chile pages
OPENING THIS WEEK ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN
Abbott and Costello weren’t even around when Mary Shelley introduced the world to Frankenstein’s monster. But they met up with her literary creation when Universal Studios paired the former burlesque comics with Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman in a 1948 film that critics consider one of the best horror comedies of all time. In this quirky adaptation, Dracula (Béla Lugosi), wants to transplant the stupidest brain possible into the monster’s head so Frankenstein will obey all his commands. Enter dopey baggage clerk Wilbur Grey (Costello) — the perfect candidate for the experiment — and his buddy, Chick Young (Abbott). The Wolfman, aka Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), is an ally for the comic heroes as he tries to foil Dracula’s plans, but he turns into a wolf whenever the moon approaches. The three monsters and the two clumsy comics find themselves engaged in a madcap chase through Dracula’s castle, battling over who gets Wilbur’s brain. Screens for free at 12 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at Jean Cocteau Cinema. Not rated. 83 minutes. (Robert Nott)
ALL ABOUT NINA
Writer and director Eva Vives makes her feature-length debut with this dramedy about a raunchy stand-up comic named Nina (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who works late, drinks heavily, and falls for all the wrong men. When she travels to Los Angeles to audition for a TV show similar to Saturday Night Live, she meets Rafe (Common) who just might be the right man, and doesn’t fully know how to handle it. Rated R. 97 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Not reviewed)
DAWN WALL
The crowded field of outdoor-adventure documentaries gets a gem with this story about free climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson and their 2015 attempt to scale the Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, which was long thought to be impossible. They gained international attention for the feat, causing many people to wonder why anyone would attempt such a climb. Directors Josh Lowell and Peter Mortimer center on Caldwell, the climber who hatched the ambitious plan and eventually became consumed by it, suggesting his obsession was fueled by depression and PTSD. His incredible backstory is the engine for the movie, and the filmmakers do a superb job breaking down climbing strategy so the uninitiated can understand the challenges he faced. The narrative is hurt by the fact that the hardest part of the climb is in the bottom half of the cliff, forcing the filmmakers to bloat the middle and rush at the end. But the journey is often engrossing. Not rated. 115 minutes. The Screen. (Robert Ker)
THE GUILTY
In this thriller by Swedish filmmaker Gustav Möller, an emergency dispatcher named Asger (Jakob Cedergren) receives a call from a woman (Jessica Dinnage, performing in voice only) who suggests that she’s been kidnapped by her ex-husband and is being taken to an undisclosed location in a van. As Asger desperately tries to save her life over a series of increasingly frantic calls, it becomes clear that there is more going on here than it initially seems. Rated R. 85 minutes. In Danish with subtitles. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Not reviewed)
HALE COUNTY, THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
Photographer and cinematographer RaMell Ross brings his eye for visual detail to this documentary. To create it, he spent five years filming Daniel Collins and Quincy Bryant, two young men in a poor African-American community in Hale County, Alabama, as they pursue their respective hoop dreams and raise their families. The film is really about the community, however, and Ross captures the quotidian setting with a subdued touch, inviting audiences to simply observe — sometimes lingering for several minutes on images such as beams of light shining through smoke and tree branches. The film can feel a bit too fanciful, and the narrative (such as it is) seems to dissipate into thin air, which will frustrate some. At its best, however, Ross transforms these people, their lives, and their homes into dreamlike poetry, drawing you deeply into the reverie. Not rated. 76 minutes. The Screen. (Robert Ker)
HUNTER KILLER
In the latest entry into the submarine-based thriller genre, Gerard Butler plays Capt. Joe Glass of the USS Omaha. When the Russian president (Alexander Diachenko) is captured by his own defense minister (Mikhail Gorevoy) in an attempted coup, it’s up to Glass and a group of Navy SEALs to enter Russian waters, rescue the president, and prevent World War III. Gary Oldman and Common also star. Rated R. 121 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. (Not reviewed)
IMPULSO
Not rated. 87 minutes. In Spanish with English subtitles. Violet Crown. See review, Page 36.
INDIVISIBLE
God and the U.S. Armed Forces intermingle in this drama about Army chaplain Darren Turner (Justin Bruening), who finds his faith torn between loyalty to the men in his unit in Iraq and to his wife back home (Sarah Drew). When the horrors of war take their toll on his mental health after his return and his marriage begins to crumble at around the same time, he turns to God for guidance. Rated PG-13. 119 minutes. Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS
Screens as part of Lensic Big Screen Classics. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31, only. 80 minutes. Not rated. No charge. Lensic Performing Arts Center. See Screen Gems, Page 34.
JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN
Rowan Atkinson sets Mr. Bean aside and returns for more shenanigans with his other famous character in this British comedy, in which he embodies the James Bond parody Johnny English once more. When a hacker (Jake Lacy) exposes the identity of every M17 secret agent, English is forced out of retirement, where he’s seduced by a Russian spy (Olga Kurylenko), engages in slapstick tomfoolery, and stumbles into saving the world. Academy Award-winning actress Emma Thompson plays the prime minister. Rated PG. 88 minutes. Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
MANDY
To say that this feverish heavy-metal acid trip of a horror movie is not for everybody would be an understatement. This is a film in which the money scene involves a bug-eyed, over-the-top Nicolas Cage — bedecked in a tiger tee, tighty whitey underwear, and copious bloodstains — slugging whiskey and performatively losing his sanity in a garish orange bathroom. Red Miller (Cage) finds himself in that bathroom after the love of his life, Mandy (Andrea Riseborough), is murdered by a hippie-ish cult with potent drugs and a direct line to demon-like partners. After he leaves that bathroom, Red takes revenge. Director Panos Cosmatos ups the stakes on his 2010 cult hit Beyond the Black Rainbow with this pink-hued slow-burn fairy tale, which has already achieved midnight-movie status in some cities. It’s a deserved reputation. While it would be nice if the woman of the title didn’t need to be brutally killed to inspire the ultraviolence, Cosmatos offers an uncompromising and original cinematic vision in an era when so many movies aspire for familiarity. Not rated. 121 minutes. Jean Cocteau Cinema. (Robert Ker)
MID90S
Actor Jonah Hill makes his directorial debut with this indie film, which he also wrote, based on his teen years in the middle of the 1990s. Using a soundtrack heavy in rap and rock music of the era, he tells the story of a thirteen-year-old named Stevie (Sunny Suljic), who escapes from an abusive situation at home by hanging out with local skateboarders. He finds not only a sense of belonging among the misfits, but also a sense of promise and adventure. Rated R. 84 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. (Not reviewed)
SILENCIO
Mexican director Lorena Villarreal (Las Lloronas) presents this low-budget science-fiction movie which focuses on a mysterious area near Durango, Mexico, known as the “Zone of Silence,” a place where unexplained phenomena and a loss of radio communication is said to have happened. Her film centers on a mother (Melina Matthews) who searches for a powerful stone that her grandfather (John Noble) found in the Zone of Silence in 1970, hoping it will save her son’s life. Rated R. 98 minutes. Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
NOW IN THEATERS BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE
Filmmaker Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) embarks upon another locked-room mystery with this Tarantino-esque noir caper set in 1969, as a group of strangers converge at the El Royale, a Lake Tahoe resort that has seen better days. Each guest holds a secret: a priest (Jeff Bridges), a traveling salesman (Jon Hamm), a backup singer (Cynthia Erivo), and a hippie chick (Dakota Johnson). The mysteries unravel in stylish chapters as the death toll mounts, and the endgame is
anyone’s guess. The film is hip, innovative, and a lot of fun, with genuine surprises and scares, and briskly paced until the final act, when things begin to drag. Bridges capably carries the weight of the labyrinthine plot, but the real revelation here is Erivo, whose mesmerizing face conveys a steely dignity. With Nick Offerman, Chris Hemsworth, and a soundtrack filled with oldies gold, including the Mamas and the Papas’ little-used “Twelve Thirty” and the Four Tops’ “Bernadette.” Rated R. 141 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. (Molly Boyle)
COLETTE
When French author and publisher Willy plucked the plucky Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette from an idyllic girlhood in Burgundy and whisked her off to Paris in 1893, he had no idea he was marrying the literary wunderkind who is still regarded as one of the finest French writers of the 20th century. This uneven biopic directed by Wash Westmoreland stars Keira Knightley as the budding novelist who pens stories about her naughty schoolgirl exploits to support her husband’s business. Published under the name of Willy (Dominic West), the sensual Claudine series sells like hot crêpes, but Colette chafes against her husband’s dominance, pursuing a theater career along with risqué affairs with other women, especially the androgynous Marquise de Belbeuf (Denise Gough), with whom she shares the stage and scandalizes Paris. Knightley is a capable and occasionally captivating Colette, baring her teeth in lusty defiance of the societal yoke that is placed upon her. But the movie fails to flesh out any single character or contextualize the heady intellectual libertinism of fin-de-siècle Paris. Its plot runs thin, sagging in the middle and never fully picking up steam — something Colette herself would never have allowed. Rated R. 111 minutes. Violet Crown. (Molly Boyle)
FIRST MAN
Director Damien Chazelle reteams with his La La
Land star Ryan Gosling on this Neil Armstrong biopic, which shrugs off the lionization that the subject invites. Instead, it uses the 1962 death of Armstrong’s two-year-old daughter as the launchpad to look at his psyche in addition to the incredible technical accomplishment of the 1969 moon landing, and also focuses on his wife Janet (Claire Foy), and the courage she summons while confined within domestic spaces. Chazelle keeps the cameras tightly trained on the faces of Gosling and Foy, inviting audiences to read deeply into their expressions to discover the emotional depth of the story. The actors reward this trust with subtle, sublime performances. While this approach leads to some overly sentimental moments that don’t feel authentic, it doesn’t diminish the power of witnessing that decade as those two people might have. The scenes involving the space program are crafted with exceptional filmmaking, and are by turns horrifying and bracing. Chazelle’s affection for music permeates the film; however, he shelves his love for jazz in favor of a strident, military-style march that builds suspense as the Apollo 11 mission draws near, making the moon landing itself into an awe-inspiring sequence of arthouse cinema. Rated PG-13. 141 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. (Robert Ker)
FREE SOLO
Few people would ever think of climbing steep rock faces without a rope, supports, a helmet, or anchors — “free soloing,” as the practice is known. And yet that’s what thirty-three-year-old Alex Honnold has done in more than 1,000 solo climbs around the world. “I feel like anyone could conceivably die on any given day,” Honnold says, which could explain the risks he takes. According to this documentary, fewer than 1 percent of climbers attempt these feats. Produced by National Geographic Documentary Films and directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the film chronicles Honnold’s 2017 ascent of mighty El Capitan at Yosemite National Park. With all the peaks in the film itself — watching Honnold’s dexterity, the sheer artistry of his free-solo climb, and the vertigo-inducing images of the thousand-plus-foot drops — most viewers of Free
Solo will experience fear in a way that Honnold appears not to. The final 20 minutes will leave you speechless. It’s wonderful to see how far one man has gone to live on the edge, where one false move could mean game over. He never bats an eyelash. Not rated. 100 minutes. Violet Crown. (Thomas M. Hill)
GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN
In the second movie based on the young-adult horror novels of R.L. Stine, two boys (Jeremy Ray Taylor and Caleel Harris) sneak into Stine’s former house on Halloween, where they find a creepy ventriloquist dummy named Slappy (voiced by Jack Black, who also plays Stine in both films). When the boys bring Slappy to life, the doll summons monsters to wreak havoc on the neighborhood. The movie takes a long time getting to that point, however, and when it does it’s not nearly as fun as it could have been; one delightful sequence, in which the boys face off against an army of Gummi Bears brought to life, is the exception that proves the rule. When Black finally appears to steal the show with a glorified cameo, it only proves how desperate the film is for anyone with a spark of charisma, energy, or ideas. Rated PG. 90 minutes. Regal Stadium 14. (Robert Ker)
HALLOWEEN
This isn’t the first time the Halloween franchise has taken up the probable PTSD of grown-up babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who has fought off countless murder attempts by masked psychopath Michael Myers since executive producer John Carpenter’s first Halloween in 1978. But given the current #MeToo moment, this one’s got zeitgeisty momentum behind it — and it’s pretty good, too. David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) teams with Danny McBride and others on a script that pretends the rest of the Halloween sequels didn’t really happen, instead focusing on how Laurie, now grey-blond and grim-faced, lives an agoraphobic life as a self-described “basket case” who compulsively fantasizes about getting her revenge on Myers (James Jude Courtney). When an opportune bus accident occurs during the prisoner’s transfer, she seizes her chance — and must rope in her reluctant daughter (Judy Greer) and wide-eyed granddaughter (Andi Matichak) to attain the requisite multigenerational girl power necessary to stop Myers’ killing sprees for good. The fight scenes are clever and heart-pounding, the teen-drama subplot is mildly absorbing, and most crucially, Curtis is compellingly relentless. This sequel didn’t bother to rename itself because it’s about to spawn a whole new generation of Halloween fans. Rated R. 106 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. (Molly Boyle)
THE HATE U GIVE
Attending an affluent high school in a white neighborhood is already complicated enough for Starr (Amandla Stenberg). When her friend Khalil (Algee Smith) is shot by a police officer in front of her, it gets a lot harder. She decides to protest on Khalil’s behalf, and it sets off a series of events that not only threatens her community but her own future. Regina Hall plays her mother, while Anthony Mackie (Falcon in the Marvel films) plays a local drug dealer. George Tillman Jr. (Notorious) directs. Rated PG-13. 133 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. (Not reviewed)
NIGHT SCHOOL
Tiffany Haddish reunites with Girls Trip director Malcolm D. Lee for another comedy, this time set in school. When a gifted salesman (Kevin Hart) is courted for a job as a stockbroker, provided he gets his GED, he enrolls in night school. He and the scoundrels and troublemakers in the class butt heads with the teacher (Haddish), and chaos ensues. Rated PG-13. 111 minutes. Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN
Robert Redford plays Forrest Tucker, a man who has devoted his life to the art of robbing banks. His story is mostly true (adapted by writer-director David Lowery from a New Yorker article). Redford shares the screen with Sissy Spacek, and together they ignite a chemistry that could light the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. She plays Jewel, a widowed rancher, and when these two sit and banter in a coffee shop booth, you could watch and listen to them all day. But you can’t, because there are banks to rob. Forrest sometimes works with a couple of geriatric buddies, played by Danny Glover and Tom Waits, and the trio becomes known as the Over-the-Hill Gang. In dogged pursuit is an affable cop (Casey Affleck), who comes to admire the man he’s tracking. If this in fact proves to be Robert Redford’s farewell to movies, as he has indicated, it’s a lovely way to go. But the door is always open, Bob, and we’ll leave a light on in the window. Rated PG-13. 93 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts; Violet Crown. (Jonathan Richards)
THE SISTERS BROTHERS
On the surface, this is the tale of two gunmen brothers (played by John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix) on the trail of a prospector who has created a successful formula to pan gold in 1850s Oregon. Underneath, it’s the story of how brotherly love helps these two gritty killers to survive the unpredictable violence of the Old West. The performances are good, and the gun fights are fast-paced and bloody. But fans of the novel by Patrick deWitt, upon which this movie is based, may feel disappointed that the film dissipates both the emotional connection between the two brothers and their riches-to-rags journey, which provided a context for the familial connection. And the story’s episodic nature may leave you wondering what exactly it wants to say. This is the first English-language film by renowned French director Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped). Rated R. 121 minutes. Violet Crown. (Robert Nott)
SMALLFOOT
The Bigfoot legend is turned on its head in this animated story about a Yeti scientist (voiced by Channing Tatum) who becomes convinced that humans, known to the Yeti clan as the mythical “Smallfoot,” are real. His suspicions are confirmed when he encounters a Smallfoot in the form of a former TV personality (James Corden), and he attempts to present evidence of his discovery to the Smallfoot Evidentiary Society (led by a scientist voiced by Zendaya). Danny DeVito, Common, and LeBron James also provide voicework. Rated PG. 96 minutes. Screens in 2D only at Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
A STAR IS BORN
Big, gorgeous, and packed with terrific music and charismatic star power, this fourth edition of one of Hollywood’s most enduring origin stories starts off so well that its momentum almost carries it through a somewhat more labored finish. Lady Gaga rediscovers her inner Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in creating the title character, Ally, a
big-hearted aspiring singer who captures the heart of Jackson Maine, a country-rock superstar played soulfully by Bradley Cooper (who also co-wrote and directed). The tale, best remembered in the classic 1950 Judy Garland version, is familiar, tracking the opposite trajectories of the two stars — one blazing upward, one blazing out. Cooper’s pacing gets a little choppy, as if he’s afraid of being caught in a linear narrative, but for the most part the film is assured and effective. The supporting cast is stocked with sometimes surprising choices, like Andrew Dice Clay as Ally’s dad, and Dave Chappelle as Jackson’s friend. Sam Elliott is reliably gravelly as Jackson’s much older brother. But the revelation is Lady Gaga, who nails the wide-eyed kid drawn into the world of superstardom, finding love and tragedy along the way. Rated PG. 96 minutes. Screens in 2D at Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. (Jonathan Richards)
TEA WITH THE DAMES
This documentary invites viewers to enjoy a spot of tea with four of the United Kingdom’s most esteemed actresses: Dames Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Maggie Smith. The four longtime friends sit together and casually shoot the breeze and share insights into their crafts and careers. Audiences can enjoy an intimate glimpse of this conversation courtesy of director Roger Michell (Notting Hill). Not rated. 84 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Not reviewed)
VENOM
Spider-Man’s nemesis Venom is a ridiculous character: a bulletproof version of Spidey with a long tongue and an appetite for live flesh. But director Ruben Fleischer offers a surprisingly well-crafted B-movie, and actors Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams class the joint up. Hardy plays Eddie Brock, a journalist who investigates the research going on at the Life Foundation. When the company’s founder (Riz Ahmed) strikes back, Brock loses his job and girlfriend (Williams). He learns that the foundation is experimenting on an alien, which grafts itself to his body, granting him superpowers and a nasty disposition. From there, he must satiate the alien’s appetite, get revenge, and somehow also save the world. The action and effects are well done, but the movie works best when it leans into absurdist humor reminiscent of the 1980s work of John Carpenter and Sam Raimi. Rated PG-13. 112 minutes. Screens in 2D at Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown. (Robert Ker)