OPENING TODAY:
‘Heneral Luna’; ‘Equalizer 2’
The Hows of Us
Directed by Cathy GarciaMolina; stars Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, Jean Garcia, Susan Africa
Young couple tries to overcome the obstacles they encounter, in spite of their divergent goals in life. She wants to be a doctor; he dreams of becoming a rock star. Molina relates that the film depicts real struggles. “It’s a slice-of-life type of story … that offers everything: happiness, sadness, pain, bitterness, beauty.”
Heneral Luna
Directed by Jerrold Tarog; stars John Arcilla, Mylene Dizon, Art Acuña, Epy Quizon
Brilliant but hot-tempered military leader must contend with enemies—both foreign and local. Variety’s Richard Kuipers remarks: “Anchored by a charismatic central performance … the pic has all-around energy.” Hollywood Reporter’s Clarence Tsui calls it “a sturdy, stirring, if perhaps simplistic historical epic.”
Equalizer 2
Directed by Antoine Fuqua; stars Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders
Defender of the oppressed is pushed to the limit when a loved one gets in trouble. Hot Press’ Roe McDermott quips: “If anyone can make meaningless look meaningful, it’s Denzel.” Daily Telegraph’s Tim Robey asserts: “This is far more rhythmically assured than the first one, and gains a feel for urban melancholy.”
Marjorie Prime
Directed by Michael Almereyda; stars Jon Hamm, Lois Smith, Geena Davis, Tim Robbins
Ailing octogenarian spends her final days with a computerized version of her late husband. Film Inquiry’s Alex Arabian comments that it “creates a beautifully bleak, hypnagogic world.” Washington Posts Ann Hornaday hails it as “a sly chamber piece, it reassures and unsettles in equal, exquisitely calibrated measure.”
A.X.L.
Directed by Oliver Daly; stars Alex Neustaedter, Becky G, Eric Etebari, Alex MacNicoll
Meek kid befriends robotic war dog created by the military to help protect soldiers. Blu-ray.com’s Brian Orndorf states: “While familiarity shadows the endeavor, it gets by on little blasts of excitement.” Slashfilm.com’s Ben Pearson points out: “So blatantly chasing the vibe of Amblin movies of the 1980s.”
Kin
Directed by Jonathan Baker, Josh Bak-
er; stars James Franco, Zoë Kravitz, Carrie Coon, Dennis Quaid
Protected by a mysterious weapon, ex-con and kid brother go on the lam, pursued by baddies. Commonsensemedia.org notes: “Expect violence and strong language from this action-packed genre mashup.” Truereviews.com’s Mark Saldana sums it up as “a pulse-pounding crime thriller with a sci-fi twist.”
The Curse
Directed by Muhammad Yusuf; stars Prisia Nasution, Shareefa Daanish, Lia Waode
Indonesian lawyer receives a message from a restless spirit. Sengedan blog exclaims: “The story also leaves me confused … the events [are] not synchronized and keeps jumping.” Bookmyshow agrees: “One definite weakness is in the script. The dialogue feels stiff … There is nothing new offered in this horror flick.”
On Your Wedding Day
Directed by Lee Seok-geun; stars Park Bo-young, Kim Young-kwang, Song Jae-rim
A decade later, guy receives a wedding invitation from his high school sweetheart. Hancinema.net reports: “According to the Korean Film Commission, it came in first with a viewership of 130,339 on opening day alone.” Sports Daily concurs: “It finished first with $794,127, slightly higher than ‘The Witness.’”