Black Mass R
Adapted from the 2001 book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill, this film is based on Whitey Bulger, a real-life organized crime leader in South Boston. Johnny Depp disappears into Whitey who, following a string of violent acts, spends decades as an FBI informant, using his protected status to take down a Mafia family invading his turf. Focused on the late 1970s and early 1980s, the film details Whitey’s ascent to Irish American gang boss and could be an Oscar contender. (Lisa Miller)
Everest PG-13
This adaptation recounts the freakish conditions causing fatalities among Mount Everest climbers on May 10-11, 1996. Present to write an article for Outside magazine, Jon Krakauer (Michel Kelly) sets the tale by detailing the squalor of base camp where climbers must first spend a month acclimating to the altitude. Predicted clear weather prompts three groups to make their Everest summit trek on the same day but leads to bottlenecks that leave them vulnerable when the mountain is suddenly engulfed by a storm. Realistically filmed for IMAX, this tragically compelling tale delves into the minds of those driven to ascend the world’s tallest peak. (L.M.)
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials PG-13
Adapted from the second book in a YA series by James Dashner, this science fiction yarn finds the escaped Gladers, led by Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), held and interrogated by the shadowy organization, WCKD. After learning the Earth has been decimated, the Gladers escape their keepers but find themselves in a desolate landscape armed with a vague plan to join the resistance fighters. WCKD sends paramilitary squads to hunt them down, and the Gladers must overcome people turned murderous by a plague while evading monsters that dominate the desert. As in the first film, Thomas and his fellow Gladers are determined to locate and destroy the forces responsible for toying with their lives. (L.M.)
