'Jupiter Ascending' among Dann Gire's weekend movie picks

Coming up in Time out! Friday and online Thursday: A review of “Jupiter Ascending,” the Wachowski siblings' big-budget attempt to redeem themselves after their head-scratching reincarnation drama “Cloud Atlas.” The effects-stuffed interplanetary thriller stars Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum.

Also opening Friday: “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” and Jeff Bridges' supernatural thriller “Seventh Son.”

Movie guide

Four stars: superior. Three stars: good. Two stars: average. One star: poor. D (drug use), L (language), N (nudity), S (sexual situations, references), V (violence). Ratings by Dann Gire, Daily Herald Film Critic, unless otherwise noted.

Picks

“Birdman” — Nine Oscar nominations, including Picture, Actor and Director. Original, moving and fascinating movie featuring a stellar performance by Michael Keaton as a former superhero movie star, now a Broadway actor/director attempting a major comeback to redeem his artistic soul. With Emma Stone, Edward Norton and Naomi Watts. (R) L, S, V. 119 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ★

“Black or White” — A young girl (Jillian Estell) becomes involved in a custody battle between her maternal grandfather (Kevin Costner) and her paternal grandmother (Octavia Spencer). Reviewed by Jordan Mintzner, Hollywood Reporter. (PG-13) D, L, V. 121 minutes. ★ ★ ★

“Boyhood” — Six Oscar nominations, including Picture, Director, Supporting Actress. It took Richard Linklater 12 years to shoot this story of a boy's life from age 6 to 18. An amazing achievement that if viewed properly, comes off as an epic of tiny, sweeping changes. Ellar Coltrane is the boy. Patricia Arquette his mother. Ethan Hawke his father. An insightful and nuanced drama with a surprisingly rewarding payoff at the end. (R) D, L, S. 165 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ★

“Foxcatcher” — Five Oscar nominations, including Director, Actor and Supporting Actor. Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo star in Bennett Miller's strange, fact-based drama about billionaire John du Pont's bid to coach the U.S. Olympic wrestling team. It doesn't go well. (R) D, V. 130 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ★

“The Imitation Game” — Eight Oscar nominations, including Picture, Director, Actor and Supporting Actress. Wonderfully wrought fact-based drama about brilliant British mathematician Alan Turing (cool chameleon Benedict Cumberbatch) and his mission to break the Nazi Enigma code and win World War II. Keira Knightley and Mark Strong star. (PG-13) S. 114 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ★

“Into the Woods” — Three Oscar nominations, including Supporting Actress. Stephen Sondheim's musical chestnut finally gets an engaging big-screen redo by Rob Marshall, despite softening the stage show's adult elements of sex and violence. Fairy tale characters sing their hearts out while a giant menaces the land. Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine lead the ensemble cast. (PG) 125 minutes. ★ ★ ★

“Mommy” — Fierce, uncompromising domestic drama that captures the love-hate nuances of a mother-son relationship. Directed by 25-year-old Xavier Dolan. With Anne Dorval as the mom and Antoine Olivier Pilon as her violent son. In French with subtitles. At the Century Centre, Chicago. (R) 140 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ★

“A Most Violent Year” — J.C. Chandor's excellent examination of a moral man's strength as the new owner (Oscar Isaac) of a New York oil company threatened by corruption and greed in 1981 deals with violence, legal persecution and family threats. With Jessica Chastain. (R) L, V. 110 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ★

“Paddington” — A delightful, witty family comedy about a lovable bear (voiced by Ben Wishaw) who moves in with a human family in London. Nicole Kidman plays a 21st century version of Cruella de Vil. Starring Hugh Bonneville. (PG) 95 minutes. ★ ★ ★

“Selma” — Only two Oscar nominations: Picture and Song. Ava DuVernay's portrait of the civil rights movement avoids mythmaking and steers toward focused realism and continued relevance. As Martin Luther King Jr., David Oyelowo leads Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Tim Roth. Reviewed by Jake Coyle, Associated Press. (PG-13) L, S, V. 127 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ½

“The Theory of Everything” — Five Oscar nominations, including Picture, Actor, Actress and Director. Superb performances by Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones highlight this conflict-challenged drama based on the romance (and marriage) between British physicist Stephen Hawking and fellow Cambridge University student Jane Wilde. (PG-13) S. 123 minutes. ★ ★ ★

“Unbroken” — Three Oscar nominations, including Sound Editing and Mixing. Angelina Jolie directs a technically meticulous but less-than-inspiring survival tale based on Olympic runner Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) who survived 47 days at sea after a plane crash in World War II, only to become a Japanese prisoner-of-war. (PG-13) L, V. 137 minutes. ★ ★ ★

“Whiplash” — Five Oscar nominations, including Picture and Supporting Actor. J.K. Simmons gives an Oscar-grade performance as the obsessed, self-centered conductor of a conservatory jazz band. Miles Teller plays the student drummer pushed to the edge by the manipulative teacher. Excellent work all around. (R) L. 106 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ★

“Wild” — Two Oscar nominations, including Actress for Reese Witherspoon as a troubled woman who hikes 1,300 miles on a journey of self-discovery to find peace and redemption from a life of loss and emptiness following the death of her mother. Based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed. A time-shifting drama directed with aplomb by Jean-Marc Vallee. (R) D, L, N, S. 115 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ½

Passables

“American Sniper” — Six Oscar nominations (including Picture) for Clint Eastwood's technically well-crafted bio-drama about SEAL sniper Chris Kyle (best actor nominee Bradley Cooper). It starts out strong, then launches into context-challenged conflicts while his worried wife (Sienna Miller) waits at home. (R) L, V. 134 minutes. ★ ★ ½

“Big Hero 6” — Nominated for an Animated Feature Oscar. Young Hiro Hamada and his big puffy robot sidekick set off on an animated adventure filled with both sweetness and spectacle before it slides into familiar comic book-movie ruts. Reviewed by Jake Coyle, Associated Press. (PG) 95 minutes. ★ ★ ½

“Black Sea” — Subpar adventure about a British/Russian crew aboard a submarine attempting to salvage gold bullion from a sunken World War II German U-boat. Some good moments of suspense, then not-so-good. Directed by Kevin Macdonald. Starring Jude Law as the crusty commander. (R) L, V. 115 minutes. ★ ★ ½

“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” — Better than the first two Hobbits, but still a poorly written bloated piece of narrative about the fight over Smaug's wealth once the dragon has been killed. Superbly rendered action sequences, short on character. With Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett and Ian Holm. (PG-13) 144 minutes. ★ ★ ½

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1” — Realism dies in this protracted and sometimes silly chapter that sees Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) shooting down fighter planes with a single arrow and serving as a political spokesman for District 13 President Coin (Julianne Moore) while the beloved Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) becomes a TV mouthpiece for President Snow (Donald Sutherland). (PG-13) V. 125 minutes. ★ ★

“Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” — Zero Oscar nominations for this vapid, superficial kiddie nip in which Larry (Ben Stiller) travels to London's British Museum to stop a curse that's going to cease the magic transformation of his New York exhibit friends. With the late Robin Williams, Rebel Wilson and Owen Wilson. (PG) 90 minutes. ★ ★

“The Penguins of Madagascar” — Penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join Agent Classified (wonderfully voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) on an espionage mission in this animated comedy. Reviewed by Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press. (PG) 92 minutes. ★ ★ ½

“Still Alice” — Best Actress Oscar nominee Julianne Moore stars as a college professor stricken with Alzheimer's disease. With Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin and Kate Bosworth. Reviewed by Stephanie Merry, Washington Post. (PG-13) L, S. 99 minutes. ★ ★ ½

“Taken 3” — Liam Neeson returns with his particular set of skills to avenge his ex-wife's murder and clear his name. Needless to say, he leaves a lot of bodies in his wake. Reviewed by Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post. (PG-13) L, V. 109 minutes. ★ ★

Pits


“Annie” — A charmless and grossly materialistic bore, especially for now-adults of a certain age who still hold the '82 film version of this smash Broadway musical in high regard. With Quvenzhané Wallis, Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz. Reviewed by Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press. (PG) 116 minutes. ★ ½

“The Boy Next Door” — Inadvertently hilarious thriller about a “teenage” neighbor (Ryan Guzman) who seduces a vulnerable high school teacher (Jennifer Lopez) then goes bat-poop crazy obsessed with her. (R) L, N, S, V. 93 minutes. ★

“Cake” — A drab, dramatically inert redemption story enlivened by a sharp performance by Jennifer Aniston as a deeply scarred woman coping with chronic pain, unresolved trauma and an alarming fascination with the suicide of a young mother (Anna Kendrick) in her self-help group. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. (R) D, L, S. 102 minutes. ★ ½

“Mortdecai” — Johnny Depp stars in a crashing bore of a comedy. He's an art dealer out to recover a stolen painting containing the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold. With Gwyneth Paltrow. Directed by the fifth highest-grossing screenwriter in the world, David Koepp ($2 billion). Reviewed by Stephen Dalton, Hollywood Reporter. (R) L, S. 106 minutes. ★ ½

“Project Almanac” — High school buds find a device that enables them to time-travel. Enough with the “found footage” movies, please. Reviewed by Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press. (PG-13) L, S. 120 minutes. ★ ½

“Strange Magic” — Elmhurst native Gary Rydstrom directs a charmless, formula animated musical in which fairy princesses break into covers of pop tunes by Elvis, The Doors and other artists. Evan Rachel Wood and Meredith Anne Bull supply the voices with Alan Cumming as the Bog King. (PG) 99 minutes. ★ ½

“The Wedding Ringer” — A disappointingly bawdy farce about a lonely guy (Josh Gad) who hires a wedding specialist (Kevin Hart) to pose as his best man. Reviewed by Jen Chaney, Washington Post. (R) D, L, N, S. 101 minutes. ★ ½

“Wild Card” — Highland Park native William Goldman writes a weak remake of an old Burt Reynolds film (“Heat”) in which a gambling addicted enforcer (Jason Statham) goes after a gang leader. Reviewed by Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press. (R) L, V. 92 minutes. ★ ½

Unpreviewed

“Baby” — A thriller about an agent working to stop terrorism in India as a member of a covert counter intelligence unit. In Hindi. (NR) 159 minutes.

“Backstage Boys: Show'em What You're Made Of” — A behind-the-scenes look at the popular boy band. (NR) 105 minutes. Not screened for local critics, so caveat emptor.

“Dolly ki Doli” — A cop tracks a sexy woman, Dolly, who marries men, then cleans them out. A comedy version of “Black Widow”? In Hindi. (NR) 100 minutes.

“Hawaizaada” — A drama, set in 1895 Bombay, about scientist Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, inventor of India's first unmanned plane. (NR) 153 minutes.

“The Loft” — A thriller about five guys who share a secret penthouse for their sexual conquests. Until the body of a dead woman appears. James Marsden and Karl Urban star. (R) D, L, N, S, V. 104 minutes. Not screened for critics.

“PK” — Reportedly a moving saga about a friendship between strangers worlds apart, one of them being PK, an inquisitive and curious kid. In Hindi. (NR) 150 minutes.

“Spare Parts” — Four Hispanic high school students come together to form a robotics club under a teacher (George Lopez) in this fact-based drama. (PG-13) L, V. 83 minutes.

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