Paramount Pictures
Aloft (R)
Wintry imagery fills Aloft, a film by Peruvian-born director Claudia Llosa. The elliptical, time-hopping plot comes together gradually, assembled from the puzzle pieces of past and present. Aloft lacks rhythm and drags, yet its story holds interest as much for what it omits as what it shows. Jennifer Connelly stars as a single mother in a remote town; because of her terminally ill child, she is drawn into the circle of an enigmatic shamanistic artist-healer called the Architect. Cillian Murphy plays Connelly’s embittered adult son, separated from her by years of absence. (David Luhrssen)
Magic Mike XXL (R)
If you’re like me, you didn’t know there was a first Magic Mike (in 2012) until just now. Played by Channing Tatum, Mike is a male stripper who quit “the life” while he was still numero uno. In chapter two, Mike rejoins his stripper friends, known as “The Kings of Tampa,” for one last blowout show in Myrtle Beach, S.C.. While driving cross-country to do their final show, the bros make stops in Jacksonville, Fla., and Savannah, Ga., where various members renew old romances, start new ones, and begin to get closure regarding the lifestyle they will soon leave behind. (Lisa Miller)
Terminator: Genisys (PG-13)
In 2029, with mankind poised to defeat the machines, Skynet sends a virtually indestructible robot (Byung-hun Lee) back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) before she becomes pregnant with John (Jason Clarke), who will lead the resistance fighters to victory. Arnold Schwarzenegger appears as a reprogrammed T-800 terminator who is assigned to protect Sarah, along with Connor’s right-hand man, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney). Reese manages to spirit Sarah 14 years into the future, where well-choreographed action sequences offer little that feels fresh and new. The one surprise is that two younger CGI versions of Arnie’s terminator are dropped into the mix. Well, he always said he’d be back. (L.M.)
