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
“Captain America: Civil War”— Self-aware humor offsets the deficiencies in this lengthy Marvel comic book-inspired thriller about a split between the Avengers over political autonomy. Captain America (Chris Evans) goes one way. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) goes the other. Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, Scarlett Johansson and others play the super delegates who must choose sides. (PG-13) V. 146 minutes.???
“Eye in the Sky”— An excellent morality play that couldn’t be more relevant. When U.S. military drones confirm terrorists are suiting up for suicide bombings in a Nairobi house, a U.S. colonel (Helen Mirren) insists a missile be dropped, igniting a smart, insightful, fascinating debate among American and British officials on how they should morally and politically proceed. With Alan Rickman and Jeremy Northam. (R) L, V. 102 minutes.?? ??
“The Jungle Book”— Visually stunning merger of live-action and CGI brings Rudyard Kipling’s beloved story to life, mingled with classic Walt Disney narrative touches, plus two songs, of course. Mowgli (perfectly cast Neel Sethi) meets Baloo the bear (Bill Murray) while trying to escape from a murderous tiger (Idris Elba). Simply delightful. (PG) 107 minutes.?? ??
“The Meddler”— Susan Sarandon’s transformative performance highlights Lorene Scafaria’s delightful, fact-based comedy about a meddling mother dealing with the death of her husband while driving her daughter (Rose Byrne) crazy. (PG-13) D. 100 minutes.???½
“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising”— A surprisingly smart script with pure grossout gags highlights this sequel in which the Radners (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) must deal with a new sorority in the old frat house next door. With Zac Efron and Chloe Grace Moretz. (R) D, L, N, S. 92 minutes.?? ?
“The Nice Guys”— Rollicking buddy action comedy about two private eyes (Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe) in 1977 searching for a missing dame, a secret porn film and some spending cash in Shane Black’s funny, violent criminal conspiracy tale. (R) D, L, N, S, V. 116 minutes.?? ?
“Sing Street”— John Carney’s delightful coming-of-age tale of a Dublin teen (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) who throws together a rock band in 1985 to impress an older girl (Lucy Boynton). Nostalgia and music merge with cutting realism. At the Century Centre and River East 21 in Chicago, plus the Evanston Century 12. (PG-13) L, V. 106 minutes.???½
“Zootopia”— Walt Disney’s animated fantasy is a “why can’t we just get along?” for the world, here a political allegory in which predators and prey work together in harmony. Until something bad happens and old prejudices bubble to the surface, throwing this comedy into a film noiry land of mystery and conspiracy. Voices by Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman and Idris Elba. (PG) 108 minutes.????
Passables
“The Angry Birds”— Loner bird Red (Jason Sudeikis) goes into group therapy for anger management just before some pigs, led by Leonard (Bill Hader), overrun Bird Island and start stealing eggs! An animated comedy. Reviewed by Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press. (PG) 97 minutes.??½
“The Boss”— Melissa McCarthy’s edgy performance as an unlikable business tycoon highlights this erratic, flaccidly edited comedy about second chances and de facto families. With Kristen Bell and Peter Dinklage, neither up to handling McCarthy’s level of comedy. (R) D, L, S. 99 minutes.??
“The Green Room”— A punk metal band becomes trapped in the waiting room of a neo-Nazi club after witnessing a murder. Jeremy Saulnier’s technically well-crafted horror tale has too many dull characters, even Patrick Stewart’s boss villain. (R) D, L, V. 94 minutes.??½
“Hello, My Name is Doris”— Sally Field shines in a condescending and compassionate, knowing and blinded, reassuring and unsettling comedy about a middle-aged accountant who falls for the company’s new, young art director (Max Greenfield). Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. (R) L. 90 minutes.? ?
“Keanu”— Popular comedians Key and Peele play two suburban buddies who pretend to be gangsters in a gritty underworld where they try to retrieve a stolen cat. The fish-out-of-water premise is the stuff of a five-minute skit, but in the hands of Key and Peele, it turns into something more substantial. Reviewed by Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post. (R) D, L, N, S, V. 100 minutes.??½
“The Lobster”— In this fantasy, single people are rounded up at a country resort where they have 45 days to find a mate or they will be turned into an animal of their choice. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly star. Reviewed by Jake Coyle, Associated Press. At the Century Centre in Chicago. (R) L, S, V. 118 minutes.??½
“Love & Friendship”— Whit Stillman directs a romance adapted from Jane Austen’s unfinished novella “Lady Susan.” It’s a talky tale centered on the manipulative ways of an attractive young widow played by Kate Beckinsale. Chloë Sevigny and Tom Bennett star. Reviewed by Sandy Cohen, Associated Press. At the Century Centre in Chicago and the Renaissance Place in Highland Park. (PG) 93 minutes.??½
“The Man Who Knew Infinity”— A trite but well-acted biopic about the relationship between a Cambridge academic (Jeremy Irons) and the young Indian math genius (Dev Patel) he mentors. At the Renaissance Place in Highland Park and other select theaters. PG-13 for smoking. 108 minutes.??½
“Money Monster”— This could have been an important movie about 21st-century journalism, but instead director Jodie Foster treats it as a routine thriller with shards of shrill humor and a tentative third-act moral epiphany. A disgruntled investor (Jack O’Connell) takes a bombastic Wall Street TV show host (George Clooney) and his staff (including Julia Roberts as the show’s director) hostage. (R) L, S, V. 90 minutes.??½
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2”— Fans of the 2004 hit might be pleasantly unsurprised by this safe, recycled sequel, again starring and written by Nia Vardalos. Toula (Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett) deal with their distraught teen daughter (Elena Kampouris) while her parents (Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan) discover they’re not legally married. So sitcomy, you might hear a laugh track. (PG-13) S. 94 minutes.??
Pits
“The Huntsman: Winters War”— This star-studded nonsense prequel feels like it was put together by a committee of robots who were given copies of “Frozen,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Chronicles of Narnia” and five minutes of “Snow White and the Huntsman” as source material. Reviewed by Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press. (PG-13) S, V. 113 minutes.?½
“Mother’s Day”— Garry Marshall’s vapid, insipid comedy centers around family members preparing for Mother’s Day. A misconceived symphony of artificial emotions playing our heart strings with a sledgehammer. With Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis, Julia Roberts, Hector Elizondo. (PG-13) 118 minutes.?
Unpreviewed
“Azhar”— “Love him. Hate him. Judge him.” A biopic on the turbulent life of former Indian cricketer star Mohammad Azharuddin, accused of taking bribes. In Hindi, Urdu with subtitles. (NR) 90 minutes.
“Baaghi: A Rebel for Love”— An ex-military agent in hiding has a bounty on his head, and the best bounty hunter is on his heels. They do not realize they have a common enemy. In Hindi with subtitles. (NR) 135 minutes.
“Back in the Day”— Anthony Rodriguez, a half-Italian, half-Puerto Rican teen on the streets of Brooklyn becomes a world champion middleweight boxer — with humiliation, retaliation, revenge and love. William DeMeo, Alec Baldwin and Michael Madsen star. (NR) 121 minutes.
“A Bigger Splash”— A “sensuous portrait of desire, jealousy and rock ‘n’ roll.” Starring Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson. (R) D, L, N, S. 124 minutes.
“Compadres”— Mexican superstar Omar Chaparro plays a cop out for revenge against a man who kidnapped his girlfriend and framed him for a crime. In English. (NR) 101 minutes.
“The Darkness”— Arlington Heights native Jennifer Morrison co-stars in this horror tale about a family that picks up an evil entity in the Grand Canyon. (So much for tourism PR.) Kevin Bacon and Radha Mitchell star. (PG-13) L, S, V. 92 minutes. Not screened for critics. Caveat emptor.
“Fan”— “King of Bollywood” superstar Shah Rukh Khan — one of Newsweek’s 50 most powerful people in the world — plays dual roles of a superstar and his obsessed fan in this thriller. In Hindi with subtitles. (NR) 100 minutes.
