Film
PHOTOGRAPH: TOP RIGHT: COURTESY DISNEY; BOTTOM LEFT: COURTESY ARC LIGHT
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possesses destructive supernatural powers. The pair is pursued by a group of religious zealots who view the boy as their savior and government agents who want to harness his abilities. Opens Mar 18
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 Dir. Kirk Jones. 2016. R. Nia Vardalos, John Corbett. Fourteen years after the original smashed the box office comes the Greekquel—sorry, sequel—to Vardalos’s rom-com about a second-generation Greek woman from Chicago whose fiancé converts to the Greek Orthodox church to please her eccentric family. This time around, the clan is back for a bigger, fatter wedding, where a family secret is blurted out. Opens Mar 24
April
The Boss Dir. Ben Falcone. 2016. R. Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell. Say what you will about the quality of McCarthy’s broad comedies— box office hits such as The Heat and Spy have verified her star power. Before suiting up for the new Ghostbusters film this summer, she plays a Chicago business mogul who goes to prison after being convicted of insider trading and must find a way to reinvent herself upon her release. Opens Apr 8
Demolition Dir. Jean-Marc Vallée. 2015. R. Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper. Director Vallée has done wonders with actors of late—he’s responsible for capping off the McConaissance with Dallas
I ArcLight Cinemas
Buyers Club and giving Reese Witherspoon a challenging role in Wild. His latest stars Gyllenhaal as a grieving widower who gives his life a total rethink post- catastrophe. Opens Apr 8
Barbershop: The Next Cut Dir. Malcolm D. Lee. 2016. PG-13. Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Nicki Minaj. The Barbershop series returns for its third installment (fourth if you count the Beauty Shop spin-off) , following a group of barbers on the South Side of Chicago. Whereas previous films touched on themes such as the power of community and gentrification, The Next Cut sets its sights on Chicago’s gun violence epidemic—don’t expect it to be any subtler than Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq. Opens Apr 15
The Jungle Book Dir. Jon Favreau. 2016. PG. Voiced by Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson. There are two adaptations of Rudyard Kipling’s beloved novel on their way, and while the second one (due in 2017) might be a little darker, this one has the star wattage. Iron Man director Favreau helms an epic motion-capture remake of the classic Disney movie, with voices provided by the likes of Murray (perfectly cast as Baloo) and Johansson (as the hisssssing python Kaa). Opens Apr 15
The Huntsman: Winter’s War Dir. Cedric Nicolas-Troyan. 2016. Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain. Were you clamoring for a sequel to 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman? Neither were we, and K-Stew fans should stay at home: She doesn’t return. Still, back is the villainous Theron—compensation enough, frankly—and Hemsworth, while Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain join the dark fairy tale’s cast. That’s a decent trade-off in our book. Opens Apr 22
KAYLIE C., LOGAN SQUARE “ArcLight is my go-to theater for new releases that I want to see on opening night. You get all the benefits of a big chain theater, without the sticky floors.”
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Mother’s Day Dir. Garry Marshall. 2016. PG-13. Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Timothy Olyphant. Romantic comedies based around holidays have become director Marshall’s calling card. His latest follows an ensemble cast on one of the most important dates of the year: Mother’s Day. You’ll see beautiful people exploring new relationships, falling in love and (finally) remembering to send mom a thoughtful gift. Opens Apr 29
The Jungle Book May
Money Monster Dir. Jodie Foster. 2016. George Clooney, Julia Roberts. Clooney is Lee Gates, the host of a financial television show, offering up stock tips to his loyal audience. When a viewer, played by Unbroken’s Jack O’Connell, loses all of his money as the result of a bad tip, he invades the studio and holds Gates hostage. Roberts is the producer who coordinates efforts to save Lee and expose a market conspiracy. Opens May 13
The Angry Birds Movie Dirs. Clay Kaytis, Fergal Reilly. 2016. Voiced by Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph, Danny McBride. You’ve killed endless hours destroying pig structures on your phone—what’s another two hours in a theater going to matter? As long as the animators make these birds nice and furious (why is there no voice role for Samuel L. Jackson?), everything’s going to be fine. The cast is stocked with SNL vets: Kate McKinnon, Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph. Opens May 20
The Nice Guys Dir. Shane Black. 2016. R. Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling. We’re stoked for this ultraviolent—and probably ultra funny—private-eye thriller, set in 1970s L.A. and starring a panicky Gosling and a hard-as-nails Crowe as partners. Need more convincing? The screenwriter (and
director) is legendary wordsmith Black, once of Lethal Weapon and lately of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Opens May 20
Alice Through the Looking Glass Dir. James Bobin. 2016. PG. Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter. Even though Depp didn’t get an Oscar nomination for Black Mass—his strongest, most recognizably human work in years—he’s apparently not losing any sleep over it. The actor is back in this sequel to the billion-dollar- grossing 2010 original, prancing around as the Mad Hatter while Wasikowska’s title heroine gets more and more curious. Opens May 27
Festivals
Chicago Critics Film Festival See the movies everyone will be talking about next awards season during this weeklong series of screenings at the Music Box. Curated by members of the Chicago Film Critics Association, the festival features a selection of yet-to-be- distributed flicks, including notable films screened at Sundance and Cannes. Music Box Theatre, 3733 N Southport Ave (773-871-6607,
musicboxtheatre.com). May 20–26.
FIND MORE ONLINE
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March–May 2016
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