonel who sees the war as no less than a war for human survival. With Caesar seeing this as an opportunity to avenge his people and the Colonel hell-bent on wiping out the Apes if the human race is to survive, this will be an epic all-out conflict for dominance.

See the trailer, clips, interviews, featurettes and a promo here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard, 3D
Genre: Science Fiction
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of sci-fi action violence and action, thematic elements and some disturbing images)

Jagga Jasoos

(UTV) Katrina Kaif, Sanjay Dutt, Ranbir Kapoor, Sayani Gupta. A teen boy, aided by a girl he’s sweet on, decides to go out and find his missing father himself when the police prove inadequate. This was distributed in India by Disney.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Family
Now Playing: AMC Universal Cineplex, AMC West Oaks
Rating: NR

The Little Hours

(Gunpowder & Sky) Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza. A servant in the middle ages, fleeing from his vindictive master, hides in a convent of emotionally unstable nuns. This is loosely based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14^th century novel The Decameron.

See the trailer and interviews here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for graphic nudity, sexual content and language)

Maudie

(Sony Classics) Ethan Hawke, Sally Hawkins, Kari Matchett, Zachary Bennett. A woman with crippled hands wants to be independent of her overprotective family and yet yearns to create art of her own. She answers an ad for a housekeeper for a reclusive fishmonger and the two end up falling into an unlikely but passionate romantic relationship. This inspires her to create and as she becomes a renowned folk artist, it brings the two of them closer in ways they couldn’t have imagined.

See the trailer and clips here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Biographical Drama
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: PG-13 (for some thematic content and brief sexuality)

Wish Upon

(Broad Green) Joey King, Ryan Philippe, Elizabeth Röhm, Sherilyn Fenn. A gift of a strange music box with a cryptic inscription to a bullied high school girl leads her to discover that the box can make any wish she imagines come true. Soon she has it all – wealthy, popularity, the boy she has a huge crush on. However there is a price to be paid for such gifts and she must soon find a way to rid herself of the box before everything she loves is taken away from her.

See the trailer, clips, interviews, a featurette 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 violent and disturbing images, thematic elements and language)

OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA

Falsettos
Shamantakamani

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI:
Blind
The Confessions
Falsettos
Lost in Paris
Pop Aye
Shamantakamani

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA:

Blind
Falsettos
The Journey
Swallows and Amazons
Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE:

All Men are the Same
Falsettos
The Magicians
Shamantakamani
Wakefield