OPENING THIS WEEK
THE BEGUILED
Sofia Coppola’s latest picture, which won her the Best Director award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, is set at a Civil War-era girls’ school in Virginia. When an injured Union soldier (Colin Farrell) shows up at their door, he transforms their sheltered existence into something more duplicitous and violent. Nicole Kidman plays the schoolmaster, and Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning also star. Based on the novel by Thomas Cullinan, which was also made into a 1971 film. Rated R. 93 minutes. Violet Crown. (Not reviewed)
DESPICABLE ME 3
Steve Carell is back as the voice of Gru, the dastardly mastermind at the center of the highly popular animated comedy series. This time, however, he also voices Dru, Gru’s long-lost evil-genius brother. When Gru meets Dru, he’s talked into giving up the straight life as a family man to return to villainy for one last heist. Kristen Wiig and Steve Coogan also lend their voices, and Gru’s beloved Minions return. Rated PG. 90 minutes. Screens in 3-D and 2-D at Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. Screens in 2-D only at DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
THE EXCEPTION
This World War II drama is set primarily in a castle in the Netherlands, where Kaiser Wilhelm (Christopher Plummer) lives in exile. Jai Courtney (Suicide Squad) plays a young German soldier who is tasked with finding out if the Dutch resistance has planted a spy to watch over Wilhelm. His mission becomes complicated, however, when he falls for a Jewish maid (Lily James) at the estate. Rated R. 107 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Not reviewed)
THE HERO
Rated R. 96 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. See review, Page 49.
THE HOUSE
Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler play a suburban couple who discover they have accidentally destroyed their daughter’s entire college fund shortly before she is scheduled to leave. To make the money back, they let a friend (Jason Mantzoukas) convince them to open an illegal casino in their basement — complete with strippers, DJs, and “fight night.” It doesn’t take them long before they discover they enjoy the criminal life.
Rated R. 88 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown; DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
MALI BLUES
Mali, a landlocked African nation engulfed by the Sahara, undergoes rancorous turmoil as radical Islamists terrorize the cities in the northern desert, notably Timbuktu. This documentary introduces a diverse group of musicians who oppose the terrorists and still give colorful, passionate concerts in the southern capital city of Bamako. We never come to understand what motivates the unseen terrorists, who are destroying instruments and threatening performers. But the music is quite enthralling, featuring pop singer Fatoumata Diawara (previously introduced in Timbuktu), rapper Master Soumy, Tuareg desert guitarist Ahmed Ag Kaedi, and Mali’s national treasure, Bassékou Kouyaté, whose griot songmanship closely resembles that of the American blues tradition. Not rated. 93 minutes. In French with subtitles. Jean Cocteau Cinema. (Jon Bowman)
SACRED
While some atheists describe God as “an invisible sky monster” and many Christian and Islamic fundamentalists wish to impose their own strict doctrines on others, people all over the world experience faith as primary to their cultural identity and basic existence. In Sacred, directed by Thomas Lennon, more than 40 filmmaking teams traveled the globe to document an array of religious observances, including the birth, death, marriage, and mourning rituals of Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and other faiths. The movie is largely visual with no guiding narrative; individual people speak about their faith as it affects their daily lives and the way they consider the future. Loss of faith is explored through the devastation wrought by the Ebola virus in Africa, while at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, God can serve as a ray of hope for those who are locked up for life. Not rated. 87 minutes. The Screen. (Jennifer Levin)
SEVEN BEAUTIES
This bold, sweeping World War II comic drama thrust Italy’s Lina Wertmüller into the spotlight in 1975, as she became the first woman ever nominated for an Academy Award for best director. It’s a dark and biting farce, an unflinching portrait of a cad and dandy from Naples (played with puckish gusto by Giancarlo Giannini) who is imprisoned by the Germans after fleeing from the Italian army. All around him, innocents are being butchered, but he has a strong will to survive, aided by the many women he woos, chief among them the buxom commandant of his prison camp (played by the late Shirley Stoler), whom he seduces with lascivious glee. With a newly restored print for the screen that highlights the lush cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli, viewers will grasp why he was selected to shoot Italy’s first color movie. Rated R. 113 minutes. In Italian with subtitles. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Jon Bowman)
NOW IN THEATERS AGNES MARTIN: BEFORE THE GRID
Artist and filmmaker Kathleen Brennan explores the early years of painter Agnes Martin through a series of interviews with friends and colleagues. Martin spent time in Taos in the 1950s creating figurative compositions and biomorphic abstractions before moving to the minimalist grid paintings she’s known for. Co-produced by Brennan and Jina Brenneman, former director of exhibitions at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, Agnes Martin: Before the Grid looks at circumstances surrounding her drive to make art despite a lifelong struggle with schizophrenia, her long-term relationship with artist Mildred Pierce, and the challenging relationship she had with her own work, some of which she destroyed. It’s an informative film that offers some insights into her need for order and precision but follows a staid talking-head format that drags it down. Not rated. 55 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Michael Abatemarco) ALL EYEZ ON ME Straight Outta Compton, a film that tells the story of rap group NWA, was a runaway success last summer. This biopic about
another West Coast rap legend, Tupac Shakur (Demetrius Shipp Jr.), hopes to repeat that success. Shakur’s life certainly offers grist for the mill: Raised by a single mother (Danai Gurira) who was an activist with the Black Panthers, the young boy showed prodigious talent across all the performing arts before settling on hip-hop. He rose to prominence, courted controversy, and became a martyr figure when he was murdered in a feud with, among others, New York City rapper Biggie Smalls (Jamal Woolard). Rated R. 140 minutes. Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
THE BABUSHKAS OF CHERNOBYL
After the meltdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986, a radioactive dead zone was established and it became illegal for people to return to their homes. In defiance of this, about 1,200 people went back. Over the years the men have died off, and now just a few hundred people, mostly women, are left to farm, eating fish and game that have been declared deadly by the Ukrainian government. Co-directed by Holly Morris and Anne Bogart, this documentary about the women subsisting in the region is sad yet uplifting. It is illegal to live in the Exclusion Zone, but the Ukrainian government still sends in doctors, scientists, and aid workers to provide the women with medical care, pension funds, and other services. The women, as isolated as they are in the forest, have been friends since childhood. Though one woman lacks a thyroid due to radiation-induced cancer and another complains of body pain, they are active and basically happy — attitudes that seem to be keeping them alive. The film also follows the ongoing efforts to contain the radioactive dust that has been blowing around Chernobyl for almost 30 years. Not rated. 72 minutes. Jean Cocteau Cinema. (Jennifer Levin)
BABY DRIVER
Writer-director Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) returns with his latest stylish high-energy movie, which this time centers on bank robbers, fast cars, and snappy music. Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars) plays the title character, an ace getaway driver who is coerced by a crime boss (Kevin Spacey) to take part in an outrageous heist. Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, and Lily James also star. Rated R. 113 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown; DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
BEATRIZ AT DINNER
Salma Hayek stars as the title character, a bodyworker who winds up as an impromptu dinner guest in the home of wealthy clients, where she encounters and then stands up to the obnoxious race and class biases of real estate mogul Doug Strutt (John Lithgow). Performances are uniformly superb in this complicated, often uncomfortable literary character study that concludes in ambiguity so startling it is bound to leave viewers divided. As the story moves beyond hostile comments about Beatriz’s immigration status and into deeper waters of personal ideology and themes of mortality and ecology, the guests do not know what to make of someone who is not beholden to their status as important businesspeople — and their mockery drives Beatriz to desperation. Rated R. 83 minutes. Regal Stadium 14 Violet Crown. (Jennifer Levin)
CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE
So many big-budget animated movies look and feel like second- or third-rate Pixar films that it’s refreshing when a studio takes a different path. This time, DreamWorks Animation follows its muse straight into the bathroom, faithfully adapting the visual style, scatological humor, and breakneck pace of the Captain Underpants books with a surprising amount of heart. The story centers on two fourth-grade friends (voiced by Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch) who make their own comics. When Principal Krupp (Ed Helms) puts them into different classes to curb their incessant clowning, they hypnotize him into believing he’s Captain Underpants, a hero who wears nothing but a cape and a pair of white briefs. When he gets real powers, Captain Underpants must then fight the villainous Prof. Poopypants (Nick Kroll). This isn’t Masterpiece Theatre, except perhaps to those young enough to remember being potty trained. It’s also brisk, brief, and clever enough that their parents won’t mind. Rated PG. 89 minutes. Screens in 2-D only at Regal Stadium 14. (Robert Ker)
CARS 3
Pixar’s Cars franchise is officially running on fumes, as Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), now with his odometer getting up there in numbers, sets out for a comeback against a new breed of racecar that is capable of going much faster than he can. This plot is old hat for Pixar Animation, which has featured characters being made obsolete by new technology since 1995’s Toy Story. As McQueen gradually shifts gears from denial to anger to acceptance with the help of a younger trainer voiced by Cristela Alonzo, his whole arc isn’t unpleasant — it’s just boring and about 20 minutes too long. Larry the Cable Guy’s tow truck Mater remains an acquired taste, the look of the characters still feels off, and the world itself remains weird — why do these talking cars live in a world designed for humans? For the tykes who wear Lightning McQueen pajamas to bed, this installment will probably be a passable new addition to their DVD shelf. For the rest of us, the movie offers an action-packed scene in a demolition derby and not much else. Rated G. 109 minutes. Screens in 2-D only at Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown; DreamCatcher. (Robert Ker)
CHASING TRANE: THE JOHN COLTRANE DOCUMENTARY
This functional if unspectacular documentary about the life and music of John Coltrane does the job it sets out to do, and little more — but at least you get some great music. Coltrane aficionados will be familiar with everything this film contains, and the completely uninitiated may not be interested at all. For archival purposes though, it’s important to create films like this while several of Coltrane’s peers are still alive. The talking heads include a number of them, along with a hodgepodge of other praise-gushing guests, among them Cornel West, Carlos Santana, and Bill Clinton. Not rated. 99 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Robert Ker)
THE COLORADO
This 2016 documentary about the Colorado River boasts a score of stunning vocal music with cinematography that is alternately awe-inspiring (the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the Grand Canyon) and depressing (the dams, the Salton Sea, and the dried-up delta in Mexico). Mark Rylance narrates text written by Santa Fe author William deBuys and director Murat Eyuboglu. The film’s multidimensional portrait of the river includes spotlights on a 17th-century Jesuit mapmaker, a 19th-century explorer, and a 20th-century farmworker. The documentary offers an educational immersion in ecology and regional history, and it’s a joy of an experience. Not rated. 91 minutes. Jean Cocteau Cinema. (Paul Weideman)
47 METERS DOWN
The latest shark-attack movie stars Mandy Moore and Claire Holt as two sisters vacationing and adventure-seeking in Mexico. While on a boat, they are talked into getting into a metal cage that is then lowered into the ocean, where they can experience what it’s like to swim with the great whites. It’s good, scary fun at first, but then the cable snaps, sending the cage and their limited oxygen supply down to the ocean floor. Rated PG-13. 89 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; DreamCatcher. (Not reviewed)
ICAROS: A VISION
Angelina (Ana Cecilia Stieglitz) has come to the Peruvian Amazon to face her fear of death by taking ayahuasca, a blend of psychotropic plants used in healing and spiritual ceremonies. She stays with a family of shamans in a bare-bones jungle retreat, along with a handful of others on similar personal journeys. In this highly visual movie, dialogue is minimal and the storyline is a scaffolding for viewer projection and extrapolation. The tone is set by opening stretches of nature imagery and poetic voice-overs from an old woman who gathers the plants, gently exhorting viewers to listen to the sounds of the forest. 3:15 p.m. Saturday, July 1, only. Not rated. 91 minutes. The Screen. (Jennifer Levin)
MEGAN LEAVEY
Based on a true story, this film traces the relationship between a Marine named Megan Leavey (Kate Mara) stationed in Iraq, and Rex, her combat dog. Rex is difficult at first, but Megan trains him to the point where he is able to save many lives. When they are both injured, she fights for the opportunity to adopt Rex. Rated PG-13. 116 minutes. Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
THE MUMMY
Universal Studios once had a royal flush of monster movies starring the fearsome likes of the Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, and more. Now they’re bringing the monsters back, attempting to weave them into a shared universe like the Marvel superheroes. It all kicks off in the desert, where a fortune hunter (Tom Cruise) trying to retrieve a treasure winds up awakening the Mummy (Sofia Boutella). Rated PG-13. 110 minutes. Screens in 2-D only at Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES
Johnny Depp applies Jack Sparrow’s eyeliner for one more turn at the helm of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, this time as he seeks out the trident of Poseidon. Unfortunately for Sparrow, an old enemy (Javier Bardem) has escaped from the Devil’s Triangle and is hot in pursuit with revenge in mind. Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley also return. Keith Richards once played Sparrow’s father; in this film, Paul McCartney plays his uncle. Rated PG-13. 129 minutes. Screens in 2-D at Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
ROUGH NIGHT
Scarlett Johansson tries her hand at mainstream comedy in this movie by Lucia Aniello, best known for her work on the TV series
Broad City. She plays one of several women at a bachelorette party in Miami who find themselves in a madcap caper when the stripper they’ve hired dies unexpectedly. Kate McKinnon, Ilana Glazer, and Zoë Kravitz co-star. Rated R. 101 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. (Not reviewed)
TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT
The new entry in the Transformers franchise inexplicably features King Arthur (Liam Garrigan) and the Knights of the Round Table, who are among the first to come into a Transformers-made talisman that now spells doom for planet Earth — unless Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) can save the day. The supporting cast is a veritable Sundance Film Festival of talent, including Anthony Hopkins, Stanley Tucci, and John Turturro as well as the voices of Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, and Ken Watanabe — none of whom seem to be enjoying themselves all that much. By the time the credits roll, exhausted audiences might feel the same way. Rated PG-13. 149 minutes. Screens in 3-D and 2-D at Regal Stadium 14. Screens in 2-D only at Violet Crown; DreamCatcher. (Robert Ker)
WONDER WOMAN
The box-office success of Wonder Woman is cause to celebrate beyond the girl power of the film itself. With the pairing of charismatic star Gal Gadot and savvy director Patty Jenkins, Hollywood has finally produced a superhero franchise to root for and not groan over. The thrilling first act details the origin story of Diana, the superpowered princess of an admirable race of strong, capable Amazons created by the gods to protect humankind against the wrath of Ares, the god of war. When Allied spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine, in fine form) crash-lands on Diana’s remote island, German soldiers (led by a roguish Danny Huston) in hot pursuit, he convinces the young warrior to help him halt the development of a deadly mustard gas. Diana — who considers it her destiny to stop Ares, whom she believes to be the mastermind of World War I — leaves the Amazonian outpost to seek her fortune in the ordinary world, where plenty of fish-out-of-water feminist hijinks occur. The sweet chemistry between Trevor and the princess is palpable, the movie’s plot sallies forth at a good clip, and Gadot proves as formidable a fighter as she is a beauty. The last third may be overlong and draggy, but the film is nonetheless a cut above the monotony of Marvel and other caped-crusader crap. Rated PG-13. 141 minutes. Screens in 2-D only at Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown; DreamCatcher. (Molly Boyle)