Birds of Prey (Rated R)
As DC comic book characters Harley Quinn, the Huntress and Black Canary, Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell portray outlandish female superheroes. Robbie’s loquacious Quinn takes center stage, but I’ll take Winstead’s quietly simmering Huntress any day. These Gotham residents unite in order to stop crime lord Roman Sionis’ supervillain identity, Black Mask (Ewan McGregor), from killing a young girl who has ingested a diamond he covets. Along the way, the women celebrate killing numerous goons and assassins. Their enjoyment of overcoming these male baddies is an allegory for feminists subduing macho men. Beneath her red lips, runny mascara and smudged make-up, Quinn is the poster girl for cheerful crime-fighters.
Horse Girl (Rated R)
(Streaming on Netflix)
Alison Brie strikes the right tone of “adorkability” in this genre-bender that explores her character’s deteriorating mental health. Co-written by Brie and director Jeff Baena, the actress draws upon the checkered history of her own family in the role of Sarah. Following her mother's suicide, she fills her lonely existence with television, crafting, a beloved horse and her weekly Zumba class. Then, following a date with potential love interest Darren (John Reynolds), Sarah is increasingly unable to recognize the difference between reality and her fantastical dreams. Concerned for her well-being is Sarah’s stepfather (Paul Reiser) and a co-worker (Molly Shannon).
