CONTINUING
THE 355
Trailer youtu.be/SV0s2S9reT0 CIA agent Mason “Mace” Brown (Jessica Chastain) joins forces with a rival German agent (Diane Kruger), a former MI6 ally (Lupita Nyong’o), and a Colombian psychologist (Penélope Cruz) when a top-secret weapon falls into the hands of mercenaries. Together, the women embark on a mission to save the world while staying one step ahead of a mysterious figure who’s tracking their every move. “Starry, silly escapism with pop-feminist flare and a passport.” (Entertainment Weekly) Action/thriller,
rated PG-13, 122 minutes, Regal Santa Fe Place, Violet Crown
BELLE
Trailer youtu.be/ChneY1MSVFw For years, shy high school student Suzu has only been a shadow of herself, but when she enters “U,” a massive virtual world, she escapes into her online persona as Belle, a gorgeous and globally beloved singer. When her concert is interrupted by a monstrous creature, Suzu embarks on an emotional and epic quest to uncover the identity of this mysterious “beast” and to discover her true self. “Belle is a beautifully observed, dazzlingly animated sci-fi fairy tale about our online-offline double lives.” (Daily Telegraph) Fantasy/anime, rated PG, 121 minutes, Violet Crown
DRIVE MY CAR
Trailer youtu.be/6BPKPb_RTwI Yusuke, an aging, widowed actor, seeks a chauffeur and turns to his go-to mechanic, who ends up recommending 20-year-old Misaki. Despite their initial misgivings, a special relationship develops between the two. Both are broken; Yusuke’s wife has died, having betrayed him before that. We don’t learn about Misaki’s wounds until much later, as the driver and her
passenger discover what they share. In its quiet way, Drive My Car is a story about listening, or, in a larger sense, paying attention, and the transformative, terrifying, awesome power of art. (Michael O’Sullivan/The Washington Post) Drama, not rated, 179 minutes, CCAC
THE FRENCH DISPATCH
Trailer youtu.be/TcPk2p0Zaw4 Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch pays oblique but ferociously detailed tribute to The New Yorker, with Bill Murray as Arthur Howitzer Jr., the Harold Ross-like editor of the titular magazine published in the fictional French town of Ennui-surBlasé. A love letter to journalists, The French Dispatch bears the Anderson signatures that have made his movies an artisanal cottage industry. (Ann Hornaday/The Washington Post) Romance/ comedy, rated R, 103 minutes, Violet Crown
HOUSE OF GUCCI
Trailer youtu.be/eGNnpVKxV6s House of Gucci is a movie about passion, not fashion. The soap-opera-like tale, which tells the true story of the 1995 murder of fashion heir Maurizio Gucci by thugs hired by his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani (played by Lady Gaga), is also about money, family, power, betrayal, sex, loyalty, scandal, ambition, and murder. Directed by Ridley Scott, it’s one of those prestige true-crime dramas that run through a checklist of events without ever seeming to draw any cautionary lesson or larger point. Unfortunately, House of Gucci is not one of those so-bad-it’sgood larks. (Michael O’Sullivan/The Washington Post) Crime/ drama, rated R, 158 minutes, Violet Crown
THE KING’S MAN
Trailer youtu.be/_0vKejp3rvA Set against the backdrop of World War I, The King’s Man posits a revisionist theory about the causes of the global conflict with one man, fictional pacifist the Duke of Oxford (Ralph Fiennes), racing against time to stop history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds as they plot a war that could destroy humanity. Director Matthew Vaughn’s stylistic signature of balletic brutality is among the film’s pleasures, although the narrative’s hybrid tone — part academic, part acid trip — is not. (Michael O’Sullivan/The Washington Post) Action/comedy, rated R, 131 minutes, Violet Crown
LICORICE PIZZA
Trailer youtu.be/ofnXPwUPENo In this coming-of-age film, writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson once again turns his affectionate, somewhat pitiless lens on the entertainment world. But now it’s the wilderness of child stardom and C-list celebrity, which forms the alternately amusing and bemusing backdrop for a portrait of young love, elusive purpose, knowingness, innocence, and the knockabout appeal of just hanging out. At its idiosyncratic best, the film captures the in-betweenness of life, when love isn’t exactly romance, and the future turns out to be another version of the present. Licorice Pizza doesn’t always add up, or even go anywhere in particular. But it makes its own kind of offbeat, freewheeling sense. (Ann Hornaday/The Washington Post) Comedy/romance, rated R, 133 minutes, Violet Crown
REDEEMING LOVE
Trailer youtu.be/Ev03TgUPqzw Based on the bestselling novel by Francine Rivers, Redeeming Love is a powerful story of unconditional and all-consuming love as a young couple’s relationship clashes with the harsh realities of the California Gold Rush of 1850. Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child, has survived hatred and self-loathing, but when she meets Michael Hosea, she discovers there is no brokenness that love can’t heal. Romance/historical drama, rated PG-13, 134 minutes, Regal Santa Fe Place. Review at pasatiempomagazine.com
SCREAM
Trailer youtu.be/beToTslH17s The Scream franchise began in 1996 as a piece of brilliant meta-horror: a slasher movie that cleverly critiqued the conventions of the genre in a way that was scary, funny, and fun. In the latest installment, a new killer dons the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past, but this Scream is so insufferably self-conscious that watching it feels like it’s watching you back, waiting for your reaction. Try as it might ... to be a “meta-slasher whodunit,” this Scream feels less like a movie than a podcast about a movie, one hosted by a claque of irritating, smartypants commentators who don’t know when to shut up. (Michael O’Sullivan/The Washington Post) Comedy/horror, rated R, 111 minutes, Regal Santa Fe Place, Violet Crown
SING 2
Trailer youtu.be/EPZu5MA2uqI You could do worse than this sequel to 2016’s Sing, which follows a ragtag musical menagerie looking to take their act to the film’s version of Las Vegas. As in the original film, they’re led by Buster the koala (Matthew McConaughey), who wants to take the show to Redshore City, but he’s told the group’s potatoes are just too small to make it in Not Vegas. In desperation, Buster promises an appearance by a retired and reclusive rock star/lion (Bono). What begins as a dream of big-time success soon becomes an emotional reminder of the power of music to heal even the most broken heart. (Kristen Page-Kirby/For The Washington Post) Comedy/musical, rated PG, 110 minutes, Regal Santa Fe Place, Violet Crown
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
Trailer youtu.be/JfVOs4VSpmA Guided by director Jon Watts, whose credits include both of Tom Holland’s previous headlining performances as the wall-crawler, No Way Home’s supporting cast has so much fun here that it’s infectious. With Spider-Man’s identity now revealed, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life as Peter Parker from the high stakes of being a superhero. When Peter asks for help from Doctor Strange, the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. (Michael O’Sullivan/The Washington Post) Action/adventure, rated PG-13, 148 minutes, Regal Santa Fe Place, Violet Crown