Film Focus: ‘Avatar,’ ‘Housemaid’ and ‘Spongebob’ opening
9 mins read

Film Focus: ‘Avatar,’ ‘Housemaid’ and ‘Spongebob’ opening

The Editor0Tagged ,

Buffalo movies: What is showing and where

By M. Faust
(Photo above: Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried in “The Housemaid,” Photo by Daniel McFadden – © Lionsgate)

OPENING THIS WEEK: 

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH (PG-13) Number three of five. With Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin and David Thewlis. Directed by James Cameron, the pride of Chippawa, Ontario. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Aurora (no shows Tues-Thurs). Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

THE HOUSEMAID (R) A troubled woman tries to clean up her life by taking a job as a housemaid for a wealthy family. Trouble, of course, ensues. Starring Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, and Elizabeth Perkins. Directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS(PG) Number four of who knows how many. With the voices of Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Regina Hall, and Mark Hamill. Directed by Derek Drymon. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

NOW PLAYING: 

AKHANDA 2 – THAANDAVAM (NR) Sequel to the 2021 Telugu-language fantasy film. Starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, Samyuktha Menon, Aadhi Pinisetty, and Kabir Duhan Singh. Directed by Boyapati Sreenu. Regal Elmwood

DHURANDHAR (NR) Hindi language thriller based on the true story of government efforts to take down a terrorist network operating out of Pakistan NB: It’s 3 ½ hours long, which is long even by Bollywood standards. Starring Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, and Akshaye Khanna Regal Elmwood

ELLA MCCAY (PG-13) Writer-director James L. Brooks’ first film since 2010’s How Do You Know is a comedy with a political backdrop starring Emma Mackey as a governor-to-be juggling work and family issues. With Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Lowden, Kumail Nanjiani, Ayo Edebiri, Julie Kavner, Rebecca Hall, Albert Brooks, and Woody Harrelson. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2 (PG-13) Video-game based horror sequel. Starring Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, Elizabeth Lail, Matthew Lillard, and Wayne Knight. Directed by Emma Tammi. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

HAMNET (PG-13) Fictional story about William Shakespeare and his wife that asks what effect the death of their young son might have had on his work. Starring Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, and Joe Alwyn. Directed by Chloé Zhao (Nomadland). Dipson Amherst

JUJUTSU KAISEN: EXECUTION (R) Online fans are annoyed that one-third of this feature film of the popular anime series consists of scenes from the show’s second series. Directed by Shouta Goshozono and Yôsuke Takada. AMC Market Arcade 

NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON’T (PG-13) Guess they didn’t want to just call it Now You See Me 3. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, and Morgan Freeman. Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland). Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria 

SENTIMENTAL VALUE (R) After the death of their mother, two women struggle to reconnect with their estranged father in this drama that was awarded the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year. Starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning. Directed by Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World). North Park

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (NR) New remake of the 1984 slasher movie that outraged locals when it played the North Park at Christmastime. Starring Rohan Campbell, Ruby Modine, and David Tomlinson. Directed by Mike P. Nelson (Wrong Turn). Regal Transit 

WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY (PG-13) Daniel Craig returns as master detective Benoit Blanc in this third entry in the popular mystery series. Co-staring Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church. Directed by Rian Johnson (Looper). Dipson Amherst

WICKED: FOR GOOD (PG) Sequel. Actually, more of the same film, they just broke it up into two parts to get you to spend twice as much to see it. Starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum. Directed by Jon M. Chu. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Joylan (no shows Mon, Weds), Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

ZOOTOPIA 2 (PG) Ten years is a long time in coming for a sequel to a children’s film, but here it is anyway. With the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Shakira, Idris Elba, Ke Huy Quan, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson, and Danny Trejo. Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Joylan (no shows Mon, Weds), Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

ETC:

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)—Jimmy Stewart gets to see what life for his friends and community would have been like had he never lived in Frank Capra’s holiday classic. Co-starring Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame, H.B. Warner, Frank Albertson, Sheldon Leonard, and Charles Lane; look carefully and you can spot Ellen Corby and Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer. Fri, Tues, Fri Dec. 19 7:30 pm. Screening Room

THE ROOM (2004)—If you thought that James Franco’s portrayal of Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist was unbelievably over the top, wait until you see the real thing. This berserk melodrama by the multi-untalented Wiseau is the best so-bad-it’s good film since the heyday of Edward D. Wood Jr. It has its dull patches, but by no means should you leave before the ending. Wiseau will be on hand to present the film, along with his newest effort, Big Shark. Fri-Sat 7 pm. North Park

SCROOGE (A CHRISTMAS CAROL, England, 1951)—Generally considered the best film version of the classic Charles Dickens story, with Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge. Look for Patrick Macnee, The Avengers’ John Steed, as the young Jacob Marley. Also starring Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley, Ernest Thesiger, and Hattie Jacques. Sat, Tues 5 pm Screening Room

WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954)—It’s hasn’t aged terribly well, the mawkishness of the plot is mitigated only by the film’s failure to pay much attention to it, and the title song (which first appeared over a decade earlier in Holiday Inn) is framed with the reverence of a visit from the Pope. But I can never let December go by without watching it. Starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, and Dean Jagger. Directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca). Sun 11:30 am. North Park

THEATER LOCATIONS AND WEBSITES

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts