Films This Week
Check out the movies playing around town.
With: Reviews,
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New This Week
BIG EYES Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams star in this biographical tale of kitsch artist Walter Keane, famed in the ’50s and ’60s for painting waifish, big-eyed kids, and his unsung wife Margaret, who actually painted the work. Tim Burton directs. (PG-13) 109 minutes. Starts Christmas Day.
THE GAMBLER Mark Wahlberg stars as a mild-mannered English professor by day and a high-stakes gambler after hours who pits his gangster creditor against the owner of a gambling ring in a risky gamble for a second chance. Jessica Lange, Brie Larson, and John Goodman co-star for director Rupert Wyatt in this update of the vintage James Caan movie. (R) Starts Christmas Day.
THE IMITATION GAME Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the troubled cipher genius who built the first computer to break the Nazi’s Enigma code during World War II. Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, and Charles Dance co-star for director Morten Tyldum. (PG-13) 114 minutes. Starts Christmas Day.
INTO THE WOODS While this musical fairy tale mash up from composer Stephen Sondheim and scriptwriter James Lapine wowed Broadway in 1987, it’s taken almost 30 years to get to the big screen. But now, at last, the timing seems to be right. Rob Marshall (Chicago; Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) directs an all-star cast that includes Meryl Streep (as the Witch) Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine, and Johnny Depp (as the Wolf). (PG) 125 minutes. Starts Christmas Day.
UNBROKEN Angelina Jolie directs this World War II drama that follows the true story of Louis Zamperini from American distance runner at the 1936 Olympics, to Air Force captain shot down over the Pacific, to survivor in a brutal Japanese POW camp. Jack O’Connell stars, with Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund, Finn Wittrock, and Japanese actor Miyavi in supporting roles. (PG-13) 137 minutes. Starts Christmas Day.
Film Events
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Now Playing
ANNIE The delightful Quvenzhane Wallis (last seen in Beasts of the Southern Wild) takes on the iconic role of the beloved orphan heroine of comic book page and stage in this updated revamp of the popular musical. Jamie Foxx co-stars as the Daddy Warbucks guardian, here a politician who adopts the orphan in hopes it will improve his election chances. Rose Byrne, Cameron Diaz, and Bobby Cannavale have featured roles. Will Gluck directs. (PG) 119 minutes.
FOXCATCHER Reviewed this issue.(R) 134 minutes. (***)—Lisa Jensen.
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF FIVE ARMIES Bilbo, Gandalf and their allies return for the final installment of Peter Jackson’s trilogy, in which the intrepid company battles the fearsome dragon, Smaug, to save Middle Earth. Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, and Cate Blanchett head the cast, with Benedict Cumberbatch returning as the voice of Smaug. (PG-13) 144 minutes.
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRETS OF THE TOMB Ben Stiller returns for the third and final installment of the series in which he stars as museum guard, Larry, on a one-night, global museum-hopping quest to save the magic that allows all the exhibits to come to life after hours. Robin Williams (in his last on-camera role), Owen Wilson, Dan Stevens, Rebel Wilson, and Ben Kingsley lead the cast. Shawn Levy once again directs. (PG) 97 minutes.
WILD The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. But the years of turmoil leading up to that step are as compelling as the journey itself in Jean-Marc Vallée’s screen adaptation of the bestselling memoir by Cheryl Strayed about one novice hiker’s quest for redemption on the Pacific Crest Trail. While the woman vs. wilderness motif provides visual engagement (with the inexhaustible Reese Witherspoon as Strayed), the backstory featuring the great Laura Dern as Strayed’s mother gives the film scope and resonance. (R) 115 minutes. (***)—Lisa Jensen.
