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.???
“Dark Horse”— A leisurely paced British doc that will reaffirm faith in the basic goodness of people. A Welsh bartender puts together a group of investors to create a working-class racehorse champion named Dream Syndicate. At the Century Centre in Chicago and the Evanston Century 12. (PG) 85 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.?? ??
“Last Days in the Desert”— Rodrigo Garcia’s thoughtful, intriguingly layered interpretation of the gospel stories of Jesus’ confrontation with the Devil while fasting and praying in the Judean desert. At the River East 21 in Chicago. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. (PG-13) N. 98 minutes.???½
“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 screenwriter daughter (Rose Byrne) crazy. At the River East 21 and Century Centre in Chicago, plus the Evanston Century 12. (PG-13) D. 100 minutes.???½
“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
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”— Excellent visual effects and quick pace compensate for a rather dour, mirthless confrontation between the two DC superheroes (Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill), orchestrated by Jesse Eisenberg’s annoyingly psychotic Lex Luthor. More for fanboys than general audiences. (PG-13) S, V. 131 minutes.??
“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.??
“Elvis & Nixon”— A fact-based comedy about the day in 1970 that the King (Chicago’s own Michael Shannon) met the president (Kevin Spacey) to request that he become an undercover drug agent. A diverting, often absurdly funny double portrait of two men engulfed by changes they can’t fathom, much less accept. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. (R) L. 87 minutes.??
“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.? ?
“A Hologram for the King”— Tom Hanks stars as an aging corporate executive selling the Saudi government interactive holographic conferencing technology in Tom Tykwer’s intriguing, if uneven, adaptation of the Dave Eggers novel. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. (R) D, L, N, S. 97 minutes.??½
“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 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
“Being Charlie”— Well-intentioned, sloggy domestic drama about a drug-addicted teen (Nick Robinson). Directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by son Nick, who based it on his experiences in a drug rehab center where he met co-writer Matt Elisofon. (NR) L, N, S. 97 minutes.?½
“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.?
“Ratchet & Clank”— Ratchet, a catlike alien, partners with a “defective” warbot named Clank (David Kaye) and a bunch of trigger-happy, brawn-over-brains Rangers to save the galaxy from bad animation and cliched characters. Reviewed by Sandie Angulo Chen, Washington Post. (PG) 94 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.
“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.
“High-Rise”— Literal class warfare breaks out between the lower floors and upper floors of a high-tech apartment building when the power goes out. With Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Elisabeth Moss and Sienna Miller. At the Music Box, Chicago. (R) D, L, N, S, V. 112 minutes.
“Love Addict”— A hypnotherapist fixes it so that a womanizing chauvinistic male pig divorce attorney (Elliot Haddaway) becomes ill when sexually excited. (He doesn’t remember he dumped the therapist earlier.) (NR) 89 minutes.
“Most Likely to Die”— Classmates at their 10-year high school reunion are killed in bizarre ways related to their yearbook titles. With Jake Busey and Perez Hilton. (NR) 90 minutes.
“1920 London”— An Indian horror tale about a nasty witch who causes trouble for a nice young couple. In Hindi with subtitles. (NR) 120 minutes.
“Search Party”— Two buds reunite their pal with the woman he was going to marry in this gross-out comedy from “Hangover 2” writer Scot Armstrong. Rates ZERO on Rotten Tomatoes so far. (R) D, L, N, S. 93 minutes.
