OPENING THIS WEEK
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
Not long after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we’ve got another battle royale of superhero against superhero. In one corner is Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), who thinks that superheroes should be registered and regulated. In the other corner is Captain America (Chris Evans), who disagrees. Among the other heroes choosing sides are Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Ant- Man (Paul Rudd), Spider- Man ( Tom Holland), and, believe it or not, many more. Rated PG-13. 146 minutes. Screens in 3- D and 2- D at Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown; DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
THE FAMILY FANG
Rated R. 105 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. See review, Page 36.
FRANCOFONIA
Not rated. 87 minutes. In Russian and French with subtitles. Center for Contemporary Arts. See review, Page 34.
HERE COME THE VIDEOFREEX
This documentary tells the story of a video collective that shot an “alternative record” of key historic moments such as 1970s anti- war protests and women’s liberation marches. Initially hired by CBS, then fired shortly thereafter, the collective pioneered a radically new way of recording for television. Directed by Jenny Raskin and Jon Nealon, this intimate retelling of the collective’s evolution captures the vibe of the times: A man with a lamb at Woodstock urges others not to make their bodies a “grave”; the Black Panthers talk about their mission. Hosted by Gene Youngblood, followed by a Skype interview with film subject Nancy Cain. 2 p.m. Saturday, May 7, only. Not rated. 79 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Priyanka Kumar)
LOUDER THAN BOMBS
Rated R. 109 minutes. Regal DeVargas. See review, Page 38.
THE MERMAID
The latest film by director Stephen Chow ( Kung- Fu Hustle) is the highest- grossing film in China’s history. Deng Chao plays Liu Xuan, a businessman who aims to destroy all of the sea life in a recently purchased gulf. Lin Yun plays a mermaid from the gulf who is sent to assassinate him. When they end up falling for each other, it leads them both on a comic adventure. Rated R. 94 minutes. In Mandarin with subtitles. Jean Cocteau Cinema. (Not reviewed)
SING STREET
Writer and director John Carney made a big splash with 2007’s
Once, and now he offers another movie about music and romance on the cobblestone streets of Dublin. This time, he takes viewers back to the 1980s for a coming- of-age film about a boy (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) who joins a new school, where he starts a band to impress a girl (Lucy Boynton). Rated PG-13. 106 minutes. Regal DeVargas. (Not reviewed)
SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME
“Anything that runs wild has got something bad in them,” says Johnny Winters at the start of Chloé Zhao’s emotional family drama. “You want to leave some of that in there.” Johnny (John Reddy) is talking about breaking horses, but he may as well be speaking of himself. He dreams of leaving his home on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and starting fresh in Los Angeles. The world he would be leaving behind is one of quiet desperation. The walls of the house he shares with his single mother and younger sister are cracked and peeling. Johnny takes to a life of petty crime, dealing in contraband alcoholic beverages, banned on the reservation.
Songs My Brothers Taught Me is a heartbreaking film whose cast is composed primarily of nonprofessionals. The backdrop for this existence is the serene, windswept prairie captured in quiet, poetic moments by cinematographer Joshua James Richards. 98 minutes. Not rated. The Screen. (Michael Abatemarco)