The Jungle Book,
directed by Jon Favreau
(PG, 111 minutes)
This handsomely designed and thoroughly enjoyable remake of the original 1967 family cartoon (based on a series of stories by Rudyard Kipling) follows an assortment of personality-loaded wild things surrounding Mowgli (voice of Neel Sethi), a boy adopted by a pack of wolves whose best pal is a panther named Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley).
At the heart of this enchanting film is an intriguing exploration of the relationship between humanity and nature, brought into focus when Mowgli is threatened by a human-hating deadly tiger named Shere Khan (voice of Idris Elba) and is forced to leave his jungle home for safety. That's when self-discovery becomes part of the journey.
Animated and live-action, with the voices of Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Esposito; directed by Jon Favreau.
I Am Wrath (R, 92 minutes) Although sometimes promising, this predictable and ultimately unsuccessful vigilante actioner concerns a former Black Ops agent (John Travolta) who, enraged when corrupt cops let his wife's street-gang murderers walk, decides to seek justice with the help of a former colleague (Christopher Meloni). With Rebecca De Mornay, Sam Trammell; directed by Chuck Russell.
Barbershop: The Next Cut (PG-13, 112 minutes) A snappy, socially and politically relevant comedy sequel that, after 10 years, reunites the gang at Calvin's Barbershop, this time with ladies hairstyling (and attitude) included, along with the need to unite in the common cause of preventing the ruin of the surrounding neighborhood. With Ice Cube, Cedric The Entertainer, Regina Hall, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas; directed by Malcolm D. Lee.
Hardcore Henry (R, 90 minutes) This numbingly violent, foul-mouthed, drug-fueled and sexually explicit zinger, told from a first-person point of view, is about a guy who goes from being dead to being a cyborg without a memory who battles scads of Russian brutes for no clear reason. Not for everyone. With Tim Roth, Sharlto Copley, Haley Bennett; directed by Ilya Naishuller.
River (not rated, 95 minutes) A slow-moving thriller loaded with atmosphere and dread, River is the story of an American volunteer on an island in the south of Laos who tries to rescue a woman being sexually assaulted, accidentally killing her attacker (who happens to be an Australian senator's son), resulting in him being accused not only of murder but the rape of the woman he saved. With Rossif Sutherland, Sara Botsford, Ted Atherton; directed by Jamie M. Dagg.
The Boss (R, 99 minutes) Melissa McCarthy can be plenty funny, but she can't pull off an entire movie all by herself. She gets little help from the script (which she co-wrote with husband Ben Falcone) and co-stars of clumsy, lazy, pratfall-filled and one-dimensional The Boss, in which she plays a business superstar who gets sent to the pen for insider trading, then is astonished to learn that the world (and her former associates) aren't anxious to restore her to her former glory upon her release. With Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, Kathy Bates; directed by Falcone.
Sing Street (PG-13, 106 minutes) An appealing and upbeat pop musical that takes a shopworn story and makes it shiny, sweet and romantic. A 14-year-old boy in 1985 Dublin, trying to make friends in a new inner-city school that isn't welcoming him and impress an intriguing girl, decides to start a rock 'n' roll band. With Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Aiden Gillen and a fun soundtrack featuring Duran Duran, Hall & Oates, Joe Jackson, Motorhead, and the Cure; directed by John Carney (Once, Begin Again).
MovieStyle on 07/29/2016