OPENING THIS WEEK
ANESTHESIA
The latest film by Tim Blake Nelson (perhaps better known as an actor in movies including OBrother, Where
Art Thou?) is an ensemble piece that depicts disparate lives in New York City, many of which intersect in the fashion of films like Crash or Magnolia. The stories revolve around William Zarrow (a wonderful Sam Waterston), a retiring professor who is murdered at the outset. As the film flashes back a few days and slowly returns to that moment, a collage of characters is introduced, often to convey existential frustration and philosophical ruminations through loosely sketched arcs. Nelson is excellent at staging a scene and working with actors — of the whole cast, only a too-emo Kristen Stewart hits a sour note — but the film’s whole doesn’t equal the sum of its parts. Rated R. 90 minutes.
Jean Cocteau Cinema. (Robert Ker)
BAJIRAO MASTANI
Bollywood comes to Santa Fe with this romantic fable of an 18th- century general (Ranveer Singh) who falls in love with a Muslim woman (Deepika Padukone) during one of his conquests and must balance this affair with his relationship to his Hindu wife (Priyanka Chopra). With writing, direction, and musical composition by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bajirao Mastani has become a global smash. Not rated. 158 minutes. In Hindi with subtitles. Jean Cocteau Cinema. (Not reviewed)
THE CHOICE
The latest Nicholas Sparks novel to hit the big screen stars Teresa Palmer as a young woman who moves in next door to a hunky guy (Benjamin Walker). It’s love at first sight, but the movie is nearly two hours long, so she resists his advances for a while. After they finally get together, she is in a major car accident, but she just might pull through — with the help of true love. Rated PG-13. 111 minutes. Regal DeVargas; Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
DEAD RIVER
A Santa Fe English professor facing marital challenges inadvertently puts his family at risk when he convinces a reclusive Cormac McCarthy- like author — who knows a little bit too much about crime and the act of murder — to agree to let him write his biography. Jason DeBoer wrote and directed this dark homage to classic noir set-ups featuring New Mexico actors.
Not rated. 68 minutes. Jean Cocteau Cinema. (Not reviewed)
45 YEARS
Rated R. 95 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts; Violet Crown. See review, Page 48.
HAIL, CAESAR!
The Coen brothers return with one of those ensemble comedies that they like to do every few years and that often involve George Clooney. This time, the setting is 1950s Hollywood, and Clooney plays Baird Whitlock, a movie star who is kidnapped from the set of a Roman drama. Josh Brolin plays Eddie Mannix, a “fixer” who is charged with finding him. Over the course of this investigation, Mannix encounters colorful characters played by Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, and others. Rated PG-13. 100 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. (Not reviewed)
MANHATTAN
This year marks Woody Allen’s 50th as a filmmaker, but few of his works are as enduring as his 1979 film, Manhattan. The plot centers around the complicated love life of a divorced TV writer (Allen), who dates a teenager (Mariel Hemingway) but falls for a friend’s mistress (Diane Keaton). The cast is predictably wonderful, including a young Meryl Streep in one of her first film roles. Despite the love triangle, the movie’s real romance on display is between Allen and New York City — conveyed here through George Gershwin’s soaring music and Gordon Willis’ glorious blackand- white photography. This film is the latest entry in the Lensic Performing Arts Center’s Big Screen Classics series, and as part of its 15th-anniversary celebration, it’s free of charge (reservations required). 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, only. Rated R. 96 minutes. Lensic Performing Arts Center. (Robert Ker)
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES
The gimmicky bestselling book by Seth Grahame-Smith is now a movie, designed to appeal to anyone who has wanted to see what Jane Austen’s 1813 novel looks like when paired with a modern zombie flick. Lily James is Austen’s heroine Elizabeth Bennet, and Sam Riley plays her beau, Mr. Darcy. Together, the two must unite amid bloodshed and battlefields and eliminate the zombie menace. Rated PG-13. 108 minutes. Regal DeVargas, Regal Stadium 14, DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
THE TREASURE
Not rated. 89 minutes. In Romanian with subtitles. The Screen. See review, Page 46.
fury. This is the second Simone documentary to see release in the last six months. What Happened, Miss Simone? has a more dramatic narrative arc and is more polished and performancebased than this account. As a result, The Amazing Nina Simone is slightly less engaging, but it is still an important document of an often misunderstood musician. Not rated. 110 minutes. Jean
Cocteau Cinema. (Robert Ker)
THE BOY
THE BIG SHORT
Adam McKay’s Oscar-nominated movie (in the Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor categories) is by turns funny, frightening, suspenseful, informative, and tragic. It examines the 2008 near- collapse of the world financial system from the perspectives of four analysts, or teams, who had the vision to recognize what nobody else saw coming: the rottenness of the system, the worthlessness of the packaged mortgages on which the economy was gliding, and the inevitable devastating crash when the bubble burst. They bet against the economy. They bet big. And they won. That McKay is able to explain the financial collapse that cost so many people their homes and savings — and make it entertaining — is a remarkable achievement. Terrific performances come from a cast that includes Academy Award-nominee Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Steve Carell. Rated R. 130 minutes. Violet
Crown. (Jonathan Richards) An American nanny (Lauren Cohan) is hired for a job in a remote English village and finds that her charge is actually a life-size doll. At first, this seems like an easy, if extremely weird, assignment. It becomes more challenging when she suspects that the boy is alive — and evil. Rated PG-13. 98 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
BOY & THE WORLD
Director Alê Abreu’s Oscar-nominated animated film is an endearing story about a nameless child searching for his father. His journey takes him from the country to the coast and, finally, into the metropolis. Along the way he witnesses the wanton destruction of the rainforest, the dehumanizing effects of factory work, and the military-industrial machine. None of this breaks his indomitable spirit. This is an endearing feature and a delight to behold, full of music and color, with a free-flowing style that takes the boy from one misadventure to the next. Boy & the World, nominated for Best Animated Feature at this year’s Academy Awards, will win your heart. Rated PG. 80 minutes. In Portuguese with subtitles. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Michael Abatemarco)
BROOKLYN
In 1950s Ireland, the forward-thinking Rose (Fiona Glascott) has arranged for her younger sister Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) to go to Brooklyn out of necessity — Eilis can’t find a decent job, and there are few other prospects for her in Ireland. In New York, Eilis settles into a new life, living in a boardinghouse teeming with other, brasher young Irish women. She’s introverted and homesick, weeping over her sister’s letters — until she meets Tony (an adorable Emory Cohen), an Italian-American plumber who’s sweet on Irish girls and loves the Brooklyn Dodgers. Such a conventional plot would be slight in other hands, and though Nick Hornby’s screenplay is more sentimental than the Colm Tóibín novel it’s based on, the film — in the running for the Academy Award for Best Picture — never dips into treacly territory. The reason for that is Best Actress Oscarnominee Ronan, whose steely performance capably anchors the story. Rated PG-13. 111 minutes. Violet Crown. (Molly Boyle)
CAROL
This is director Todd Haynes’ second 1950s- era melodrama, after the Douglas Sirk-influenced
Far From Heaven, in which Julianne Moore plays a suburban housewife with a closeted gay husband. This time — in a story adapted from a 1952 novel by Patricia Highsmith, which she published under a pseudonym due to its lesbian plotline — it’s glamorous New Jersey housewife Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) who’s gay and nudging the closet door open. She’s going through a difficult separation and divorce from her husband, Harge (Kyle Chandler), during the holiday season when she meets Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), and ingénue working the counter at a New York City department store. The alchemy between Therese and Carol is instant, and glorious to behold, as the film centers on the remarkable performances of these two actresses, both nominated for Academy Awards. Every disparate element of the film adds to its virtuosity, from the period designs to the score. Rated R. 118 minutes. Violet Crown.
(Molly Boyle)
DADDY’S HOME
Will Ferrell effectively played the milquetoast to Mark Wahlberg’s tough guy in the 2010 buddy- cop romp The Other
Guys, and now they bring the same dynamic to a family comedy. Ferrell plays a mild-mannered executive who is trying to be the best father to his stepchildren that he can, until one day the real dad (Wahlberg) comes roaring in on his motorcycle and makes him look like a total square. Linda Cardellini plays the mom who is caught between them. Rated PG-13. 96 minutes. Regal
Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
THE DANISH GIRL
Eddie Redmayne, winner of last year’s best actor Academy Award for his portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking, tosses his hat in the ring again with another Oscar-nominated performance as Lili Elbe, née Einar Wegener, a Danish painter who in the early 1930s became a transgender pioneer. Perhaps even better is Alicia Vikander, who brings enormous sympathy to the role of Einar’s artist wife, Gerda, without the benefit of torment or confusion on which to hang her character. Director Tom Hooper has crafted a beautiful picture. But there’s a sense of emotional distance that the movie never quite manages to shake. Maybe it’s too tasteful, too careful. What Lili Elbe did was terrifyingly bold. The movie is elegant and safe. Rated R. 120 minutes. In French, German, and English with subtitles. Regal DeVargas. (Jonathan Richards)
DIRTY GRANDPA
Robert De Niro plays Dick Kelly, a smirking old-timer who makes inappropriate comments to women who are a fraction of his age. After his wife passes away, Dick tricks his grandson (Zac Efron) into taking him to Florida for spring break. Rated R. 102 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown; DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
THE 5TH WAVE
In this film adaptation of the young-adult novel of the same title, Earth has been hit by four waves of alien attacks, which have left the planet nearly entirely destroyed. With the fifth wave looming, young Cassie (Chloë Grace Moretz) — one of the few remaining survivors — attempts to rescue her five-year-old brother Sam (Zackary Arthur) from an alien camp. She meets a boy her age (Alex Roe), and together they set out to save Sam — and perhaps the world. Rated PG-13. 112 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
FIFTY SHADES OF BLACK
Many people — critics and fans alike — considered the film Fifty
Shades of Grey to be fairly silly and inconsequential. It almost seems to be too easy a target for a spoof, but that has never stopped Hollywood before. This send- up features a young woman (Kali Hawk) who gets into a kinky romantic relationship with her wealthy boss — played by Marlon Wayans, veteran of the Scary Movie and A Haunted House franchises. Rated R. 92 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
THE FINEST HOURS
In 1952, two oil tankers were capsized by a terrible storm off the coast of Cape Cod. Four Coast Guardsmen were sent to rescue the crews. This film, based on the 2009 book of the same name, tells this true story with disaster-movie effects and what promises to be an inspirational finale. Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, and Ben Foster star. Rated PG-13. 117 minutes. Screens in 3-D and 2D at Regal Stadium 14. Screens in 2-D only at Regal DeVargas; DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
JANE GOT A GUN
The advance publicity surrounding this film’s production problems may have damned it to poor reviews, but all the same it is no better than an adequate oater despite its intriguing premise. Natalie Portman (who carries dramatic weight and a six- gun with equal fervor) is the title character, a New Mexico frontierswoman who hires an ex-lover to help her and her husband fight off a ruthless gang of outlaws. Portman aside, most of the actors give one-note performances, and the lengthy and unnecessary flashbacks don’t help. But there’s a few good nuggets in there amid the rhinestone trimmings. New Mexico, starring as itself, maintains its dignity. Rated R. 98 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Regal DeVargas. (Robert Nott)
KUNG FU PANDA 3
The third film in the animated Kung Fu Panda saga finds the Furious Five under attack by a supernatural villain named Kai (J. K. Simmons) and Po the panda (voiced by Jack Black once more) reunited with his estranged father (Bryan Cranston). Po and his pop travel to their secret panda community, but when Kai finds the village, Po must train a whole fighting force of kung-fu pandas. The animation and action is up to the series’ typically beautiful, colorful highs, and the jokes land like karate chops, but the first film in the series is still the most novel and affecting. Rated PG. 95 minutes. Screens in 3-D and 2D at Regal Stadium 14; DreamCatcher. Screens in 2-D only at Violet Crown. (Robert Ker)
OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS
Watching the Oscar- nominated shorts is a speedy tour of international storytelling. In the live-action category, Ave Maria, a family of Israeli settlers crashes their car on the grounds of a convent in the West Bank. In the nuanced live-action drama,
Day One, an Afghan-American woman begins work as an interpreter for the U. S. forces in war torn Afghanistan. In Everything
Will Be Okay, another live-action drama, a divorced father takes his eight-year- old daughter out for a surreal weekend. Among the animation nominees is Bear Street, in which a solitary bear peddles his mechanical diorama. Cloning will play a significant part in the future, especially for those who are well off and hope to live forever; World of Tomorrow, an animated drama, explores this premise. Last Day of Freedom is a gem of a documentary in which an African-American man decides to turn in his brother, a Vietnam vet who has committed a crime. Not rated. Various running times. The Screen. (Priyanka Kumar)
THE REVENANT
The adventures of Hugh Glass, one of the legendary mountain men of the American frontier, make for spellbinding storytelling. Whether they make a spellbinding movie is most likely in the eye of the beholder. The facts of this tale are grisly, and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (last year’s Oscar- winner with Birdman) hews closely to them. Mauled by a bear and left to die by his companions, Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) incredibly survived, made it back over hundreds of miles of wilderness to civilization, and sought revenge on the men who had abandoned him. A man being attacked by a bear is riveting cinema; a man dragging himself over hundreds of miles of frozen landscape is not. The true story of Hugh Glass is a testament to man’s capacity for endurance. For better or for worse, so is the movie, which has nonetheless drawn 12 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Supporting Actor. Rated R. 158 minutes. In English, French, Pawnee, and Arikara with some subtitles. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown; DreamCatcher. (Jonathan Richards)
RIDE ALONG 2
The pairing of Ice Cube’s bad cop with Kevin Hart as the belligerent, often-annoying brother-in-law was such a hit that the duo is getting back into the squad car for a sequel. This time, the setting shifts to Miami, but the premise remains the same: There’s a bad guy to fight, a few action sequences, and lots of oddcouple comedy. Rated PG-13. 101 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
ROOM
This adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s 2010 novel (with a screenplay by the author) from director Lenny Abrahamson is both suspenseful and deeply moving, — and in the running for several Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, and Actress. It’s the harrowing tale of a young woman (Brie Larson) and her son (Jacob Tremblay) who are being held captive in a grungy 11-by-11-foot garden shed. It’s no one’s idea of a feel- good story, and in less capable hands, it could easily have been dark, melodramatic, or sensationalist. Instead, Abrahamson has created a gripping tale of survival and a tender depiction of a mother and son who save each other. Rated R. 118 minutes. Regal DeVargas. (Laurel Gladden)
SEMBENE!
The Center for Contemporary Arts’ Jason Silverman co- directs, along with Samba Gadjigo, this moving, authoritative documentary on Senegalese novelist and filmmaker Ousmane Sembène (1923-2007). Known as the “father of African cinema,” Sembène made films that challenged the lingering effects of colonialism in the wake of Senegal’s independence from France in 1960. He was the first black African to make a sub-Saharan film on the continent that featured African subjects, languages, and actors. The film is told largely from the perspective of Gadjigo, who is committed to preserving the filmmaker’s legacy. It’s a labor of love made for anyone who cares about the state of filmmaking, not only in Africa, but in developing nations around the world as well. As much as it’s about Sembène, it’s also about the life- changing power of cinema. Not rated. 86 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Michael Abatemarco)
SPOTLIGHT
It’s not a religion that comes under the glare of Spotlight, but an institution. In Tom McCarthy’s splendid, crackling ode to journalism, the “Spotlight” investigative team at The Boston Globe tackles pedophilia and its coverup within the Catholic Church. McCarthy is careful not to glamorize his reporters. They’re played as hard working stiffs by a superb cast that includes Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, and Liev Schreiber. McCarthy keeps nibbling at the question of how this story could have remained buried for so long. Part of it has to do with the power of the church and the shame of the victims. And some of it has to do with the cozy relationships among the city’s power institutions. At the end of the film, the truly staggering extent and reach of this scandal is revealed. The film is up for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor and Actress. Rated R. 128 minutes. Regal DeVargas. (Jonathan Richards)
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
It has been more than 30 years since Return
of the Jedi (1983), but now the First Order has arisen from the Empire’s ashes, wanting control of the galaxy. With the help of Finn (John Boyega), a reformed Stormtrooper, the Resistance seeks the assistance of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who some believe is only a legend. Finn joins Resistance fighter Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), the scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and Chewbacca while pursued by the First Order’s Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who’s bent on lighting up the cosmos with a Death Star-like weapon. Helmed by J. J. Abrams, this spirited seventh chapter in the saga is the Star Wars movie you’ve been waiting for — and nominated for several Oscars, including Best Visual Effects and Score. Applaud you will. Rated PG-13. 135 minutes. Screens in 3-D and 2-D at Regal Stadium 14. Screens in 2-D only at Violet Crown. (Michael Abatemarco)
THEEB
Theeb (Jacir Eid Al-Howeitat) lives with his Bedouin tribe in the wilds of the Ottoman Empire in 1916. His father has died, so Theeb is learning life skills — how to shoot a gun, how to water the camels — from his older brother Hussein (Hussein Salameh Al-Saliheen). When Hussein is sent to guide a British officer to a secret location, Theeb follows them. This gorgeous film, nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, is told entirely from Theeb’s point of view and is at heart a little boy’s adventure tale — but this story is tied to how progress has changed the countryside and the livelihoods of the tribes that inhabit it. Plot and character details are finely wrought, with Al- Howeitat turning in a subtle, entrancing performance in which he conveys intimate comfort with heat and sand, the visceral relief of slaked thirst, and a fierce determination not to allow a mysterious stranger to further betray him. Not rated. 100 minutes. In Arabic with subtitles. The Screen. (Jennifer Levin)
13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI
Director Michael Bay takes a break from the Transformers series to bring his whiz-bang action sequences, oversaturated color, hyperkinetic editing, and jingoism to tell the story of the attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Based on the book by Mitchell Zuckoff, this movie centers on six members of a security team who fought to defend the compound. A beefed-up John Krasinski leads the cast. Rated R. 144 minutes. Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)