4 films to see on the week of October 18 — October 24, 2019
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
IN THIS SEQUEL to the 2014 box office hit, Maleficent and her goddaughter Aurora are challenged to keep the peace between fairies and human as tensions rise due to Aurora’s pending nuptials with Prince Phillip. Directed by Joachim Ronning, the film stars Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, David Gyasi, and Michelle Pfieffer. Entertainment Weekly’s Leah Greenblatt writes, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’s script, sadly, is another story. Or not much of a story at all really: Instead, it mostly registers as a series of elaborate fauna-drenched screensavers stretched to fit across two hours of vague Disney myth.” Rotten Tomatoes gives it a rating of 46%.
MTRCB Rating: G
The Current War
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH plays Thomas Edison whose plans to bring electricity to Manhattan are upended by charismatic businessman George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) who is confident that he and his partner, the upstart genius Nikolai Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), have a superior idea to electrify America. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, the film also stars Tom Holland, Katherine Waterston and Matthew MacFadyen. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich writes, “A torpidly slow epic with a script that moves at the speed of light, the film is pockmarked with incidents that never cohere into a clear narrative.” Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 31% rating.
MTRCB Rating: PG
Prey
A TROUBLED high school senior is brought to an abandoned island to help him improve his behavior. Despite the isolation, he soon realizes that he is being pursued by a sinister entity. Directed by Franck Khalfoun, the film stars Logan Miller, Kristine Froseth, and Jolene Anderson. The Hollywood Reporter’s Franck Scheck writes, “Blumhouse has certainly proved very successful with its inventive, low-budget approach to horror, but now that the company is spewing out movies like an assembly line, more and more duds are starting to appear. Everything about this effort, including its hackneyed, overfamiliar title, smacks of laziness and a cynical indifference to its lack of originality.” Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 17% rating.
MTRCB Rating: PG
Isa Pa, With Feelings
MARA, an aspiring architect, meets Gali, a man with a hearing disability who learns music through vibrations. Gali communicates with and teaches Mara basic sign language so that she may also communicate with her deaf niece. Directed by Prime Cruz, the film stars Maine Mendoza and Carlo Aquino.
MTRCB Rating: PG
