Film Listings, 6/13/19 – 6/20/19 

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All theater listings are as of Friday, June 14.

ALADDIN

What's it rated? PG

What's it worth? Full price

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

Pick

Co-writer and director Guy Richie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) helms this live-action remake of Disney's animated 1992 film of the same name. Mena Massoud takes on the title role as a kindhearted street urchin who dreams of winning the heart of Jasmine (Naomi Scott), a princess living a constricted life. Aladdin is ordered by Grand Vizier Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) to bring him a magical lamp, but Aladdin soon discovers the lamp, when rubbed, releases a genie (Will Smith), who grants the lamp bearer's wishes. Can Aladdin use the genie to stop Jafar's evil intentions and win the heart of his love? (128 min.)

—Caleb Wiseblood

THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM

What's it rated? PG

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? The Palm

See Split Screen.

BOOKSMART

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? Downtown Centre

Pick

In her feature-length directorial debut, actress Olivia Wilde helms this comedy about teenage besties Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein), who on the eve of their high school graduation realize they squandered their chance at fun by concentrating too much on being academic superstars. Can they cram four years of missed shenanigans into one night?

Think of Booksmart as a female version of Superbad, but with even more heart. Like Superbad's Evan (Michael Cera) and Seth (Jonah Hill), Amy and Molly (played by Hill's real-life sister Beanie Feldstein) are codependent high schoolers desperate for a good time before they move on to the next stage of their lives.

While Amy is leaving for a summer trip to Africa to teach Botswana women how to make tampons—yes, a lot of the comedy is lowbrow—Molly is heading to Yale, a goal she sought her entire high school career. When she discovers all the students around her who partied their way through school also got into good schools, she realizes Amy and she could have done both—had fun and studied.

The film is naturally filled with stereotypes that our heroines feel superior to, from popular jock Nick (Mason Gooding), who Molly has a secret crush on, to possibly-lesbian skater chick Ryan (Victoria Ruesga), who out-since-the-10th-grade Amy definitely has a crush on. There's also pretentious theater geek George (Noah Galvin); desperate-for-attention rich goofball Jared (Skyler Gisondo) and the rich girl he fawns over, Gigi (Billie Lorde); the girl with a slut reputation known as Triple A (for her roadside assistance, get it?); smoldering hot outsider Hope (Diana Silvers); and a few other high school tropes.

We see them trade jabs in class and snowplow over each other's feelings, and their antics eventually culminate in an outrageous house party. If you aren't bothered by potty humor and a series of cringe-worthy interactions, there's a lot of fun to be had here, not to mention poignant moments illustrating the meaning of friendship and the ways we pigeonhole and make judgments about one another.

While the interaction between the kids is definitely the film's highlight, the "adults" in the film also up the humor. Amy's fawning parents, Charmaine (Lisa Kudrow) and Doug (Will Forte), are open to Amy's sexuality and vaguely think she and Molly are an item. They're even dorkier than their daughter in their lame attempts to be "cool."

Jessica Williams stars as Miss Fine, the girls' hot teacher who respects their studiousness even though the girls' peers see it as a mark of their loser status. Principle Brown (Jason Sudeikis) is clearly exasperated by Amy and Molly's relentless earnestness and just wants to get them out of school. He later serendipitously turns up as their Lyft driver, much to his shame, which was a nice little side comment on the substandard pay for teachers.

The film certainly gets better as it goes along, and its climax—at valedictorian Molly's graduation speech—and the film's denouement as the besties must finally go their separate ways, are both pure gold.

Yes, this is a dumb, lowbrow comedy, but it's also a smart coming-of-age story, an insightful examination of high school dynamics, and a heartfelt story of friendship. It's worth a trip to the theater. Of course, you do have to witness a girl getting barfed on, so prepare yourself. (102 min.)

—Glen Starkey

THE DEAD DON'T DIE

What's it rated? R

Where's it showing? The Palm

New

Writer-director Jim Jarmusch (Stranger The Paradise, Dead Man, Broken Flowers, Only Lovers Left Alive, Paterson) helms this horror-comedy about a zombie uprising in the normally peaceful and sleepy town of Centerville. Can local police Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and Officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) stave off the horde? Will junior policewoman Mindy Morrison (Chloë Sevigny) be of any help? How about strange new undertaker Zelda Winston (Tilda Swinton)? And what's up with Hermit Bob (Tom Waits)? (105 min.)

—Glen

A DOG'S JOURNEY

What's it rated? PG

What's it worth? Matinee

Where's it showing? Sunset Drive-In

Gail Mancuso directs W. Bruce Cameron's adventure dramedy about a dog (voiced by Josh Gad) who finds his life's meaning through the humans he meets, such as Ethan (Dennis Quaid), CJ (Kathryn Prescott), and Hannah (Marg Helgenberger).

Yes, this is sentimental and manipulative as heck, but it's also sweet as can be. It's not going to win any awards or curry much favor with haughty film critics, but for openhearted audiences, this film will fill those hearts with all the feels. (108 min.)

—Glen

DARK PHOENIX

What's it rated? PG-13

What's it worth? Stream it

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

Simon Kinberg directs this X-Men sci-fi adventure about Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), who develops overwhelming powers that threaten humanity. Where do her fellow X-Men's allegiances lie, with Jean or mankind?

I've always liked the X-Men premise. It touches on the next step of human evolution as well racism and scapegoating, two topical societal woes. While this film also explores those themes, it does it in a ham-fisted way. The film is more interested exploring Charles Xavier's (James McAvoy) "I know what's best for mutants" hubris—also handled ham-fistedly—and the X-Men saving humanity from space aliens. Yes, there are space aliens. Groan.

After the excellence of Logan (2017) or even the hilarious side story of Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix is sorely disappointing.

After the obligatory backstory about how Jean Grey came into Xavier's care as a child, she and some other X-Men are sent into space to rescue an endangered NASA mission that's encountered what's supposed to be a solar flare but instead is a mysterious cosmic force, which Jean internalizes, becoming unfathomably powerful.

Long story short, Jean's new uncontrollable powers are sought by said shape-shifting space aliens. She has a falling out with Xavier and destroys some stuff, putting government operatives on her trail, so she seeks refuged with Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender), who frankly doesn't want the trouble, and then it all goes to hell as Xavier and his X-Men, the government ops, Magneto and his crew, and the shape-shifting aliens all descend on Grey in an incoherent mess of a battle led by head alien Vuk (Jessica Chastain) to kill Jean and take the power.

These surprisingly good cast members—which also include Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy/Beast, Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mystique, Tye Sheridan as Scott Summers/Cyclops, Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver, and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler—are wasted on this substandard adaptation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's comic books.

If you're an X-Men fan, wait to stream this hot mess, but to be honest, if I'd never seen it, I would care a whit. It's terrible. (113 min.)

—Glen

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS

What's it rated? PG-13

What's it worth? Stream it

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

Monarch, a cryptozoological agency, tries to deal with the emergence of monsters—Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah—who are battling for supremacy on Earth. The sequel to 2014's Godzilla is co-written and directed by Michael Dougherty (Krampus, Trick 'r Treat).

If all you want out of a movie is some awesome CGI Kaiju battles, King of the Monsters might do the trick, but all the "story" surrounding the said battles is a mess. Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) is a paleobiologist working for Monarch. She and her daughter, Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), witness the birth of Mothra and are promptly kidnapped by eco-terrorists led by Colonel Alan Jonah (Charles Dance).

In a page torn from every wannabe blockbuster ever written, Monarch and doctors Ishiro¯ Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) approach Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), Emma's ex-husband, to track down his family. What follows is Jonah trying to release more monsters and Mark trying to stop them.

There are a few switcheroos about who's a good guy and who isn't, but it's mostly a semi-coherent mess and an excuse for giant monsters to wage epic battles. Secret underwater cities, mythological texts, outer space aliens, a plan to revive Godzilla by letting him feed off of radiation from a nuclear bomb—you name it, this film's thrown it into the mix.

If you like this kind of stuff, you're in luck—the film tees up a sequel. Will Godzilla battle King Kong? Keep spending money on these films and it's guaranteed. (131 min.)

—Glen

HEAVY WATER—THE ACID DROP

What's it rated? Not rated

Where's it showing? Thursday, June 13, 7 p.m., in Downtown Centre Cinemas

New

Big wave surfer Nathan Fletcher traces his lineage back to his grandfather, one of the pioneers of Oahu's North Shore. Fletcher and other fellow surf and skateboard legends share insights from the pursuit of their passion—a voyage through the eyes of the surfing community that delves deep into the mindset of the board sports culture and its roots, culminating in a spectacular, never-before-performed stunt, which once again raises the bar of what is possible. This one-night-only event features a behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Acid Drop. (95 min.)

—Fathom Events

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3—PARABELLUM

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? Galaxy, Stadium 10

Pick

Directed by Chad Stahelski (John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2) and picking up mere hours after the second installment, this third in the series follows Wick's (Keanu Reeves) attempt to escape after a $14 million bounty is placed on his head for breaking an international assassins' guild rule and killing a member of the guild's upper order inside the off-limits Continental Hotel. Now every hit man and woman is after him. About the only killer tentatively on his side is Sofia (Halle Berry), who owes him a debt.

For sheer mayhem, it's hard to top the John Wick franchise. Sure, films like Smokin' Aces (2006) and Shoot 'Em Up (2007) have over-the-top gun violence, but compared to the John Wick films, they come off as cartoonish. And yes, films like Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003) and The Raid: Redemption (2011) have comparable hand-to-hand combat scenes, but the fight choreography in the John Wick films is crazy good and features premiere Hollywood actors trained in the martial arts rather than martial artists trained as actors.

This third installment in the series has everything you've come to expect—amazing martial arts, knife, and sword fight scenes; close-quarters gunplay; vehicle (even horse) chases; and people who love their dogs more than anything.

Director Chad Stahelski was a martial artist first, martial arts instructor second, Hollywood stuntman third, and came to direction in 2014 with the first John Wick film. He knows how to create believable yet dazzling violence, and he ups the ante with some amazing settings, like a fight in what appears to be a knife museum, a horse stable using horses as weapons, an all-glass room, and a Casablanca compound with Berry's character Sofia and her two fierce Belgian Malinois dogs.

The story is a bit thin. It's basically an escape film followed by an attack film, but if you like fantasy violence, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better franchise, and this may be the best film of the three.

Perhaps the hardest element for my disbelief to overcome is the crazy-kooky world of the international assassins' guild with exclusive assassin-friendly Continental Hotels in major cities and elaborate rules set by the High Table regarding blood pacts and markers and who's allowed to kill whom and where. It's an attempt to bring some semblance of honor to the proceedings. Even after Wick is made excommunicado, he's still able to call in his marker with The Director (Angelica Huston), who runs a Belarusian ballet and wrestling school, where Wick was apparently trained.

There are also questions of loyalty between New York Continental Hotel manager Winston (Ian McShane) and his concierge Charon (Lance Reddick), who allowed Wick an hour's head start and are now under scrutiny by The Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon), who the High Table sent to mete out justice.

The Adjudicator also visits The Director and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), the latter of whom runs a group of "homeless" street thugs and whom she also deems guilty of helping Wick by not killing him on sight when he had the chance.

The High Table's assassin is Zero (Mark Dacascos), a samurai-esque martial arts master with a legion of ninja-like students. Part of the story's humor is Zero's fawning flattery of Wick, who's regarded as the best assassin. Zero desperately wants Wick's approval, even though he's trying to kill him.

All these competing factions are set-ups for the inevitable fourth installment, where director Stahelski will have to take another crack at topping the over-the-top action of the first three films. Can he do it? I, for one, will be in the audience to find out. (130 min.)

—Glen

LATE NIGHT

What's it rated? R

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

New

Nisha Ganatra (Cake) directs Mindy Kaling's screenplay about late-night talk show host Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson), a TV pioneer who worries she'll lose her long-running show after she's accused of being a "woman who hates women." She hires female writer Molly Patel (screenwriter Kaling) to join her all-male writers' room. However, Molly may be "too little, too late" in the face of Newbury's low ratings and a network considering letting her go. (102 min.)

—Glen

MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL

What's it rated? PG-13

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

New

F. Gary Gray (Friday, Set It Off, The Italian Job, Fate of the Furious) directs this new installment in the sci-fi comedy franchise Men in Black. This time around, new Agent M (Tessa Thompson) joins the U.K. Men in Black team, including Agent O (Emma Thompson), High T (Liam Neeson), and Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) to search for an enemy mole in their organization. (115 min.)

—Glen

ROCKETMAN

What's it rated? R

What's it worth? Full price

Where's it showing? Bay, Fair Oaks, Galaxy, The Palm, Park, Stadium 10

Pick

Dexter Fletcher (Wild Bill, Sunshine on Leith, Eddie the Eagle) directs "a musical fantasy about the fantastical human story of Elton John's breakthrough years," with Taron Egerton in the lead role as the singer of "Rocket Man," "Your Song," "Daniel," and dozens of other hits.

Written for the screen by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot, War Horse, Victoria & Abdul), this loosely accurate biopic is constructed with an interesting frame. We start with Elton—née Reginald "Reggie" Dwight—walking into an AA meeting in full stage costume, where he introduces himself as Elton Hercules John, an alcoholic, sexoholic, cocaine, and pill addict. He proceeds to chronicle through flashback his troubled childhood (Matthew Illesley), adolescence (Kit Connor), and his rise to fame, as well as his subsequent descent into addiction.

As we move back and forth through time, the various characters frequently break into song and sing their dialogue like a standard musical. We meet his less-than-maternal mother, Sheila (Bryce Dallas Howard), his cold and distant father, Stanley (Steven Mackintosh), and his rather wonderful grandmother, Ivy (Gemma Jones).

We also see his early gigs with his band called Bluesology, his first break into publishing with Dick James' (Stephen Graham) company under management by Ray Williams (Charlie Rowe), who introduces him to lyricist Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell), which develops into a lifelong friendship and one of the most successful creative partnerships in rock'n'roll history.

We also meet his second manager, John Reid (Richard Madden), who brings him to the heights of fame and becomes his lover, but who also facilitates his addictions and breaks his heart. Along the way, we get a lot of amazing songs. It's highly entertaining but also rather sad. Being a rock star isn't as fun as it's supposed to be.

As dark as a lot of the film is, from a suicide attempt to a drug-induced heart attack, there are so many tender moments. When Elton as a young child listens to the radio and can easily pick out on the piano the notes he's hearing, we know he's a prodigy. When he takes Taupin's lyrics and finds the perfect melody, it illustrates the magic of creativity.

When Elton gets his big break in the U.S. with a gig at LA's famed Troubadour, though he's racked with stage fright, he transcends it and quickly has the audience in the palm of his hand, depicted in the film's trailer as everyone being floated off the ground. These "fantastical" moments remind viewers that the film is fictionalized. Many of the details, characters, and events are correct, but the chronology and other particulars are entirely invented, which frankly makes the film stronger.

It's an impression of Elton's life. It's about his struggle with homosexuality, his estrangement from his parents, his rocky relationships, his handling of fame, and his eventual realization that his lifestyle isn't sustainable. One of his biggest fears is whether or not he'll be as good without the drugs and alcohol, which allowed him to overcome his fears and become a superstar. He had to kill Reggie Dwight to become Elton John, but he had to reclaim Reggie to regain and maintain his sobriety.

The best part of the film for me was his relationship with Taupin, who had to put up with Elton's flamboyance, eccentricities, addiction, and bad behavior. He was the one person who was Elton's true friend, and that's a beautiful thing to behold. Both entertaining and inspiring, this one's worth seeing in the theater. (121 min.)

—Glen

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2

What's it rated? PG

What's it worth? Stream it

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

Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, The Lorax, The Secret Life of Pets) and Jonathan de Val band together to co-direct the second installment of the animated Secret Life of Pets. This time around, the New York apartment furry residents leave their owners once again on an adventure to save a new wild friend.

While there are plenty of one-liners that are definitely flying over the heads of the young audience in the theater, the plot of the film is all over the place. An elementary-school-aged kid is probably not going to notice the three stories that honestly should have been separate animated shorts that somehow clumsily come together, but all you adults out there definitely will.

Back in New York in the concrete jungle where dreams are made, we find Max (Patton Oswalt, who replaced Louis C.K.) and his buddy, Duke (Eric Stonestreet), living the good life with their owner. Their life turns upside down once their owner falls in love, gets married, and has a little boy named Liam. Of course Max wants to take care of Liam but realizes the city is a dangerous place for a toddler. His helicopter-parent instincts result in a nervous tick. Maybe Max just needs a little vacation, so the family leaves the city and visits an uncle in the country. It's there that he meets Rooster (Harrison Ford), a no-nonsense kind of a dog (very Harrison Ford), who's going to teach Max to get over his fear.

Before Max goes on his trip, he leaves his favorite bee-shaped squeaky toy with Gidget (Jenny Slate) to protect. Predictably, within the first day of guardianship, she loses the toy and it bounces into the window of an apartment that's filled with cats. Seriously, the neighbor has dozens of cats—its pretty ridiculous. But the cats are scratch-your-eyes-out catty, and Gidget needs help. She needs to learn how to be a cat in order to get the toy back.

Meanwhile (I know, another damn story to follow), Snowball (Kevin Hart) is more that just a cute bunny; he's a pajama-wearing superhero, or so he thinks. He's hired by Daisy (Tiffany Haddish), who's witnessed the cruelty of a tiger being held against its will by an evil circus owner. Daisy needs Snowball's help to rescue the tiger.

Somehow these three entirely different stories come together in the end with the same goal in mind: help the tiger find a safe home away from his large-nosed jerk captor.

I mean, there were definitely kids laughing when Max was freaking out in the country at all the new sounds of the farm land—a cow farting, a frog chilling on a lily pad, and a freaking turkey that won't stop following him. And the soundtrack that accompanied the film had the kids in my row dancing in their seats. Not to mention the A-list actors giving so much personality to these four-legged creatures that we wish we could talk to in real life.

But the storyline just wasn't there. It's a lot to keep up with in the beginning once you realize that this isn't just one story and there are so many different characters. Save your pretty pennies, parents, and just wait to Redbox it or stream it on your preferred service. (86 min.)

—Karen Garcia

SHAFT

What's it rated? R

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

New

Tim Story (Barbershop, Think Like a Man, Ride Along) directs this story about John "JJ" Shaft Jr. (Jesse T. Usher), an MIT grad specializing in cyber security. When his best friend dies under mysterious circumstances, JJ turns to his estranged father, private investigator John Shaft II (Samuel L. Jackson). Together they explore the Harlem underworld in search of answers, eventually teaming with John Shaft I (Richard Roundtree). (105 min.) Δ

—Glen

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