ONLY THE BRAVE
PG-13, 133 minutes. Opens Thursday at Stonington, Niantic and Lisbon. Opens Friday at Waterford and Westbrook. Wildland firefighting is a mysterious art: a delicate dance with a raging, unpredictable force. It’s bested only with a unique mastery of weather, fuel and wind to extinguish fire with fire itself. If our image of firefighting is a big red truck and a hose, “Only the Brave,” directed by Joseph Kosinski, tweaks that image, introducing audiences to a crew of yellow-shirted mountain men wielding chainsaws and pickaxes, firefighters battling fire with ditches and torches. “Only the Brave,” written by Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer, is based on the GQ article “No Exit,” by Seth Flynn, which recounts, in efficient and devastating detail, the 2013 Yarnell Fire in Arizona and the Granite Mountain hotshots crew. The film lifts these men from the page and brings them to life. Kosinski, who has a background in architecture, is known for his meticulous visual style and digital effects. That has made for some coolly stylish, if emotionally remote films, but “Only the Brave” is decidedly warm-blooded, thanks to the detail brought to the characters and their relationships, which are the priority. Kosinski and the writers studiously lay out the necessary parts and tools for this affecting story in the same way that Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) packs his knapsack with gear. Training montages, pranks and close calls demonstrate the way these men use their tools in the wilderness — swiftly cutting “lines” in the ground, cutting down trees, and using flame against flame. We understand the danger when we see their last resorts, protective foil shelters, unfurled in drills and pranks, and hopefully, never in the field. Eric doggedly inspires the group of roughneck men to follow him into the fire with a potent blend of passion, dedication, obsession and preparation. That obsession often puts him at odds with his wife, Amanda (Jennifer Connelly), a headstrong, loving woman who rehabilitates horses, and often her husband too. Brolin, bearded and soot-streaked, has never been better, in a role that seems written for him. His Marsh is tough, gritty and fair, but his brand of masculinity, which his men imitate, draws its strength from vulnerability and fellowship. “Only the Brave” celebrates the jocular, physical friendship of men, as mentors, brothers, enemies, and co-workers. James Badge Dale is excellent in a supporting role as Marsh’s hard-charging deputy, while Taylor Kitsch steals every scene he’s in playing an impishly charming dirtbag. But the film revolves around the relationship between Marsh and Brendan McDonough (Miles Teller). Skittish McDonough, nicknamed Donut, is a former junkie who applies for the squad when he becomes a father. Marsh recognizes himself in Donut and takes a chance on him. While Kosinski’s film works thanks to its big beating heart, he never sacrifices the visuals. The wilderness aflame is a stunning, surreal and terrifying beauty: pines falling off cliffs, sending up a fireworks show; nightmares of burning bears charging through the woods. The majesty of these images is in service of the story and the people in it — a true-life tale that will grasp onto your heart and hold on long after the credits roll. — Katie Walsh, Tribune Content Agency
LOVING VINCENT
1/2 PG, 94 minutes. Starts Friday at Mystic Luxury Cinemas and Madison Art Cinemas. You have, I am certain, never seen anything quite like “Loving Vincent,” which is being promoted as the world’s first entirely hand-painted movie. It’s an animated film, but that descriptor isn’t quite accurate: To tell this story about a mystery surrounding the 1890 death of artist Vincent Van Gogh, filmmakers Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman assembled a cast, found period-appropriate costumes and sets, and shot the film. Then the real work began: Every frame—more than 65,000 of them—was hand-painted over in oil paint in the style of Van Gogh, by a team of more than 100 artists. The result is a curious and often exquisite blend of two art forms. With settings and characters inspired by a number of Van Gogh’s paintings, the film unfolds as if the viewer fell asleep in a museum and dreamt of art that came alive. Blue clouds swirl over a village; a night sky blinks with lacy stars; a butter-yellow sun sinks over a tangerine-colored field; a dim tavern is lit by gold and green rings of light— all rendered in visibly textured brushstrokes. Rain falls in dashes of straight gray lines; a head of blond hair catches a bit of blue from the sky. “Loving Vincent” is almost too beautiful for its own good; I found myself, too often, so dazzled by the form that I quite forgot about the content. If this script had been conventionally filmed and released, I suspect the movie might be quickly forgotten; the story, which moves backward and forward from Van Gogh’s life into events after his death, doesn’t feel fully developed. But that doesn’t really matter; it was a pleasure to become happily lost in this unique film’s world of color and line, and to see two filmmakers’ mad dream come true. — Moira MacDonald, The Seattle Times
TYLER PERRY’S BOO 2! A MADEA HALLOWEEN
R, 119 minutes. Starts Thursday at Waterford and Lisbon. In a seasonally appropriate sequel, Perry’s popular characters Madea, Bam, and Hattie visit a haunted campground and comically encounter a variety of monsters and dark creatures. The film wasn’t reviewed by deadline.
THE SNOWMAN
PG-13, 103 minutes. Starts Thursday at Mystic Luxury Cinemas, Westbrook and Lisbon. Starts Friday at Waterford. Based on a novel in the critically acclaimed and astoundingly popular series of crime novels by Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø, “The Snowman” stars Michael Fassbender as brooding, alcoholic but brilliant detective Harry Hole. He’s chasing a serial killer whose crime-scene signature is an on-site snowman. The film wasn’t reviewed by deadline.
GEOSTORM
PG-13, 109 minutes. Starts Thursday at Stoningrton. Starts Friday at Waterford and Lisbon. A cluster of satellites designed to control global climate go rogue and start to attack Earth, and time is running out to discover why and how to stop it before a geostorm destroys civilization. The film wasn’t review by deadline.