MOVIE LISTINGS
OPENING FRIDAY
Draft Day » » Kevin Costner plays the general manager of the flagging Cleveland Browns in this clump of sports movie cliché from Ivan Reitman. Looking to reformulate the Jerry Maguire chemistry born from romance and jock sweat, Reitman not only gives us a plot line about a problematic love affair between the team accountant ( Jennifer Garner) and our beleaguered manager, he also gives us an underrated player full of heart and behind- thescenes footage of the real- life draft day in New York City. It’s enough to win a weekend, but not a season.
God’s Not Dead! » A documentary from Turkey that cuts across the realms of music, politics and intercultural dialogue.
Oculus » » A horror film guaranteed to give you the shivers. It’s about a haunted mirror that is linked to the death of two people, and is now being investigated by their children ( Brenton Thwaites and Karen Gillan). The frights come from an uneasy mood of mad illogic crafted by filmmaker Mike Flanagan.
The Raid 2 » » An endlessly violent thriller with Indonesian martial arts star Iko Uwais as a cop who goes undercover in an organized crime gang. The story, which wants to be The Godfather, is confounding, but the action set pieces are astonishing in their speed and brutality.
Rio 2 » » Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway reprise their vocal roles as two rare blue macaws who fall in love and move to Brazil to raise a family in this sequel to the first animated film about rare birds. When they hear reports of a wild flock deep in the Amazon, they set out on a family road trip to find their origins – but it’s not easy going home again, especially if you’ve been raised as a pet in the United States and wear a fanny pack in the jungle. The exotic sights and sounds of Brazil put some wind beneath this movie’s wings, but the formulaic plot feels all fanny pack.
That Burning Feeling » » That Burning Feeling – Paolo Costanzo stars opposite Ingrid Haas, Tyler Labine and John Cho as a real estate marketing man who wakes up with a burning feeling: Adam has contracted a sexually transmitted disease that forces him to reconnect with several one- night stands. Despite the formulaic presentation, Jason James’s feature finds funny moments thanks to his truly gifted cast – and the jabs at real estate pamphlets.
OPENING APRIL 16
Heaven Is For Real » A small- town father ( Greg Kinnear) must find the courage to share his son’s extraordinary, life- changing experience with the world.
Transcendence » » A terminally ill scientist ( Johnny Depp) uploads his mind to a computer, gaining power beyond his wildest dreams.
FIRST RUN
300: Rise of an Empire 3D » » This sequel to the 2006 film 300 tells the story of sea battles between ancient Greeks and Persians. In stylized battles, hunky shirtless guys with six- packs lop off each other’s limbs while Eva Green — as a Persian warrior — presides with scene- stealing hauteur. It’s as irresistible as a comic book.
Afflicted » » A “found- footage” horror film about two 30 somethings who head off on a year- long holiday and get stopped when one of them turns into a monster. Canadian filmmakers Derek Lee and Clif Prowse put an ingenious twist on an old story.
Bad Words » » Jason Bateman stars in and directs this dark comedy about a 40- yearold man who enters a spelling bee contest against 10- year- olds. The character is a miserable jerk, but Bateman gives him a transgressive charm, at least until things get squishy in the last act.
Bethlehem » » In this Israeli movie, a Palestinian teenager is recruited as an informant by Israeli intelligence. Like Omar, a Palestinian movie that tells a similar story, the fraught loyalties and ancient enmities create a tense, hopeless drama.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
» » Chris Evans reprises his role as the all- American superhero in this action- laced spectacle that packs a political wallop. Steve Rogers ( Captain America) discovers his own agency has been corrupted, forcing him to question everything he once believed in. Great performances keep this sprawling blockbuster grounded, and in the process, reaffirm the movie’s underlying themes.
Cas & Dylan » » Jason Priestley’s directorial debut stars Richard Dreyfuss as a grumpy doctor dying of cancer and Tatiana Maslany as his free- spirited passenger, on a crossCanada road trip. It’s a comic adventure that visits every narrative truck stop, as it were, but it benefits from having the courage of its clichés: it goes the distance.
Divergent » » Shailene Woodley stars as Tris, a young woman who has more than one talent, and is deemed “divergent” — a threat to the natural order — in this dystopian bodice- ripper powered by teen angst and special effects. Thanks to Woodley’s willowy presence, Tris emerges as a believably vulnerable young woman on the brink of adulthood, giving this survival story teeth in all the right places.
Flight of the Butterflies » » The film follows yearlong annual migration cycle of the butterflies.
The Grand Budapest Hotel » Wes Anderson creates another pop- up book of a movie with this highly amusing, if altogether
flattened, story of a hotel concierge who becomes embroiled in a family fight over money while world war erupts around him. Thanks to Ralph Fiennes’s perfection in the part of M. Gustav, this sometimes silly dark comedy finds human depth, and makes a coherent and clever statement about the thin line of civility that allows our world to function without constant violence.
Jodorowsky’s Dune » » Director Frank Pavich takes us on a documentary voyage into the cinematic past as he exhumes the story of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s aborted adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune. Filled with anecdotes that will thrill film geeks, as well as an onscreen appearance from H. R. Giger, this documentary is more than a specific history of a failed film, it proves one person can change the world by changing the way we see it.
The Lunchbox » » A love story about a neglected wife who prepares meals to be delivered to her husband at work. When they go to the wrong man — a lonely widower — the two people begin a correspondence that becomes their only connection. Slight, charming and redolent of the spice and chaos of India.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman » » Director Rob Minkoff and writer Craig Wright update and expand the wonky 1960s animated shorts about a time- travelling, hyper- intelligent dog ( Ty Burrell) and his adopted human son, Sherman. After starting in 1789 France, a bit of unauthorized travel puts Sherman and a schoolmate in
peril in ancient Egypt, the Renaissance and the Trojan War. Fun for kids and their parents, though maybe not dogs.
Need For Speed 3D. » » Need For Speed: A video game made flesh. Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad plays a hotshot who drives multimillion- dollar vehicles in road races to take revenge on an evil driver who killed his friend.
Noah » » Darren Aronofsky ( Black Swan, Pi) takes on the story of Noah and the great flood with this big budget movie that tries to combine action movie elements with fairy tale formula in the hope of conjuring something transcendent. It has great hope, but this ark barely stays afloat as it fails to deliver the expected, and gets grounded on a reef of dreary family drama.
Son of God » » Picking the best bits and pieces from the Bible TV series, this Mark Burnett and Roma Downey production of the Jesus story feels a little disjointed, but it captures the big turning points in the life of the Lord.
Le Week- end » » A bittersweet romance about an older couple ( Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan) celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in Paris. Their arguments and constant sparring hides an underlying devotion, although it seems as fragile as their budget. It’s a rare thing: a story about mature people.
The Wind Rises » » Hayao Miyazaki ( Princess Mononoke) creates an evocative portrait of the Second World War through the eyes of an aspiring aeronautical engineer named Jiro.