Film Focus: Jan. 10-16, 2025
9 mins read

Film Focus: Jan. 10-16, 2025

The Editor0Tagged ,

By M. Faust

OPENING THIS WEEK: 

BETTER MAN (R) Biopic of Robbie Williams in which his character is played by an CGI monkey. To answer the inevitable question: Robbie Williams is a British pop singer. With Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman and Kate Mulvany. Directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman). Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA (R) Sequel. If you saw the original, you know what it was about, and if you didn’t, why would you want to see the sequel? Starring Gerald Butler, O’Shea Jackson and Evin Ahmad. Directed once again by Christian Gudegast. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

GAME CHANGER (NR) Telugu language action drama about a police officer fighting political corruption. Starring Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, and Sankalpa Banerjee. Directed by S. Shankar. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

IDENTITY (NR) A cop and a police artist try to uncover the identity of a grisly killer in this Malayalam thriller. Starring Tovino Thomas, Trisha Krishnan, and Vinay Rai. Directed by Anas Khan and Akhil Paul. Regal Elmwood

THE LAST SHOWGIRL (R) Pamela Anderson has been getting a lot of awards talk for her starring role here as an aging showgirl unsure how to deal with the future when her long-running show closes. With Dave Bautista, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brenda Song, and Kiernan Shipka. Directed by Gia Coppola (Palo Alto). Dipson Amherst, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

VANANGAAN (NR) Tamil drama about a vigilante who confesses to a brutal crime, which he presumably didn’t actually commit because then how would you fill up the 150 minutes of this movie? Starring Arun Vijay, Mysskin, and Samuthirakani. Directed by Bala, Pakkiyaraj Kothai, Lakshana Manimoly, and Mrudhula Sridharan (don’t ask me how you can divide a director’s duties up among four people). Regal Elmwood

NOW PLAYING:

BABYGIRL (R) Nicole Kidman as a CEO who risks her family and career for an affair with an intern. With Harris Dickinson, Sophie Wilde, and Antonio Banderas. Directed by Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria Read M. Faust’s review here. 

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (R) Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in a biography that culminates with his appearance with an electric band in 1965. Co-starring Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, and Scoot McNairy. Directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Aurora, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw Read M. Faust’s review here. 

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (NR) New adaptation of the classic tale, reportedly the most expensive French film of 2024. Starring Pierre Niney, Bastien Bouillon, and Anaïs Demoustier. Directed by Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte. Regal Quaker

THE DAMNED (R) In this psychological horror film from Iceland and Ireland set in the 19th century, the residents of a remote fishing village face a difficult choice when a ship sinks close to them. Starring Odessa Young, Joe Cole, and Lewis Gribben. Directed by Thordur Palsson (The Valhalla Murders). AMC Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

THE FIRE INSIDE (PG-13) Ryan Destiny as Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields, the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. Co-starring Brian Tyree Henry, Oluniké Adeliyi and De’Adre Aziza. Directed by Rachel Morrison. AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

GLADIATOR II (R) Sequel. Starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi. Directed by Ridley Scott (Napoleon). Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria Read M. Faust’s review here

KRAVEN THE HUNTER (R) This looks like standard action movie fare, but it gets at least some cred for being directed by J.C. Chandor, who has some very good films to his credit—All is Lost, Margin Call, A Most Violent Year. Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBosek, Alessandro Nivola and Russell Crowe. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

MOANA 2 (PG) Animated sequel. With the voices of Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Tudyk, and Nicole Scherzinger. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

MUFASA THE LION KING (PG) Animated sequel, or prequel or whatever. With the voices of Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Tiffany Boone. Directed by Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Joylan, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

NOSFERATU (R) Writer-director Robert Eggers (The Northman) inches toward the mainstream with this adaptation of the 1922 German horror film based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Starring Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Simon McBurney, and Willem Dafoe. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, North Park, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria Read M. Faust’s review here. 

SE7EN (R) IMAX re-release of David Fincher’s 1995 thriller starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as detectives hunting a serial killer whose crimes are based on the seven deadly sins. With Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey, Richard Roundtree and John C. McGinley. Regal Transit

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (PG) Sequel. A live action Jim Carrey joins a voice cast including Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba, and Keanu Reeves. Directed by Jeff Fowler. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Aurora, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

WICKED (PG) Adaptation of the long running musical that tells the story of The Wizard of Oz from the point of view of the Wicked Witch. N.B.: This is only part one. Starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, and Peter Dinklage. Directed by John M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Hamburg Palace, Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria Read the review by Mia Ciechalski here

ETC.

DEEP RED (Italy, 1975)—Aka Profondo rosso, the film that brought Dario Argento to international attention and put the word “giallo” into the vocabulary of horror fans. The story (a musician and a reporter investigate the killing of a psychic) is derivative, but Argento’s sheer technical panache is what keeps you watching. Starring David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, and Gabriele Lavia. Sat 7:30 pm Screening Room

THE THING (1982)—John Carpenter’s remake of the 1950s horror thriller in which the crew at an Antarctic research station uncover a long-frozen alien being. Some of Rob Bottin’s creature effects haven’t dated well, but otherwise Carpenter amps up the story’s paranoia to ferocious levels. The cast includes Kurt Russell, Keith David, Wilford Brimley, T. K. Carter, David Clennon, Richard Dysart, Richard Masur and Donald Moffat. Fri 7:30 pm Screening Room

THEATER LOCATIONS AND WEBSITES

Leave a Reply

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

Related Posts