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THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER
(Horror, R, 116 m., 2017). A heart surgeon and father of two (Colin Farrell) befriends a creepy neighborhood teen (Barry Keoghan) who seems to have a hold over him. Nearly everyone speaks in a deadpan manner in this twisted, absurd and disturbing story, which never hedges its bets, never takes its foot off the gas. Rating: Three stars.
GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
(Biography, PG, 117 m., 2107). This film of rough edges and jagged twists tries to straddle the line between a whimsical origins story about the beloved Winnie the Pooh, and a harsh character study about the bear’s creator, A.A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson), and his wife (Margot Robbie), unlikable adults who are far better at exploiting a child than loving him. Rating: Two stars.
BLADE RUNNER 2049
(Sci-fi action, R, 164 m., 2017). The tight control of Ryan Gosling makes him the perfect choice to play a replicant cop that just might be human. This vibrant, gorgeous and occasionally incomprehensible hallucinatory epic stands with the likes of “The Godfather Part II” as a sequel worthy of the original classic. Rating: Four stars.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE
(Drama, R, 109 m., 2017). Along with a number of memorable supporting players, Miles Teller is heartbreakingly effective as a U.S. sergeant returning from his third deployment to Iraq with his limbs intact but a fragile mind and psyche. This is a movie about the horrors of war and the extremely difficult and sometimes insurmountable challenges faced by the young soldiers after the fighting has ended and they’re back home. Rating: Four stars.
IT
(Horror, R, 135 m., 2017). This R-rated interpretation of Stephen King’s masterful 1986 novel is a bold, intense, beautifully paced, wickedly hilarious, seriously scary and gorgeously terrifying periodpiece work that instantly takes its place among the
most impressively twisted horror movies of our time. Rating: Four stars.
BRAD’S STATUS (Comedy drama, R, 102 m., 2017). The casting of Ben Stiller as a bitter, resentful underachiever taking his teenage son on a college tour is equal parts smart and problematic. He’s very good at playing this kind of character. The issue is whether we’re tired of him playing this kind of character. Rating: Two stars.
BATTLE OF THE SEXES (Sports biography, PG-13, 121 m., 2017). Instead of impersonating Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, Emma Stone and Steve Carell create full-fledged, complex characters – flawed but endlessly fascinating. This finely tuned period piece about their 1973
tennis matchup works as a vibrant comedy, an effective character study and, yep, an inspirational sports movie. Rating: Three and a half stars.
AMERICAN MADE (Comedy action, R, 115 m., 2017). Tom Cruise gives one of his most energized and charming performances in years as a real-life CIA operative who laundered millions in ill-gotten cash and flew guns and cocaine. Sure, we get some big action, but the most memorable scenes involve Cruise in a room with a handful of other characters, usually neckdeep in an untenable situation. Rating: Three and a half stars.