Compiled from El Paso Times staff and wire reports. Listings are subject to change.
Opening this week
"5 to 7" (R): A chance encounter on the streets of Manhattan draws 20-something aspiring writer Brian (Anton Yelchin) into a passionate love affair with a glamorous French woman (Skyfall Bond girl Brnice Marlohe). The catch? She's married.
"The Age of Adaline" (PG-13): After miraculously remaining 29 years old for almost eight decades, Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively) has lived a solitary existence, never allowing herself to get close to anyone who might reveal her secret. (No review)
"Ex Machina" (R): Domhnall Gleeson ("Frank") is Caleb, a top-notch computer coder who has been summoned to the remote Norwegian retreat of his reclusive search engine mogul boss. Nathan (Oscar Isaac, "Inside Llewyn Davis") is a little eccentric, a genius who lives alone, save for a silent Japanese servant (Sonoya Mizuno) in a bunker of a house in a sylvan, mountain setting. "Ex Machina" a cerebral, chilling and austere thriller that stokes our fears about digital privacy and artificial intelligence, a film that works largely thanks to a breakout mechanically empathetic turn by Alicia Vikander ("A Royal Affair,""Seventh Son").
"Little Boy" (PG-13): A film about a little boy (Jakob Salvati) who is willing to do whatever it takes to bring his dad (Michael Rapaport) home from World War II alive. Written and directed by Smithsonian Institute Award winning director Alejandro Monteverde, the film highlights themes of faith, hope and love in the face of adversity.
"Merchants of Doubt" (PG-13): This documentary, the first to zero in on how and why the global climate change discussion became political and how that led to government gridlock, is an account of the train wreck and how it happened, and continues to happen.
"Seymour: An Introduction" (PG): Ethan Hawke's documentary on pianist Seymour Bernstein is very much like the sonatas the 87-year-old plays so beautifully, teaches so insightfully quietly moving, infinitely deep. Ethan Hawke's documentary on pianist Seymour Bernstein is very much like the sonatas the 87-year-old plays so beautifully, teaches so insightfully quietly moving, infinitely deep. With "Seymour," the actor is making his documentary directing debut, a modest but affecting one. The film is most alive when Bernstein is in front of the piano, a marvel to watch teaching a master class. And when the great man quietly takes his seat in front of a small audience to play again in public, the moment is so magical, the music so expressive, you don't want it to end.
"A La Mala" (PG-13): "A la Mala" is a Mexican romantic comedy in the "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days/Failure to Launch/40 Days and 40 Nights" mold. Change the language to English, switch the starlet to Olivia Wilde, or this year's Olivia Wilde, and you've got a rom-com as shiny, shallow and cliched as anything Hollywood has turned out over the past dozen years.
"American Sniper" (R): Bradley Cooper pushes his craft to new extremes to portray Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in American history, but Clint Eastwood's film takes too long to ask if that title is a badge of honor.
"Child 44" (R): A politically-charged serial killer thriller set in 1953 Soviet Russia, CHILD 44 chronicles the crisis of conscience for secret police agent Leo Demidov (Tom Hardy), who loses status, power and home when he refuses to denounce his own wife, Raisa (Noomi Rapace), as a traitor. (No review)
"Cinderella" (PG): Director Kenneth Branagh delivers a lovely corpse of a fairytale, not helped by a blandly pretty lead (Lily James) and even blander Prince Charming (Richard Madden).
"Danny Collins" (R): Al Pacino stars as aging 1970s rocker Danny Collins, who can't give up his hard-living ways. But when his manager (Christopher Plummer) uncovers a 40 year-old undelivered letter written to him by John Lennon, he decides to change course and embarks on a heartfelt journey to rediscover his family, find true love and begin a second act.
"The Divergent Series: Insurgent" (PG-13): It's action-packed in the extreme, as Young Heroine Triss (Shailene Woodely) and "Dauntless" hunk Four (Theo James) run from the armed, motorized thugs that the smug Erudite elitists send after them, with barely time for a betrayal, a moment of weakness and a break for Shailene Woodley to pile on more makeup and lip gloss.
"Do You Believe?" (PG-13): When a local pastor is shaken to the core by the visible faith of an old street-corner preacher, he is reminded that true belief always requires action. His response ignites a faith-fueled journey that powerfully impacts everyone it touches in ways that only G*d could orchestrate.
"Furious 7" (PG-13): Continuing the franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and the late Paul Walker lead the returning cast of the "Fast & Furious" franchise. James Wan directs this chapter of the hugely successful series that also welcomes back favorites Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Elsa Pataky and Lucas Black.
"Get Hard" (R): Kevin Hart finds himself shoehorned into a Will Ferrell buddy comedy in "Get Hard," a politically incorrect romp that only rarely romps. Ferrell is as fearless as ever, stripping down and looking foolish, willing to be out-of-touch and out of step. Hart has his manic moments. But in this buddy comedy, the buddies are not equal and that limits the laughs.
"Home" (PG): An alien on the run from his own people, lands on Earth and makes friends with the adventurous cat, Tip (Rihanna), who is on a quest of her own in this animated film. (No review)
"It Follows" (R): A few genuinely (and literally) hair-raising moments, a few knowing winks and a lot to think about lift "It Follows" above the horror pack. s*x, its consequences and a teenager actually grappling, in advance, with those consequences make this that rarest of rarities, a smart "dead teenager movie."
"The Longest Ride" (PG-13): Based on the bestselling novel by master storyteller Nicholas Sparks, "The Longest Ride" centers on the star-crossed love affair between Luke (Scott Eastwood), a former champion bull rider looking to make a comeback, and Sophia (Brittany Robertson), a college student who is about to embark upon her dream job in New York City's art world.
"Monkey Kingdom" (G): Mark Linfield's nature documentary follows the struggles of a young monkey mother to care for and raise her new baby in the wilds of Southern Asia.
"Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2" (PG): After six years of keeping our malls safe, Paul Blart has earned a well-deserved vacation. He heads to Vegas with his teenage daughter before she heads off to college. But safety never takes a holiday and when duty calls, Blart answers.
"True Story" (R): When disgraced New York Times reporter Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) meets accused killer Christian Longo (James Franco) - who has taken on Finkel's identity - his investigation morphs into an unforgettable game of cat-and-mouse. Based on actual events. (No review)
"Unfriended" (R): Unfriended unfolds over a teenager's computer screen as she and her friends are stalked by an unseen figure who seeks vengeance for a shaming video that led a vicious bully to kill herself a year earlier. (No review)
"While We're Young" (R): Ben Stiller plays a creatively blocked, once-hip documentary film producer in director Noah Bombach's biting and bitterly amusing movie about a childless New York couple who gravitate toward a young hipster couple (Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried) as their other friends all start having children.
"Woman in Gold" (PG-13): A very good story meekly told. It's a dramatization of one woman's mission (Hellen Mirren) to recover the art looted from one Jewish family by the Nazis, rendered here in mostly flat tones and trite dialogue. This is passable as history, but the climax is so anti-climactic that this "Woman in Gold" never merits more than a bronze medal.
Discount movies
"Black or White" (PG-13): "Selma" wasn't the only film about race to get short shrift from Oscar voters this past year. "Black or White" is a frank, touching and very well-acted melodrama about child custody and cultural perceptions of "blackness" and "the race card," and could have earned Octavia Spencer and Kevin Costner fresh Oscar nominations.
"The Boy Next Door" (R): Universal's "The Boy Next Door" is almost so bad it's good. Well, at least "bad." A risible stalker thriller predicated on the absurd notion that Jennifer Lopez is still a movie star, it's "Fatal Attraction" without the rabbit. And mostly without the fear. Ryan Guzman of the later "Step Up" movies is the man candy who moves in next door to an about-to-divorce suburban school teacher Claire (Lopez) and her shy, allergy-riddled teenage boy, Kevin (Ian Nelson). John Corbett is the not quite still-in-the-picture ex having a middle-age crisis cliche.
"Chappie" (R): "Chappie" is a childish blend of the cute robot goofiness of "Short Circuit," and the b****y-minded mayhem of "Robocop." It never finds its sweet spot and never, for one moment, works.
"The DUFF" (PG-13): Mae Whitman sasses, sashays and sparkles in "The DUFF," a snappy, sweet-spirited teen comedy about a smart girl who tries to fight high school labeling with wit and words. It's a paint-by-numbers romantic comedy. But Whitman clicks with her co-stars and handles the screenplay's zingers and the droll voice-over narration her character spouts in this feature from director Ari "West Bank Story" Sandel.
"Fifty Shades of Grey" (R): The unsexiest s*x movie since "Eyes Wide Shut" features an utterly colorless leading man (Jamie Dorman) paired with a nubile heat-deprived leading lady (Dakota Johnson). Clinical as a classroom lecture, it's a limp sadomasochism primer, which explains both the runaway success of the E.L. James' novel and the startling pre-opening sales stats from America's Promise Keepers belt.
"Focus" (R): Chemistry, or the lack of it, burns a big hole in this supposedly romantic, unconvincingly tense, feebly comical caper picture from the guys who gave us "I Love You, Phillip Morris," Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.
"The Gunman" (R): A sniper on a mercenary assassination team (Sean Penn), kills the minister of mines of the Congo. His's successful kill shot forces him into hiding. Returning to the Congo years later, he becomes the target of a hit squad himself. (No review)
"The Lazarus Effect" (PG-13): This horror flick follows a group of researchers led by Frank (Mark Duplass) and his fiance Zoe (Olivia Wilde,) who've achieved the unimaginable bringing the dead back to life. (No review)
"Paddington" (PG): Bright, breezy and stripped of most children's movie conventions, "Paddington" drags the classic bear into the 21st century, modernizing aspects of Michael Bond's trouble-prone creation in the process.
"Run All Night" (NR): Starring Liam Neeson, as an alcoholic retired hit man, and Ed Harris as his friend, his boss and his brother-in-arms, there are plenty of pleasures in watching these old pros playing old men of the mob wars trying to summon a young man's bravado for the dirty job each must do.
"The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water" (PG): Spongebob Squarepants goes where Homer Simpson and others have gone before, an animated character who steps out of his colorful 2D world and into our 3D one, in "The Spongebob Movie: Sponge out of Water." But what his movie lacks in originality or freshness it compensates for in loopiness.
"Unfinished Business": A hard-working small business owner (Vince Vaughn) and his two associates (Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco) travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. But what began as a routine business trip goes off the rails.
The Mesilla Valley Film Society screens films at the historic theater, 2469 Calle de Guadalupe in Mesilla. Screenings are usually at 7:30 nightly, plus 1:30 p.m. Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Admission is usually $5 to $7. mesillavalleyfilm.org, 575-524-8287. Showing this week: "What We Do in the Shadows" (NR): Taika Clement and Jemaine Waititi, creators of the HBO hit series "Flight of the Conchords," co-wrote, co-directed, and co-star in this hilarious send-up that chronicles the adventures of four vampire roommates trying to get by in a modern world that's not always hospitable to the undead.
World Cinema Series
Films are at 2 p.m. Saturdays at the El Paso Museum of Art. $3 suggested donation; free for museum members and children 12 and younger. 532-1707 or elpasoartmuseum.org.
Film Salon
Films are screened and discussed at 7:30 p.m. on most first Saturdays at Trinity-First United Methodist Church, 802 N. Mesa (in the Resler Hall Chapel).
Source: http://www.elpasotimes.com/entertainment/ci_27975736/movie-capsules-5-7-age-adaline-ex-machina
