Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

HOME MOVIES

- KAREN MARTIN

Isle of Dogs, directed by Wes Anderson (PG-13, 1 hour, 41 minutes) Totally unrealisti­c and equally adorable, Wes Anderson’s stunning stop-motion animation anchors a complicate­d story of politics, corruption, morals, family, victims and heroes. We have evil Mayor Kobayashi (voice of Kunichi Nomura) who removes all dogs from the city, justifying his actions upon the sudden rise of Snout Flu that has become rampant overnight, and uses his family pet Spots (Liev Schreiber), bodyguard of Kobayashi’s orphaned nephew Atari (Koyu Rankin), as the first to be banished.

Over the ensuing months, more and more innocent dogs are rounded up and hauled over a tramway to a distant trash island. Among them is Chief (Bryan Cranston), Rex (Edward Norton), King ( Bob Balaban), Boss (Bill Murray), and Duke (Jeff Goldblum).

When bereft Atari crashes his small plane on a garbage heap near them in order to find his beloved Spots, the dogs agree to help him. In the meantime, a group of activist high school students on the mainland led by Ohio native Tracy Walker (Greta Gerwig), are busy investigat­ing the mayor’s scheme.

Adventures ensue that include the poisoning of a dog-saving scientist, the release of enemy mechanical hounds to destroy the real ones, and other sidebars that hint at the cruelty of refugee camps and the difficulti­es of deportatio­n. It’s a children’s story with considerab­le emotional heft. And Anderson gets the dogs right.

Ready Player One ( PG13, 2 hours, 20 minutes) An adventurou­s if overly long and sometimes baffling science-fiction fantasy aimed squarely at virtual- reality enthusiast­s, this film revolves around an enveloping virtual world that offers those in 2045 an escape from their harsh reality, which is the prize in a challengin­g treasure hunt being staged by its creator. With Tye Sheridan, Simon Pegg, T.J. Miller, Olivia Cooke, Mark Rylance; directed by Steven Spielberg. Adapted from the best-selling 2011 novel by Ernest Cline.

The Con Is On (R, 1 hour, 30 minutes) This stylish, ambitious, yet underpower­ed comedy concerns con artists Harriet (Uma Thurman) and Peter (Tim Roth), who are scheming their way into a major jewelry heist to pay off a debt to ruthless gangster Irena (Maggie Q). With Parker Posey, Sofia Vergara, Stephen Fry, Melissa Sue Anderson, Alice Eve; directed by James Haslam.

Operation Red Sea ( not rated, 2 hours, 22 minutes) A spectacula­r war movie, heavy on propaganda with graphic action and breakneck pacing, Operation Red Sea is the story of the eight- person Jiaolong Assault Team of Chinese Navy Marine Corps commandos, known to accomplish the impossible, which must try to save hundreds of Chinese citizens in Africa from terrorists during a time of violent rebellion. With Hanyu Zhang, Yi Zhang, Hai-Qing; directed by Dante Lam following his well-regarded 2016 actioner Operation Mekong. In Mandarin, Arabic, and English with subtitles.

Bull Durham ( R, 1 hour, 48 minutes) Criterion is releasing this much-loved and deftly executed 1988 classic comedy drama on Blu-ray in which Crash Davis (Kevin Costner), a minor leaguer with the mediocre Durham Bulls, tutors a none-too-clever but hot pitcher named Nuke LaLoosh ( Tim Robbins) in the ways of baseball, life and love — with the same woman. With Susan Sarandon, Robert Wuhl, Trey Wilson; directed by Ron Shelton.

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