‘I Saw the Light’
with Tom Hiddleston and other movies
It’s not exactly an intuitive leap from Loki . . . to Hank Williams, the country music legend.
Here’s what’s new in Milwaukee movie theaters Friday.
‘Eye in the Sky’
You use the latest in drone technology to track and identify a top terrorist. Not only do you find her, but you find a pair of suicide bombers getting ready to do what they do. Unfortunately, just outside their house, there’s a girl playing — the picture of innocence. If you strike, she dies, creating collateral damage and, maybe, a propaganda victory for the bad guys. What do you do now? Go. That’s the target in the sights of “Eye in the Sky,” a new-era sort of war thriller with Helen Mirren as the U.K. military officer in command of the top-secret drone operation, Aaron Paul as an American pilot whose finger is on the “boom” button, and the late Alan Rickman — in his last on-screen role — as the general overseeing the operation, rapidly escalating into a moral and political nightmare.
Barkhad Abdi (an Oscar nominee for “Captain Phillips”), Jeremy Northam, Iain Glen and Phoebe Fox co-star, with Gavin Hood (“Tsotsi,” “Ender’s Game”) directing.
Critics have mostly liked “Eye in the Sky,” particularly for its Grade A cast and willingness to see the dilemmas it raises as something other than black-and-white questions.
“‘Eye in the Sky’ is best when it delves into the moral ambiguity of war, especially war’s new gray zones,” Philadelphia Inquirer reviewer Molly Eichel said in her 3-star review. “Its scenes of these ambiguous military actions — mostly viewed on screen and through Orwellian cameras that can secretly make their way into private homes — work especially well because of the performances from the ensemble cast.”
“Eye in the Sky” is rated R for violent images and some language. It runs for 102 minutes.
When it was released in 2014, “God’s Not Dead” — a drama about a Christian college student who takes on a professor who teaches that God no longer exists — was a hit Hollywood didn’t see coming, taking in $60.7 million and, with “Heaven Is for Real,” showed there was demand among moviegoers for faithfueled drama.
So here comes “God’s Not Dead 2,” with a similar theme from a different angle: Melissa Joan Hart plays a teacher who, after quoting Jesus in her public high school classroom, finds herself at the center of firestorm debate over whether God should be allowed in the classroom.
Jesse Metcalfe, Ray Wise, Ernie Hudson, Robin Givens, Pat Boone and the late Fred Thompson co-star.
“God’s Not Dead 2” is rated PG for some thematic elements. It runs for 121 minutes.
It’s not exactly an intuitive leap from Loki, the dark trickster and nemesis of the thunder god Thor, to Hank Williams, the country music legend whose music balanced darkness and light.
But actor Tom Hiddleston makes it anyway in “I Saw the Light,” the latest screen biopic to tell Williams’ story. In this version, Williams (Hiddleston) begins to get attention for his singing and his songwriting, but his success, and hard-living ways, leave his wife (Elizabeth Olsen) and family life behind.
Madison native Bradley Whitford plays Fred Rose, the Nashville music executive who boosted Williams’ career, while Cherry Jones is Williams’ mother and inspiration.
Reviews have not been kind to the movie, which at one point was thought to be an Oscar contender before it received a less-than-rave reception at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall.
Newark Star-Ledger critic Stephen Whitty gave “I Saw the Light” 2 stars, saying Hiddleston “is very good” and Olsen is convincing, adding: “But there’s nothing to their characters, nothing to the scenes. Something happens, and then something else happens, and then we get a title telling us another year has passed. There are no big themes, no great insights. This isn’t a script, it’s a timeline.”
“I Saw the Light” is rated R for some language and brief sexuality and nudity. It runs for 124 minutes.
‘Meet the Blacks’
“Meet the Blacks” is sort of “The Purge” meets a Wayans brothers spoof, with Mike Epps as a family man who, after collecting an unexpected windfall, moves his family from Chicago to Beverly Hills — just in time for the annual purge, when all crime is legal for 12 hours.
Based on the trailer, that leaves them fighting off masked marauders and a flock of stereotypes.
Zulay Henao, Bresha Webb and Lil Duval co-star, with cameos by comedians Gary Owen, Charlie Murphy and George Lopez — and an appearance by Mike Tyson.
“Meet the Blacks” is rated R for pervasive language, some sexual material, violence and drug use. It runs for 93 minutes.