FILM | SHORTS services is documented here. It will supposedly coincide with Ye’s new album, but don’t hold your breath. (NW) Not Rated
THE KILL TEAM
Inspired by real events, a new Army recruit goes head to head with his commanding sergeant, whose orders end up killing Afghani civilians. At the Magic Lantern. (NW) Rated R
THE LIGHTHOUSE
Black and Blue
OPENING FILMS BLACK AND BLUE
Issues of race and police brutality are explored in this gritty thriller, starring Naomie Harris as a rookie cop who uncovers evidence of corruption in her force. (NW) Rated R
COUNTDOWN
The teen horror film of the Halloween season, about a popular app that purports to pinpoint the exact date
WESTERN STARS
and time you’ll die. Turns out it’s real — spooky! (NW) Rated PG-13
THE CURRENT WAR
In the late 19th century, Edison and Westinghouse race to popularize their dueling electrical systems. This 2017 film was lost in the Weinstein scandal and is now being released in a director’s cut. (NW) Rated PG-13
NOW PLAYING ABOMINABLE
A reclusive girl befriends an escaped yeti and gets suckered into taking him across China to Mount Everest. Scenic animation, righteous violin solos and unexpected voice acting by Eddie Izzard make it worthwhile. (QW)
AD ASTRA
In this heady sci-fi parable, Brad Pitt travels across the solar system to find his long-lost astronaut father. Part silly space adventure, part heavy meditation on existence and masculinity, it’s intriguing on multiple levels. (NW) Rated PG-13
THE ADDAMS FAMILY
America’s creepiest and kookiest clan gets the toon treatment in an episodic story that finds them moving to the decidedly un-spooky suburbs of New Jersey. Forgettable animated fare. (NW) Rated PG
DOWNTON ABBEY
The beloved British series gets a big screen sequel, fast-forwarding to 1927 to catch us up on all the goings-on of the titular estate and its stiff-upper-lipped inhabitants. (NW) Rated PG
GEMINI MAN
Two Will Smiths for the price of one? If only it were worth the admission. Here’s an anemic sci-fi thriller about an assassin whose greatest nemesis is a younger version of himself. (MJ) Rated PG-13
HUSTLERS
Based on the true story of strippers who swindled their Wall Street customers, this is a terrific, intelligent heist film. Director Lorene Scafaria weaves
44 INLANDER OCTOBER 24, 2019
Robert Eggers’ follow-up to The Witch is another slow-burn period piece, with Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as isolated lighthouse keepers going stir crazy. But unlike The Witch, this unnerving sea chantey is more bemusing than terrifying. (ES) Rated R
sympathy, sensitivity and humor into the tricky clockwork plot. (MJ) Rated R
DOLEMITE IS MY NAME
Bruce Springsteen performs his newest album in this limited engagement concert film, a far grittier, more intimate affair than your typical arena-packing showcase of the Boss. (NW) Rated PG
JESUS IS KING
One of the most famous films in history returns to Dolby cinemas for a short run on the occasion of its 80th anniversary, and the musical fantasy starring Judy Garland plays as beautifully now as it did in 1939. (NW) Rated G
Eddie Murphy makes a comeback in an acclaimed performance as blaxploitation icon Rudy Ray Moore, star and author of the 1975 kung-fu musical action comedy Dolemite. At the Magic Lantern. (NW) Rated R Exclusive to IMAX screens, one of Kanye West’s infamous Sunday
CRITICS’ SCORECARD THE INLANDER
IT: CHAPTER TWO
The follow-up to 2017’s horror smash is a leaden, overlong slog, with those precious kids, now jaded adults, returning to Derry to finally kill the evil force that is Pennywise the clown. Nothing floats here. (MJ) Rated R
JOKER
The Clown Prince gets his own origin story, with Joaquin Phoenix as a failed stand-up who violently lashes out at society. A Scorsese pastiche that’s not nearly as edgy as it thinks it is. (MJ) Rated R
JUDY
Renée Zellweger disappears into the role of legendary torch singer Judy Garland, whose career is falling apart in the final year of her life. The central performance is revelatory; the film itself is not. (ES) Rated PG-13
THE LAUNDROMAT
Steven Soderbergh’s latest dramatizes the chaos and corruption behind the Panama Papers, but does it in a way that’s unfocused and trite. With its fourth-wall breaking and criss-crossing plots, it’s like a poor man’s Big Short. At the Magic Lantern. (NW) Rated R
LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE
The towering rock vocalist receives the affectionate career retrospective treatment, looking back at her groundbreaking legacy and talents that were silenced by Parkinson’s. At the Magic Lantern. (NW) Rated PG-13
THE WIZARD OF OZ
NEW YORK TIMES
VARIETY
METACRITIC.COM
(LOS ANGELES)
(OUT OF 100)
THE ADDAMS FAMILY
45
GEMINI MAN
38
JOKER
58
THE LAUNDROMAT
57
THE LIGHTHOUSE
82
MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL
43
ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP
56
DON’T MISS IT
WORTH $10
MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL
The Sleeping Beauty villain returns, again played by Angelina Jolie and here going cheekbone to cheekbone with wicked queen Michelle Pfeiffer. The few good ideas of the original are traded in for endless spectacle resembling a video game cut-scene. (NW) Rated PG
THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON
A young man with Down syndrome and pro wrestling aspirations runs away from his care facility, teaming up with a down-and-out fisherman (Shia LaBeouf) in this heartwarming roadtrip fable. (SR) Rated R
RAISE HELL: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS
A documentary portrait of irascible,
WATCH IT AT HOME
SKIP IT
outspoken political pundit Molly Ivins, who made a career of dencouning corruption and calling out B.S. As garrulous and entertaining as its subject. At the Magic Lantern. (NW) Not Rated
RAMBO: LAST BLOOD
Sylvester Stallone’s super soldier returns to the big screen one final time, going after the Mexican drug cartel that kidnapped his niece. Super violent, super dumb. (NW) Rated R
ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP
A decade after the horror-comedy hit, our ragtag quartet of apocalypse survivors is back for more bloody adventures. It’s hardly painful to sit through, but it’s not particularly funny and most of the jokes are retreads. (NW) Rated Rn