XD Now Playing
Dune: Part Two
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson
Director: Denis Villeneuve
• 166 min
Kung Fu Panda 4
Cast: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Viola Davis
Director: Mike Mitchell, Stephanie Stine
• 94 min
Now Playing
One Life
Anthony Hopkins, Lena Olin, Johnny Flynn
• 110 min
Love Lies Bleeding
Anna Baryshnikov, Kristen Stewart, Dave Franco
• 104 min
Knox Goes Away
Al Pacino, Michael Keaton, James Marsden
• 114 min
The American Society of Magical Negroes
Justice Smith, Zachary Barton, Anthony Coons
• 104 min
Arthur the King
Mark Wahlberg, Nathalie Emmanuel, Simu Liu
• 90 min
The Beekeeper
Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Bobby Naderi
• 105 min
Bob Marley: One Love
Kingsley Ben-Adir, James Norton, Lashana Lynch
• 104 min
Cabrini
Cristiana Dell'Anna, John Lithgow, David Morse
• 145 min
Imaginary
DeWanda Wise, Tom Payne, Veronica Falcón
Oppenheimer
Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon
180 min
Ordinary Angels
Alan Ritchson, Hilary Swank, Amy Acker
• 116 min
Coming Soon
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, Annie Potts
Monkey Man
Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Dan Stevens, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry
The Fall Guy
Hannah Waddingham, Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Dichen Lachman
Horizon: An American Saga
Jena Malone, Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller
Movie Guru's Current Movie Briefs
Since I write many of these briefs the day before the movies are released, what we have here are mostly ruminations on movies I have not yet seen. You will have to decide for yourself if these briefs have any value. I believe the less you know about a movie, the better chance you might enjoy it to the upside. Too many reviewers seem to go out of their ways to ruin for you with way too much information your upcoming movie experience. In fact my D graded Master’s Thesis proposed that reviews should be embargoed until after the opening weekends allowing moviegoers to see the movies fresh and without plot summaries taken right out of the press kits.- Knox Goes Away
Directed and starring Michael Keaton in a small time action picture, this movie is right up my alley. Al Pacino, Marsha Gay Harden, and their ilk capture their small roled quite efficiently, and this little film is definitely a must see for those who like old-fashioned hired killer movies.
- Love Lies Bleeding
Every movie that Kristen Stewart appears in makes me reevaluate her boring performances in the twilight series. Now I believe she did a great job in those films playing a boring young woman and making it seem so natural. In this film, she captures her character so well it will take your breath away. The less said the better. This movie is not for the fainthearted.
- One Life
Anthony Hopkins in what might be the last role of his career. And he seems to have picked a good one. The true story of a great man who endeavored to save as many children as possible during World War Two, this movie is worth your time and money.
- American Society of Magical Negroes
I am worried about this one. I have not seen a preview for the film, there is neither a poster on the walls or any buzz flying around the movie hallways. I will check it out and hope for the best.
- Arthur the King
Mark Wahlberg maybe does it again. He finds real life stories from around the world and patches together movies that offend no one. This is not an easy thing to do nowadays. Including a dog, the actual star of the movie, makes the movie all the more endearing.
- Dune: Part Two
This is a tough one. The great David Lynch filmed the original Dune in 1984. For many that first version is an embarrassment. I would not go that far though I do not object to viewers who feel that way. Personally I think Ethan Cohn’s solo effort Drive Away Dolls is the real embarrassment. Anyway Dune: Part One was good enough to deserve a Part Two (although the 1984 Dune, less than two hours long and covering the entire classic novel explained the backstory in a much simpler fashion.) But I am not complaining. Just wanted to mention that I am personally caught up in movie lengths as the two and a half hour plus movie run times are not yet part of my DNA.
- Kung Fu Panda 4
Yes. I am taking the grandkids. The previews remind me of Kung Fu Pandas 1, 2, and 3. I guess that will be good enough for them as long as I break out the big bucks for concessions. If you happen to catch Jack Black promoting his voice role, I warn you his scrubby bearded face and growing belly are a surprise.
- Cabrini
The most recent faith based story of a wonderful person doing good for the multitudes who ends up a Saint. (I still believe that Zefferelli’s Brother Sun, Sister Moon is the best of that genre).The running time of over two hours worries me, and my first choice of current faith based movies would be Ordinary Angels which fascinates me because of the lead character played by Amazon streaming’s Jack Reacher.
- Imaginary
This movie is not IF (Imaginary Friends) but Imaginary with a picture of a sullen Teddy Bear on the poster. Please don’t take the kids because this is not a family film. It seems, from the previews, to be a lame, low budget, derivative horror film.
- Drive Away Dolls
Brother Ethan Coen of the well respected Coen brothers team, writers and directors both, from the preview seems to have gone back in time trying to re-create the films that he and his brother made at the beginning. Whether this succeeds or not, there is the Thomas Wolfe book that says quite succinctly. “You can’t go home again.”
- American Fiction
When I viewed the trailer, I thought “hysterical comedy.” After the Golden Globes, I realized this is much more than a satire of a serious writer whose fame comes from a made up story about his family. This movie is number one on my list of must see now films about to break out after Academy Award nominations.
- The Beekeeper
Jason Statham – Yesiree Bob (or something like that). A new Jason Statham B action movie thriller. Who could ask for more? And this in our XD theater. Yikes. I am going today. Talk to you later if it’s not great, but I’m sure it is so have a great time and talk to you next week when ISS opens.
- Godzilla Minus One
This is a brand new English dubbed Japanese rethinking and tribute to the English dubbed (except for Raymond Burr) 1950s original. Bring the kids.
Wrong! This is a terrific, subtitled flick; a great movie with incredible sound design and award worthy effects, with excellent screenwriting, and an unbelievable final battle that dissolves into an unexpected denouement. The premium XD theater presentation for this one is worth every extra penny.
- Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan’s latest July release, this one concerning Julius Robert
Oppenheimer’s World War 2 commandeering of America’s greatest scientific minds in order to create the atom bomb. Of course this will be a monster of a movie which will punish you with more information than you ever thought possible.