The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Movie minis
OPENING TODAY ‘ Miller’s Girl’ D+
Two girls attempt to seduce their teachers at their public high school. This is pure unintentional camp, vigorously striking that wild, so- bad- it’s- entertaining chord. Starring Jenna Ortega, Martin Freeman and Bashir Salahuddin. Directed by Jade Halley Bartlett. ( Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated R for language throughout, some teen smoking and drinking, and sexual content. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 33 minutes. PARENTS GUIDE: Too racy for kids and teens.
‘ Past Lives’ A
Two childhood friends who got separated when they were 12 reunite in their 20s online, but it’s complicated by the fact that the girl has met someone else. The film explores the characters’ conundrums with admirable grace and equanimity. Starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro. Directed by Celine Song. ( Ann Hornaday, Washington Post) Rated PG13 for some strong language. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 46 minutes.
STREAMING ‘ Masters of the Air’ B+
The men of the 100th Bomb Group work to gain dominance in the skies over their German counterparts as D- Day approaches. The film will make you admire the pilots, though sometimes you’ll have trouble keeping track of who’s who. Starring Austin Butler, Callum Turner and Anthony Boyle. ( Mark Meszoros, News- Herald, Willoughby, Ohio) Unrated. On Apple TV+.
‘ The Underdoggs’ Review not available in time for publication.
A washed- up ex- professional football player is sentenced to community service coaching an unruly peewee football team in his hometown. Starring Snoop Dogg, Tika Sumpter and George Lopez. Directed by Charles Stone III. Rated R for some underage drinking, drug use, sexual references and pervasive language. On Amazon Prime. 1 hour, 41 minutes.
STILL SHOWING ‘ The End We Start From’ C+
A new mother becomes separated from her husband during a hundred- year storm that cripples London and sends much of the rest of England into chaos. The story slows to a crawl at the end, but in its relentless focus on the mother, gets somewhere that feels unforced and, however uneventful, real. Starring Jodie Comer, Joel Fry and Benedict Cumberbatch. Directed by Mahalia Belo. ( Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post) Rated R for language, some sexual content and nudity. At AMC Southlake. 1 hour, 42 minutes.
‘ I. S. S.’
BIn a space station, a Russian crew and an American crew are each instructed separately to take control of the craft after a nuclear attack begins on Earth. It’s a surprisingly trenchant story for what seems to be a slight genre thriller, but genre thrillers can be the best vessels for the messages they’re giving. Starring Ariana
DeBose, John Gallagher and Chris Messina. Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. ( Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated R for some violence and language. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 35 minutes.
‘ Origin’ B+
This is a biopic of a Black female genius that contextualizes the concept that links the U. S., Nazi Germany and India in order to argue that caste, not race, is the way we should think about structural inequalities in our country that have been legally, institutionally and violently enforced. The story is tackled with a certain necessary fearlessness, but more than that, it brings heart, hope and humanity to this searing subject. Starring Aunjanue Ellis- Taylor, Jon Bernthal and Niecy Nash. Directed by Ava DuVernay. ( Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated PG- 13 for violence, smoking, racism, language, some disturbing images and thematic material. At metro theaters. 2 hours, 15 minutes.
‘ The Zone of Interest’
AA family lives next door to Auschwitz, where the husband is a key figure in designing and implementing Hitler’s “final solution” of decimating Europe’s Jewish population and the wife raises the children. In traditional films about the Holocaust, it’s often too easy for viewers to distance themselves from the Nazis. But here, the act of seeing and not caring or pretending not to see becomes an index of the human capacity for self- justifying cruelty. Starring Christian Friedel, Sandra Huller and Medusa Knopf. Directed by Jonathan Glazer. ( Ann Hornaday, Washington Post) Rated PG- 13 for thematic material, some suggestive material and smoking. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 46 minutes.