Now Showing
Some reviews originate at newspapers that do not award star ratings; some movies are not screened in advance for critics. Ratings range from zero to four stars.
OPENING THIS WEEK
“Arbitrage” * * ½
Reviewed on Page 6C
“The Ambassador”
Reviewed on Page 7C
“2 Days in New York”
Reviewed on Page 7C
“Why Stop Now?”
Reviewed on Page 7C
“Sleepwalk With Me”
Reviewed at
“Resident Evil: Retribution”
Not reviewed
“Stolen”
Not reviewed
continuing
Here are selected mini-reviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically.
“2016: Obama’s America”
Political documentary. PG. “2016: Obama’s America” promises to demystify the president — “Love him, hate him, now you know him” is one of its tag lines — but it does more to illuminate its filmmaker, Dinesh D’Souza, and his ego instead. The conservative author, who wrote and directed the film with John Sullivan, draws liberally from his book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage.” The book, in turn, draws on the author’s life — how he left his native India to study in America and how those disparate experiences shaped his political point of view. (Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times) 89 minutes
“Bachelorette”
Comedy. * * R. A trio of footloose bridesmaids, out on the town on the eve of the wedding, with mischief on their minds – sounds like the setup for three coins in a fountain of fun. But as it goes with most such events, the shenanigans don’t live up to expectations. Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher are Regan, Gena and Katie, 30-ish pals who were known as “the B-Faces” in high school. They reunite for the nuptials of their nicer, fatter friend Becky (Rebel Wilson, the weirdo roommate of “Bridesmaids”), whom they used to call “Pigface” behind her back. (Kristin Tillotson, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) ) 91 minutes
“The Campaign”
Comedy. R. The excesses of partisan sniping, negative campaigning and pandering skullduggery are the comic equivalent of fish in a barrel, and every last minnow gets picked off in “The Campaign,” in which Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis play North Carolina candidates going head-to-head in a farcically conniving congressional election. If only because of the actors involved, “The Campaign” has its share of laughs, which in a script penned by Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell tends toward the broadest possible takes on slapstick, sophomoric sexuality and post-“Hangover” raunch. (Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post) 85 minutes
“For a Good Time, Call . . . “
Sex farce. R. The enterprising New York women who establish a flourishing phone sex business in this boundary-breaking farce know how to talk the talk. But can they walk the walk? The running joke of this fizzy, potty-mouthed comedy, directed by Jamie Travis, is that anyone with an erotic imagination — even the nicest of nice girls — can talk dirty and make money at it. It’s just a game. Katie Steele (Ari Graynor), the more adventurous of these former college classmates, and her more prim partner, Lauren Powell (Lauren Anne Miller), have been gathered in an emergency by their gay mutual best friend, Jesse (Justin Long). (Stephen Holden, The New York Times ) 85 minutes
“Lawless”
Moonshine tale. * ½ R. As anybody who’s watched the Discovery Channel knows, if you’re looking for moonshine, the place to start is in the foothills of south-central and southwest Virginia. As the new movie “Lawless” makes clear, ‘shine was never a passing fancy among the folk there. It’s a tradition that goes back generations. “Lawless” is based on Matt Bondurant’s “The Wettest County in the World,” a historical novel spun out of Bondurant’s Franklin County, Va., moonshiner-ancestors. Bondurant whipped up a war between the local off-the-books distillers and the Prohibition-era Chicago mob, which aimed to take over the lucrative illegal liquor trade. The Bondurants are led by Forrest (Tom Hardy), the tough-minded World War I vet who formed the family legend that the Bondurants are “indestructible.” His wild-eyed brother Howard (Jason Clarke) seems to second that notion. It’s only younger brother Jack (Shia LaBeouf) who seems vulnerable. (Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service) 115 minutes
“The Possession”
Horror. * PG-13. Judging by the volume of “based on a true story” exorcism dramas coming out of Hollywood, the Centers for Disease Control must be covering up some impressive statistics for demonic possession. Among preteen and teen girls, it’s probably more common now than mononucleosis. The film begins at the world’s worst estate sale, where a son sells his mother’s things as she still clings to life inside the house. Well-behaved tween Em finds a locked box with strange Hebrew inscriptions, and opens it like a total idiot. She’s quickly possessed, which takes her parents an eternity to figure out. Haven’t they seen “The Exorcist”? Or “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” or “The Rite” or “The Last Exorcism” or … Within days she’s stabbing her father with a fork, talking to an old woman who lives in her stomach and throwing up moths.(Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chr0nicle) 91 minutes
“Premium Rush”
Adventure. * * * ½ PG-13. The film is a breakneck chase movie about the daredevils who work as Manhattan bicycle messengers. With a map of the city imprinted in their brains, they hurtle down sidewalks, run red lights, go against traffic, jump obstacles and insist on bikes without brakes. Why do they work so hard and dangerously for relatively little money? They seem to do it for the high. They don’t see themselves wearing suits and working in office cubicles. In the story told by “Premium Rush,” it’s less of a job, more of a noble mission, as three messengers outrace the NYPD to deliver a gambling ticket that only one of them knows the story behind. Dania Ramirez and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are among the stars. (Roger Ebert, Universal Uclick) 91 minutes
“Robot & Frank”
Dramedy. PG-13. Robots aren’t particularly known for their sense of humor. That’s why the gentle laughs produced by “Robot & Frank” – a clever, unexpectedly touching dramedy about the relationship between an aging former cat burglar (Frank Langella) and his robotic caregiver – catch you a bit off guard. Some of the laughs come just from hearing the robot’s voice (provided by Peter Sarsgaard) as he negotiates with the increasingly forgetful Frank, who’s none too happy to have a babysitter. Susan Sarandon also stars. At the Chez. (Michael O’Sullivan, The Washington Post) 89 minutes
“Samsara”
Visual documentary. * * * ½ PG-13.
The new 70mm film “Samsara” is a visual feast, an aesthetic hurricane, an emotional eyegasm. But it’s more than that. The film, samsara is Sanskrit for “the ever turning wheel of life,” from director Ron Fricke and producer Mark Magidson is as much about what you see on the screen as it is what you feel while you’re processing it all. (Baca) 99 minutes
