FILM | SHORTS
It
OPENING FILMS 9/11
I think we can all agree that any narrative centered on the Sept. 11 attacks must (if it has to be told at all) be approached with the utmost grace and tact. But do we really expect those qualities of a film from the director of National Lampoon’s Cattle Call and starring Charlie Sheen? I guess we’ll find out. (NW) Rated R
HOME AGAIN
Single mother Reese Witherspoon has a one-night stand with a handsome 20-something and then begrudgingly allows him and his two deadbeat friends to move into her house. Sure. This rom-com is preposterous, sexist and weighed down by white privilege, and since it was directed by the daughter of Nancy Meyers (It’s Complicated), you won’t be surprised to learn it’s set in a tastefully decorated bungalow with a beautiful, spacious kitchen. (MJ) Rated PG-13
IT
Since publication in 1986, Stephen King’s dense horror tome It has been giving clowns a bad rap; that creepy 1990 miniseries adaptation certainly didn’t help matters. Pennywise, the
balloon-toting, razor-toothed clown of everyone’s nightmares, hits the big screen for the first time this week, again terrorizing a group of young social outcasts in the sleepy (and no doubt cursed) town of Derry, Maine. (NW) Rated R
MENASHE
An empathetic character study set in a primarily Orthodox Jewish borough of New York, in which a widowed father works against the tenets of his religion to win back his young son. Because it’s directed by documentarian Joshua Z Weinstein, the film possesses the shagginess and sense of place that you’d expect from a nonfiction film, and it’s authentic in both its emotions and its exploration of faith. At the Magic Lantern. (NW) Rated PG
TRUE TO THE GAME
Based on a series of novels by Teri Woods, this gritty urban thriller centers on an enterprising criminal who becomes involved in the drug- and gun-filled underworld of Philadelphia. From the director of the sleeper hit This Christmas and starring Columbus Short, Vivica A. Fox and the late Nelsan Ellis. (NW) Rated R
NOW PLAYING ALL SAINTS
John Corbett stars as a corporate salesman-turned-pastor who is assigned to shut down a struggling church in his small town. When a group of South Asian refugees shows up at his door, he teams up with them to turn the church’s land into a working farm. The latest from Affirm Films, which produces family-friendly features aimed at evangelical audiences. (NW) Rated PG
ANNABELLE: CREATION
Everyone’s favorite demonic doll is back to terrorize a new batch of characters, namely a group of young orphans and their kindly nun overseer. Quickly devolves into a series of predictable jump scares, in spite of its eerie atmosphere. (NW) Rated R
ATOMIC BLONDE
Charlize Theron kicks a whole lotta ass as an MI6 agent tracking down a double agents in 1989 Berlin. This second action spectacle from John Wick director David Leitch is too long and densely plotted, but it’s uber-stylish and set to a thumping soundtrack of great ’80s pop hits. (NW) Rated R
BABY DRIVER
The latest genre deconstruction from Edgar Wright stars Ansel Elgort as a young, music-obsessed getaway driver who becomes wrapped up in a heist that’s destined to self-destruct. Stellar car chases, a fully loaded soundtrack and a deceptively sweet love story. (SS) Rated R
THE BIG SICK
Inspired by the courtship of Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon (who also wrote the script), this is the rare rom-com that’s both consistently funny and genuinely emotional. Nanjiani plays himself, a stand-up who meets and falls in love with Emily (Zoe Kazan). There’s only one problem: He’s keeping their relationship a secret from his traditional Pakistani parents. This is further complicated when Emily falls into a medically induced coma. At the Magic Lantern. (SS) Rated R
THE DARK TOWER
Stephen King’s epic, multi-novel fantasy series finally hits the big screen, and the result is rushed, incoherent and lifeless. The interdimensional world of ...continued on next page
SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 INLANDER 37 Tinnabulation_Tinnfest_082417_12V_MB_NEW.jpg