New Releases for the Week of August 24, 2018

THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS

(STX) Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, Leslie David Baker, Cynthy Wu, Michael McDonald, Mitch Silpa. Directed by Brian Henson

As the puppet cast of an 80s children’s show begins to get bumped off one by one a disgraced L.A. police detective takes on the case. Her investigation takes her into the seamy side of puppet life. Parents, please note the rating on the movie – it is most definitely not for kids!!!

See the trailer, interviews, clips, video featurettes and B-roll footage here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for strong crude sexual content and language throughout, and some drug material)

A.X.L.

(Global Road) Thomas Jane, Becky G, Alex Neustaedter, Ted McGinley. A robotic dog developed for military use who is relegated to a desert scrapheap after a test goes wrong is discovered by a teen boy who is a bit of an outsider himself. The robot develops a bond with the boy and will go to great lengths to protect him; the scientists who created him will go to any lengths to get the dog back.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Science Fiction/Family
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG (for sci-fi action/peril, suggestive material, thematic elements and some language)

Beautifully Broken

(ArtAfects) Benjamin A. Onyango, Scott William Winters, Emily Hahn, Caitlin Nicol-Thomas. Three fathers fight to save their families from widely divergent perils but their stories converge on this true story-based drama which teaches the value of forgiveness and reconciliation.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, AMC Lake Square, AMC Universal Cineplex, Regal Oviedo Mall, Regal The Loop, Regal Waterford Lakes, Regal Winter Park Village, Rialto Spanish Springs Square
Rating: PG-13 (for mature thematic content involving violence and disturbing images, and some drug material)

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

(FilmRise) Chloe Grace Moretz, Jennifer Ehle, Steven Hauck, Marin Ireland. After a young girl is discovered with another girl in the backseat of a car at the 1993 high school prom, her devout guardians ship her off to gay therapy conversion camp to discipline the gay out of her. Instead, she finds a community of fellow outcasts and for the first time begins to feel like she belongs.

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

Papillon

(Bleecker Street) Charlie Hunnam, Rami Malek, Tommy Flanagan, Eve Hewson. Wrongfully convicted of the murder of a pimp, a Frenchman is set to the penal colony of Devil’s Island in Guyana where he strikes up an unlikely friendship with a convicted counterfeiter. The brutal and inhuman conditions lead him to make multiple escape attempts. Eventually he wrote a book about his experiences which became an acclaimed movie in 1973 starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman; since then allegations have surfaced that the book was a fabrication.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Biographical Drama
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, Cinemark Artegon Marketplace, Old Mill Playhouse, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for violence including bloody images, language, nudity, and some sexual material)

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

(Greenwich) Scotty Bowers, Peter Bart, Stephen Fry, William Mann. The strange but true story of Bowers who was a handsome ex-Marine who came to Hollywood shortly after the Second World War. He became a confidante and aide-de-camp to many Hollywood stars. Eventually he began to connect those who had to hire their sexual orientation with partners that allowed them to exercise their needs. This played the Florida Film Festival this past spring.

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

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Blue Iguana
Custody
Elizabeth Harvest
Neevevaru
Parwaaz Hai Jundon
Support the Girls

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE:

Almost 40
Arizona
The Captain
The Elephant and the Butterfly
Handia (Giant)
I Am Vengeance
Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2
Memoirs of War
The Music Room
Neevevaru
Skate Kitchen

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG:

Aatagalu
Arizona
Lakshim
Neevevaru

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days
McQueen
Neevevaru
Skate Kitchen
Summer 1993

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

A.X.L.
Blue Iguana
The Happytime Murders
Papillon
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

Pick of the Litter – August 2018

BLOCKBUSTER OF THE MONTH

The Meg

(Warner Brothers) Jason Statham, Bingbing Li, Rainn Wilson, Cliff Curtis. A decorated diver is recruited to rescue a submersible that has been attacked by a sea creature previously thought extinct and lies disabled on the deepest part of the ocean floor. With time running out for the crew, a rescue operation is to be mounted but there’s one hitch; the diver encountered the creature once before and is terrified of it. If the crew is going to be saved he is going to have to get past his fear of the 75-foot prehistoric shark known as Megalodon. August 10

INDEPENDENT PICKS

Nico, 1988

(Magnolia) Trine Dyrholm, John Gordon Sinclair, Anamaria Marinca, Sandor Funtek. Nico was a rock and roll legend and a rock and roll casualty. In 1988 she was living in Manchester, struggling with addiction and the demons brought on by fame. Dyrholm gives a searing performance as the former singer for the Velvet Underground who shunned her fame and yearned to live life on her own terms.. August 1

La Familia

(Film Movement) Giovanni Garcia, Reggie Reyes, Kirvin Barrios, Indira Jimenez. A father and son are barely squeaking by in the gang-infested barrios of Caracas. When the son gets into a scrape with ta boy he shouldn’t have, the father realizes they cannot stay and survive. The willful boy detests his father, whom he sees as a coward. A day laborer, he brings his son to work with him as he desperately tries to earn enough to get them out before they can be caught and killed, slowly showing his son what a straight life looks like. This played the Miami Film Festival earlier this year and Cinema365 reviewed it which you can read here. August 3

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

(FilmRise) Chloe Grace Moretz, Jennifer Ehle, Marin Ireland, Sasha Lane. The conservative guardians of a teenage girl send her to God’s Promise, a gay conversion therapy treatment center. Set in 1993, the movie is about the discovery of who you are and learning to be okay with it. This was one of the more talked-about films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. August 3

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

(Netflix) Lily James, Jessica Brown Findlay, Matthew Goode, Michiel Huisman. Following the end of World War II a writer comes to Guernsey Island to do a reading for their literary society. She unexpectedly bonds with the residents and determines to write a book about their experiences during the war which opens old wounds but could also bring much-needed closure. August 10

Juliet, Naked

(Roadside Attractions) Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke, Chris O’Dowd, Lily Newmark. A young English woman’s boyfriend is obsessed with an obscure American rock idol who has been out of the spotlight for twenty years. A chain of unlikely events puts her in touch with the musician online and when he comes to London, the two get together and sparks fly. Who will she wind up with, the rocker or the schlubby boyfriend? August 17

The Night is Short, Walk On Girl

(GKIDS) Starring the voices of Gen Hoshino, Kana Hanazawa, Hiroshi Kamiya, Kazuya Nakai. A group of teens, following a time-honored ritual of college sophomores, go out on the town to drink as much as they possibly can. Senpai, a classmate who has a crush on one of the girls, contrives to find ways to “accidentally” run into her during the night in question. This is definitely not just for kids. August 21

 

An L.A. Minute

(Strand) Kiersey Clemons, Gabriel Byrne, Bob Balaban, Ed Marinaro. One of the most successful writers in the world who’s known for producing potboilers that get made into big budget movies, is eager to try his hand at something that has more meaning. When he encounters a vibrant and innovative young actress in a small theater, he is inspired. He then watches as her star begins to eclipse his own. August 24

Active Measures

(Super LTD) Donald J. Trump, Vladimir Putin, John McCain, Hillary Clinton. This is a look at Russian meddling into the 2016 Presidential election and how it happened. The collusion between Trump and Putin didn’t start with the election, according to this documentary – and it won’t end there. A chilling entry into the most recent Hot Docs Film Festival.. August 31

Pick of the Litter

(Sundance Selects) Don Hardy Jr., Dana Nachman. This heartwarming documentary follows a litter of puppies selected to participate in the Guide Dog training program. The standards are high and not every puppy will make the cut, but the journey will be one that you’ll never forget. August 31