Film Focus:  ‘Bonjour Tristesse,’ ‘The Surfer,’ ‘Thunderbolts’ all opening
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Film Focus:  ‘Bonjour Tristesse,’ ‘The Surfer,’ ‘Thunderbolts’ all opening

The Editor0Tagged ,

May 2-8, 2025

OPENING THIS WEEK: 

BONJOUR TRISTESSE (R) Fourth film version (the first starred Jean Seberg) of Françoise Sagan’s novel about a spoiled rich French teen who interferes with her father’s love life. Starring Chloë Sevigny, Lily McInerny, and Claes Bang. Directed by Durga Chew-Bose Dipson Amherst

HIT: THE THIRD CASE (NR) “HIT” stands for “Homicidal Intervention Team,” which should tell you all you need to know about this Telugu action thriller. Starring Nani, Srinidhi Shetty and Surya Srinivas. Directed by Sailesh Kolanu. Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

RAID 2 (NR) Hindi-language crime thriller about income tax officers who work with intelligence agencies to track white-collar crimes. Starring Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh and Vaani Kapoor. Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta. Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

RETRO (NR) A gangster promises his wife he will go straight in this Indian movie that promises “Love, Laughter, War.” That should cover every base. Starring Suriya, Pooja Hegde, and Jayaram. Directed by Karthik Subbaraj. Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit

ROSARIO (R) Colombian horror movie about a girl stuck in a snowbound house with her zombie grandmother. Starring Emeraude Toubia, José Zúñiga, and David Dastmalchian. Directed by Felipe Vargas (Grapefruit & Heat Death!) Dipson Capitol, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THE SURFER (R) Nicolas Cage as a middle-aged surfer whose return to the Australian beach he loved as a youth goes badly awry. Co-starring Julian McMahon, Nic Cassim, and Miranda Tapsell. Directed by Lorcan Finnegan (Without Name). Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

THUNDERBOLTS (PG-13) The 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, concluding Phase 5. If that doesn’t mean anything to you, you can probably skip this. Starring Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lewis Pullman, David Harbour and Wyatt Russell. Directed by Jake Schreier (Robot & Frank). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Joylan, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive In (Fri-Sun only)

NOW PLAYING: 

THE ACCOUNTANT 2 (R) The return of Ben Affleck as a military-trained math savant who makes a living helping criminal groups hide their money. With Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, and J.K. Simmons. Directed by Gavin O’Connor, who helmed the original. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Aurora, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive In (Fri-Sun only)

THE AMATEUR (PG-13) Rami Malek as an introverted CIA coder who goes rogue to avenge the death of his family. Co-starring Rachel Brosnahan, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Bernthal and Caitríona Balfe. Directed by James Hawes (One Life). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria 

CHEECH AND CHONG’S LAST MOVIE (R) Documentary charting the history of everyone’s favorite stoners. Directed by David Bushell. Dunkirk Multiplex

DROP (PG-13) In this Blumhouse production, a widow (Meghann Fahy) goes out on a date only to have the evening disturbed by threatening text messages. With Brandon Sklenar and Violett Beane. Directed by Christopher Landon (Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse). Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive In (Fri-Sun only)

THE LEGEND OF OCHI (PG) Fantasy adventure about a young girl braving a Carpathian forest to return to its community a baby primate that is the spitting image of a Mogwai from Gremlins. Starring Helena Zengel, Willem Dafoe, and Emily Watson. Directed by Isaiah Saxon. AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria,

A MINECRAFT MOVIE (PG) Video game adaptation. Starring Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. Directed by Jared Hess (Nacho Libre). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive In (Fri-Sun only)

PRIDE & PREJUDICE (PG) 20th anniversary re-release of the luxuriantly sensual adaptation of Jane Austen’s famous 1813 novel of manners, morals, the marriage market and social status. Starring Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Rosamund Pike, Donald Sutherland, Judi Dench and Brenda Blethyn. Directed by Joe Wright (Darkest Hour). Regal Transit

SINNERS (R) From director Ryan Coogler (Creed), a genre-mixing big budget movie starring Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers in the Jim Crow south who return to their Mississippi Delta hometown to open a juke joint. With Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, and Delroy Lindo. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive In (Fri-Sun only)

SNOW WHITE (PG) Another Disney live action remake of an animated feature. (Although in these days of CGI, “live action” doesn’t mean what it once did.) Starring Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, and Andrew Burnap. Directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man 2). Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria 

THUDARUM (NR) Malayalam-language comedy-drama starring Mohanlal as a rural cab driver who is framed by local police for an honor killing. With Arjun Ashokan and Shobana. Directed by Tharun Moorthy. Regal Elmwood

UNTIL DAWN (R) The answer to the question, What if you crossed a slasher movie with Groundhog Day? (I have no idea who is asking these questions.) Starring Ella Rubin, Odessa A’zion, Michael Cimino and Peter Stormare. Directed by David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive In (Fri-Sun only)

WARFARE (R) Former Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza co-wrote and directed this immersive drama set in real time about a sniper unit in an Iraqi household. Starring Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis and Kit Connor. Co-directed by Alex Garland (Civil War). Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

A WORKING MAN (R) This year’s Jason Statham thriller. With Jason Flemyng, Merab Ninidze, Maximilian Osinski, and Michael Pena. Directed by David Ayer (The Beekeeper). Transit Drive In (Fri-Sun only)

ETC.

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)— Life and the universe as seen by Stanley Kubrick. The apes, the monolith, HAL the singing computer, and a light show better than anything Pink Floyd ever produced, all in a new 4K restoration. Starring Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, and William Sylvester. Sun 11:30am, Tues-Thurs 1:30 pm. North Park

BLUES RUN THE GAME: THE STRANGE TALE OF JACKSON C. FRANK (2024)—Documentary about the Buffalo native who survived the infamous Cleveland Hill Elementary School fire in 1954 to release an influential folk album in the early 1960s, only to succumb thereafter to his personal demons. Directed by Damien Aimé Dupont. Mon 9:30 pm. North Park

ROPE (1948)—Alfred Hitchcock used Patrick Hamilton’s play based on the Leopold-Loeb murder case for an experiment in attempting a single-shot film, with reel changes disguised by invisible cuts. Starring James Stewart, John Dall and Farley Granger. (Now they just digitally fake it.) Fri 7:30 pm, Sat 5:30 pm, Tues 7:30 pm. Screening Room

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001)—Extended 4K edition of the first part of Peter Jackson’s exhaustive adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkein epic fantasy. Starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Brad Dourif, and Christopher Lee. Sun 7:45 pm. North Park

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2004)—Part three. Thurs 7:00 pm. North Park

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (2003)—Part two. Tues-Weds 7:00 pm. North Park

THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (France, 1964)—Catherine Deneuve stars in Jacques Demy’s musical love story in which every word is sung to a score by Michel Legrand. Glorious color, breathtaking choreography and a heartbreaking plot combine to create a movie musical like no other. Sun 2:40 pm, Mon 1:30 pm, Tue-Thurs 4:40 pm. North Park

VERTIGO (1958) – Guilt ridden over the death of a policeman and a woman he was hired to watch, James Stewart falls madly (literally) in love with a shopgirl (Kim Novak) who resembles the dead woman. With Barbara Bel Geddes, Henry Jones and Raymond Bailey. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Sun 4:50 pm, Mon 3:40 pm. North Park

THEATER LOCATIONS AND WEBSITES

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