‘Predator’ stalks the multiplex; McConaughey, Kendrick return
A reboot in September? After a bouncing date and Twentieth Century Fox’s lastminute deletion of a scene featuring an actor who is a registered sex offender, “The Predator” finally lands in theaters.
Shane Black — the “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” and “Nice Guys” writer-director — helms the latest add-on. What’s the plot? A kid unwittingly beckons those alien critters with nasty dental work back to Earth, where they mess things (and people) up. Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes and Jacob Tremblay get in on the action. Is it any good? Well, its crazy antics divided critics when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“White Boy Rick” finds Matthew McConaughey messing around with his good looks again in another based-on-atrue story crime drama. He plays pops to a teen-age drug dealer, hustler and later informant. There’s an ’80s soundtrack, so that’s a bonus.
The other big release has a “Gone Girl”/ “Girl on a Train” vibe. “A Simple Favor” brings us the always-welcome Anna Kendrick as a blogger who gets chummy with an enigmatic, sinfully rich beauty (Blake Lively), who suddenly vanishes. Henry Golding (“Crazy Rich Asians”) co-stars as the husband wondering where the dickens she went. Paul Feig (“Spy”) directs.
That’s it for the bigger releases. But here’s a rundown of movies playing in more limited release:
“AMERICAN CHAOS” >> In this politically outraged and outrageous nation, a question that often gets lobbed around is why and how Donald Trump became president. Director James D. Stern attempts to get a bead on that by visiting red states six months prior to the 2016 presidential election.
“UNBROKEN: PATH TO REDEMPTION” >> Left disappointed by Angelina Jolie’s torturous adaptation of World War II veteran Louis Zamperini’s heroic story about a former Olympian’s steely prison-camp perseverance? This second part explores Zamperini’s faith and forgiveness, adding more textured layers. Directed by Harold Cronk, it’s a sincere and very earnest movie, but it lacks the technical polish and acting punch of Jolie’s very flawed adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand’s book.
“KUSAMA: INFINITY” >> In this film biography, director Heather Lenz captures bestselling Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s struggle to be taken seriously in a maledominated profession, and showcases her art and early life.
“DON’T LEAVE HOME” >> If you prefer creepy, original horror stories over the variety with buckets of blood and jump shocks, then the luck of the Irish is on your side. An American diorama maker is invited to an Irish estate, where she hangs out with a reclusive, fallen priest involved in a weird missing-child scandal. Her assignment? Create a new work. But that’s just the beginning of the weirdness in writer-director Michael Tully’s effective slow-burner.
“INVENTING TOMORROW” >> Need to feel better about the future? Laura Nix’s hopeful documentary will do the trick. It shadows committed teen inventors trying to make the world a better, more sustainable place to live. The film has not received much fanfare, but it’s a winner. Take your kids and prepare to be inspired.
STREAMING ON NETFLIX >> Netflix continues to champion original content, with two titles worth considering this week and more ahead. In the tense drama “The Angel,” available to stream starting Friday, the son-in-law of an Egyptian president leads a double life as an Israeli spy. Sounds like the stuff of a thriller, right? But it’s a true story told by “The Iceman” director Ariel Vromen.
And talk about topical: The documentary “Reversing Roe,” which debuted at the Telluride Film Festival, revisits the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling and plunges into the abortion-rights debate at the moment a new high-court appointment hangs in the balance. Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern direct, with Eva Longoria as executive producer. Available to stream starting today.