A&E // MOVIES FILM RATINGS
THIRD DATE **** FIRST DATE **@@
SECOND DATE ***@ LAST DATE *@@@
SCREENINGS AROUND TOWN
SUN-RAY CINEMA A Most Violent Year, Inherent Vice and Birdman screen at Sun-Ray Cinema, 1028 Park St., 5 Points, 359-0049, sunraycinema.com. The Princess Bride screens at 7 p.m. Feb. 5. The Walking Dead shows at 9 p.m.; Better Call Saul 10 p.m. Feb. 8, free. Oscar Nominated Shorts run through Feb. 12. I Am Eleven screens at 7 p.m. Feb. 12. Check website for details. LATITUDE 360 MOVIES Penguins of Madagascar and Fury screen at Latitude 360’s CineGrille Theater, 10370 Philips Hwy., Southside, 3655555, latitude360.com/jacksonville-fl. THE CORAZON CINEMA & CAFÉ Boyhood and Ida are screened through Feb. 12 at Corazon Cinema, 36 Granada St., St. Augustine, 679-5736, corazoncinemaandcafe.com. WGHF IMAX THEATER Game of Thrones, Hidden Universe, Island of Lemurs Madagascar and Journey to the South Pacific screen at World Golf Village Hall of Fame IMAX Theater, 1 World Golf Place, St. Augustine, 940-4133, worldgolfimax.com.
NOW SHOWING
BLACKHAT *@@@ Rated R Overwritten and underwhelming, Michael Mann’s Blackhat should’ve been a taut cyber thriller of espionage and intrigue. It’s not. It’s a cyber bore full of nonsense, held together with
a plot that’s denser than it needs to be. Costars Viola Davis, Chris Hemsworth, Leehom Wang and Wei Tang. — D.H. BLACK OR WHITE *G@@ Rated PG-13 Writer/director Mike Binder seems overly confident that he’s on to something really great. The central character is Elliott Anderson (Kevin Costner), a successful attorney who’s been raising his 7-year-old granddaughter, Eloise (Jillian Estell) with his wife, Carol (Jennifer Ehle), ever since their daughter died during childbirth. As the film opens, Carol has died in a car accident, and Elliott’s grief-stricken, turning to alcohol for comfort. He gets an offer to help take care of the little girl from Rowena (Octavia Spencer), Eloise’s other grandmother, but Elliott harbors a deep grudge against her son, Eloise’s absentee, drug-addict father, Reggie (André Holland). So when Gramps resists sharing custody, Rowena heads to court. It’s a superficial way to capitalize on an edgy premise, and it’s hard to watch it tossed around casually by a filmmaker who seems to have no clue how to take it seriously. — Scott Renshaw THE BOY NEXT DOOR Rated R Remember the ’80s genre of “from hell” movies? Nanny From Hell (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle), Roommate From Hell (Single White Female) and Mistress From Hell (Fatal Attraction). The Boy Next Door makes a late entry in that sleazy bunch: the Himbo Jailbait From Hell. Jennifer Lopez plays a single mom entangled with her underage stud muffin neighbor, only to find he’s just too psychotically clingy. — Steve Schneider CAKE Rated R Jennifer Aniston is getting a lot of buzz for her portrayal of
MAGIC LANTERNS
ATONEMENT AND RECKONING
T
he most famous brothers writing and directing films today may be the Coens (Fargo, No Country for Old Men) and the Wachowskis (The Matrix Trilogy). Even more remarkable for my money, though, are the McDonagh brothers, each of whom writes and directs his own films independently of the other. So far, neither has done anything less than terrific. Martin McDonagh’s feature films are In Bruges (2008) and Seven Psychopaths (2012), profane comic thrillers with originality and rich characterization. Elder sib John Michael McDonagh’s first film as writer/director was The Guard (2011), starring Brendan Gleeson as an Irish cop partnered with FBI agent Don Cheadle on the trail of drug smugglers. As of this writing, The Guard is the most successful independent Irish film ever, just eclipsing the younger brother’s In Bruges. John Michael’s second film, Calvary (released in 2014 and now available for home viewing) is the best of the lot and just as good as this year’s various award nominees, if not better. It’s also quite different in tone and substance from either of the brothers’ other films. Profoundly moving and thought-provoking, the witty film has clever plot development and characterization. Brendan Gleeson plays Father James, parish priest of a small Irish town who, in the film’s opening, is visited in the confessional by a man who promises to kill him in a week. The unidentified nonpenitent’s reasoning is straightforward enough: Repeatedly victimized as a child by a pedophile priest, he now intends to seek a vengeance that will matter, since the priest he intends to
“Hey gang! Let’s irreparably damage the space-time continuum!” The teenybopper sci-fi flick Project Almanac is currently screening.
murder is also innocent. The film follows Father James through the week as he considers the man out to kill him. He attends to his personal and pastoral duties; among those is to comfort and counsel to his grown daughter Fiona (Kelly Reilly), recovering from a suicide attempt. (Anything but another philandering cleric, Father James was formerly married, but entered the priesthood after his wife’s painful and protracted death.) Though Father James has many friends and acquaintances, most seem indifferent if not contemptuous of the Church. These include an elderly writer (M. Emmet Walsh), a cynical physician (Aiden Gillen, Game of Thrones), and a resident multimillionaire (Dylan Moran) who, despite his incredible wealth, has lost everything of true value in his life. There’s also a butcher (Chris O’Dowd) whose wife is having an open affair with an African immigrant, all three of them brazenly ridiculing Father James for his efforts to stop her from being physically abused by either man. On the positive side is a young woman whose faith remains firm and grounded despite the death of her husband in a senseless accident. And there are others. Featuring compelling, winning performances by its ensemble of talented actors, particularly an absolutely masterful, restrained performance by Brendan Gleeson, Calvary never shies away from those kinds of issues (like clerical abuse) that have disenchanted so many with the Catholic Church. Instead, the film focuses on a decent man who tries to practice his very real faith with compassion and humanity. A visual treat as well in its use of the Irish landscape, Calvary is a magnificent achievement by John Michael McDonagh and his cast and a real testament to the power of love and forgiveness. Pat McLeod mail@folioweekly.com
Claire, a woman with debilitating chronic pain who becomes overly obsessed by another woman from her support group who killed herself. Costars Anna Kendrick, Mamie Gummer, Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy. FOXCATCHER ***G Rated R The sordid tale of John DuPont’s (Steve Carell) great wealth and unfulfilled desires focuses on his amateur wrestling philanthropy. John lures 1984 Olympic gold medalist Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) to his Foxcatcher Farms to train; DuPont thinks he’s a coach and providing training facilities for future Olympic champions makes him a great American. John invites Mark’s more celebrated brother, fellow Olympic champion Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo), to train at Foxcatcher, but Dave declines. Good thinking, Dave. — D.H. JUPITER ASCENDING Rated PG-13 Saying the Wachowski sibs make commercial disappointments is like calling the Holocaust “regrettable.” Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas … their list of expensive flops is longer than Michael Fassbender’s inseam. Into that tradition walks Jupiter Ass Ending (bless you, Autocorrect!), a sci-fi actioner that puts Channing Tatum on the trail of a princess played by Mila Kunis. Postponed from its planned summer 2014 release to a less (ahem!) competitive February 2015 slot, the movie had a surprise debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival – to a reaction that was, reportedly, wholesale derision. More than a week before the picture’s national rollout, prognosticators were debating how many millions the studio was set to lose. So I guess the Wachowskis are finished in the industry, huh? Heck, no! This is Warner Brothers we’re talking about. Failure is the only thing they know how to reward. How do you think Zack Snyder pays the mortgage? — S.S. THE LOFT Rated R This is an example of Crises Befalling People You Don’t Give a Rat’s Ass About. A dilemma befalls a bunch of fellas who keep a loft apartment as party pad – only to have it all threatened when a chick turns up dead there. Out here in sane America, this sort of film is known as a Serves You Right movie, but expect lots of hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing from the four people who worried what was going to happen to Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut. Adulterous goons with excessive real-estate budgets – they’re just like us! — S.S. MORTDECAI Rated R When a successful actor like Johnny Depp does an iffy project like this, they say “Maybe he just likes to work.” The kinds of “work” Cap’n Jack could’ve done instead: 1) building homes for Habitat for Humanity; 2) delivering parcels for UPS; 3) dealing dope out of the back of a Twistee Treat. Here he’s an art dealer evading cops and robbers as they all hunt for Nazi gold. — S.S. A MOST VIOLENT YEAR **G@ Rated R Director/screenwriter J.C. Chandor’s new film stars Oscar Isaac, as Abel Morales, a hard-working immigrant battling the odds, and his social station, in New York City. Through persistence and discipline, he’s the head of the city’s fastest-growing heating-oil business. But he’s facing his biggest challenge: his delivery trucks are being hijacked at gunpoint by thugs who don’t even want the vehicles, just the heating oil. Fighting by Abel’s side are his tough-asnails wife, Anna, played by Jessica Chastain, and his friend and lawyer, Andrew, portrayed by Albert Brooks. Belying its title, A Most Violent Year is surprisingly non-violent. This is a
story not of bloodshed, but of emotional brutality and the rat race in a world of urban and moral decay. To tell that tale, Chandor employs a subtle, slow-building tension, helped by atmospheric production design and cinematography. — Cameron Meier
PADDINGTON Rated PG The comedy about a very clever bear living with a British family features Nicole Kidman, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters and Ben Whishaw as the voice of the Paddington. PROJECT ALMANAC Rated PG-13 Friends develop a makeshift time machine. SEVENTH SON Rated PG-13 America finally admits en masse that Jeff Bridges has become a really awful actor. Oh, I know you have his face on a T-shirt – along with a slogan claiming that he “abides” for some reason. But be honest: When was the last time you found him remotely believable as any character whatsoever – even “Jeff Bridges”? In this one, the scion of the Sea Hunt empire plays an ancient knight searching for an apprentice; apparently, he’s affecting a vocal delivery that’s equal parts Anglo pretension and talking with your mouth full. Porridge time at Hogwarts? Universal should be so lucky. What we’ve got here looks a lot less like Harry Potter and a lot more like Highlander. The second one. — S.S. THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER Rated PG Back in 1998, what did you think you’d be doing in 2015? If the answer is “Eagerly awaiting the second SpongeBob Squarepants movie,” then this is our week to howl. And if you never stopped loving Guns ’n Roses, then you’ll be tickled pink that “Welcome to the Jungle” is the soundtrack to the promos for this second foray into (and then away from) Bikini Bottom. I don’t have a problem with any of that – got no beef with Le Sponge, and I’m always in the mood for Axl. I’m just worried that 2016 is going to bring a Teletubbies movie. With music by Candlebox. — S.S. STILL ALICE ***G Rated PG-13 Reviewed in this issue. STRANGE MAGIC Rated PG Once upon a time, calling something a musical meant you had actually written some original songs for it. Now, all you have to do is throw together a bunch of pop hits from the last six decades, and you have Strange Magic, which, on the basis of that description, sounds like an animated Moulin Rouge. But the comparison LucasFilm is making is actually to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with fairies and other fantastic creatures in pursuit of a powerful potion. Not only is George Lucas the film’s executive producer, he gets a story credit. The voice cast includes Alan Cumming, Alfred Molina and Kristin Chenoweth. — S.S. THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING ***G Rated PG-13 This Stephen Hawking biopic, directed by James Marsh and starring Eddie Redmayne as the brilliant physicist, shows the progression of his motor neuron disease, which ravages his body but leaves his mind intact. The more Stephen’s disease progresses, the better the movie gets, mostly due to Redmayne’s Oscar-worthy performance. Costars Harry Lloyd, Charlie Cox and Maxine Peake. — D.H.
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