Barbershop: The Next Cut PG-13
This threequel rejoins Calvin’s barbershop 12 years later. Now employing female beauticians as well as male barbers, the shop’s coed status brings with it all kinds of fun—as well as all sorts of drama. Calvin’s concerns over shop drama are minor when compared to increasing neighborhood crime that threatens both the shop and local kids. Hoping that doing good will be good for the shop, Calvin Palmer Jr. (Ice Cube) and his staff designate their business as a kid-friendly safe haven. But first, Calvin and the others need to clean up their own acts. (Lisa Miller)
Criminal R
When CIA Agent Bill Pope (Ryan Reynolds) is killed during a dicey overseas mission, the agency director (Gary Oldman) persuades a neurosurgeon (Tommy Lee Jones) to use an experimental procedure that implants Pope’s memories into someone else’s brain. Since the surgery could be lethal, death row inmate Jericho Stewart (Kevin Costner) is selected, though his suitability to complete Pope’s mission is suspect. Once Pope’s memories take hold, Stewart falls in love with Pope’s widow, Jill (Gal Gadot). However, Stewart struggles to function since his and Pope’s mindsets are distinctly different. Meanwhile, he’s pursued by authorities who believe the memory transplant was a mistake, and by Eurotrash baddies fearing the information Stewart now possesses will bring down their organization. (L.M.)
The Jungle Book: 3D PG
Seamless, engaging CGI brings this fantasy, drawn from the Rudyard Kipling books, to the screen. Raised by wolves, orphan boy Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is encouraged by kindly panther Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley) to find a new home in the company of humans. Bagheera guides the lad through jungle territories ruled by man-eating predators. Mowgli makes a powerful ally in the bear Baloo (Bill Murray), who protects him from the fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba), and an enormous tree-dwelling serpent, Kaa (Scarlett Johansson). The boy encounters King Louie, a huge smooth-talking primate determined to learn the secrets of fire. Fun-loving sidekicks include a baby elephant and a porcupine. Eventually trading its unique approach for that of familiar Disney fare, there’s still much for the whole family to enjoy. (L.M.)
Sea Monsters Not Rated
The subtitle of this film—“A Prehistoric Adventure”—is accurate. Rather than consume a lot of time with a scatter-shot approach to all things dinosaur, Sea Monsters personalizes the larger-than-life saga by following a single creature from cradle to grave. Referred to lovingly throughout as “Dolly,” the film’s central character is a denizen of North America’s Late Cretaceous inland sea, a Dolichorhynchop plesiosaurus. Many of Dolly’s contemporaries are encountered along her travels—friend and foe; predator and prey. Virtually the entire film is done with CGI—difficult to pull off convincingly in watery environs, but largely successfully so here. Sea Creatures shows through May 15 at the Milwaukee Public Museum’s IMAX Dome Theater. (John Jahn)
Wisconsin Film Festival
The nation’s largest university-managed film fest returns with the 2016 Wisconsin Film Festival. Spanning eight days, the event features over 100 films, ranging from documentaries to experimental, screened at the UW-Madison and select venues across the city. The festival runs April 14-21. For further information, visit wifilmfest.org. (Jake Culhane)
