Gringo (Rated R)
An American corporation intent upon saving money sends mild-mannered Harold (David Oyelowo) to Mexico seeking a facility to manufacture the company’s new medical marijuana pill. All is well until Harold is kidnapped for ransom by a Mexican cartel. His bosses, Elaine and Richard (Charlize Theron and Joel Edgerton, respectively), hire Mitch the mercenary (Sharlto Copely) to rescue Harold, but Mitch’s unconventional methods are problematic. Filled with outrageous situations, this action-comedy casts Theron as a corporate vixen using her every last asset to full effect. Meanwhile, Copely’s off-kilter mercenary finds Harold depending upon not only his wits, but also upon prayer and luck.
The Hurricane Heist (Rated PG-13)
Combining the disaster and heist genres, a category 5 hurricane rolls into Southern Alabama moments before overly ambitious criminals can rob $600 million from a U.S. Treasury vault. Maggie Grace portrays Treasury agent Casey, keeper of the vault code. When she escapes, helped by meteorologist Will (Toby Kebbell), the crooks are in hot pursuit. Fortunately, Will knows enough about hurricanes to use the storm against the robbers while keeping himself and Casey alive. Excellent special effects take their toll on the film’s $35 million budget, shaved by using Bulgarian locations to stand in for coastal Alabama. Perhaps the screenplay was outsourced, too, because we rarely hear so much cringe-worthy dialogue in the same film.
The Strangers: Prey at Night (Rated R)
Released 10 years after the original, this slasher-horror revisits killers targeting random prey simply because it’s fun. New actors step up to play Dollface (Emma Bellomy), the Man in the Mask (Damian Maffei) and Pin-Up Girl (Lea Enslin), but they remain the same ruthless threesome. This time, after a family arrives at a secluded and strangely deserted mobile home park, the killers set about brutally terrorizing their quarry. Movies of this ilk depend upon the intended victims’ ability to run, hide and fight back. Here, the family best bring its A-game, because their trailer-home offers little protection. Though not a favorite of critics, The Strangers grabbed $82 million on a $9 million budget. Its mysterious killers and un-Hollywood ending earned it a cult following. We can only hope that this one’s ending will also thumb its celluloid nose at conventional wisdom.
A Wrinkle in Time (Rated PG)
Meg Murry (Storm Reid) is a mentally gifted middle school student and the multi-ethnic daughter of two renowned physicists. Meg’s low self-esteem is compounded when her father (Chris Pine) goes missing. Along with her brilliant younger brother, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), and fellow classmate Calvin (Levi Miller), Meg meets three beings who claim they can help the kids find Mr. Murry. These lovely celestial guides are Mrs. Which (a white-haired Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon topped in red hair) and Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling). Their guides use a method of wrinkling time to transport the kids to other life-sustaining planets. These other worlds are spectacular; however, the kids learn Meg’s father is battling a great evil that is intent upon engulfing the universe. Disney’s theatrical release remakes the 2003 TV movie adapted from Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel.
