6 Films to see, rent, or stream on the week of September 11-18, 2015.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie
IT’S BEEN some years since the end of the Shinobi War and Naruto Uzumaki is now the 7th Hokage of Konohagakure. Naruto’s talented but impetuous son Boruto is set to take the Chunin Exams to train new shinobi from the allied villages, along with Sasuke’s daughter, Sarada, and Mitsuki, an exceptionally talented yet mysterious shinobi.
MTRCB Rating: PG
Heneral Luna
THE HISTORICAL action epic Heneral Luna — directed by Jerrold Tarog — is based on the life and times of the revolutionary general and features John Arcilla in the title role. Set against the backdrop of the Philippine-American War, the film asks if General Luna a hero or a rogue. It also stars Mon Confiado, Epy Quizon, Leo Martinez, Nonie Buencamino, Bing Pimentel, Mylene Dizon, Ketchup Eusebio, Arron Villaflor and Paulo Avelino.
MTRCB Rating: R-13
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
IN THIS next chapter of the Maze Runner saga, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers go to the Scorch — a desolate landscape filled with obstacles — to team up with resistance fighters against an organization with superior forces and shocking plans. Directed by Wes Ball, it stars Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Sangster, and Kaya Scodelario. Martin Roberts of Fan The Fire writes: “Wes Ball does a good job of establishing his world and making the maze an imposing place to spend time.”
MTRCB Rating: R-13
Lost After Dark
A GROUP of teenagers sneak out of a high school dance, and head out to party at a friend’s cabin. When their car breaks down near an abandoned farmhouse, they find themselves fighting for their survival. Directed by Ian Kessner, it stars Sarah Fisher, Mark Wiebe, Jesse Camacho and Robert Patrick. “Lost After Dark is an intriguing attempt to recreate the style of a slasher straight out of the ’80s, and while it does mostly succeed in this attempt, unfortunately it falls right in with the downright bad entries of the period,” writes Jeff Beck of Examiner.com.
MTRCB Rating: R-16
Asterix: The Mansions Of The Gods
THE LATEST in an animated French film series on the popular Asterix comics series which follows the hilarious antics of Gaulish villagers at the time of the Roman Empire. This time around, in order to wipe out the Gaulish village, Caesar plans to absorb the villagers into Roman culture by having an estate built next to the village to start a new Roman colony. Directed by Louis Clichy and Alexandre Astier. According to Jose Arce of LaButaca.net: “[The movie] is wonderful and naturally imbued with the spirit of the original work; it is extremely fast-paced, vertiginous, that does not stop for an instant nor does it retreat from its clearly contrarian posture when expounding on current themes: the seduction of money, the thrall that is provoked in the worker by the massive bombardment of the delights of attractive material improvements in view but superfluous in the level of the vital.”
MTRCB Rating: G
Sinister 2
IN THE AFTERMATH of the shocking events in the 2012 sleeper hit horror movie Sinister, this sequel follows a protective mother (Shannyn Sossamon) and her twin sons who find themselves in a rural house marked for death. Directed by Ciaran Foy. The New York Times’ Andy Webster writes: “Sinister 2 can’t claim the same finesse, substituting pedestrian plotting and a more graphic gore for the original’s restraint.” Andrew Barker of Variety concurs: “Anyone who found the original a cut above the average horror pic will likely leave the theater disappointed, if not downright insulted.”
MTRCB Rating: R-16
