Elvis & Nixon R
In one of the strangest footnotes in the history of strange times, Elvis Presley showed up at the White House in 1970 asking to see Richard Nixon. After tense negotiations, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll (dressed in full regalia) was granted an audience with the president of the United States. In this highly amusing comedy, Michael Shannon plays Elvis with a straight face and Kevin Spacey overacts (but only slightly) as Nixon. Worlds collided in the Oval Office, but Elvis got what he came for: Pledging to fight in the war on drugs, he received a badge as an agent for the Bureau of Narcotics. (David Luhrssen)
The Huntsman: Winter’s War PG-13
This prequel/sequel introduces Freya (Emily Blunt) as the younger sister of beautiful Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron). After her dark mirror reveals Freya’s infant daughter, Snow White, will become more beautiful than Ravenna, the queen casts an evil spell on the child. Freya’s anger unleashes her frosty powers to conjure ice, and she establishes a Northern castle where she raises an army of expert warriors to defeat Ravenna. Freya’s best, the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain), fall in love, prompting Freya to separate the pair and inciting a war with the Huntsman. Meanwhile, a revived Snow White orders Ravenna’s evil mirror found and destroyed. Minutely detailed special effects and lavish costumes lend sheen to the visuals. However, the screenplay lacks both viable characters and a plot worthy of reflecting so much beauty. (Lisa Miller)
Miles Ahead R
Miles Davis was at loose ends in 1975 when Miles Ahead begins. He had fallen silent as a musician and fallen deeper into cocaine and isolation. In this telling by writer-director Don Cheadle, Davis is drawn at least a little out of his protective shell by an unlikely sidekick, a white Rolling Stone writer (Ewan McGregor) who gets his foot in the musician’s door—literally—and is drawn into a dangerous gangland adventure involving the recovery of stolen master tapes from Davis’ most recent recording session.
Whether or not the story is true, the depiction of Davis is spot on. Cheadle stars as the legendary jazzman and masters his implacable mask of hostile indifference—that hushed voice as wispy as a plume of cigarette smoke or the lines he played on trumpet. Like Picasso and many other 20th-century artists, Davis was determined to keep forging forward, leaving it for others to curate his museum of past accomplishments. But inevitably, the past is always near in Miles Ahead as the story brilliantly slips between the funky Davis of 1975 and the cool jazzman of 20 years earlier. Cheadle is superb. (D.L.)
Walking With Dinosaurs Not Rated
The subtitle of this film—“Prehistoric Planet 3D”—lets you know that you will experience something of a visual immersion into a time long gone. 3D glasses (of rather decent quality) are utilized in this visually stunning, completely CGI film and, true to the genre, there are those intermittent “Boo!” moments when something jumps out at you. The film follows a young Pachyrhinosaurus as he maneuvers though the perils of Cretaceous Alaska, encountering other species—both dangerous and harmless—along the way. This BBC Earth/Giant Screen Film is currently showing at the Milwaukee Public Museum’s IMAX Theater. (John Jahn)
