Film Listings, 2/13/19 – 2/21/19 

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ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

What's it rated? PG-13

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10

New

Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet Terror) directs this action adventure based on the graphic novel series, Gunnm, about Alita (Rosa Salazar), a human/cyborg hybrid constructed from parts found by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz). She doesn't remember who she was before Dr. Ido saved her from a trash heap, but she may be the key to ending the cycle of death and destruction plaguing society. (122 min.)

—Glen Starkey

AND THEN THEY CAME FOR US

What's it rated? Not rated

Where's it showing? Wednesday, Feb. 20, 4 p.m., in Cal Poly's ATL/Keck Lab (building 7, room 2); free

New

Writer-director Abby Ginzberg helms this documentary about Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which interned Japanese Americans in prison camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. All told, 120,000 American citizens were incarcerated due to their ethnicity.

Using archival footage as well as a trove of rediscovered Dorothea Lange photographs, the film is a stark reminder of this dark time in American history. It's narrated by Star Trek actor George Takei, who was also interned in the camps. A Q-and-A with Dr. Satsuki Ina, who's featured in the film and was born in the Tule Lake Internment Camp, will follow the screening. (40 min. plus Q-and-A)

—Glen

AQUAMAN

What's it rated? PG-13

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? Sunset Drive-in

Pick

Land dweller Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), aka Aquaman, is the rightful heir to the throne of the underwater kingdom, Atlantis. After his Atlantean half-brother, King Orm (Patrick Wilson), declares war on the surface, Arthur must claim his birthright in order to stop genocide. With help from allies Mera (Amber Heard) and Vulko (Willem Dafoe), Arthur travels the world in search of an ancient weapon: a trident that legend says can only be wielded by the one true king of Atlantis. (143 min.)

—Caleb Wiseblood

BLACK PANTHER

What's it rated? PG-13

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? Galaxy

Pick

Co-writer/director Ryan Coogler (Creed) helms this story about T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), a newly crowned king of the technologically advanced but isolationist country of Wakanda, who finds his new kinghood challenged by Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), a vengeful victim of T'Challa's father's past actions.

It's an empowering reimagining of African roots but also—remember—a fantasy. Ultimately, this is a super hero flick that refuses to stay in the genre's rut and that's interested in exploring complicated political and cultural ideas. Sure, other Marvel stories have looked at politics, from Iron Man and the arms trade to Captain America: Winter's Soldier and drones, PTSD, and warfare, but Black Panther goes deeper than any other Marvel storyline. I say, keep it coming.

The film is nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. (134 min.)

—Glen

BLACKKKLANSMAN

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? Galaxy

Pick

Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, Summer of Sam, Inside Man) directs this comedic crime biography about Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), a black rookie police officer in Colorado who, with the help of a white undercover counterpart (Adam Driver), becomes a member of the local Ku Klux Klan chapter.

What starts like a comedic spoof of a '70s Blaxploitation flick ends with a real-world visceral gut punch in this affecting film by Spike Lee. It's his most lucid and potent comment on U.S. race relations since Do the Right Thing and doesn't let its (most likely and largely) white liberal audience off the hook. If the film's message is anything, it's that culturally we've progressed very little since the film's 1970s milieu.

The film is nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Lee), and Best Supporting Actor (Driver). (135 min.)

—Glen

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

What's it rated? PG-13

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre, Fair Oaks, Galaxy

Pick

Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men, Superman Returns) directs this biopic about Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) and Queen, chronicling the band's rise to super stardom, Mercury's solo career and AIDS diagnosis, and their triumphant reunion and spellbinding performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert.

The film is nominated for five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Malek), Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Film Editing. (134 min.)

—Glen

COLD PURSUIT

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Stream it

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10

See Split Screen.

COLD WAR

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Full price

When's it showing? The Palm

Pick

Writer-director Pawel Pawlikowski (Last Resort, My Summer of Love, Ida) helms this torrid romance set in 1950s Poland, Berlin, Yugoslavia, and Paris, about Wiktor (Tomasz Kot), a music director who falls in love with Zula (Joanna Kulig), a singer, and hopes to persuade her to flee Communist Poland for France.

When's the last time you've left a movie theater devastated? Cold War will remind you of the power of cinema, the power of narrative simplicity, and the power of a stark black-and-white visual aesthetic. You haven't seen a film like this since Michael Curtiz' Casablanca (1942), Orson Welles' A Touch of Evil (1958), or Ingmar Bergman's Winter Light (1963).

The film is nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director (Pawlikowski), and Best Cinematography. This one deserves to be seen in the theater. (In Polish, French, German, Russian, Italian, and Croatian; B&W; 89 min.)

—Glen

THE FAVOURITE

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy

Pick

Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth, The Lobster, The Killing of a Scared Deer) directs this early 18th century period piece about two warring women seeking favor from the ailing, prickly Queen Anne (Olivia Colman).

Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) is the queen's longtime companion who essentially runs the country during a time of war. Newcomer Abigail (Emma Stone), a new servant to the queen, uses her charms to gain power of her own as she attempts to return to her aristocratic roots.

The film is nominated for 10 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Colman), Best Supporting Actress (Stone and Weisz), Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography (Robbie Ryan), Best Sound Editing, and Best Production Design, and Best Film Editing. (119 min.)

—Glen

GLASS

What's it rated? PG-13

What's it worth? Matinee

Where's it showing? Galaxy, Stadium 10

Pick

In Glass, M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village, Lady in the Water, The Happening) brings back three of his most iconic characters, directing Bruce Willis as David Dunn, Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price, and James McAvoy as Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with 24 personalities. The three are meshed together in a psychiatric ward to rid them of their superhuman delusions while Elijah has a plan of his own to bring the comic book plot to life.

We're so used to superheroes that have some sort of connection to a mythical god and are destined for greatness. These heroes are based on comic books' stories, but Shyamalan based his trilogy on the structure of the comic books themselves. He has a totally different take on his superheroes: They're just people. (129 min.)

—Karen Garcia

GREEN BOOK

What's it rated? PG-13

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park

Pick

Co-writer Peter Farrelly (Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary) directs this biopic about African-American pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), who hires working-class Italian-American bouncer Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) as his driver on a music tour of the 1960s American South. Though they're very different people, they develop a warm and enduring friendship. This is one of those classic feel-good movies only a true cynic could reject. Both lead characters come out of the other side of the story improved.

The film is nominated for five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Mortensen), Best Supporting Actor (Ali), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. (130 min.)

—Glen

THE GUILTY

What's it rated? R

Where's it showing? The Palm

New

Originally titled Den Skyldige, this film by writer-director Gustav Möller is Denmark's official entry into this year's Academy Awards. It centers around Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren), a police officer on alarm dispatch duty who receives a call from a kidnapped woman. After the call is cut off, he races against time to find the victim and her kidnapper with only a phone at his disposal, but he soon discovers there's a bigger crime afoot. (in Danish; 85 min.)

—Glen

HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U

What's it rated? PG-13

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10

New

Christopher Landon directs this sequel about college student Tree Gelbman, who in the original was killed and had to relive her murder over and over until she finds out who killed her. She now discovers that repeatedly dying is easy compared to what's in store for her this time. (100 min.)

—Glen

ISN'T IT ROMANTIC

What's it rated? PG-13

Where's it showing? Bay, Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10

New

Todd Struass-Schulson directs this fantasy-comedy about Natalie (Rebel Wilson), a woman disenchanted by romance who finds herself living in a romantic comedy. (88 min.)

—Glen

THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING

What's it rated? PG

What's it worth? Matinee

Where's it showing? Stadium 10

Pick

Writer-director Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) helms this family adventure about a group of kids on a quest to save the world. Alex (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) is sure he's nothing special ... until he finds Excalibur encased in stone! With the help of Merlin (Sir Patrick Stewart), Alex will unite his friends and attempt to defeat the evil enchantress, Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson).

An insecure kid learns to be a leader in this charming action-adventure based on the Arthurian legends. Unlike a lot of kids' films that also try to keep the parents entertained, this film is aimed squarely at tweens, so adults may find it a slog. With the goofy charm of '80s adventures—think The Neverending Story or The Goonies—kids will enjoy its inventive action, fantasy setting, and emotional punch. (132 min.)

—Glen

IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? The Palm

Pick

Writer-director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) helms this story based on James Baldwin's novel about Harlem woman Tish Rivers (KiKi Layne) trying to clear her fiancé, Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt (Stephan James), of a crime he didn't commit while carrying their first child.

If you want a reminder of all the ways the deck is stacked against black people in the U.S., this is the film. What's amazing about the film and book is it's also a complicated and tender love story, a celebration of black family life, and an optimistic clarion call that despite the horrors piled upon the black community. There's an unstoppable nobility there.

The film is up for three Academy Awards: Best Actress (Regina King), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score. (119 min.)

—Glen

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART

What's it rated? PG

What's it worth? Matinee

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10, Sunset Drive-in

Pick

Chris Pratt stars as the voice of Emmet Brickowski, a construction worker Lego who must save his friends from alien invaders and discover who he really is. This second film was released about five years after the first, The Lego Movie, with the same writers, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, but a new director, Mike Mitchell (Trolls, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Sky High).

Like many sequels, this film falls short of presenting a unique storyline; it's your average coming-of-age story told while flying through other dimensions peppered with catchy (and annoying!) sing-along numbers. There's a lot of singing, but this time everything's not awesome, and a song could quite possibly get stuck in your head.

In the glimmering city of Bricksburg, Emmet and his special friend, Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), are living pretty awesome lives, but a swarm of Lego Duplo invaders from outer space threatens the city with mass destruction that moves the citizens of Bricksburg to Apocalypseburg. Side note: The Lego Duplo blocks are designed for 1- to 2-years-old builders, so while these characters have cute eyes and childish voices, don't be fooled! Their plans are much more sinister. And don't make them throw up because they'll barf colorful glitter everywhere.

Anywho, Apocalypseburg is dreary and has hardened its citizens, who are constantly bracing themselves for battle. Lucy adapts perfectly to their new setting while Emmet is still the optimist he always has been. Lucy wants him to change, to be tougher in order to survive in their new world because everything is not awesome all the time.

In the midst of their conversation, General Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz) swoops in and kidnaps Lucy, Batman (Will Arnett), Benny (Charlie Day), Unikitty (Alison Brie), and MetalBeard (Nick Offerman).

General Mayhem takes them to outer space to the Systar system where she announces that Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (Tiffany Haddish)—a shape-shifting Lego—intends to wed Batman.

Emmet embarks on a journey to save his friends and coincidentally meets Rex Dangervest (also Pratt). Dangervest sounds a lot like Emmet but is cooler because he's a dinosaur trainer/spaceship pilot with some stubble on his chin.

The movie weaves in and out of the Lego world and the real world between a brother and sister. The two are creating the world that Emmet and his friends live in, so whatever happens in real life transpires within the bricks. When there's havoc in the Lego world we learn it's because the siblings can't seem to get along because, you know, the brother is too cool to play with his younger sister. The rejection leads to the sister capturing some of her brother's Legos ... you get the idea.

There's a lot of singing in this movie. I mean it's a children's film, so I expected it, but it was a little excessive. The best song in my opinion was the ending track that played during the credits: "Super Cool" by Beck, featuring Robyn and The Lonely Island. It was a fun mock in the ending credit where the group literally sings, "Can't wait to see the one about the person who edits and even better that that is who edits the credits."

It's interesting to see this Lego movie franchise come to life and literally build itself from the ground up. Overall the star-studded cast did a great job of making the audience laugh. The theater I caught the film in was riddled with adults and their children, but I found that the other adults and I were laughing the loudest at certain parts of the film. It's just a silly feel-good movie that I recommend catching on the big screen—the little giggles and exclamations from kids are priceless, not to mention the corny jokes that only adults understand. (106 min.)

—Karen

OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTS (ANIMATION, LIVE ACTION, DOCUMENTARY)

What's it rated? Not rated

Where's it showing? The Palm

See the five Academy Award contenders in each of the short film categories: Animation, Live Action, and Documentary. These gems of short-form cinema may be brief, but they pack a mighty punch.

—Glen

OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTS (LIVE ACTION)

What's it rated? Not rated

What's it worth? Rent it

Where's it showing? The Palm

Is it a requirement that for a live action short film to be nominated for an Oscar, it has to emotionally devastate the audience? Seriously, that's all viewers could assume after leaving the theater having sat through all five of these shorts up for the Academy Award. Don't get me wrong, each film is a quality piece in its own right, but I can't recommend a single viewing of all five—they're all too sad, dark, and upsetting in their own award-worthy ways.

The five films are Madre (Spain), Fauve (Canada), Marguerite (Canada), Detainment (Ireland), and Skin (U.S.). Madre is about a young mother who receives what at first seems like an innocuous phone call from her 6-year-old son but is actually a frightening call for help. Fauve follows two young boys horsing around near an open pit mine—but their playful competition turns perilous. Marguerite is about an elderly woman who opens up about her true, repressed sexuality to her younger lesbian caretaker. Detainment brings to life the police interrogations of the two British boys responsible for abducting, torturing, and murdering toddler James Bulger in 1993 (a true story). Skin portrays a white supremacist father, his relationship with his skinhead gang and his young son, and the repercussions that follow his racist beating of a black man at a grocery store.

Uplifted yet? All five films tackle worthy subject areas, and I actually liked them all individually except Detainment, which I thought was a bit salacious without accomplishing much. But they're all truly, incredibly harrowing, even the piece on the elder's repressed sexuality, which just made you feel deeply sad for her. Madre was my favorite of the lot, as it showcased a spellbinding performance from Marta Nieto, the distraught and helpless mother on the phone with her son in trouble.

I do love that The Palm is playing these hard-to-find short films for the public. My recommendation? Go check out the animation and documentary nominees over the weekend. Save the live action shorts for home viewing, when you can break them up at least two at a time. An audience can only take so many gut punches in one sitting. (Five films, about 25 min. each).

—Peter Johnson

THE PRODIGY

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Stream it

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10

Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact, At the Devil's Door) directs this Jeff Buhler (The Midnight Meat Train) screenplay about a mother (Taylor Schilling) concerned by her son's (Jackson Robert Scott) behavior. Is something supernatural afoot?

Do you need to see another "bad seed" horror film? Do you care that it's derivative and steals from every other demonic kid movie ever made? Do you like hackneyed horror tropes like the creepy dark hallway, the creepy dark basement, and eerie noises? Are your satisfied with a horror movie essentially stripped of fright except for a few cheap jump scares? You are? Well, go ahead and watch this. (101 min.)

—Glen

STAN & OLLIE

What's it rated? PG

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? The Palm

Pick

Jon S. Baird (Filth) directs Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel and John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy, in this melancholic biopic about the comedy duo as they attempt to revive their career with a rigorous theater tour of post-war Britain.

This affectionate look behind the scenes at the beloved pair of funnymen examines their triumphs and travails, how their partnership was in some ways like a marriage, how their past haunts them, and Oliver's failing health. It's a charming albeit modest tribute to two decent gentlemen who connected with audiences for decades but now know their current tour is probably their swan song. (97 min.)

—Glen

A STAR IS BORN

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre, Fair Oaks, Galaxy

Pick

Co-writer, director, and co-star Bradley Cooper helms this remake of A Star Is Born (first released in 1937, and later remade in 1954 and 1976). In this iteration, Cooper stars as Jackson Maine, a famous musician whose star is waning as he discovers talented but insecure singer Ally (Lady Gaga). As Jack battles alcoholism and his own decline, he helps Ally find the strength to let her talent shine.

The film is up for nine Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actress (Lady Gaga), Best Actor (Cooper), Best Supporting Actor (Sam Elliott), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Matty Libatique), Best Original Song ("Shallow"), Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing. (135 min.)

—Glen

THE UPSIDE

What's it rated? PG-13

What's it worth? Matinee

Where's it showing? Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10

Neil Burger (The Illusionist, Limitless, Divergent) directs this American remake of the wonderful 2011 film, Les Intouchables, about Phillip (Bryan Cranston), a wealthy quadriplegic who hires Dell (Kevin Hart), a man with a criminal record, to help him with his day-to-day needs.

Score this as another one of those audience-pleasing films that critics find cliché and cloying. True, it's not as good as its French progenitor, but as a feel-good story of redemption, it works, and there's no denying Cranston and Hart's chemistry. (125 min.)

—Glen

VICE

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy

Pick

Writer-director Adam McKay (The Big Short, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers) helms this biopic dramedy about Washington, D.C., bureaucratic insider Dick Cheney (Christian Bale), who became George W. Bush's (Sam Rockwell) vice president, using his power to reshape the U.S. and its foreign policy.

The film is up for eight Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Bale), Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams), Best Supporting Actor (Rockwell), Best Original Screenplay, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Film Editing. (132 min.)

—Glen

WHAT MEN WANT

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Stream it

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10

In this role-reversal remake of the Mel Gibson film, What Women Want (2000), Adam Shankman (Rock of Ages, Hairspray (2007), Bringing Down the House) directs Taraji P. Henson as Ali Davis, a woman who gets the upper hand over her fellow male sports agents when she begins to hear their thoughts.

Ultimately unnecessary and forgettable, What Men Want does little with its central conceit. Henson, as gifted a comedian as she is, can't get her footing in this uneven mess of a film. Maybe it's worth a look at home on a rainy afternoon, but prepare to groan at some of the "jokes." (117 min.) Δ

—Glen

New Times movie reviews are compiled by Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey. Contact him at [email protected].