68 San Diego Reader April 21, 2016
MOVIES
a character is they ask you to play it. That’s the first thing. (Laugh- ing.) After that, it’s about figuring out whether or not you really want to do it. With those two characters, they came through different routes. With Miracles From Heaven, I had never worked with the director be- fore, and I didn’t know the writer or the producers of the movie, but I did end up having a conversation with [director] Patricia Riggen after read- ing it and I enjoyed the fact that this faith-based movie really based itself on doubt. Her struggle with doubt is what’s most moving in the film. And Patricia didn’t want to skimp on the way the pain of life unfolds for us, so I really liked that about it. The Invitation came through
friends. I’ve known the writers for quite a few years and met [director] Karyn [Kusama] after [screenwriter] Phil Hay and she married and we became very good friends. They said, “We’d like you to read this character,” [which] they had written for me, and it was Pruitt. At first, you wonder why they... Well, that’s what you think of me. Okay! The other part is that both of those men are men of faith. They’re both people who have found an ethos that works for them and they’re will- ing to live it. And bring it to life in the world.
— Scott Marks
MOVIE LISTINGS
All reviews are by Scott Marks, Matthew Lickona, and Duncan Shepherd. Priorities are indicated by one to five stars and antipathies by the black spot. Unrated movies are for now unreviewed. Thousands of past reviews are available online at
SDReader.com/movies.
10 Cloverfield Lane — Just serviceable bunker thriller that asks the question, “Would you want to survive The Big One if it meant being stuck in a windowless concrete cottage with the kind of guy who spent his life preparing to survive The Big One?” (Heck, his own wife and daughter couldn’t stand the rant ‘n rave, and just because he misses his little girl something fierce doesn’t mean he’s about to change his ways.) John Goodman should be aces at this kind of amiable menace (see also: Barton Fink), but the allusion of the title — J.J. Abrams, producer of 2008’s camcorder monster movie Cloverfield, produces again here — generates more suspense (or maybe just curiosity) than anything that happens underground. It’s a pity; the satisfaction of that curiosity comes shortly after things could have gotten seriously scary down below for our resourceful heroine (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, always threatened but never panicked, or even vulnerable). First-time director Dan Trachtenberg is overly reliant on close-ups and big noises in his pursuit of nerve-wracking drama, while third-wheel bunker-boy John Gallagher, Jr. provides heart and humor, but ulti-
mately bogs things down. 2016. — M.L. ★ (IN WIDE RELEASE)
Barbershop: The Next Cut — Ice Cube & Co. update Barbershop for a kinder, gentler world. There’s ladies working in the shop now! 2016. (IN WIDE RELEASE)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — In a word, exhausting. In a few more, overblown, overstuffed, repetitive, bombastic, and sometimes just dumb. (Never mind dreary to look at and punishing to hear.) Zack Snyder follows
his Superman reboot Man of Steel with a muddled meditation on man’s anxiety about God walking the earth. Except of course, he’s not God: Superman (Henry Cavill) demands no sacrifice, no worship, and no authority over humanity. He just wants to help out and have bathtub sex with his girlfriend Lois Lane (Amy Adams). After all, the love of a good woman worked for Dad! But who knows? The Man from Krypton might go bad someday, which is more than twitchy evil genius Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) can tolerate, seeing as how his father grew up under the boot in East Germany. Bruce Wayne’s (Ben Affleck) father, meanwhile, taught him that the world only makes sense if you force it to. So he became Batman to do just that, and there’s no room for God in his philosophy. Lex and Bruce both decide that Superman has to go, but while Batman chooses a single, chemical-based plan of attack, Luthor goes for a hat-trick, firing up his anti-God propaganda machine while also doing a little God-play of his own. Tired yet? Too bad! There’s also a bunch of sequel-bait involving “meta-humans,” a whole bunch of speechifying (Jeremy Irons as Alfred the butler gets the best of it here), and a long simmering appearance from Wonder Woman that adds precisely nothing to the proceedings. There’s more, too, so much more that the strangest aspect of the film is the lingering feeling that along the way, some important bits got left out. 2016. — M.L. ★ (IN WIDE RELEASE)
Born to Be Blue — Quasi-biopic that asks the question, Why should the artist prize the love of a good woman when heroin will do just fine? One possible answer: if the woman is good enough, she won’t land you in an Italian prison the way drugs might. She might even give you the strength to straighten up and fly right. And so: we open with West Coast jazz legend Chet Baker (Ethan Hawke, muted and moody) lying on a hard stone floor, reaching out for a tarantula that has just crawled from the bell of his horn. (Symbolism!) But then: salvation? A proposed biopic — starring the man himself — gets him sprung, and though it flounders, it allows Baker to meet Jane (Carmen Ejogo, winsome and self-pos-
FILM FESTIVALS
CENTRAL LIBRARY 330 Park Bl., East Village 619-236-5800
Latino Americans: 500 Years of History Latino Americans is the first major documentary series for TV to chronicle the history of Latinos in the U.S. This episode shows how a generation of Mexican-Americans, frustrated by persistent discrimination and poverty, find a new way forward through social action and the building of a new “Chicano” identity. Professor Justin Akers Chacon, from San Diego City College, will facilitate a discussion after the screening. Tuesday, April 26, 6:00pm
CHULA VISTA CIVIC CENTER LIBRARY 365 F St., Chula Vista 619-691-5069
Film Forum: Love & Mercy Free mini- concert at 5:30pm with the acoustic music duo On Fifth (Shereen Fahrai and Fedra Ramirez). The film begins at 6 pm. Director Bill Pohlad’s compassionate biopic based on the life of the Beach Boys’ lead singer Brian Wilson. As a young as man in his twenties, Brian (Paul Dano) wrestles with success, fame, and an emerg- ing psychosis while he attempts to craft his avant-garde pop masterpiece Pet Sounds. As an older, confused and broken man in his forties, Wilson (John Cusack) finds himself under strict 24-hour watch, ordered by his therapist Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti). Beverly Hills Cadillac saleswoman, Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks), becomes Brian’s savior and his second
wife. This monthly film program is sponsored by Friends of the Chula Vista Library. Info: 619-691-5069. 2014, 121 minutes, PG-13. Free popcorn. Wednesday, May 11, 5:30pm
COLE LIBRARY
1250 Carlsbad Village Dr., Carlsbad 760-434-2870
Steve Jobs Steve Jobs gives us the man, passion, sacrifice, and the genius in launch- ing three iconic products, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac. In this film we can begin to understand the trials and triumphs of the inventive mind of the late CEO of Apple. Wednesday, May 4, 6:00pm
where one minute he is killing them with laughter and the next he is just killing them. Saturday, April 30, 6:30pm
OCEANSIDE LIBRARY 330 N. Coast Hwy., Oceanside Latino Americans: 500 Years of History A six-hour documentary series at the Oceanside Public Library every Tuesday for a six-week period, April 5 to May 10. Screenings followed by a scholar-led lecture and discussion. April 5: Foreigners in their Own Land (1565-1880). April 12: Empire of Dreams (1880-1942). April 19: War and Peace (1942-1954). April 26: The New Latinos (1946-1965). May 3: Prejudice and Pride (1965-1980). May 10: Peril and Promise (1980-2000). Tuesday, April 26, 5:30pm, Tuesday, May 3, 5:30pm, Tuesday, May 10, 5:30pm
REMINGTON CLUB II
16916 Hierba Dr., Rancho Bernardo 858-673-6340
HORTON GRAND HOTEL 311 Island Ave., Downtown San Diego 800-542-1886 Die Laughing Die Laughing concerns a standup comic serial killer, taking you on a macabre joy ride as he transitions back and forth across that boundary between two worlds
Film Discussion Class: Mr. Holmes Instructor Ralph DeLauro explores “The Man Behind the Myth: Re-imagining the Master of Deduction.” Bill Condon’s fable features a magnetic Ian McKellen as the world-famous detective. Aged, living in anonymity, and with a failing memory, the charismatic sleuth rallies for a try at unlocking the mysteries of the unsolved case that forced his retirement. 2015. 104 minutes. Info: 858-487-0464. Presented by Continuing Education Center of Rancho Bernardo. Wednesday, May 4, 1:30pm
ULTRASTAR MISSION VALLEY AT HAZARD CENTER
7510 Hazard Center Dr., Mission Valley 619-685-2841
San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase The San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase is back for its sixth edition, April 28 to May 5. Presented by Pacific Arts Movement, a lineup of 14 film programs from 10 countries. Thursday, April 28, 1:00pm
SUNSHINE BROOKS THEATRE 217 N. Coast Hwy., Oceanside 760-433-8900 Lunafest Short films. Sunday, May 1, 2:00pm
THE PYRAMID INNOVATION CENTER, 7310 MIRAMAR ROAD, MIRAMAR
International Mobile Film Festival All films were shot with mobile phones. The purpose of the mobile film festival is to create interest and spark creativity in people of all ages with limited income or resources and inspire creative filmmak- ers to live to their potential. Fifth annual event, includes a red carpet awards ceremony and films screening on the big screen. Saturday, April 30, 11:00am, Sunday, May 1, 11:00am
sessed), the actress playing his wife. Their first scene together is Baker’s debut at Birdland, where he is cast down from the mountaintop by a dismissive Miles Davis, who tells him to do some living and then come back. At first, living mostly means dying: drugs, the aforementioned prison, and getting his teeth knocked out. But Jane perseveres, and so does her man. Hawke’s performance ably conveys the painful, humble work of climbing back up the mountain, and writer-director Robert Budreau mostly sticks to beauty over prettiness, and the nature of practice over the magic of talent. Only the ending is strange: narratively forced and yet seemingly inevitable. 2016. — M.L. ★★ (LANDMARK HILLCREST)
The Boss — An oscillating orphan grows into a highly successful, Vegas- style motivational speaker who, after a 5 month stint in the pen for insider trading, reinvents herself as a chocolate brownie baroness. With her red wig in place, Melissa McCarthy wants like crazy to assume the Lucille Ball mantle, but all America’s favorite deadhead has to show for herself is an inferior remake of Troop Beverly Hills. McCarthy’s patented schtick is verbally avalanching a sentence into a page of stammering, profanity-tinged dialogue. The physical execution of the comedic centerpiece — a street fight involving girl scouts and their mothers — is funnier than anything McCarthy has to say. As always in a film such as this, the biggest laughs come from the eleventh hour, pathos-laden comedown, this time at the hands of the young daughter of her apprentice-turned-savior (Kristen Bell). Forced, unfunny, and otherwise ugly on every level. “Directed” by Mr. McCarthy. With Peter “Achondroplasia-For-Hire” Dinklage, reduced to picking up Verne Troyer’s script rejects. 2016. — S.M. ● (IN WIDE RELEASE)
Casa Grande — or, The Ballad of Poor Jean. Story of a wealthy Brazilian family in free-fall, focusing mainly on the teen- age son. Directed and cowritten by Fellipe Barbosa. 2014 (DIGITAL GYM)
City of Gold — The Gold of the title is Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer Prize–winning
populist food critic for the L.A. Times. The city is Los Angeles, a place that is, in Gold’s words, “less a melting pot than a great, glittering mosaic” whose mul- titudinous urban centers boast an even more multitudinous array of restaurants, many of them cooking “not for tourists or critics...but for the community.” A self-described failed cellist and onetime classical music critic who eventually fell in love with punk and hip-hop, Gold had (has) the boundless curiosity and deep devotion required to properly assess these fabulous food trucks and strip-mall feast halls, plus the intelligence and literary grace to help the reader share in the joy of his adventures. Writer-director Laura Gabbert’s documentary is a pure and pleasant celebration of the man and his work, the latter of which achieves something approaching anthropological profundity by its humble, loving attention to culinary detail. 2015. — M.L. ★★ (LANDMARK HILLCREST)
Criminal — What is the self? Is it simply the accumulation of memories? If you had someone else’s, would it change who you are? That’s the big existential ques- tion that gets no real consideration in this poorly built thriller starring a growly Kevin Costner as a bad man whose fron- tal lobe is undeveloped enough to receive a memory download from a mostly-dead good man (Ryan Reynolds). (Nasty bonus: before the good guy stuff takes hold, Costner gets to be gleefully brutal without losing the viewer’s allegiance.) Gary Oldman plays the world’s dumbest CIA chief, and Tommy Lee Jones barely registers as the scientist who makes it all happen. All the ingredients are there for a pleasant pander to grumpy old white men: the craggy actors, the foreign bad guys wielding confusing technology, the kindness of beautiful young women, and the nobility of sacrifice. And direc- tor Ariel Vroman handles some of the more personal scenes with something approaching emotional delicacy. But the finished dish is strangely bland and unmemorable. 2016. — M.L. ★ (IN WIDE RELEASE)
Demolition — When it comes to overstrung, antisocial characters, Jake Gyllenhaal sure knows how to pick (and breathe new life into) them. We all grieve in our own way, and after surviving a car crash that claims the life of his wife, Davis Mitchell (Gyllenhaal), a beastly investment banker at the top of his game, spends the greater portion of Demolition vacillating between waging war against a vending machine company and going through a fairly dire deconstructionist phase. As the concerned father-in-law, Chris Cooper is given little to do but look on in horror. It’s love interest Naomi Watts, the customer care rep who talks him down, and her precocious son (scene-stealing Judah Lewis) that bring feeling to a life otherwise predisposed to pulverizing the past. Not one for subtlety, this time around, sledgehammer-wielding director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyer’s Club, Wild) was kind enough to use only one hand. 2016. — S.M. ★★★ (IN WIDE RELEASE)
Elvis & Nixon — Historical flight of fancy suggesting that if only Nixon could go to China, then perhaps only Elvis could go to Nixon: a rock ’n’ roller beloved by America who loved America right back, right down to her squares- ville commander-in-chief. In 1970, the King surveyed his dominion and was dismayed: riots, drugs, communists, and the Beatles were destroying the youth culture he had labored so mightily to create. So he resolved to go undercover to save his people — with the backing of the Federal government. (Either that, or
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