7 films to see on the week of September 28-October 5, 2018
Peppermint
THE ACTION THRILLER centers on Riley North, a young mother who wakes up from a coma after her husband and daughter are murdered. She transitions into an urban guerilla when the justice system shifts to favor murderers. Directed by Pierre Morel, the film stars Jennifer Garner, Richard Cabral, and John Gallagher, Jr. Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers writes, “Peppermint dissolves into a series of absurd sequences in which the goons basically line up so North can punch, stab, shoot or blow them up. North also proves expert at healing her own wounds by stitching herself up with a stapler. Ouch! Meanwhile, neither the police nor the cartel henchmen can stop this one-woman army, who even manages to string up three of her family’s murderers on a Ferris wheel without detection.” Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 11% rating.
MTRCB Rating: R-13
Marjorie Prime
MARJORIE, an 88-year-old widow, spends her final days rekindling old memories with a computerized version of her deceased husband. With the help of her kin, Marjorie develops a deeper understanding of her late husband’s history and possibilities in reconstructing the past. Directed by Michael Almereyda, the movie stars John Hamm, Geena Davis, Lois Smith, Tom Robbins, Stephanie Andujar, and Leslie Lyles. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw writes, “The movie is to take a sudden turn that at first looks like a huge twist or trick on the audience, but is in fact part of an ambitious progression, a drama whose narrative stages finally give the action a dreamlike atmosphere in which the passage of time is telescoped.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
Papillon
A REMAKE of the 1973 original starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, Papillon follows Parisian safecracker Henri “Papillon” Charrière who is framed of murder and sentenced to the prison on Devil’s Island. He forms an alliance with convicted counterfeiter Louis Dega, who agrees to help Henri finance his escape. Directed by Michael Noer, it stars Rami Malek and Charlie Hunnam. Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers writes: “You could excuse the film’s relentlessly grim violence as a comment on the way current-day privatization of prisons veils horrific abuses. But Papillon pushes too hard with diminishing returns. Though Hunnam and Malek give it everything they’ve got, they’re denied the chance to make their characters as indelible as McQueen and Hoffman did.”
MTRCB Rating: R-16
Slender Man
A GROUP OF FRIENDS attempt to prove the mythical Slender Man’s inexistence. Events get mysterious when one friend goes missing. Directed by Sylvain White, the film stars Javier Botet, Joey King, Annalise Basso, Julia Goldani Telles, Jaz Sinclair, and Alex Fitzalan. Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore writes: “One of the most boring wide-release horror flicks of recent years, Sylvain White’s Slender Man attempts to make a conventional feature out of an internet phenomenon whose appeal seems to rest largely on its folkloric amorphousness.” Rotten Tomatoes gives it a measly 7% rating.
MTRCB Rating: PG
Exes Baggage
PIA AND NIX take a chance on seeing each other despite the wounds from their previous relationships. Directed by Dan Villegas, the film stars Angelica Panganiban and Carlo Aquino.
MTRCB Rating: PG
Night School
A GROUP of misfits attend adult classes in the hope of acing the GED exam. Directed by Malcolm D. Lee, it stars Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Robin Riggle, and Taran Killam.
MTRCB Rating: R-13
The Trigonal
A RETIRED MMA champion’s hometown is invaded by an underground fighting circuit. He fights back when syndicates assault his wife and kill his best friend. Directed by Vicente Soberano, the film stars Rhian Ramos, Ian Ignacio, and Sarah Chang.
MTRCB Rating: R-16
