Image © Universal Pictures
Book Club: The Next Chapter
Book Club: The Next Chapter
Book Club: The Next Chapter
(In Theaters May 12)
Longtime close friends (played by Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenbergen), reunite for a sequel that sends them on a girls’ trip to Italy. Vivian (Fonda) is mentally preparing to marry Arthur (Don Johnson), but all the women grapple with issues involving love, mortality and loneliness (Appearing as other love interests are Andy García, Craig T. Nelson, Hugh Quarshie and Vincent Riotta). Director Bill Holderman (once again co-writing alongside Erin Simms) reinforces that “Golden Girl,” friends-to-the-end atmosphere helped by a talented quartet of comic actresses. Sexuality, of the PG-13 sort, as it pertains to women of a certain age, often takes center stage. Why not provided that insightful observations bring oomph to the jokes ... if only more of them did. (Lisa Miller)
Hypnotic
(In Theaters May 12)
Writer-director Robert Rodriguez casts Ben Affleck as Austin Police Detective Daniel Rourke. Some months after his young daughter disappeared while in his care, the detective seeks to regain normality and returns to work. He promptly witnesses a heist engineered by a master hypnotist (William Fichtner). Clues left behind indicate the robber is linked to Rourke’s daughter’s disappearance, so Rourke tracks down Diana Cruz (Alice Braga), a psychic who claims to understand the hypnotist. Can Rourke trust her? Much like Christopher Nolan’s Inception, the film bends reality and the rules that govern it. This much we know: the film’s invigorating trailer showcases fresh ideas. (Lisa Miller)
Knights of the Zodiac
(In Theaters May 12)
Adapted from Masami Kurumada’s manga Saint Seiya, this live-action film brings anime characters to life. Madison Iseman appears as Sienna, the reincarnation of goddess Athena. Young and mentored by her father Alman Kiddo (Sean Bean), Sienna prepares to defend humankind against evil gods and goddesses seeking to destroy us. Sienna’s mother, Guraad (Famke Janssen), also possesses extraordinary powers, but aligns herself with the other gods. The story’s perspective rests in Seiya the Pegasus Knight (Mackenyu). After discovering he’s endowed with cosmic powers, Seiya becomes Athena’s protector. Mark Dacascos and Nick Stahl appear in key roles, showcasing magical armors and weapons wielded in the author’s manga realm. Directed by Tomasz Baginski and shot in Hungary, this PG-13 film was released in Japan and China on April 28. Distributing it everywhere else, Sony bets global box office receipts will spawn numerous sequels. (Lisa Miller)
Pilgrimage: The Voyages of Fernão Mendes Pinto
(IndixPix DVD, Streaming on Amazon)
The 2017 Portuguese film, entered in the Academy Awards, is a beautifully and unusually rendered account of history—or is it historical fiction? The source is the account left by a 16th century Portuguese adventurer who set forth as his small but ambitious country prepared to conquer the world (or at least world trade). His galleon was captured by pirates and from there, he claims to have been enslaved and shipwrecked multiple times, presented at several princely courts and reinvented himself as missionary and diplomat. Director João Botelho flashes to and fro temporally in scenes of lustrous light and shadow, employing a crew of sailors as a Greek chorus commenting on the narrative. Pilgrimage is a treat for art house film lovers. (David Luhrssen)
