Chile Pages
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
After Iron Man debuted in 2008, Marvel Studios introduced superheroes such as Captain America and Thor in individual movies before roping them together with 2012’s The Avengers. In the meantime, Marvel has populated their film franchise with even more characters, and now they’re assembling the full slate of Avengers — from the Guardians of the Galaxy to Dr. Strange to everyone’s new fave, Black Panther — to fight against their biggest threat yet, the powerful alien Thanos (Josh Brolin, under a lot of makeup and effects). Thanos’ goal is to destroy the entire universe, and the tools he needs to do so, the Infinity Stones, are scattered among the Marvel heroes. You may have to watch the previous dozen movies to get the lay of the land — or ask a teenager for help — but rumor has it that the herd of Marvel characters is soon to be thinned out, as some of them are going to die in this film. With Elizabeth Olsen, Chadwick Boseman, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr., and a host of other stars. Rated PG-13. 149 minutes. Screens in 2-D and 3-D at Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. (Not reviewed)
CORTEZ
Jesse (Arron Shiver) is a country crooner in a midlife crisis in director Cheryl Nichols’ relationship drama. When Jesse’s tour is canceled, he seeks out Anne (Nichols), an old flame living in Taos, in the hopes of starting over. Jesse masks his inner pain with immaturity and a big ego. He’s ready for a new beginning but keeps backsliding, instead, to his past. Anne, on the other hand, wants no part of him. In the screenplay by real-life partners Nichols and Shiver, who actually met in Taos, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and his quest for El Dorado, referenced here and there, becomes a metaphor for Jesse’s search for an elusive holy grail that would give greater meaning to his life. Jesse’s best friend Eric (Lucky producer Drago Sumonja) tries to reign him in, but Jesse can’t keep himself from acting rash. He makes well-meaning attempts to befriend Anne’s son Ben (Jackson Shiver), who bears an uncanny resemblance to himself. Beautifully shot by cinematographer Kelly Moore and convincingly acted, Cortez, filmed in Taos, plays like an elegy but is not without the promise of self-discovery for its male lead. Not rated. 99 minutes. Jean Cocteau Cinema. (Michael Abatemarco)
THE GREAT SILENCE
In Italian with subtitles. Not rated. 105 minutes. The Screen. See Screen Gems, Page 42.
THE FINAL YEAR
Not rated. 89 minutes. Violet Crown. See review, Page 47.
ITZHAK
Filmmaker Alison Chernick offers an exhaustive and exuberant biography of master violinist Itzhak Perlman. Early scenes show the man clad in a New York Mets jersey playing the national anthem at Citi Field, making passionate music with cellist Mischa Maisky and pianist Evgeny Kissin, and discussing the challenge of making beautiful sound with the violin: “And when you finally get the sound, you are really getting something out of yourself,” he says. “The more you have in your heart, the more you have to give.” Chernick films Perlman’s wife, Toby, cooking cauliflower and talking about their lives together. We see the violinist playing at age thirteen on The Ed Sullivan Show — “virtuosic” seems like an understatement — and wonderfully engaging his 1714 Stradivarius on Bach, Schubert, Bruch, and a klezmer song. Perlman’s playing exemplifies a quote from an interview in the film: The violin is “a replica of the soul.” Not rated. 82 minutes. In English and Hebrew with subtitles. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Paul Weideman)
LEAN ON PETE
Andrew Haigh (45 Years) directs this story, which stars Charlie Plummer as Charley Thompson, a teenager in Portland, Oregon, whose mother abandoned him and whose father (Travis Fimmel) is a drunk. Charley finds solace at a job at Portland Downs, helping a trainer named Del (Steve Buscemi) prepare his horses for racing. He takes a particular shine to a horse named Lean on Pete, who, unfortunately, isn’t very fast. When Del makes the decision to have the horse slaughtered, Charley runs away with it on a bittersweet journey of self-discovery. Chloë Sevigny and Steve Zahn also star. Rated R. 121 minutes. Violet Crown (Not reviewed)
OUTSIDE IN
Not rated. 109 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. See review, Page 45.