Moonlight,
directed by Barry Jenkins
(R, 1 hour 50 minutes)
Dreamy, poetic and pitched in an echoing minor key, the year's Oscar winner for Best Picture, Moonlight, is a beautiful heartbreaker of a film about a boy-to-man who doesn't fit into stereotypical definitions regarding sexuality, maturity and self-esteem as defined by the unforgiving reality of life in a neighborhood of Miami where the tourists don't go.
Being raised by a once-capable but now deteriorating drug-abusing mother, sexually confused, bullied, poor, and friendless, young Chiron's life seems pretty hopeless until he is taken under the unlikely wing of Juan (Best Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali, terrific at pulling off a complicated character), an otherwise hardcore drug dealer who responds to the kid's need to find someone who's on his side.
With the compassionate help of Juan's tough and tender girlfriend Teresa (Janelle Monae), Chiron slowly discovers that, although happiness often eludes him, there are possibilities to change the dismal prospects he thought were inevitable. With Ashton Sanders (teenage Chiron), Trevante Rhodes (adult Chiron), Andre Holland, Naomie Harris. Directed by Barry Jenkins.
Allied (R, 2 hours 4 minutes) A glamorous, wardrobed-to-the-max romantic drama that lacks any sense of adventure or tension, this is the pretty, pointless story of intelligence officer Max Vatan (Brad Pitt), who crosses paths with fiery French Resistance warrior Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) while on a challenging mission behind enemy lines in 1942 North Africa. The pair later become involved in a none-too-interesting relationship in London. With Matthew Goode, Lizzy Caplan; directed by Robert Zemeckis.
Shut In (PG-13, 1 hour 31 minutes) A dirge of a dull-as-dirt disaster that fails as a horror thriller -- but with a terrific cast -- Shut In bores with a widowed child psychologist (Naomi Watts) in rural New England who becomes convinced that the ghost of a missing child she's been treating is haunting her and her bed-ridden son. With David Cubitt, Oliver Platt, Jacob Tremblay; directed by Farren Blackburn.
Doctor Strange (PG-13, 1 hour 55 minutes) A disfigured surgeon's life takes a new direction with the help of a wizard, who trains him to become the supreme sorcerer of the earth. With Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mads Mikkelsen; directed by Scott Derrickson.
Officer Downe (R, 1 hour 32 minutes) Based on a 1910 graphic novel, this brutal, pointless, absurd assault of an action/adventure tale follows a vicious Los Angeles cop (Kim Coates) who is regularly killed and resurrected to resume active duty thanks to a nasty mysterious technology. With Meadow Williams, Tyler Ross, Lauren Velez; directed by Shawn Crahan.
All We Had (not rated, 1 hour 45 minutes) A good-hearted, decently performed but predictable family relationship drama in which a restless single mom and her 15-year-old daughter, always on the move, settle for a while in a town where a job at a diner turns into the opportunity to form a family of sorts with the locals. With Stefania Owen, Richard Kind, Mark Consuelos, Luke Wilson and Katie Holmes, who also directs.
Rules Don't Apply (PG-13, 2 hours 38 minutes) Warren Beatty directs himself in the entertaining and glamorous role of off-the-rails billionaire Howard Hughes, whose absurdities and tendencies toward corrupt behaviors make life interesting and unpredictable for a young actress (Lily Collins) and her driver (Alden Ehrenreich). With Matthew Broderick, Alec Baldwin, Annette Bening.
Chronic (R, 1 hour 33 minutes) Tim Roth pulls off a difficult role in this emotionally dense, sometimes upsetting drama as David, an in-home nurse for the terminally ill who's a powerful advocate for his patients but ineffective at meeting his own needs. With Nailea Norvind, Elizabeth Tulloch, Michael Cristofer; directed by Michel Franco.
MovieStyle on 03/03/2017