Film Focus:  ‘Roses,’ ‘American Sweatshop,’ ‘Toxic Avenger’ among openings
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Film Focus:  ‘Roses,’ ‘American Sweatshop,’ ‘Toxic Avenger’ among openings

The Editor0Tagged ,

Buffalo Movies: What is showing where in WNY theaters

By M. Faust
(Image above: Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman in ‘The Roses.’ Photo by Jaap Buitendijk)

OPENING THIS WEEK: 

AMERICAN SWEATSHOP (NR) Tom Fontana co-produced this mystery thriller about a social media content moderator (Lili Reinhart) who witnesses video evidence of a crime during her job. With Daniela Melchior and Joel Fry. Directed by Uta Briesewitz. Regal Quaker, Regal Transit


CAUGHT STEALING (R) Austin Butler as a NYC bartender who gets into trouble with competing gangsters after agreeing to watch his neighbor’s cat. Co-starring Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Bad Bunny, Griffin Dunne, and Carol Kane. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Mon only)


HRIDAYAPOORVAM (NR) A man who is alive due to a heart transplant finds himself drawn into the life of the daughter of the woman who was the donor in this Malayalam-language romantic drama film. Starring Mohanlal, Malavika Mohanan, and Sangeeth Prathap. Directed by Sathyan Anthikad. Regal Elmwood

JAWS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY (PG) Advance information for this one has been pretty vague. Something about a fish, I gather. Starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw and Murray Hamilton. Directed by Stephen Spielberg (1941), AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Angola (closed Tues-Weds), Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Mon only)

LEAVING MOM (MANG ME DI BO) (NR) Vietnamese drama about a terminally ill young man who hopes to leave the care of his mother, suffering from Alzheimer’s, to his half-brother. Starring Hong Dao, Tuan Tran and Jung Il-woo. Directed by Mo Hong-jin. Regal Walden Galleria

LOKAH – CHAPTER 1: CHANDRA (NR) A young woman becomes a superhero in this Indian fantasy adventure. Starring Tovino Thomas, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Arun Kurian. Directed by Dominic Arun. Regal Elmwood

MAA JAYE (NR) Punjabi drama about the lifetime relationship between two brothers. Starring Rehmat Rattan, Bridgett Riesterer-Haines and Jimmy Shergill. Directed by Navaniat Singh. Regal Elmwood

ODUM KUTHIRA CHADUM KUTHIRA (NR) Malayalam-language romantic comedy-drama. Starring Fahadh Faasil, Revathi Pillai and Kalyani Priyadarshan. Directed by Althaf Salim. Regal Elmwood

PARAM SUNDARI (NR) The romance between a young couple from different regions of India sparks waves of culture clash. Starring Sidharth Malhotra, Janhvi Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor. Directed by Tushar Jalota. Regal Elmwood

THE ROSES (R) Remake of the classic 1988 divorce comedy The War of the Roses. I will try hard to keep an open mind about this, but it won’t be easy. Starring Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kate McKinnon, Andy Samberg and Allison Janney. Directed by Jay Roach (Meet the Fockers). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, North Park, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

RUN (PG-13) It’s invading aliens versus a group of women out for a girls’ weekend at a forest cabin. Starring Annie Ngosi Ilonzeh, Marques Houston, Erica Mena and Erica Pinkett. The sixth film this year directed by Chris Stokes (all of the others were Tubi premieres). Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

SIGN O’ THE TIMES (PG-13) IMAX re-release of Prince’s concert film from 1987, when he was arguably at the peak of his powers. Regal Transit (Fri-Sun only)

SUNDARAKANDA (NR) Telugu language romantic comedy. Starring Ajay, Vasuki Anand and Raghu Babu. Directed by Venkatesh Nimmalapud. Regal Elmwood

THE TOXIC AVENGER (R) Remake of the 1984 Troma movie about a janitor turned into a superhero by toxic waste. Starring Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay and Taylour Paige. Directed by Macon Blair. Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Mon only)

NOW PLAYING:

THE BAD GUYS 2 (PG) Animated sequel. With the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Colin Jost, Natasha Lyonne, Richard Ayoade, and Alex Borstein. Directed by Pierre Perifel. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Aurora, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive-In 

EDEN (R) Ron Howard directed this big-budget drama based on a true story from 1929 about Europeans coming to an isolated South Seas island to build a new society only to find themselves fighting each other as well as the elements. Starring Jude Law, Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Brühl and Richard Roxburgh. Regal Quaker

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS (PG-13) The beginning of Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Which either means something to you or it doesn’t. Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss‑Bachrach and Julia Garner. Directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

FREAKIER FRIDAY (PG) Sequel to the 2003 remake of the 1976 Disney comedy. Reportedly the cast all play age-appropriate roles. Starring Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chad Michael Murray, and Mark Harmon. Directed by Nisha Ganatra (Late Night). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Joylan, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

HIGHEST 2 LOWEST (R) Spike Lee’s remake of the Akira Kurosawa police drama High to Low, starring Denzel Washington as a businessman facing a moral dilemma when kidnappers mistakenly take a friend’s child instead of his own. With Ilfenesh Hadera and Jeffrey Wright. Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol

HONEY DON’T! (R) Margaret Qualley stars as a private, um, dick in this second part of a loosely woven “lesbian B-movie trilogy” by director Ethan Coen (working without his brother Joel) and writer Tricia Cooke. With Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Charlie Day and Billy Eichner. Dipson Amherst, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (R) Remake of the 1997 horror movie, don’t ask me why. Starring Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. Transit Drive In 

JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH (PG-13) Illustrating Joe Bob Briggs’ law of sequels: When you make a sequel, it should be as much as possible the exact same movie as all the others. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, and Rupert Friend. Directed by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Regal Walden Galleria

LILO & STITCH (PG) Another live-action remake of a Disney animated movie. Didn’t they learn anything from Snow White? Starring Sydney Elizabeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Courtney B. Vance, and Zach Galifianakis. Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

THE NAKED GUN (PG-13) Slapstick comedy series rebooted to give 73-year-old Liam Neeson a break from having to run around in action movies. With Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser and Danny Huston. Directed by former SNL writer Akiva Schaffer. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Flix, Hamburg Palace, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

NE ZHA 2 (NR) If you can believe what you read on imdb.com, this Chinese animated fantasy is the first non-American film to earn more than a billion dollars at the box office. Which I guess guarantees there will be a Ne Zha 3. Directed by Yu Yang. Regal Walden Galleria

NOBODY 2 (R) The return of Bob Odenkirk as an assassin turned suburban dad. Remember when they only made sequels to hit movies? With Christopher Lloyd, Connie Nielsen, Sharon Stone and RZA. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto (The Shadow Strays). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

RELAY (NR) Technothriller starring Riz Ahmed as a dark web specialist who brokers deals between whistleblowers and the corporations whose existence they threaten. With Lily James, Sam Worthington, and Victor Garber. Directed by David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water). AMC Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

SHIN GODZILLA (2016, PG-13) Re-release of what fans consider one of the better of the zillion recent Godzilla movies. Starring Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi and Satomi Ishihara. Directed by Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno. Regal Transit

SKETCH (PG) The grotesque drawings made by a child grieving for her dead mother come to life in this family adventure that every review seems compelled to compare to the films of Steven Spielberg. Starring Tony Hale, D’Arcy Carden, and Bianca Berry Tarantino. Directed by Seth Worley. Regal Quaker

SUPERMAN (PG-13) Director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) takes over the task of trying to turn the original superhero into a studio tentpole. Starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Bradley Cooper, Skyler Gisondo, and Wendell Pierce. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

TOGETHER (R) Horror stuff starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple whose troubles get worse when they move to the country. Directed by Michael Shanks. Regal Transit 

TRUST (R) A Hollywood actress (Sophie Turner) looking for peace in a secluded cabin finds that a home invasion is only the beginning of her problems. With Rhys Coiro, Billy Campbell and Katey Sagal. Directed by Carlson Young. Regal Walden Galleria

WEAPONS (R) A community slowly unravels after all the local third graders except one disappear overnight. Starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, and Alden Ehrenreich. Directed by Zach Cregger (Barbarian). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive In

ETC:

20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957, NR)—A giant monster from Venus wreaks havoc in Sicily in the first movie to showcase one of animator Ray Harryhausen’s creations. Starring William Hopper, Joan Taylor and Thomas Browne Henry. Directed by Nathan Juran (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad). Sat-Sun 11:30 am. North Park

GREASE (1978, PG)—The 1950s as they were re-imagined in the 1970s. Starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and cameos from a host of classic film faces including Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Joan Blondell, and Eddie Deezen. Directed by Randal Kleiser (Summer Lovers). Fri 7:30 pm. Screening Room

OPERA (Italy, 1988, NR)—For my money, Dario Argento’s most sustained horror thriller, with a young opera singer stalked by a psychotic killer. Starring Cristina Marsillach, Ian Charleson, Urbano Barberini and Daria Nicolodi. Sat 7:30 pm. Screening Room

THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS (1947, NR)—Noirish character study starring Barbara Stanwyck as a woman whose failed teenage romance comes back to haunt her as an adult. Co-starring Van Heflin, Judith Anderson, Lizabeth Scott, and Kirk Douglas (his debut); look for future director Blake Edwards in a bit part as a sailor. Thu 7:30 pm. Screening Room

THEATER LOCATIONS AND WEBSITES

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