Equity,
directed by Meera Menon
(R; 1 hour, 40 minutes)
Glass ceilings are hot topics lately, and this clever drama concerns the career-stopping troubles that plague women on Wall Street.
Told from a frankly female point of view (along with director Meera Menon, the screenplay is by Amy Fox, Alysia Reiner and Sarah Megan Thomas), Equity stars Anna Gunn (Deadwood, Breaking Bad) as Naomi Bishop, an ambitious banker intent on redeeming herself after her last big deal flopped. An aggressive careerist named Erin Manning (Thomas) is a vice president who works under Bishop. Then there's Reiner as Samantha Ryan at the Department of Justice, who's investigating one of Bishop's colleagues.
It's a suspenseful scenario that's perfectly set up for pulling the rug out from under a competitor in order to stomp up the corporate ladder. There's no soft side to these women. They're cynical and ruthless and not the least bit inhibited about exploiting the weaknesses of others to get ahead. Back-stabbing is the tool of choice with this brutal bunch, and it makes for an entertaining tale of determined women who aren't as interested in romance as they are in money.
With Nate Corddry, James Purefoy, Craig Bierko, Lee Tergesen.
Bonus materials on the Blu-ray, DVD and digital versions include featurettes on women investors, a making-of segment, and a discussion at the Los Angeles Film Festival with the director and actors Gunn, Reiner and Thomas.
Southside With You (PG-13; 1 hour, 24 minutes) This ideological and appealing romantic drama, inspired by the first date of Barack and Michelle Obama, looks back with affection (and forward with hope) on a photogenic summer day in Chicago in 1989 when an idealistic young law firm associate (Parker Sawyers) uses his imagination, brains, charm and gift of gab in an attempt to gain the affections of a fellow lawyer (Tika Sumpter). With Taylar Fondren, Vanessa Bell Calloway; directed by Richard Tanne.
Shelley (not rated; 1 hour, 32 minutes) A thoughtful and eerie horror thriller in which a young Romanian named Elena (Cosmina Stratan), working in the isolated Danish countryside as a housekeeper for Louise (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and her husband, Kasper (Peter Christoffersen), gets talked into serving the childless couple as a surrogate mother. It's a pregnancy that starts out fine, but doesn't stay that way for long. Directed by Ali Abbasi. Subtitled.
Bridget Jones's Baby (R; 2 hours, 3 minutes) The third chapter in the romantic adventures of Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is lightweight and intermittently funny as she is determined to regain control of her life after breaking up with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Vowing to concentrate on her career and friends, her good intentions get sidelined when she meets an attractive American (Patrick Dempsey), which, as these things sometimes do, results in an unexpected pregnancy -- although the identity of the dad is unclear. With Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones; directed by Sharon Maguire.
Morgan (R; 1 hour, 32 minutes) Too much senseless action and not enough plot is the downfall of this predictable sci-fi fantasy in which a corporate troubleshooter (Kate Mara) journeys to a secret location to investigate a spooky accident, where she encounters more than the usual amount of mystery and danger. With Boyd Holbrook (Narcos), Toby Jones (Detectorists), Michelle Yeoh; directed by Luke Scott.
I Am Not a Serial Killer (not rated; 1 hour, 44 minutes) A chilling risk-taker of an indie mystery that concerns 16-year-old John Wayne Cleaver (Max Records) who harbors homicidal tendencies that he manages to keep in control, which becomes more difficult when a real serial killer starts doing what serial killers do in young Mr. Cleaver's quiet Midwestern town. With Christopher Lloyd, Karl Geary, Laura Fraser; directed by Billy O'Brien.
Ben-Hur (PG-13; 2 hours 5 minutes) This emphatically spiritual remake is nothing like the stormy original film from 1959 with Charlton Heston, except for the halfway decent chariot race scene. With Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Morgan Freeman; directed by Timur Bekmambetov.
MovieStyle on 12/16/2016