Welcome to Marwen
directed by Robert Zemeckis
(PG-13, 1 hour, 56 minutes)
Sincere but too weird and strangely crafted to convince audiences to care, this sometimes disturbing melodrama concerns Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell), a victim of a brutal memory-destroying attack by five men. The beating punches holes in his memory and damages his motor skills; after tremors leave him unable to continue his love of drawing, he finds a unique artistic outlet -- creating a scale model of a fictional Belgian village that was the scene of a battle in World War II -- to help him recover.
It's based on a true story that's told in the 2010 documentary Marwencol by Jeff Malmberg. With Steve Carell, Diane Kruger, Janelle Monae, Merritt Wever, Leslie Mann, Falk Hentschel.
On the Basis of Sex (PG-13, 2 hours) A pedestrian made-for-TV-style story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) from law school through her struggles for equal rights and what she had to overcome in order to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. The subject deserves better. With Armie Hammer, Sam Waterston, Justin Theroux, Kathy Bates; directed by Mimi Leder.
Holmes & Watson (PG-13, 1 hour, 30 minutes) An astoundingly unfunny and badly written comedic interpretation of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic mysteries featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. With Will Ferrell, Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall, Kelly Macdonald, Hugh Laurie, John C. Reilly; directed by Etan Cohen.
A Dog's Way Home (PG, 1 hour, 36 minutes) Although dog lovers will be touched by the plight of the cute four-legger at the heart of this story, there's little else that can be said in favor of this uninspired and too-often-told story of a canine that travels 400 miles in search of her owner. With Wes Studi, Ashley Judd, Edward James Olmos, Bryce Dallas Howard, Barry Watson; directed by Charles Martin Smith.
Emmanuelle (not rated, 1 hour, 34 minutes) It's about time you watched this French soft-core erotic drama; former French president Georges Pompidou tried to ban when it was released in 1974 and which became the country's all-time top grossing movie. It follows beautiful newlywed Emmanuelle, who tires of life in Thailand with her ambassador husband and embarks on a series of sexual adventures. With Alain Cuny, Sylvia Kristel, Marika Green, Daniel Sarky; directed by Just Jaeckin.
Berlin, I Love You (R, 2 hours) A name-dropper of a cast doesn't succeed in pulling off anything interesting in this wayward anthology of 10 pretty and romantic stories, each about 10 minutes in length, set in Germany's capital city. With Keira Knightley, Jenna Dewan, Dianna Agron, Luke Wilson, Hayden Panettiere, Patrick Dempsey, Diego Luna, Mickey Rourke, Helen Mirren; with 11 directors, the best known being German actor Til Schweiger.
The Aspern Papers (R, 1 hour, 30 minutes) Despite nicely defined female characters and lavish good looks, this film suffers from a lack of energy that keeps it from engaging with audiences. It's about an ambitious American writer and editor Morton Vint (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who, living in Venice in 1885, endeavors to get his hands on love letters that renowned poet Jeffrey Aspern (Jon Kortajarena) supposedly sent to his mistress Juliana Bordereau (Vanessa Redgrave). With Joely Richardson; directed by Julien Landais. Based on a novella by Henry James.
MovieStyle on 04/12/2019