7 films to see on the week of February 21, 2020 — February 27, 2020
Little Women
THE story of the four March sisters — Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth — who dream of living a life on their own terms, gets a new adaptation directed by Greta Gerwig. It stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Timothée Chalamet, and Meryl Streep. www.rogerebert.com’s Tomris Laffly writes, “Gerwig taps into a radical proposition — she unearths a reflective sense of memory and nostalgia within the conversation she fosters between the film’s two timelines. Her structure of well-paced flashbacks, laced with emotional peaks and soothing cadences, is first a surprising puzzle and then a source of awe, but never disrespectful to Alcott’s intentions. It is a smart twist for Little Women loyalists as much as an inventive way-in for first-timers.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
Sonic the Hedgehog
SONIC and his human friend Tom join forces to stop the villainous Dr. Robotnik from capturing Sonic and plotting world domination. Directed by Jeff Fowler, the semi-animated film features the voices of Ben Schwartz and Tika Sumpter as Sonic, and stars Jim Carrey and James Marsden. The Verge’s Dami Lee writes, “Sonic the Hedgehog could have gone from a good to a great movie not by bringing Sonic into the human world, but by bringing audiences into his. Maybe we should just be thankful that the movie was watchable at all. Sonic’s success hinges on the character being likable, and the redesigned Sonic is easy to love.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
Bombshell
BASED ON the real scandal, the story follows the three women who exposed Fox News head Roger Ailes as a sexual harasser and the toxic atmosphere as he presided over the network. Directed by Jay Roach, the film stars Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman, and John Lithgow. Variety’s Owen Gleiberman writes, “It’s suspenseful, and deeply satisfying, to see Ailes’ web of power unravel, as Lithgow’s performance becomes a tightrope dance of rage and fear.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
Watch List
AFTER HER husband is killed from the drug war, a widowed mother struggles to protect her three children. Directed by Ben Rekhi, the film stars Alessandra de Rossi, Arthur Acuña, and Jake Macapagal.
MTRCB Rating: R-16
The Night Clerk
A YOUNG hotel clerk who witnesses a murder in one of the rooms while on duty becomes the lead detective’s primary suspect. Directed by Michael Cristofer, the film stars Tye Sheridan, Ana de Armas, Helen Hunt, and John Leguizamo.
MTRCB Rating: R-13
The Call of the Wild
ADAPTED from the literary classic of the same title, the story follows Buck, a big-hearted dog whose domestic life is disrupted when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home to the wilds of the Alaskan Yukon in the 1890s. Directed by Chris Sanders, the film stars Karen Gillan, Harrison Ford, and Cara Gee. The Washington Post’s Mark Lieberman writes, “In an age of children’s entertainment that’s snarky, self-referential and even meta, The Call of the Wild… stands out for its earnest effort to entertain without commenting on itself or the modern world.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
Brahms: The Boy II
A FAMILY moves into the Heelshire Mansion, unaware of the mansion’s history. There their young son befriends a life-like doll named Brahms. Directed by William Brent Bell, the film stars Katie Holmes, Owain Yeoman, and Christopher Convery.
MTRCB Rating: R-13
