6 films to see on the week of March 23-30, 2018
I Kill Giants
ADAPTED from the comic book by Joe Kelly, the story centers on Barbara Thorson who carries a Norse war hammer in school and believes in her odd capacity to kill giants. Directed by Anders Walter, it stars Imogen Poots, Jennifer Ehle, Madison Wolfe, Noel Clark, and Zoe Saldana. Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore writes, “A sensitive and attractive, if not wholly convincing, pairing of fantasy with real-life turmoil.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
Mary Magdalene
MARY MAGDALENE leaves her family and small fishing village to join a radical new social movement lead by Jesus of Nazareth. Directed by Garth Davis, it stars Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Tahar Rahim, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Empire’s Dan Joline writes, “The perspective may be fresh and the style impressively historical rather than mythical (an opening title notably says we’re in 33 CE rather than AD), but the events obviously remain the same, with the narrative inevitably becoming more dependent on Jesus himself.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
Sherlock Gnomes
GNOMEO AND JULIET hire detective Sherlock Gnomes after the disappearance of garden ornaments in London. Directed by John Stevenson, the animated movie features the voices of James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Johnny Depp, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maggie Smith, and Michael Caine. Geek Culture’s John Li writes, “For 100 minutes, kids will be duly entertained by the comical characters and their antics. More importantly, they will also learn some important life lessons.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
The Titan
AFTER THE RELOCATION of a military family, they participate in a groundbreaking experiment on the genetic evolution of man into space. Directed by Lennart Ruff, it stars Sam Worthington, Taylor Schilling, and Tom Wilkinson.
MTRCB Rating: PG
Unsane
A YOUNG WOMAN is confronted of her greatest fear after she involuntarily commits herself to a mental institution. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, it stars Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, and Jay Pharaoh. Vulture’s David Edelstein comments, “Soderbergh’s tone is solemn, poker-faced, but he signals Sawyer’s queasy sense of reality with slingshot perspectives and fish-angle lenses.”
MTRCB Rating: R-13
Wonderstuck
BASED ON BRIAN SELZNICK’S illustrated children’s book of the same title, the film follows Ben and Rose who are living in two different eras and who wish for different lives. Directed by Todd Haynes, it stars Oakes Fegley, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Tom Noonan, and Jaden Michael. The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis writes: “Wonderstruck takes a while to find its groove, but it gets there. Mr. Haynes’s oscillation between the story’s two halves is gracefully handled, but it can create a frustrating sense of narrative interruptus.”
MTRCB Rating: G
Paul, Apostle of Christ
WRITTEN and directed by Andrew Hyatt, Paul, Apostle of Christ revolves around Luke (Jim Caviezel), who risks his life to visit the imprisoned Paul (James Faulkner). Movie Nation’s Roger Moore writes: “Handsomely mounted but dramatically flat account of the last days of the Apostle while in prison in Rome.” The film will be shown exclusively at SM Cinemas.
MTRCB Rating: PG
