IN THEATERS:
42 (PG-13)
Starring Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford
Written and directed by Brian Helgeland
Another entry into the Athletes That Had to Overcome Racism in a Movie That’s Extremely Heavy-Handed but Nonetheless Inspirational pantheon that also includes The Express and Glory Road. It still won’t reach the heights of the crown jewel: Remember the Titans.
Scary Movie 5 (PG-13)
Starring Simon Rex, Ashley Tisdale, Sarah Hyland
Screenplay by David Zucker & Pat Proft
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Why why why why why why why why why why why?
Check out movies opening in limited release after the jump…
Trance* (R)
Starring James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel
Written by Joe Ahearne & John Hedge
Directed by Danny Boyle
Like a twisted, lower-budget prequel/remix of Inception, with just as much style, but more tragedy and brutality. It’s empty entertainment on the surface, but underneath you’ll find layers of regret, sorrow and as with all Danny Boyle movies, something resembling redemption.
IN LIMITED RELEASE
The Company You Keep (R)
Starring Robert Redford, Shia LaBeouf, Julie Christie
Written for the screen by Lem Dobbs
Directed by Robert Redford
Despite boasting what might be the year’s best cast (which also includes Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper, Sam Elliott, Terrence Howard, Stanley Tucci, Richard Jenkins, my favorite character actor Brendan Gleeson and my No. 2 Hollywood crush Anna Kendrick), this looks like a fairly generic thriller anchored by a role ill-suited for Shia LaBeouf, who plays a reporter looking to expose an ex-terrorist (Redford).
PLAYING AT BOTH ANGELIKAS
Disconnect (R)
Starring Jason Bateman, Paula Patton, Hope Davis
Written by Andrew Stern
Directed by Henry Alex Rubin
Dear Jason Bateman: Stick to playing a schmuck. You were not meant for a “we’re all connected” melodrama.
PLAYING AT ANGELIKA DALLAS
Room 237 (NR)
Directed by Rodney Ascher
This fascinating documentary presents multiple conspiracy theories about Stanley Kubrick’s hidden messages in The Shining. They can’t all be right, but they can’t all be wrong, right?
PLAYING AT ANGELIKA DALLAS
Also opening:
Cinemark West Plano: Not Today (PG-13)
AT HOME:
Top Pick
Naked Lunch (The Criterion Collection)
The old Simpsons joke goes, “I can think of at least two things wrong with that title.” And Nelson was right. Naked Lunch doesn’t make any sense no matter how many times you’ve seen it. Yet it’s still unlike any movie you’ve ever seen. Adapting William S. Burroughs’ unfilmable novel, Cronenberg took a kitchen-sink approach, tossing in vignettes based on Burroughs’ life and other fiction, morphing it into a mystery/dark comedy/sci-fi freakout. It’s Cronenberg’s weirdest film, and that’s saying something.
To rent (click the link to watch on Netflix):
• Bad Kids Go to Hell (44%)
• Down the Shore (50%)
• Hyde Park on Hudson (38%)
• In Another Country (81%)
• Late Bloomers (43%)
• Love Free or Die (67%)
• One Life (95%)
• Orchestra of Exiles (78%)
• The Sorcerer and the White Snake (21%)
• Womb (35%)
To buy:
Music: The Avett Brothers: Live Vol. 3, Erroll Garner: No One Can Hear You Read, Snoop Lion: Reincarnated
Comedy: Gabriel Iglesias: Aloha Fluffy
TV: Boss (Season 2), Merlin (Season 5)
Blu-ray: Father’s Day (2012)
Criterion: Gate of Hell, Richard III
*recommended
(Release dates and locations subject to change.)