Upcoming Theatrical Releases
He Named Me Malala
Director: Davis Guggenheim
PG-13; 2 hr.
Trailer
HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Malala Yousafzai, who was wounded when Taliban gunmen opened fire on her and her friends’ school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 15-year-old teenager, who had been targeted for speaking out on behalf of girls’ education in her region of Swat Valley in Pakistan, was shot in the head, sparking international media outrage. An educational activist in Pakistan, Yousafzai has since emerged as a leading campaigner for the rights of children worldwide and in December 2014, became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. (Synopsis by Fox Searchlight)
It is a shame that this production was so carefully crafted, because it becomes too slick and sets Malala apart from the audience. The small moments where she is shown are more powerful than the requisite journalistic interviews that are supposed to be the heart. Rent it.
Pan
Director: Joe Wright
PG; 1 hr. 51 min.
Trailer
The story of an orphan who is spirited away to the magical Neverland. There, he finds both fun and dangers, and ultimately discovers his destiny — to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan. (Synopsis by Warner Bros.)
There were early signs that this was not going to be very good. Turns out those rumors were right. This is a mess of sound and color signifying nothing. There is simply too many things going on, and none of them are good. Skip it.
The Walk
Director: Robert Zemeckis
PG; 2 hr. 3 min.
Trailer
The Walk is the true story of a young dreamer, Philippe Petit, and a band of unlikely recruits who together achieve the impossible: an illegal wire walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. With little more than nerve and blind ambition, Petit and his ragtag crew overcome daunting physical obstacles, betrayals, countless close calls and overwhelming odds to beat the system and execute their mad plan. (Synopsis by Sony
Other than causing audiences to literally get sick from induced vertigo, this is a fairly strong film once it gets all the pieces in place. Zemeckis’ talent is on full display; this is a piece that has the best elements of entertainment, drama, and pop sensibilities. See it.
99 Homes
Director: Ramin Bahrani
R; 1 hr. 52 min.
Trailer
Set amidst the backdrop of the 2008 housing market catastrophe, Dennis Nash, a hard-working and honest man, can’t save his family home despite his best efforts. Thrown to the streets with alarming precision by real estate shark Mike Carver, Dennis, out of work and luck, is given a unique opportunity – to join Carver’s crew and put others through the harrowing ordeal done to him in order to earn back what’s his. Delicately training his eye on the rigorous details, the reliably astute Ramin Bahrani imbues his characters with icy complexity to achieve his compassionate portrait of a man whose integrity has become ensnared within an all-too-relevant American crisis. With precision and care, Bahrani’s provocative character study applies all the cinematic tools at his disposal to explore the ethical dilemma at the heart of man’s struggle to reach higher – by whatever means necessary. (Synopsis by Broad Green Pictures)
Check out my review later this week on The Dagger.
Upcoming DVD Releases
None of note.
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