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Reviews of movies showing in theaters or streaming online
‘ARTHUR THE KING’: Move over Messi — there’s a new canine thespian in town. Ukai, the Australian shepherd/ border collie/ bouvier mix who stars opposite Mark Wahlberg in the new film “Arthur the King,” undertakes a performance that is more physically rigorous, if not dramatically suspenseful, than the one delivered by the French border collie who appeared in the Oscar-winning film “Anatomy of a Fall.” But dog movies, and dogs in movies, aren’t just having a moment, they’ve been an important part of cinema since the silent era — and an easy hack to access audience’s heartstrings. Not that Arthur’s tale needed much hacking to start with. This inspirational film is based on a true story, originally a quirky human interest sports news item about an Ecuadorian stray dog who bonded with a team of Swedish adventure racers in the middle of a grueling six-day trek, following them to the finish line and eventually back to Sweden with racer Mikael Lindnord. The story became a media sensation, spawning a memoir and several other books by Lindnord, and a short ESPN documentary, as well as a dog rescue foundation. 1:47. 2 ½ stars. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service
‘GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE’: It doesn’t feel good to beat up on a movie like “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” which is a film with the right intentions: to entertain families looking for spectacle that will please both kids and their parents. It’s at least slightly better than its ghoulish predecessor, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” because at least there aren’t any holograms of deceased actors in this one, which is a relief. Still, there’s very little opportunity for critical examination of this sequel to the “lega-sequel” of the “Ghostbusters” franchise, which already has one failed reboot on its record. What else could one possibly say about “Ghostbusters” in general, and this perfectly fine, but incredibly dull installment
specifically? It does exactly what it needs to do for die-hard fans and families seeking a night out at the movies. The good news is that most everyone seems to be having fun. Carrie Coon is relaxed, Paul Rudd recites the theme song to great comedic effect, and Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts are in warm spirits. Everyone else, including Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt, who shows up to deliver some folkloric back story, just seem happy to be there. But even this cast can’t save the rote machinations of “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” as it dutifully delivers morsels of memory. 1:55. 2 stars.
— Katie Walsh
‘GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE’:
Before the titan-sized title of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” even flashes across the screen, director Adam Wingard has already delivered two impressively goopy moments courtesy of our lead characters: Kong rips a hyena-thing in
half, green entrails spilling everywhere, while Godzilla squishes a bug in Rome, releasing great vats of yellow goo over the ancient city. It’s an indication of the colorfully excessive ethos that Wingard brings to this loaded monster jam, which is overflowing with titans, creatures and kaiju. Considering that much of the action takes place in the underworld known as Hollow Earth, you might even call this picture “stuffed crust.” Wingard, who directed the neonsynth fever dream that was “Godzilla vs. Kong” in 2021, comes from the world of horror films, and he brings that same approach to his blockbusters, with a penchant for gleeful experimentation and over-the-top style. There’s a bit of a harried energy to “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which is fun until it becomes instantly tiresome and deafening. Perhaps multiplication was too much — here’s hoping subtraction is next in the kaiju mathematical equation. 1:55. 2 ½ stars. — Katie Walsh
‘IMMACULATE’: Bloodsoaked and candlelit, Michael Mohan’s “Immaculate” disabuses the notion that any conception is ever without sin. Starring Sydney Sweeney (who also produced the film), this cheeky, freaky, lushly designed horror movie presents as a giallo nunsploitation riff, but the script, by Andrew Lobel, is much more “Rosemary’s Baby” than it is “The Devils.” Sweeney stars as Sister Cecilia, a doe-eyed and docile devotee from Detroit who has traveled to Italy at the behest of a Father Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) to take her vows at a secluded convent where she will care for elderly nuns. Soon, shockingly, she’s exhibiting pregnancy symptoms. Her spontaneous conception is seen as a miracle, the resurrection of God. She has no choice but to carry this pregnancy to term, surrounded by jealous novitiates, senile nuns, controlling male leadership and a secret sect of the sisterhood who wear crimson shrouds over their faces. It’s something of a wonder to watch Sweeney as she undertakes Sister Cecilia’s journey, transforming from a meek naif into something unexpected and wild, her pious discipline falling away with every indignity. As this swift, 89-minute film builds to an absolutely feral climax, we do believe her, perhaps most of all in the film’s final, jaw-dropping moments, as she embodies a pure animal honesty. 1:29. 3 stars. — Katie Walsh
‘IN THE LAND OF SAINTS AND SINNERS’: At this point, it’s hack to refer to Liam Neeson’s “very particular set of skills,” but there’s no denying that the actor has made his bread and butter parlaying just that in the past 15 years, playing variations on a theme in an array of B-movie thrillers. Neeson has enacted bloody revenge on a train, on a plane, in the snow, on a ranch and now, in his native land, with “In the Land of Saints and Sinners,” a thriller set in Ireland during the Troubles, directed by Robert Lorenz, Clint Eastwood’s longtime producer, and the director of the 2021 Neeson film “The Marksman.” We open in Belfast in 1974, just moments before a car bombing takes six lives, including those of several children. The perpetrators, a group of Irish Republican Army foot soldiers, beat a hasty retreat for a small village, Glencolmcille in County Donegal, Ireland. It just so happens to be the same place where Finbar Murphy (Neeson) has been trying to retire from a secretive life as a hit man. In the “Neeson’s Skills” canon, “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” proves to be a gem, the performances elevating this enjoyably pulpy thriller. 1:46. 3 stars. — Katie Walsh
‘KUNG FU PANDA 4’: Eight years have flown, inched along or both, depending on your pandemic experience, since “Kung Fu Panda 3.” In “Panda 4,” screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger return, working with co-writer Darren Lemke and co-directors Mike Mitchell and Stephanie Stine. In “Panda 4,” Po (voiced by Jack Black) is enjoying fame, relative fortune and unlimited dumplings at this stage of his Dragon Warrior tenure. Straight off, mentor Shifu (Dustin Hoffman returning for exasperated vocal mutterings) relays the news that Po must now appoint the next Dragon Warrior, so Po can transition into a quieter role he does not want: steward and protector of the Valley of Peace, armed with the Staff of Wisdom. Also starring Ian McShane, Viola Davis and Awkwafina, “Panda 4” feels more akin to one of the “Ice Age” movies, laden with occasionally funny but constantly nattering snark and meanness so that you don’t really buy the sincere bits. But the jokes have a way of arriving like jokes, and sounding like jokes, but not quite being jokes. 1:34. 2 ½ stars.
RATINGS: The movies listed are rated according to the following key: 4 stars, excellent; 3 stars, good; 2 stars, fair; 1 star, poor.