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NEW THIS WEEK
The Addams Family
[not yet reviewed]
The celebrated kooky, spooky, ooky clan will get an animated function remedy. Opens Oct. 11 at theaters valleywide. (PG)
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
[not reviewed]
Jesse Pinkman returns! Opens Oct. 11 at Tower Theatre. (NR)
Gemini Man [zero stars]
It’s 50-something badass army sniper Will Smith versus cloned youthful Will Smith! That is the excessive idea Gemini Man has been promoting in each trailer and commercial. And but director Ang Lee treads water with tedious, stress-free spy motion for greater than half of his runtime earlier than he even “reveals” what we knew entering into. We by no means study why younger Will Smith has been sicced on older Will Smith by black-ops honcho Clive Owen. We by no means get any clone-associated sci-fi hypothesis, with a nature/nurture dichotomy that is still an unfired gun on the mantlepiece: Older Will Smith has a worry of drowing, acquired by childhood expertise, that his younger clone can not have, which appears ripe for exploiting in a giant motion sequence, however by no means occurs. The supporting forged (together with the wonderful Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is wasted, with nary a single believable human relationship developed. All that is left is Lee’s goofing round with an excellent-excessive-def format that delivers (in some cinematic displays) an empty story in a visually razor-sharp IMAX that’s pointlessly extremely-lifelike. It’s like wanting by a window past which there’s nothing price seeing. Opens Oct. 11 at theaters valleywide. (PG-13)—MaryAnn Johanson
Jexi
[not yet reviewed]
A person (Adam Devine) with a smartphone habit finds its new A.I. improve taking a bit an excessive amount of management of his life. Opens Oct. 11 at theaters valleywide. (R)
Lucy within the Sky 2 Stars
I am unsure you possibly can name what Noah Hawley does right here “directing,” a lot as an act of sheer relentless demand for consideration. He tells the loosely-truth-primarily based story of Lucy Cola (Natalie Portman), a NASA astronaut who returns from her first mission to area completely reworked, to the purpose that every thing else—together with her life along with her husband (Dan Stevens)—turns into secondary to the aim of getting again above the earth. For some time, Portman does a high quality job with Lucy’s sense of disorientation, and her reckless decisions together with starting an affair with a fellow astronaut (Jon Hamm). But from early on, Hawley—making his debut function after creating the nutso TV sequence Legion—ideas his hand with ever-shifting side ratios and lenses that blur the sides of the body, underlining each doable emotional beat in order that Lucy will get misplaced in her personal narrative. There’s an excellent story someplace in right here, a couple of paradigm shift so profound that it is laborious to connect with your earlier world, however by the point we get to Lucy going totally uncontrolled, the director has lengthy since overwhelmed her to the punch. Opens Oct. 11 at theaters valleywide. (R)—Scott Renshaw
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
A Better Man
At Main Library, Oct. 15, 7 p.m. (NR)
The Farewell
At Park City Film Series, Oct. 11-12, eight p.m. & Oct. 13, 6 p.m. (NR)
CURRENT RELEASES
Abominable 2.5 Stars
It’s a narrative about an adolescent with an absent father, who finds companionship within the type of a mysterious, magical creature, resulting in a dangerous journey to get the creature again dwelling; you possibly can’t spell “yeti” with out “E.T.” Writer-director Jill Culton units her animated variation in China, the place teenager Yi (Chloe Bennet) and a younger yeti she calls Everest enterprise to the Himalayas, at the same time as she grieves for her dad. With its spherical-face, this snow “monster” is cute sufficient, offering a pleasing companion for Yi and her mates, whereas Eddie Izzard and Sarah Paulson voice the pursuing antagonists. Yet regardless of ample chuckles, full of life motion and the goofy inclusion of whooping snakes, it is not possible to disregard how protected and acquainted the narrative arc is. At least they did not have to fret about licensing when Yi feeds Everest bao as an alternative of Reese’s Pieces. (PG)—SR
Ad Astra three Stars
Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is recruited right into a categorized mission to finish harmful vitality “surges” coming from an area analysis station the place his father (Tommy Lee Jones) was presumed misplaced years earlier. There’s a particular Heart of Darkness vibe, full with voice-over inner monologue, and Pitt’s restrained efficiency captures a person lower off from his emotions. Yet director/co-author James Gray additionally peppers his meditations on isolation with showy set items involving assaults by moon pirates and … different surprising issues. As Roy attracts nearer to a doable household reunion, Gray hones in on the notion that the concepts and philosophies individuals dedicate themselves to can finally distance them from different human beings. Yet Ad Astra struggles to present that thesis the emotional punch Gray clearly desires to ship. It’s beautiful, ethereal, sometimes smart, typically overly literal, typically flat-out foolish. (PG-13)—SR
Downton Abbey 2.5 Stars
The TV phenomenon involves the massive display, unlikely to please anybody who is not already enamored of the fictional English nation manor. The property, dominated over by the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), is a hotbed of … niceness. The dowager countess (Maggie Smith) deploys an entertainingly depraved tongue, however the blissful servants Know Their Place, positively reveling in servitude. This is fantasy, positive, however do devotees think about themselves because the intelligent, resourceful maid (Joanne Froggatt) or devoted butler (Jim Carter)? No, the fantasy right here is reactionary, a hankering for a world the place wealth and privilege are deserved and correct. The plot revolves round a go to from the King (Simon Jones) and Queen (Geraldine James), and the following delicate uproar within the family. Even minor bits of intrigue resolve themselves in ways in which couldn’t be extra contentedly uncomplaining. (PG)—MAJ
Joker 2 Stars
Co-writer/director Todd Phillips’ determinedly grim portrait of burgeoning psychosis is neither as lunkheadedly reactionary as early reviews instructed, nor as richly layered because it’s attempting to be. Joaquin Phoenix performs Arthur Fleck, knowledgeable social gathering clown with psychological well being points who’s only a nudge away from full-fledged homicidal loopy. It’s deeply awkward at any time when Joker waves its hand to remind you that it is a part of the DC Comics universe, whereas nonetheless posing at being very Serious-Minded. Then, when Joker does attempt to serve up some subtext, it bounces far and wide seeking an actual concept. At least there’s Phoenix’s magnetic efficiency, as we see him doing homework to approximate “normal” conduct. You do not need to work laborious as a viewer to simply accept that you just’re watching a type of insanity in Joker. The query is, what sort of insanity. (R)—SR
Judy 2.5 Stars
Considering how good America is at producing icons worthy of biopic remedy, it is ironic how unhealthy we’re at making biopics. Renée Zellweger stars as Judy Garland over the last yr of her life, and the disparity between the standard of her efficiency and the standard of the film is especially stark. The story offers with Judy at a time when she’s nonetheless a legend, however a broke one, hooked on capsules and alcohol. Nothing within the screenplay is unhealthy per se; there’s simply no oomph to it. The plot follows Judy’s ups and downs, victories and setbacks, however the recounting of them is rote. Apart from Zellweger’s work, nothing in regards to the movie is noteworthy. As is so typically the case, we’re left with a terrific, endearing, pitch-good efficiency trapped in a film that is not almost worthy of it. (PG-13)—Eric D. Snider
Monos 2.5 Stars
In an unnamed Latin American nation, 18 teen troopers maintain watch over an American hostage (Julianne Nicholson); when Bigfoot (Moises Arias) turns into group chief of the “Monos,” he begins operating issues with wanton ruthlessness. Here, Monos takes a flip into Lord of the Flies territory and turns into extra tedious. We’ve seen the younger, hopeless and impressionable fall into darkness earlier than, and we have been requested whether or not killers are born or made; it might be extra satisfying if co-author/director Alejandro Landes had sharper factors to make. Two belongings make the film higher than it deserves to be: cinematographer Jasper Wolf, and composer Mica Levi’s rating of atonal dirges and jungle-like whistles. But in the long run, when the Monos splinter into sub-factions, Monos feels prefer it deserves a giant shrug, with a number of déjà vu within the script’s nicely-tread meditations. (R)—David Riedel
