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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnes
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnes
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
(In Theaters on May 6)
In this new “Doctor Strange” entry, monsters and villians enter our reality through a tear between the multiverses. Frightening versions of Doctor Strange enter through the breach. He attempts to repair the rip with help from a great sorcerer, his mentor Wong (Benedict Wong), along with the aid of Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).
Master of the Mystic Arts, Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), believes Strange is behind the invasion and wants the doctor to be judged for this crime by authorities that include Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier. Latina teenager, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), travels between dimensions and therefore knows things. We learn she’s gay during a 12 second conversation. That revelation prompted Saudi Arabia to demand those seconds be cut from the film for its release there. Marvel and director Sam Raimi refused. For the rest of us, what sets this movie apart from Marvel’s 27 others, is Raimi’s trademark knack for creating chilling horror scenes, in abundance here. (Lisa Miller)
A Life Among Whales
(IndiePix DVD)
Whales sing to each other, and the footage from this documentary also shows them rolling on their backs like playful cats. As marine biologist Roger Payne describes them, the large whales are benign behemoths, never attacking humans, with hearts the size of automobiles and the largest brains on the planet. Their smaller cousins, the dolphins, really (not just in legend) have saved humans from danger. And yet, whales have been hunted to near extinction in an industrialized slaughter—despite lies to the contrary by the International Whaling Commission. Narrator Payne was a pioneer in the study of whales and the efforts to protect them. (David Luhrssen)
Oranges and Sunshine
(Cohen Media Group Blu-ray)
British social worker Margaret Humphreys (Emily Watson) was skeptical when approached by a woman who claimed to be part of a mass deportation of children to Australia in the 1950s. But soon the pieces of a lost story fell into place. Based on the true story of Humphreys’ 1980s campaign to find the truth, Oranges and Sunshine (2010) includes many quietly heartbreaking moments as mothers are reunited with sons and people learn that they were accidently assigned the wrong names—as if they were packages mislabeled at the shipping depot.
Most of the children were taken without full knowledge or consent of their (often) unwed mothers. Many worked in poor conditions at hard labor on Australian farms. Director Jim Loach (son of social realist filmmaker Ken Loach) avoids cinematic drama, allowing the story to make its points about unjust social systems. (David Luhrssen)
The Twin
(Limited Theatrical Release & Streaming on AppleTV, May 6)
Teresa Palmer and Steven Cree portray Rachel and Anthony, the parents of twin boys. After a car accident kills twin Nathan, the grieving family moves far away, to Finland, to make a fresh start. Their move to a small town adds to the sense of dread, but the location was a logical choice for co-writer/director, Taneli Mustonen, a Finn making his English language debut who uses the stark Northern countryside to ramp up the atmospheric chills.
The behavior of surviving twin, Elliot (Tristan Ruggeri) becomes increasingly erratic as the boy claims he’s talking to dead twin Nathan. An elderly local, Helen (Barbara Merten), offers snippets from her own experience that help move the plot forward. Rachel and Anthony argue about how to parent troubled Elliot. Swirling around them are murder plots, Satanic influences, hallucinations, pagan rituals and the probability that history is repeating. The third act is particularly strong. (Lisa Miller)
