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A Hologram for the King
A Hologram for the King

A Hologram for the King,

directed by Tom Tykwer

(R, 98 minutes)

Tom Hanks can do the acting equivalent of pulling a rabbit out of a hat, but even a magical actor can't save a film as uneven and unexciting as this one -- even if the director is Tom Tykwer, who gained attention by helming the feverishly-paced thriller Run Lola Run in 1998. He has slowed down some since then.

Hanks plays a clueless middle-aged American businessman who's sent to Saudi Arabia to put together what's promised to be a mega-deal, but trips over himself when confronted with local customs and bureaucracy. A smart-mouth taxi driver and an attractive Saudi doctor, for reasons of their own, come to his rescue.

With David Menkin, Alexander Black, Tom Skerritt, Ben Whishaw, Sarita Choudhury.

Dukhtar (not rated, 93 minutes) The power of love is explored in this visually arresting drama about a mother and her 10-year-old daughter who pack up and head out from their home in the mountains of Pakistan to escape the girl's impending marriage to a tribal leader. Pursuit begins immediately, with their lives on the line if they're caught. With Samiya Mumtaz, Asif Khan, Mohib Mirza; directed by Afia Serena Nathaniel. Subtitled.

Traded (not rated, 98 minutes) An ambling, scrappy little Western (despite its use of ideas and language that don't suit the period) in which a gunslinger turned rancher in 1880s Kansas overcomes his preference for a peaceful existence when he needs to protect what's left of his family after his son dies and his daughter disappears. With Kris Kristofferson, Tom Sizemore, Trace Adkins, Michael Pare, Brittany Elizabeth Williams; directed by Timothy Woodward Jr.

Baskin (not rated, 97 minutes) A slow-burning carnage fest aimed at gore-lovers concerns five night-patrolling law officers who attend to a summons for backup in a lonely little town, where what appears to be a routine assignment turns into something akin to a nightmare. Gorkem Kasal, Sabahattin Yakut, Ergun Kuyucu; directed by Can Evrenol. In Turkish with English subtitles.

Fathers and Daughters (R, 116 minutes) Too much talent for a melodramatic time-spanning family sob-fest in which a devoted Pulitzer Prize-winning author finds his relationship with his beloved daughter is falling apart when his new book is panned by critics. With Amanda Seyfried, Russell Crowe, Aaron Paul, Quvenzhane Wallis, Octavia Spencer, Jane Fonda, Bruce Greenwood; directed by Gabriele Muccino.

April and the Extraordinary World (PG, 105 minutes) A unique French approach to hand-drawn animation is an essential element to this unpredictable and highly detailed science-fiction adventure set in an imaginatively steampunk 1941 Paris. That's where a family of scientists working on a longevity serum is mysteriously abducted except for daughter April who, 10 years later, is carrying on their research, which lands her in the middle of a disturbing conspiracy. With voices of Marion Cotillard, Philippe Katerine, Olivier Gourmet, Jean Rochefort; directed by Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci.

Addicted to Fresno (not rated, 85 minutes) Two sisters -- one a recovering sex addict, the other an optimistic lesbian -- who work as hotel maids in Fresno, Calif., find their hopes for newly positive lives are off to a shaky start when one of them accidentally kills a hotel guest. Despite a cast that's renowned for its way with comedy, the laughs in this bumpy and often mean-spirited farce are few and far between. With Natasha Lyonne, Judy Greer, Aubrey Plaza, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Ron Livingston; directed by Jamie Babbit.

MovieStyle on 08/12/2016

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