Carrie R
Apparently every generation needs its own version of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and now Steven King’s Carrie. Or, Hollywood was hankering for Chloë Grace Moretz to get her own coming-of-age film, making the transition from child vigilante or vampire, to hormonal teen—a creature scarier than ever. Born with telekinetic powers, Carrie’s strange behavior makes her an outcast at school, while at home she endures an emotionally abusive mother (Julianne Moore). Carrie’s thrilled when she’s asked to the prom, but neither her mom nor the mean kids are going to let her enjoy it. That’s too bad since Carrie can’t control her telekinetic powers when she gets upset, and they’re about to make her very, very upset. (Lisa Miller)
Escape Plan R
Deceived and wrongly incarcerated, it’s a good thing that Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) is a foremost authority on structural security because he’s been dumped in an ultra high-tech facility nicknamed “The Tomb,” by a super baddie (Jim Caviezel). In order to accomplish a daring escape plan and bring his persecutors to justice, Breslin befriends, then recruits, German inmate Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Between their rippling muscles and snarky one-liners, this pair of senior action stars sets out to prove that 60 is the new 30—or maybe 40. (L.M.)
Wadjda PG
Much like 10-year old schoolgirls anywhere, Wadjda likes pop music, teases the boys and stakes her boundaries through small acts of disobedience. But she lives in Saudi Arabia, where boundaries for girls are tightly drawn and strictly enforced. Directed by pioneering Saudi female filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour, and filmed inside the kingdom, Wadjda is a rare and candid look at women’s roles inside that country. The enterprising Wadjda is scraping money together to buy a bike, but girls are discouraged from riding bicycles in a land of double standards and countless obstacles. While charmingly acted and hopeful in tone, Wadjda doesn’t smooth the sharp edges from the many dilemmas of womanhood in a place where a 10-year-old girl could be married off to a 20-year-old boy. (David Luhrssen)
