This Magnificent Cake! (aka Ce Magnifique Gâteau!)
directed by Marc James Roels and Emma De Swaef
(not rated, 44 minutes)
This stylish, creative and disturbing work of stop-motion animation may look like a cartoon, but its subject matter is much darker than that of the likes of Wallace and Gromit's 2000 charming comedy Chicken Run.
Instead, this brief journey takes us to Belgium-occupied Congo in the late 19th century. That's where Belgium's King Leopold II, determined to compete with other European imperial powers, announces, "I do not want to miss a good chance of getting us a slice of this magnificent African cake."
That leads to the mass invasion of the Congo by all levels of bourgeoisie imperialists, most of them motivated by greed. A luxury hotel in the jungle serves as a gathering spot for five such colonists, who waste no time in exhibiting the best and worst aspects of their aspirations.
With the voices of Jan Decleir, Bruno Levie, Paul Huvenne. Subtitled.
Child's Play (R, 1 hour, 30 minutes) A slow-moving, gory, but none-too-scary re-imagining of the 1988 horror classic brings back devil doll Chucky, who, now animatronic and Internet-enabled, is given to young Andy Barclay (Gabriel Bateman) by his mother, Karen (Aubrey Plaza, always entertaining but unable to carry the entire load here), who doesn't know about Chucky's bad side. We hope. With Tim Matheson, Mark Hamill; directed by Lars Klevberg.
Anna (R, 1 hour, 59 minutes) Who knew the government employed so many brutal undercover assassins? I guess we need them in order to have a reason to keep releasing mediocre spy movies. Here's another, who's beautiful, ruthless, and so skilled that she becomes one of the world's superstars of her chosen profession. With Sasha Luss, Helen Mirren, Cillian Murphy, Luke Evans; directed by Luc Besson.
Yesterday (PG-13, 1 hour, 56 minutes) This sweet if ineffectual parallel-universe fantasy concerns none-too-successful singer-songwriter British small-towner Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) who, after being involved in a bus wreck during a global blackout, suddenly discovers that, despite his life experiences, The Beatles never existed. Should he exploit his memories of their music in the hope of achieving fame and fortune? With Lily James, Kate McKinnon, Sophia Di Martino; directed by Danny Boyle and written by Richard Curtis.
Pavarotti (PG-13, 1 hour, 54 minutes) A simple, nostalgic documentary celebration of Luciano Pavarotti, the famed opera star whose unique voice is renowned worldwide. See if for the vintage performances and interviews with friends and colleagues, including never-before-seen footage and Dolby Atmos technology. With Bono, Nicoletta Mantovani, Angela Gheorghiu; directed by Ron Howard.
The Tracker (R, 1 hour, 27 minutes) Surprise! Another revenge thriller! This one, underpowered and wearisome, stars highly experienced action actor Dolph Lundgren (always watchable and the only reason to give this a shot) as a survivalist who, after pursuing one dead-end lead after another, bolts off to a remote village where yet another clue hints he might find his kidnapped wife and daughter. With Anna Falchi, Cosimo Fusco; written and directed by Giorgio Serafini.
Awake (not rated, 1 hour, 32 minutes) Good performances struggle to rescue an indifferent mystery thriller in which a guy -- whose car crashes into a ravine -- awakens in a hospital with no ideaof who he is. What he does know is that he's wanted by law enforcement for committing a series of murders. With Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Francesca Eastwood, Malik Yoba, William Forsythe; directed by Aleksandr Chernyaev.
A Score to Settle (not rated, 1 hour, 43 minutes) Another wobbly, ludicrously plotted actioner starring Nicolas Cage in which he plays an ex-enforcer for a local crime syndicate, diagnosed with a fatal illness, who intends to wreak havoc on his bosses after serving 19 years of wrongful imprisonment. With Benjamin Bratt, Noah Le Gros; directed by Shawn Ku.
MovieStyle on 09/27/2019