NOW IN THEATERS
ALADDIN
Disney’s live-action take on its own 1992 cartoon has a bit of everything — music, romance, adventure, and comedy — except a genuine spark of life, perhaps by nature of being a close remake of a well-known film. The story centers on Aladdin (Mena Massoud), a street urchin who finds a magic lamp containing a genie (Will Smith) and meets the princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). They fall for each other, but Jasmine must marry a prince by law; meanwhile, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), the royal vizier, schemes to land Jasmine and the kingdom for himself. Director Guy Ritchie seems to struggle with the musical scenes, but the film’s biggest problem is that it looks cheap for something so expensive, resembling a Disneyland attraction based on a movie more than it does an actual movie. Rated PG. 128 minutes. Screens in 2D only at Regal Santa Fe 6 and Regal Stadium 14. (Robert Ker)
ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT
In 2006, documentarian James Longley released a movie about the state of Iraq from the perspective of its citizens with Iraq
in Fragments. For his feature-length follow-up, he looks at a school in Kabul, Afghanistan, and how students and teachers attempt to rebuild from recent conflicts. Not rated. 117 minutes. In Dari, Pashto, and Arabic with subtitles. Jean Cocteau Cinema. (Not reviewed)
ANNABELLE COMES HOME
This new film in the Conjuring franchise — the third to center on the haunted doll named Annabelle — harks back to elements hinted about in the franchise’s debut. Demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) bring the doll back to their home and lock it up in a room full of spooky artifacts, as seen in the first Conjuring film. What isn’t seen in that movie but revealed here, however, is that one night, Annabelle unleashes all the evil spirits in the room, with her sights set on the Warrens’ daughter (Mckenna Grace). Rated R. 106 minutes. Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
CRAWL
When a Category 5 hurricane hits a Florida town in this horror picture, a young woman named Haley (Kaya Scodelario) ventures back into her evacuated neighborhood to search for her father, Dave (Barry Pepper). She finds him injured in their basement, and soon discovers the cause of his wounds: vicious alligators, which are roving the rising waters and hungry for flesh. The daughter and father must then survive both the reptiles and the storm. Rated R. 87 minutes. Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
THE LION KING
There is considerable technical prowess at work in this remake of the 1994 animated film The Lion King, which replaces the cartoony visuals of the original with ultrarealistic CGI animation. The animals are so realistic, and the environments so stunning, that it often looks like a nature documentary. Unfortunately, the animals look so real that they struggle to convey any emotion or personality. The sad moments completely miss, as does much of the humor (only Seth Rogen’s Pumbaa, of “Hakuna Matata” fame, ekes out laughs). The story centers on a young lion named Simba (voiced by JD McCrary as a cub and Donald Glover as an adult) who must face the evil Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) after Scar kills his father (James Earl Jones) and exiles him. Nearly every beat of this plot replicates the 1994 film, and many shots of the original film are recreated exactly. Coupled with the less-evocative characters, this makes for a boring experience, if one that’s beautiful to look at. Beyoncé, John Oliver, and Alfre Woodard also lend their voices. Rated PG. 118 minutes. Screens in 3D and 2D at Regal Stadium 14, and Violet Crown. Screens in 2D only at Regal Santa Fe 6. (Robert Ker)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
The most nuanced and arguably the most accomplished movie in Quentin Tarantino’s oeuvre, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood finds the filmmaker utilizing exceptional art direction and sketching criss-crossing stories across 1969-era Tinseltown. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Rick Dalton, a past-his-prime, alcoholic actor who once starred
in a TV Western and spirals through decreasingly attractive job opportunities in search of his mojo. The eternally cool Brad Pitt plays Cliff Booth, his stunt double, a man content as a sidekick close in orbit to Dalton’s stardom. This delightful depiction of male friendship finds minor conflict when Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and her husband Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) move in next door to Dalton, drawing the cult led by Charles Manson (Damon Herriman) near. The movie doesn’t serve this particular story so much as evoke an evolving Hollywood, which is shifting slowly from its Golden Era to something more shaggy and wild, while losing little of its allure to dreamers and grifters alike. Unlike many Tarantino films, there is no heist to score, no villain to vanquish, and the relaxed nature of the plot suits the director, who is allowed to invest himself deeply in the individual scenes and subvert expectations at every turn. Rated R. 161 minutes. Regal Santa Fe 6, Regal Stadium 14, and Violet Crown. (Robert Ker)
PAVAROTTI
When Luciano Pavarotti died of pancreatic cancer in 2007, many opera lovers had mixed feelings. The tenor was only 71 and it hadn’t been so long since he was the reigning star of his generation, still giving magnificent performances of his core repertoire into the 1990s. And he had always seemed to have a great lust for life, happy to indulge his love of food and, when he wanted to, his love of people, crowds, and all the adulation that came with being the most celebrated tenor since Caruso. The best thing about Ron Howard’s polished new documentary is its compassion for the man, who emerges frail but not hollow, merely human and not the pathetic clown he so often seemed in his last decade. Using previously unseen video clips made by Pavarotti’s second wife, Nicoletta, and interviews with his first wife and their adult daughters, Howard encourages viewers to give Pavarotti the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his love life. It was always messy, as his first wife knew, and yet she seems to have forgiven him. Despite omissions, Pavarotti is still an occasion for reflection, and the picture it presents of the tenor is sufficiently rounded that those new to his artistry will likely be beguiled. Rated PG-13. 114 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Philip Kennicott/ The Washington Post)
SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME
After Iron Man (spoiler alert!) died at the end of
Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios had a massive void to fill. They filled it by making Spider-Man (Tom Holland) into Iron Man, with all of the technology, global threats, and relationships with Stark Industries’ Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) that such a distinction implies. In the process, the film strays too far from the web-slinging, New York-living, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, ending up in a mess of half-baked ideas. Peter Parker (Spidey’s alter-ego) is sent on a school trip to Europe, where the villain Mysterio (a note-perfect Jake Gyllenhaal) shows up among a series of grandiose illusions — some of which are great fun. The jokes are hit and (mostly) miss, but the subplot with Parker and Mary Jane (Zendaya) offers the sweetest romantic core of any Marvel movie. They should have focused on these basic elements — cramming everything into a massive, multi-movie Marvel universe is starting to feel more like a curse than a blessing. Rated PG-13. 129 minutes. Screens in 2D only at Regal Santa Fe 6, Regal Stadium 14, and Violet Crown. (Robert Ker)
STUBER
Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) and Dave Bautista (Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy films) star in this odd-couple comedy about a rugged detective (Bautista) who, for some reason, hails an Uber manned by a nebbish driver (Nanjiani) for a nightlong adventure into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles. They form a friendship as they combine their wits and various strengths to get out of an array of dangerous jams. Rated R. 93 minutes. Regal Santa Fe 6 and Regal Stadium 14. (Not reviewed)
SWORD OF TRUST
A Civil War-era sword sets this story in motion. Inherited from her grandfather by Cynthia (Jillian Bell) and her partner Mary (Michaela Watkins), it has a backstory: it was the sword presented by a Union general to Robert E. Lee when the North surrendered at the end of the War of Northern Aggression. The Confederacy won. The misguided impression to the contrary is the product of an evil Deep State conspiracy. The ladies and Mel (Mark Maron), the Alabama pawnbroker to whom they bring the weapon, discover via the internet that there’s a dedicated group of true believers willing to pay top dollar for a “prove rite” confirming the South’s victory. Directed by Lynn Shelton (Humpday) with a nimble cast improvising the scenes laid out in Shelton’s story structure, the result is a very funny probing of the madness of the internet, white supremacy, and wacko conspiracy theories, with a layer of serious ideas lurking beneath the fun. You don’t need a certificate of authenticity to see how the craziness that Shelton slyly delivers here reflects the condition of the world we live in. Rated R. 88 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Jonathan Richards)
THAT PÄRT FEELING
Most of what we learn from Paul Hegeman’s sweet, understated documentary comes from the music itself. The music is the work of the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. If you’re familiar with his music, you know you’re in for a treat. But chances are you’re not familiar with the reclusive Mr. Pärt himself. And on that front, this film has very little to offer. When we’re not hearing the music (and sometimes when we are) we’re listening to an assortment of conductors, soloists, choreographers, and other admirers as they try to describe what Pärt’s music means to them. But music is the language in which Pärt is comfortable explaining himself, it’s the world he lives in, it’s the faith he follows. And as far as this film is concerned, if you want to know about the world’s most performed living composer, his music is where you’ll find it. Not rated. 75 minutes. In English, Dutch, German, and French with subtitles. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Jonathan Richards)
TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM
The appeal of this stirring documentary is the pleasure it affords in the spending of a couple of hours in the world of the great Toni Morrison, her friends, and her literary legacy. It’s always interesting to learn the background story of a major cultural icon — how, from where she started, did she reach where she is today? Director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders takes us on that journey. Morrison’s vision originates determinedly and unapologetically from the black experience. It’s informed by her perspective as a woman battling sexism in society and literature, and it’s driven by her love of language and the power of words. The Pieces I Am features extensive interviews with a number of Morrison’s friends and colleagues. But by far the most commanding presence here is
the 88-year-old Nobel Prize-winner herself, an imposing figure who sits comfortably and forthrightly facing the camera, recalling the circumstances and trajectory of her career, and laughing a lot. Sometimes the laughter comes from pure enjoyment, and sometimes it’s driven by her wry reflection on what fools we mortals be. Rated PG-13. 120 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts. (Jonathan Richards)
TOY STORY 4
The latest chapter in the Toy Story franchise centers on the cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks), who is feeling less needed under the care of his new owner, a child named Bonnie (voiced by Madeleine McGraw). When Bonnie crafts a beloved homemade toy named Forky (Tony Hale), Woody feels obligated to protect poor Forky at all costs. This is tested when, on a family trip, Forky winds up trapped in an antique store lorded over by a vintage doll named Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) and her delightfully creepy ventriloquist-dummy henchmen. The plan is on to spring Forky, but will this give Woody the contentment he craves? Pixar Animation once more offers a movie that is gorgeous to look at, but the plot lacks the weight of earlier installments, which is especially glaring in light of the perfect send-off the characters received in 2010’s Toy Story 3. Fans of Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) may be disappointed by lack of screentime, but new characters voiced by Keanu Reeves and comedy duo Key and Peele steal the show. This is the least involving of the Toy Story films, but only because their benchmark is so high. Rated G. 100 minutes. Screens in 2D at Regal Santa Fe 6, Regal Stadium 14, and Violet Crown. (Robert Ker)
YESTERDAY
This truly strange picture by director Danny Boyle tells the story of Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), a struggling songwriter who gets a big break when a strange phenomenon causes the entire world (aside from him) to forget that The Beatles existed. With all traces of the band gone, Jack passes the Fab Four’s songs off as his own — first unwittingly, and gradually with more purpose. The premise could have gone in any number of interesting directions, but instead, the story follows a formulaic rom-com path — as Jack’s renown as the world’s greatest songwriter grows, he risks losing the one woman (Lily James) who believed in him back when he was trying to write his own material. Fortunately, the supporting acting is winsome — Kate McKinnon steals the show as an aggressive manager and Ed Sheeran is on hand to make fun of himself. It’s just a very bizarre use of Beatles’ license, and a wasted opportunity. Rated PG-13. 116 minutes. Regal Stadium 14 and Violet Crown. (Robert Ker) Also, check out Steve Terrell’s take on Yesterday, Page 16.