Film Focus: Taylor Swift battles Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson for box office dominance  
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Film Focus: Taylor Swift battles Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson for box office dominance  

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Buffalo Movies: Daniel Day-Lewis, ‘Checkpoint Zoo,’ ‘Good Boy’ and four Redford films all hitting screens

By M. Faust

OPENING THIS WEEK: 

ANEMONE (R) Daniel Day-Lewis emerges from retirement (c’mon, we all knew it was only a matter of time) to star in this drama he wrote with his son Ronan (who directed) about a guilt-ridden man who withdrew from his family to live alone in the woods. Co-starring Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, and Samuel Bottomley. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

BONE LAKE (R) Horror thriller that begins when two couples are forced to share a vacation rental that they both booked. Starring Maddie Hasson, Marco Pigossi, Alex Roe, and Andra Nechita. Directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan Dipson Capitol, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

CHECKPOINT ZOO (NR) Documentary about the efforts of a team of team of zookeepers and volunteers to rescue animals trapped in a Ukranian zoo after the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Directed by Joshua Zeman. North Park

GOOD BOY (PG-13) A dog tries to save his owner from the ghostly forces haunting their new rural home in this SXSW hit. Starring Indy, Shane Jensen, Larry Fessenden, and Arielle Friedman. Directed by Ben Leonberg. Dipson Capitol, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

IDLY KADAI (NR) Dhanush wrote, directed and stars in this Indian musical, and that’s all I know about it. With Nithya Menen and Sathyaraj. Regal Elmwood

KANTARA: A LEGEND – CHAPTER 1 (NR) Prequel to Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 2. Starring Rishab Shetty, Jayaram and Rukmini Vasanth. Directed by Rishab Shetty. Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit

PERFECT BLUE (Japan, 1997, NR) Restored version of the anime thriller about a pop singer driven to madness by a stalker. Directed by Satoshi Kon. North Park

THE SMASHING MACHINE (R) Dwayne Johnson as UFC fighter Mark Kerr. With Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, and Bas Rutten. Directed by Benny Safdie, formerly of the brother duo that made Uncut Gems. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

SUNNY SANSKARI KI TULSI KUMARI (NR) Bollywood romantic comedy. Staring Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor and Rohit Saraf. Directed by Shashank Khaitan. Regal Elmwood

TAYLOR SWIFT | THE OFFICIAL RELEASE PARTY OF A SHOWGIRL (NR) Not a concert movie, but a documentary about the making of Swift’s new album “The Life of a Showgirl.” 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 (NOTE: Fri-Sun only at all theaters)

NOW PLAYING:

A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY (R) Fantasy starring Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie as strangers who meet at a wedding and are given a chance to relive their earlier lives. Somone really should have changed that title. With Jennifer Grant, Hamish Linklater and Kevin Kline. Directed by Kogonada (After Yang). Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

THE CONJURING: LAST RITES (R) Sequel. Starring Vera Farmiga Patrick Wilson and Elliot Cowan. Directed by Michael Chaves (The Nun II). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sun only)

DEAD OF WINTER (R) Thriller starring Emma Thompson as a woman lost while driving in remote Minnesota who becomes involved in a kidnapping plot. With Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca and Laurel Marsden. Directed by Brian Kirk (21 Bridges). Regal Transit

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA INFINITY CASTLE (R) Proof, if there was any doubt, that anime has gone mainstream. Directed by Haruo Sotozaki and Hikaru Kondô. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE (PG) “Finale”? I’ll bet money that Julian Fellowes is already working on a reboot and/or a prequel series. For the time being, Paul Giamatti and Joely Richardson join the usual cast: Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Joanne Froggatt, Robert James-Collier, Dominic West, Penelope Wilton, et alia. Directed by Simon Curtis (Downton Abbey: A New Era). Read M. Faust’s review here. Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

ELEANOR THE GREAT (G) Scarlett Johansson makes her directorial debut with this drama starring June Squibb as an elderly woman who resorts to lying about her past in order to make friends. With Chiwetel Ejiofor, Erin Kellyman and Jessica Hecht. Regal Transit 

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). Regal Walden Galleria

GABBY’S DOLLHOUSE: THE MOVIE (G) Feature adaptation of a Netflix series that you’re unlikely ever to have heard of unless you have very young children. Starring Laila Lockhart Kraner, Carla Tassara and Kristen Wiig. Directed by Ryan Crego (Shrek Forever After). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Angola (no shows Tues-Weds), Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Joylan, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

HIM (R) To the best of my knowledge, the first football horror movie, starring Tyriq Withers as an injured young player who submits to a desperate new training regimen. With Marlon Wayans, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, and Jim Jeffries. Directed by Justin Tipping. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

THE LONG WALK (R) Adaptation of Stephen King’s first and grimmest novel, set in a dystopian future where young men chosen by lottery compete on a walk in which the last one alive wins. Starring Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Charlie Plummer and Judy Geer. Directed, appropriately enough, by Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games). Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

THE LOST BUS (R) Docudrama specialist Paul Greengrass (United 93, Captain Phillips) helmed this thriller set against Northern California’s 2018 Camp Fire (you remember, the one caused by defective Pacific Gas and Electric power lines) starring Matthew McConaughey as a school bus driver trying to get two dozen kids to safety. With America Ferrera, Yul Vazquez and Ashlie Atkinson. Hamburg Palace

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (R) Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film, loosely inspired by the Thomas Pynchon novel Vineland, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a former 60s radical who tried to summon up his former fire when his daughter is kidnapped. Co-starring Sean Penn, Benecio del Toro and Regina Hall. 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-Sun only)

THE SENIOR (PG) Michael Chicklis as a 59-year-old man determined to finish the college football career that was sidelined decades earlier. With Mary Stuart Masterson and Brandon Flynn. Directed by Rod Lurie. Aurora, Regal Quaker

THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 2 (R) Horror sequel. With Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath. Directed by Renny Harlin (The Adventures of Ford Fairlaine). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sun only)

THEY CALL HIM OG (R) In Mumbai, a long-vanished mob boss returns to wreak vengeance on his enemies. Starring Pawan Kalyan, Emraan Hashmi and Priyanka Arulmohan. Directed by Sujeeth and Ashwin Neal Mani. Regal Elmwood

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). Transit Drive In (Fri-Sun only)

ETC:

THE 46ERS (2015, NR)—Documentary about men who set themselves the goal of climbing all 46 of the 4000+ foot peaks in the Adirondacks. Sat 11:30 am. North Park

Robert Redford in “The Natural”

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (1976, PG)—That this crisp docudrama about the investigation by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) into the Watergate coverup lost the Oscar to Rocky is one of those mysteries that will never be solved. Co-starring Jason Robards, Martin Balsam, Jack Warden, Jane Alexander, Ned Beatty and Hal Holbrook as “Deep Throat.” Weds 1, 4, 7 pm. Dipson Amherst

THE NATURAL (1984, PG)—Director Barry Levinson may have shifted the focus of the Bernard Malamud novel about an aging ballplayer given a second chance at the big time, but it’s hard to complain when the result was a movie so rich in memorable performances, luscious photography, and stirring music (Randy Newman’s score is a classic). If you don’t know that it was partly filmed in Buffalo, you can’t have lived here very long. Starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Barbara Hershey, Robert Prosky, Richard Farnsworth, Joe Don Baker, and Michael Madsen. Tues 1, 4, 7 pm. Dipson Amherst

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT (1992, PG)—Robert Redford directed this adaptation of the Norman MacLaren novel about a father and his two adult sons with many differences but one thing in common, a love of fly fishing. Oscar winner for Best Cinematography. Starring Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt, Brenda Blethyn, and Emily Lloyd. Thurs 1, 4, 7 pm. Dipson Amherst

THE STING (1973, PG)—Seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director (George Roy Hill) went to this much-loved movie starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman as 1930s hustlers out to pull the ultimate con on gangster Robert Shaw. Mon 1, 4, 7 pm. Dipson Amherst

THE TOXIC AVENGER (1984, NR)—The movie that put Troma studios on the map, about a janitor turned into a superhero after exposure to toxic sludge. Note: Just because it’s being shown at 11:30 in the morning doesn’t mean that it’s appropriate for children. Starring no one you’ve ever heard of and directed by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman. Sun 11:30 am. North Park

VIDEODROME (Canada, 1983, R) and RABID (Canada, 1977, R)—Two of the best films from the early career of David Cronenberg. Videodrome is a prescient sci-fi about an underground cable broadcaster whose programming takes over the lives of its viewers. Rabid stars once and future porn queen Marilyn Chambers as an accident victim turned into a plague carrier by experimental surgery. Both are pretty rough-hewn but fascinatingly unbounded looks into the dark places Cronenberg would go in the future. Fri 7:30 pm, Tus 7:30 pm (Videodrome only). Screening Room

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