Here are snapshots of what our movie reviewers thought of the movies opening this week in the Seattle area. (Star ratings are granted on a scale of zero to four.)
★★★“A Wrinkle in Time” (PG; 115 minutes): Sometimes you want to fall in love, but the object of your affection, however charming, just isn’t right for you. That’s OK — as a friend of mine’s mother says, there’s a lid for every pot. And there will likely be many lids for the warmhearted, bubbling-over pot that is “A Wrinkle in Time,” Ava DuVernay’s new adaptation of the beloved 1962 Madeleine L’Engle novel about a young girl named Meg (Storm Reid) who travels into a different dimension to find her missing father. Full review.— Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times arts critic
★★ ½ “Thoroughbreds” (R; 90 minutes): Basically what you get with Cory Finley’s film: sardonic teens, thumping drums, insanely lavish Connecticut homes and a noirish murder plot. The dark satire stars Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy and Anton Yelchin, in one of his final performances on screen. Full review.— Moira Macdonald
★ “Gringo” (R; 110 minutes): The film has no spark, no fizz as it follows a hapless Chicago executive (David Oyelowo) who finds himself cast adrift in Mexico, betrayed by his bosses and pursued by narcoterrorists. Full review.— Soren Andersen, Special to The Seattle Times
Most Read Entertainment Stories
Unlimited Digital Access: $1 for 4 weeks
“Submission” (not rated; 106 minutes): Even though it’s based on a book by Francine Prose published 18 years ago, and draws inspiration from a film from 1930 (itself based on a 1905 novel), the timeliness of Richard Levine’s movie — about a middle-aged college teacher (Stanley Tucci) who has sex with a student (Addison Timlin) — might strike you as downright unnerving. Full review. The New York Times does not provide star ratings with reviews. — A.O. Scott, The New York Times
Also opening
“The 19th Annual Animation Show of Shows” (not rated; 93 minutes): Those who didn’t watch enough animation in 2017 will feel fully up to date after this annual traveling program of shorts founded and curated by producer Ron Diamond. Like most omnibus programs, the offerings are a mixed bag, but the 16 titles showcase a gratifying range of styles and subjects, with work that includes veterans and newcomers, the experimental and the commercial. (The Oscar-winning “Dear Basketball,” Kobe Bryant’s ode to hoop dreams, is among the selections.) SIFF Cinema Uptown. There will be a Q&A after the 4:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. screenings on March 10. The New York Times does not provide star ratings with reviews. — Ben Kenigsberg, The New York Times
“Before We Vanish” (not rated; for mature audiences; 129 minutes): When will the aliens — who can’t seem to resist the impulse to invade Earth and wipe out humanity — ever learn? Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s witty science-fiction chin-scratcher — less a horror movie than a series of musings on potentially horrifying ideas — addresses the question literally. It concerns a reconnaissance squad of space travelers sent to do fieldwork in our ways and habits, with particular emphasis on our mental concepts. Grand Illusion, Galaxy Monroe. In Japanese, with English subtitles. — A.O. Scott, The New York Times
“November” (not rated, for mature audiences; 115 minutes): Suffused with sorcery and silvery light, Rainer Sarnet’s bizarre Estonian love story — set in a 19th-century village — is a mishmash of folklore, farm animals and scabrous fun. The plot features a lovelorn young woman, her dimwitted crush and the ethereal baroness who has stolen his heart. Around this triangle of unrequited longing, the forest is alive with werewolves and the ghosts of the dead, their antics adding a Monty Python-esque lunacy that amuses and appalls in equal measure. Grand Illusion. In Estonian and German, with English subtitles. — Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
Let’s block ads! (Why?)
