This week’s Film Shorts list includes four titles with exclusive showings here in North Texas. Let’s start with those:
North Texas Exclusives
Aida y vuelta (NR) Based on the Spanish TV series by the same name, this movie is about the cast of a popular TV show struggling to stay united amid controversy. Starring Carmen Machi, Paco León, Miren Ibarguren, Marisol Ayuso, David Castillo, Eduardo Casanova, Melani Olivares, Mariano Peña, Pepe Viyuela, and Canco Rodríguez. This film is playing at Angelika Film Center (5321 E Mockingbird Ln, Dallas, 214-841-4712) and AMC Dine-In (19919 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy, Mesquite, 972-329-3992).
All That’s Left of You (NR) Cherien Dabis writes, directs, and stars in this Jordanian film as a mother recalling her teenage son (Adam Bakri) being swept up in an anti-Israel protest. Also with Saleh Bakri, Maria Zreik, Hayat Abu Samra, Ramzi Maqdisi, Muhammed Abed Elrahman, and Mohammad Bakri. This film is playing at Angelika Film Center (5321 E Mockingbird Ln, Dallas, 214-841-4712).
Nirvanna: the Band the Show the Movie (R) Based on the 2007 web comedy series, this film stars Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol as Canadian pranksters who accidentally travel back in time to 2008 to play their musical gig at the Rivoli Theatre. Also with Ben Petrie, Ethan Eng, Michael Scott, Reid Janisse, Steve Hamelin, and Maddy Wilde. This film is screening at Alamo Drafthouse Cedars (2200 N Griffin St, Dallas, 469-701-4679) and Texas Theatre (231 Jefferson Blvd, Oak Cliff, 214-948-1546).
A Poet (NR) This Colombian drama stars Guillermo Cardona as a writer who finds a talented teenager (Rebeca Andrade) to mentor. Also with Alisson Correa, Humberto Restrepo, Ubeimar Rios, and Margarita Soto. This film is playing at Angelika Film Center (5321 E Mockingbird Ln, Dallas, 214-841-4712).
The President’s Cake (PG-13) Set in the 1990s, this Iraqi film stars Baneen Ahmed Nayyef as a 9-year-old girl who must bake a cake for Saddam Hussein or face the consequences. Also with Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem, Muthanna Malaghi, and Ahmad Qasem Saywan. This film is playing at Angelika Film Center (5321 E Mockingbird Ln, Dallas, 214-841-4712).
OPENING
Assi (NR) This Indian drama is about a defense lawyer who discovers a cover-up behind unsolved sexual assault cases. Starring Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub, Kani Kusruti, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Taapsee Pannu, Advik Jaiswal, and Naseeruddin Shah. (Opens Friday)
Bambukat 2 (NR) This Punjabi-language comedy about a village inventor stars Karamjit Anmol, Raghav Bbhanot, Binnu Dhillon, Simi Chahal, and Gurpreet Ghuggi. (Opens Friday at Cinemark North East Mall)
Do Deewane Seher Mein (NR) Siddhant Chaturvedi and Mrunal Thakur star in this Indian romantic drama as two socially awkward young people trying to find love. Also with Ila Arun, Joy Sengupta, Ayesha Raza, Inesh Kotian, Sandeepa Dhar, Deepraj Rana, and Achint Kaur. (Opens Friday)
The Dreadful (R) Sophie Turner stars in this horror film as a woman pursued by an evil force after she’s exiled from her community. Also with Marcia Gay Harden, Laurence O’Fuarain, Catherine McDonough, Jonathan Howard, and Kit Harington. (Opens Friday at Studio Movie Grill Chisholm Trail)
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (PG-13) Baz Luhrmann’s documentary shows previously unseen footage of Elvis’ performances during his residency in Las Vegas. (Opens Friday)
A Gift From Heaven (NR) This Vietnamese film is about a mother (Phương Anh Đào) who accidentally meets the sperm donor (Tuấn Trần) who fathered her child. Also with Trung Dân, Quách Ngọc Ngoan, Võ Tấn Phát, Khương Lê, Bích Ngọc, and Tạ Lâm. (Opens Friday)
Hey Balwanth (NR) Also known as Hey Bhagawan, this Telugu-language stars Suhas as a young man who encounters difficulties taking over his father’s business. Also with V.K. Naresh, Shivani Nagaram, Sudharshan, and Vennela Kishore. (Opens Friday)
I Can Only Imagine 2 (PG) The sequel to the Christian music biopic takes on MercyMe lead singer Bart Millard (John Michael Finley) and his troubles at the height of the band’s success. Also with Arielle Kebbel, Trace Adkins, Sophie Skelton, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Milo Ventimiglia, and Dennis Quaid. (Opens Friday)
The King’s Warden (NR) This Korean historical drama stars Park Ji-hoon as a young 15th-century king who hides out in a remote village after being overthrown by his uncle. Also with Yoo Hae-jin, Yoo Ji-tae, Jeon Mi-do, Park Ji-hwan, and Lee Joon-hyuk. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
Kokuho (NR) This Japanese drama stars Ryô Yoshizawa as a gangster’s son who must choose between his family’s business and a career as a kabuki actor. Also with Ryûsei Yokohama, Mitsuki Takahata, Shinobu Terajima, Nana Mori, Takahiro Miura, and Ken Watanabe. (Opens Friday)
The Loved One (NR) This Filipino romance stars Jericho Rosales and Anne Curtis as exes who reunite after 15 years apart. Also with Catriona Gray, Jackie Lou Bianco, Joyce Burton, Luis Alandy, and Max Eigenmann. (Opens Friday at Cinemark North East Mall)
Midwinter Break (PG-13) Adapted from Bernard MacLaverty’s novel, this drama stars Ciarán Hinds and Lesley Manville as a British married couple who confront a long-buried secret during a getaway to Amsterdam. Also with Ed Sayer, Julie Lamberton, Tim Licata, and Niamh Cusack. (Opens Friday)
Nawab’s Cafe (NR) This Telugu-language film stars Shiva Kandukuri as a young man who takes over his father’s cafe in Hyderabad. Also with Teju Ashwini, Rajeev Kanakala, Chaitanya Krishna, Rajkumar Kasireddy, and Vadlamani Srinivas. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
Night King (NR) Dayo Wong stars in this Hong Kong comedy as a nightclub owner trying to keep his business running. Also with Sammi Cheng, Louise Wong, Fish Liew, Kai-Wa Ho, Chun Yip Lo, Aggie Chow, Angelina Chiu, and Baby Ching-Yan Fung. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
Pillion (NR) Adapted from Adam Mars Jones’ novel Box Hill, this British gay romance is about a cop (Harry Melling) who gets into an S&M relationship with a biker (Alexander Skarsgård). Also with Lesley Sharp, Jake Shears, Mat Hill, Nick Figgis, and Douglas Hodge. (Opens Friday in Dallas)
Psycho Killer (R) Georgina Campbell stars in this horror film as a highway patrol officer tracks down the serial killer who killed her husband and fellow cop. Also with James Preston Rodgers, Stephen Adekolu, Josh Strait, and Malcolm McDowell. (Opens Friday)
Redux Redux (R) This thriller stars Michaela McManus as a woman who travels through parallel universes to take revenge on her daughter’s killer multiple times. Also with Stella Marcus, Jeremy Holm, Taylor Misiak, and Jim Cummings. (Opens Friday)
Scare Out (NR) Zhang Yimou’s spy thriller is about a team of Chinese agents trying to find a mole leaking the country’s intelligence secrets. Starring Jackson Yee, Zhu Yilong, Lei Jiayin, Song Jia, Yang Mi, Zhang Yi, Liu Shishi, Liu Yaowen, and Nathaniel Boyd. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
This Is Not a Test (R) This horror film is about a group of high-school students who take refuge in their school during a zombie outbreak. Starring Olivia Holt, Froy Gutierrez, Corteon Moore, Joelle Farrow, Chloe Avakian, Missy Peregrym, and Luke Macfarlane. (Opens Friday)
NOW PLAYING
Avatar: Fire and Ash (PG-13) Actually more interesting than the first two films, though that doesn’t make this good. Human being Spider (Jack Champion) gains the ability to breathe Pandora’s air, which only creates more problems because it makes him more attractive to the humans as a test subject. The best thing the series could do is kill off both Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who both were wearing out their welcome even before this movie. While this film is beset by many of the same issues as its predecessors, it at least introduces us to a new Na’vi clan who ally themselves with the humans to get their hands on Earth weapons. They make more interesting villains than any this franchise has had before, and their presence lets us know that the Na’vi are not just innocent victims. A better writer than James Cameron might make this world interesting yet. Also with Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Oona Chaplin, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Giovanni Ribisi, Jemaine Clement, David Thewlis, and Kate Winslet.
Bendito corazón (NR) This Mexican drama tells the story of various people trying to build lives in the Spanish colony during the 18th century. Starring Frank Rodríguez, Salvador Zerboni, Lisset, Humberto Fuentes, Juan Manuel Azcona, Manjarrez Belinda, and Miguel Angel Pérez.
Blades of the Guardians (NR) Based on a popular graphic novel, this Chinese martial-arts epic stars Wu Jing as a 7th-century bounty hunter tasked with accompanying a masked rebellion leader (Sun Yizhou) across the desert to a city to face punishment. In the process, they’re attacked by myriad fellow bounty hunters and soldiers loyal to one warlord or another. Director Yuen Woo-ping has helmed a number of notable martial arts movies, though he’s better known as the fight choreographer for The Matrix and Kill Bill. He engineers some breathtaking horseback stunts here as well as a swordfight in the middle of a sandstorm that’s right out of Mad Max: Fury Road. The colorful side characters keep things interesting when there isn’t a fight going on. Also with Nicholas Tse, Yu Shi, Chen Lijun, Ci Sha, Li Yunxiao, Zhang Jin, Kara Wai, Liu Yaowen, Tony Leung Ka Fai, and Jet Li.
Clika (R) This drama stars Jay Dee as an aspiring musician who receives a break in his career. Also with Nana Ponceleon, Josh Benitez, James Burbage, Alison Chace, Bourke Floyd, Cory Aycock, and the late Peter Greene.
Cold Storage (R) Adapted from David Koepp’s novel, this science-fiction comedy stars Liam Neeson as a bioterrorism expert who must team up with two minimum-wage security guards (Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell) when a zombie fungus escapes from a secret lab. Also with Lesley Manville, Sosie Bacon, Ellora Torchia, Aaron Heffernan, Rob Collins, and Vanessa Redgrave.
Couple Friendly (NR) This Indian romance between motorcycle enthusiasts stars Santosh Sobhan, Manasa Varanasi, Rajeev Kanakala, Livingston, Goparaju Ramana, and Yogi Babu.
Crime 101 (R) Very well made, yet weirdly impersonal. Chris Hemsworth headlines this star-studded piece of L.A. noir as a high-end jewel thief eyeing a huge score. Writer-director Bart Layton (American Animals) adapts this from Don Winslow’s novel and is clearly aiming for an epic character study like Heat, but the main character is someone who tries to make himself as unmemorable as possible, and Hemsworth can’t make anything interesting out of that. The anomie spreads to his interactions with a disgruntled insurance executive (Halle Berry), a down-on-his-luck cop (Mark Ruffalo), a psychopathic replacement (Barry Keoghan), and a love interest (Monica Barbaro). There’s a good car-and-motorcycle chase in the middle and a decent hotel showdown at the end, but it’s not enough to give the movie any sort of personality. Also with Corey Hawkins, Payman Maadi, Devon Bostick, Tate Donovan, Crosby Fitzgerald, Andra Nechita, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nick Nolte.
Dracula (R) A spectacular mismatch of director and material. Luc Besson makes his own adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel, with Caleb Landry Jones as the vampire and Zoë Bleu as the wife who’s killed in the 15th century and then reincarnated in the 19th. The filmmakers put a lot of work into re-creating Paris in 1889 but forget about basic stuff like why nobody tells the Romanian soldiers what they’re up against when they raid Dracula’s castle. Jones is charmless and boring as the count, and Besson has no talent either for scaring us or for evoking a love that spans centuries. Even the presence of Christoph Waltz as a vampire-hunting Vatican priest can’t relieve us from the tedium. You wonder why anybody involved with this even bothered. Also with Ewens Abid, David Shields, Matilda de Angelis, and Guillaume de Tonquédec.
GOAT (PG) This animated movie is about an undersized goat (voiced by Will Harris) who wishes to play a full-contact version of basketball against much larger animals. Additional voices by Gabrielle Union, Nick Kroll, David Harbour, Nicola Coughlan, Aaron Pierre, Jenifer Lewis, Patton Oswalt, Sherry Cola, Bobby Lee, Jelly Roll, and Steph Curry.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (R) Gore Verbinski’s sense of absurd humor goes missing in this apocalyptic comedy. Sam Rockwell stars as a time traveler from the future who visits the same diner for the 117th time to pick the right combination of customers who will avert an AI-triggered end of human civilization. Despite some worthy performances by Haley Lu Richardson and Juno Temple as two members of his team, the stacked cast appears to be mostly lost. The story becomes stuck in the mud as it approaches the climax and its satire about people becoming smartphone zombies is well wide of the mark. Even a giant kitten-cow monster that eats people and pees out broken glass can’t save this exercise. Also with Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chaudhry, Tom Taylor, Georgia Goodman, and Mike Gassaway.
Hamnet (R) Beautifully crafted, occasionally crushing, and based on Maggie O’Farrell’s work of speculative fiction, Chloé Zhao’s film is about William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) dealing with the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe) from the bubonic plague. The film is quite different from O’Farrell’s novel; instead of adopting different characters’ viewpoints and jumping around in time, the movie proceeds in a linear fashion and sticks with Agnes as she raises the children in Stratford while Will goes off to London and catches on with a theater company. Much like Shakespeare in Love, this movie truly takes flight during a production of a Shakespeare play, when Agnes travels to London and sees her husband’s Hamlet as an expression of his grief over their lost son. Great performances by both leads bring this Hamlet to tragic life no matter how many Hamlets you’ve seen. Also with Joe Alwyn, Freya Hannan-Mills, David Wilmot, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Olivia Lynes, Noah Jupe, and Emily Watson.
The Housemaid (R) Based on Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel, this thriller is a throwback to 1980s psychological thrillers like Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct, but from a female point of view. Sydney Sweeney portrays an ex-convict who takes a job as a live-in maid in a Long Island mansion, only to find her employer (Amanda Seyfried) behaving like such a psycho that it puts her in greater danger than she was in prison. The film ups the book’s violence considerably, which would be great if the acting were better. As it is, Seyfried blows away her co-stars as a wealthy housewife who’s simmering with rage and whose erratic behavior is cagier than it appears. She and Paul Feig’s direction make this about as good an adaptation of the novel as we could have expected. Also with Brandon Sklenar, Michele Morrone, Indiana Elle, Alexandra Seal, and Elizabeth Perkins.
Iron Lung (R) A case against YouTube creators making films, I’m sad to say. Mark Fischbach a.k.a. Markiplier stars in his own adaptation of the video game as a convict who’s promised freedom in exchange for undertaking a dangerous mission where he pilots a solo submarine in an ocean of blood on an alien planet. Markiplier also distributed the movie himself without a studio, and it’s a great story that he’s able to take in so much money and leave such a cultural footprint that way. However, I can’t ignore how he fails to generate a sense of claustrophobia, provide convincing hallucinations of a man losing touch with reality, or deliver a coherent story about the human race facing extinction. It’s all just tedious close-ups of antiquated machinery and pipes dripping water. Also with Troy Baker, Elsie Lovelock, Caroline Kaplan, Elle LaMont, and Seán McLoughlin.
Marty Supreme (R) Josh Safdie’s first solo effort as a director is better than Uncut Gems. Like that movie, it’s a sports-oriented film about a Jewish man who hustles because his life depends on it, but because this Jewish protagonist (Timothée Chalamet) has a great talent for table tennis, it dries out the movie and keeps it from becoming too heavy. Chalamet is electric and dangerous as a guy who is very far from being a nice Jewish boy, who knocks up his neighbor’s wife (Odessa A’zion) and beds a movie star (Gwyneth Paltrow) while trying to negotiate a sponsorship deal with her husband (Kevin O’Leary). Safdie creates set pieces that give us no time to catch our breath and displays creative approaches to music and the casting of the supporting roles. Still, it’s Chalamet’s performance that sells this, especially at the end, when he finds something other than his sport to focus on. Also with Fran Drescher, Sandra Bernhard, Tyler the Creator, Larry “Ratso” Sloman, Emory Cohen, Luke Manley, Géza Röhrig, Koto Kawaguchi, Pico Iyer, Fred Hechinger, Penn Jillette, Isaac Mizrahi, George Gervin, and Abel Ferrara.
Melania (PG) Ooh, bad timing! Brett Ratner’s documentary follows Melania Trump in the days before the 2024 presidential election.
Mercy (PG-13) This science-fiction thriller looks cool but fails on a deeper level. Chris Pratt stars as a homicide cop in a near-future L.A. who’s accused of murdering his wife (Annabelle Wallis) and has 90 minutes to prove his innocence. Director Timur Bekmambetov manages well with a thriller that plays out largely on a screen, and even though Pratt spends most of the film immobilized in a chair, he somehow manages to give a good performance as a relapsed alcoholic who reckons with being a deficient husband and father. The detective plot unfortunately has too many watery developments, and the movie hopelessly scrambles its critique of a police state that’s powered by AI and electronic surveillance. Like most of Bekmambetov’s films, this is all sizzle and far too little steak. Also with Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis, Kylie Rogers, Jeff Pierre, Chris Sullivan, Rafi Gavron, Kenneth Choi, and Ross Gosla.
The Moment (R) Charli xcx tries to go all Spinal Tap in this mockumentary. It doesn’t work. The British pop star portrays herself in the summer of 2024, as her label executives try to keep the “Brat Girl Summer” going. The most fully realized character is Alexander Skarsgård as a famous documentarian who’s hired to direct the concert movie of her upcoming tour and winds up getting her friends fired and making wholesale changes to her choreography, setlist, and staging. The germ of an interesting idea (conceived by Charli herself) is here, but neither the material nor the pop star are funny, and the movie doesn’t include enough of her music. This movie wants to puncture the pop-star mystique around Charli xcx, but it botches the gimmick. Also with Rachel Sennott, Kate Berlant, Jamie Demetriou, Rish Shah, Hailey Gates, Trew Mullen, Kylie Jenner, Julia Fox, and Rosanna Arquette.
The Mortuary Assistant (NR) Bollixed in every conceivable way. Based on the video game by the same name, this horror film stars Willa Holland as a novice mortician whose first shift is distinguished by dead bodies getting up from the table and walking off. The movie has an interesting idea inherited from the game, linking the main character’s hallucinations with her childhood trauma and her past as an alcoholic. Unfortunately, director Jeremiah Kipp resorts to jump scares that are purely laughable rather than scary. The effects are so cheesy that you’ll feel sorry for Holland as she tries to give a dramatic performance while books fly out at her from a bookshelf. You could probably make a better horror movie in your basement with a $50 budget. Also with Paul Sparks, John Adams, Keena Ferguson, and Mark Steger.
O’Romeo (NR) This Indian action-thriller is about rival criminal gangs that emerge after the country gains independence in 1948. Starring Shahid Kapoor, Triptii Dimri, Nana Patekar, Avinash Tiwary, Disha Patani, and Vikrant Massey.
Scarlet (PG-13) The lofty expectations set by Mamoru Hosoda’s previous anime films go largely unmet in this Shakespeare pastiche. The story is taken from Hamlet, except it’s a pink-haired princess (voiced by Mana Ashida) trying to take revenge on her murderous uncle (voiced by Koji Yakusho) in the next world. Hosoda’s myriad changes to Shakespeare’s plot don’t add up to a critical mass of craziness, and instead culminates in Scarlet meeting a dead man from the present (voiced by Masaki Okada) who convinces her to let go of past grudges. There are enough touches around the edges to show why Hosoda’s one of the great up-and-coming anime directors, but you’ll have to go to his other movies to see what he’s truly about. Additional voices by Masachika Ichimura, Kotaro Yoshida, Yutaka Matsushige, Kazuhiro Yamaji, Tokio Emoto, Munetaka Aoki, Shota Sometani, and Yuki Saito.
Seetha Payanam (NR) Aishwarya Arjun stars in this drama as an Indian chef who recovers from a near-fatal accident. Also with Prakash Raj, Arjun Sarja, Jayaram, Niranjan Sudhindra, and Jagapathi Babu.
Send Help (R) For all of us who needed the feral, unhinged, blood-soaked version of Rachel McAdams in our lives. She stars as a strategist for a corporate consulting firm who can’t break the glass ceiling until she and her horrible boss (Dylan O’Brien) are the sole survivors when the corporate plane crashes on an uninhabited tropical island. McAdams’ balls-to-the-wall approach works less well in the middle but better at the beginning (when she’s playing someone who’s too poorly socialized to make friends in the office) and at the end (when the violence takes the movie into Evil Dead territory). Speaking of which, director Sam Raimi can’t keep the movie from falling apart at the end, but the film is still blackly funny and memorable for McAdams’ berserk turn. Also with Edyll Ismail, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, Thaneth Warakulnukroh, and Dennis Haysbert.
Shelter (R) This is the second movie directed by Ric Roman Waugh to hit theaters in six weeks, and it’s better than Greenland 2: Migration, but not by much. Jason Statham portrays a former soldier and fugitive hiding out on a remote island off Scotland’s coast. When he tries to help an injured girl (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), a rogue spymaster in the British government (Bill Nighy) sends soldiers to kill both of them. Seeing Statham deal with trained killers both on that island and later in London should really be more exciting, and the stuff about the solitary man having to take care of a kid only results in cheap tear-jerking. For all the talent that goes into this low-grade thriller, it really should have amounted to more. Also with Naomi Ackie, Harriet Walter, Bryan Vigier, Tom Wu, and Daniel Mays.
Sinners (R) Ryan Coogler’s foray into Jordan Peele territory is wild and wildly original, even when it doesn’t make sense. Michael B. Jordan plays identical twins who return from Chicago to their Mississippi hometown in the 1930s to open a blues joint with their cousin (Miles Caton) who happens to be an otherworldly musician. Jordan gives two bracing performances as brothers with different jobs and temperaments, the Mississippi town is more layered than we usually see in Hollywood movies, and there’s a great sequence with the blues musician delivering a song so powerful that it opens a rift in time and space as well as attracting vampires. Coogler winds up with a few too many ideas in his intellectual stew, but it frames Delta blues in a wholly unexpected way and emerges as a worthy vampire movie. What other movie can say that? Also with Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Li Jun Li, Jack O’Connell, Lola Kirke, Jayme Lawson, Saul Williams, Andrene Ward-Hammond, Peter Dreimanis, Omar Miller, Yao, Delroy Lindo, and Buddy Guy.
Solo Mio (PG) Surprisingly not terrible. Kevin James stars in this comedy as a man whose Italian wedding is ruined after his bride-to-be (Julie Ann Emery) leaves him at the altar. With the rest of his honeymoon non-refundable, he stays in Tuscany and enjoys grappa and gelato, makes friends with the other honeymooning couples from America, and even falls in love again. If the movie is too postcard-pretty and the laughs could come more frequently, the pace doesn’t drag. Also with Jonathan Roumie, Kim Coates, Nicole Grimaudo, Julee Cerda, Caterina Silva, Alessandro Carbonara, and Alyson Hannigan.
The Strangers: Chapter 3 (R) The third movie in the slasher series reveals that there wasn’t enough story for one movie in the whole trilogy. Madelaine Petsch returns as Maya, who’s prepared to take revenge on the masked killers only to find that the killers want to recruit her instead. All the scenes play out at a glacial pace, and it makes no sense that Maya might be tempted to join the killers. What the hell was all this for? Also with Richard Brake, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath, Hannah Galway, George Young, Miles Yekinni, Janis Ahern, Pedro Leandro, Dani Klupsch, and Ella Bruccoleri.
Wuthering Heights (R) This bodice-ripper about two insanely hot people and their forbidden love doesn’t work on Emily Brontë’s terms, but works on its own. Director Emerald Fennell’s visual sense operates at an astonishing pitch, which is crucial in preventing this movie from turning into some museum piece. The occasionally garish visuals are always a treat to look at, and Fennell infuses this movie with more S&M-laced sex than any other adaptation of Wuthering Heights. The marriage between Heathcliff and Isabella (Jacob Elordi and Alison Oliver) is deeply icky. Elordi is no slouch, but Margot Robbie owns the show as a conceited Cathy who’s brought to a tragic end by thwarted love. Fennell pares away all the silly stuff that makes the novel a literary classic, and I’m rather enamored of her trashy mind. Also with Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Martin Clunes, Ewan Mitchell, Charlotte Mellington, and Owen Cooper.
Zootopia 2 (PG) Not as good as the first one, I’m afraid. Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman) have to deal with a new case involving the family of snakes who founded the city and were screwed out of their inheritance by the mammals. Some of the jokes do land like they should, but the metaphors are not as resonant, and the new supporting characters aren’t as well drawn as they were in the original. The fraying partnership between our two cops doesn’t throw up anything new, either. There is a funny subplot with a TV actor stallion (voiced by Patrick Warburton) becoming Zootopia’s new mayor, but it’s not enough to recommend the film. Additional voices by Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Quinta Brunson, Danny Trejo, Nate Torrence, Don Lake, Bonnie Hunt, CM Punk, Stephanie Beatriz, Alan Tudyk, Macaulay Culkin, Brenda Song, Tiny Lister Jr., John Leguizamo, Tommy Chong, Auli’i Cravalho, Tig Notaro, Ed Sheeran, Cecily Strong, June Squibb, Michael J. Fox, Josh Gad, Idris Elba, and Jenny Slate.
