'McFarland, USA' among Dann Gire's weekend movie picks
In Friday's Time out! and online Thursday: Film critic Dann Gire reviews “McFarland, USA,” an inspirational, fact-based sports underdog drama starring Kevin Costner as the coach of a disadvantaged high school cross country team anxious to prove themselves. Other reviews include “The Duff,” “The Last Five Years” and “Hot Tub Time Machine 2.”
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. ★ ★ ★
“Citizenfour” — Laura Poitras' excellent documentary on how whistle-blower Edward Snowden sought out the filmmaker to release thousands of classified government documents from the NSA, the agency he believes to be a threat to privacy and intellectual discourse. (R) L. 114 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. ★ ★ ★
“Kingsman: The Secret Service” — Matthew Vaughn directs a seriously violent but goofy parody of 007 movies with dapper Colin Firth as a spiffy agent bringing a promising street kid (newcomer Taron Egerton) in to fight a megalomaniac techie (Samuel L. Jackson) bent on destroying civilization. (R) L, N, V. 115 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. ★ ★ ★
“Timbuktu” — The Malian sands of this Oscar-nominated foreign-language film from Mauritania prove both beautiful and tragic as city and desert dwellers try to cope with a cruel if often halfhearted occupation by Islamist forces. Reviewed by Jake Coyle, Associated Press. At Chicago's Century Centre. Subtitled. (PG-13) V, thematic elements. 97 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ½
“Two Days, One Night” — One Oscar nomination for Actress for Marion Cotillard as a factory worker who must persuade her co-workers to give up their annual bonuses if she is to keep her job. Reviewed by Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press. (PG-13) thematic elements. 95 minutes. ★ ★ ★ ½
“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. ★ ★ ★
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
“Da Sweet Blood of Jesus” — Spike Lee directs a graphic remake of Bill Gunn's 1973 horror cult film “Ganja & Hess.” A wealthy professor (Stephen Tyrone Williams) becomes an immortal blood addict in this wavering tale of class privilege and selfishness. At the Film Center, Chicago. (NR) L, N, S, V. 123 minutes. ★ ★
“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) V. 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. ★ ★
“Old Fashioned” — Overwritten, slow romance that feels like a photographed stage play. A young woman (Elizabeth Roberts) arrives in Ohio and falls for an older guy (director/producer/writer Rik Swartzwelder) with really “old-fashioned” ideas about sex, marriage and respecting women. She has charisma. He doesn't. (PG-13) for “thematic material.” 115 minutes. ★ ★
“The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Sponge Out of Water” — The absorbent hero must restore order at the Krusty Krab, unable to crank out its beloved Krabby Patties. This 3-D animated comedy sequel lacks the infectious absurdity of the TV series and the previous 2004 movie. Reviewed by Jen Chaney, Washington Post. (PG) 93 minutes. ★ ★
“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
“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. ★>
“Fifty Shades of Grey” — E.L. James' best-seller comes to the big screen with Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as kinky lovers into bondage and S&M. (R) L, N, S. 110 minutes. ★ ½
“Jupiter Ascending” — Chicago's Wachowski siblings construct an outer space princess fantasy devoid of charm, thrills and internal common sense. A Chicago cleaning woman (Mila Kunis) discovers she is intergalactic royalty and a target for three odd siblings vying for their mother's throne. With Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne and Sean Bean. (PG-13) N, V. ★ 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
“Seventh Son” — An immortal knight (Jeff Bridges) must throw-down with an escaped wicked witch (Julianne Moore) he imprisoned centuries ago in this fantasy thriller, directed by Sergei Bodrov. (PG-13) L, V. 120 minutes. ★
“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
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.
“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.
“Roy” — A mystery/suspense thriller about a love triangle involving a filmmaker, a thief and a mutual love interest. In Hindi. (NR) 150 minutes.
“Shamitabh” — A dramatic ode to “the joy of being part of the cinema industry.” In Hindi. (NR) 155 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.