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Shaun the Sheep Movie,

directed by Mark Burton and Richard Starzak

(PG, 85 minutes)

Who needs dialogue? Fans of Aardman's signature stop-motion animation won't miss the lack of words in this clever, touching, goofy and very funny tale of an adorable fuzzy clothes-wearing sheep (voice of Justin Fletcher) who, fed up with the safe but dull routine of life on the farm, decides to take a day off and have an adventure.

His plans quickly become complicated; after a mess of confusion that involves a farmer with amnesia, a dog named Bitzer, a caravan, and a steep hill, Shaun and his sheepmates end up in the Big City. It falls to our savvy sheep-hero to dodge a series of would-be disasters and lead the flock back to the safety of home.

With the voices of John Sparkes, Omid Djalili and based on characters from the British TV show of the same name (also produced by Aardman).

Applesauce (unrated, 91 minutes) This acerbic, provocative and wickedly morbid satire stars Omur Tukel (who also directs) in a to-die-for role as New York high school teacher Ron Welz, who feels compelled to call in to a radio talk show to share the worst thing he has ever done. Soon after his revelation, Ron starts receiving severed body parts in the mail, his marriage commences to disintegrate, his students begin to treat him with disrespect, and his best friend doesn't seem to be as supportive as he once was. Maybe unburdening his soul via the airwaves of the city wasn't the wise thing to do.

With Max Casella, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Dylan Baker, Karl Jacob. Find it on Dark Sky's VOD and Digital EST.

No Escape (R, 103 minutes) A tedious, implausible, often offensive thriller with dialogue that mostly consists of characters exclaiming, "Are you OK?" to one another. That's because it concerns an American family that moves to an unnamed southeast Asian country in hopes of starting over after dad's U.S. business venture fails. Unfortunately they show up on the same day that a violent political coup takes place, followed by a roundup of all foreigners left in the country with the intent to kill them. Directed by John Erick Dowdie; with Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan.

Ricki and the Flash (PG-13, 102 minutes) A shallow, awkwardly contrived plot can't be saved even by the star power of Meryl Streep. She gamely plays an aging, flashy, not quite successful rocker who abandoned her family years earlier for a life of playing guitar in dingy bars. Now she's heading home to reunite with her children and make nice with her ex-husband. But it's not as easy as she thinks it's going to be. With Kevin Kline, Mamie Gummer, Rick Springfield; directed by Jonathan Demme.

Killing Them Safely (unrated, 100 minutes) This documentary, which screened at the Tribeca Film Festival under its former title, Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle, is a chilling and abruptly honest thought-provoker about the use by law enforcement agencies since the early 2000s of Tasers, the supposedly safe alternative to handguns that promised to curb the use of deadly force. Since then, more than 500 people have died from Taser-related injuries. Directed by Nick Berardini. Available on VOD.

American Ultra (R, 99 minutes) An ambitious, violent and ultimately overly complicated actioner concerning Mike (Jesse Eisenberg), a going-nowhere stoner who lives uneventfully in a small town with his girlfriend Phoebe (Kristen Stewart) -- until he reverts to his former self, a highly trained and murderous sleeper agent, called upon to deal with a deadly government operation. With John Leguizamo, Tony Hale; directed by Nima Nourizadeh.

Underdogs (unrated, 90 minutes) An animated idiosyncratic comedy from Argentina that explores the passion of young Jake for foosball, which is about equal to his adoration for Laura. His skill at the game leads him to beat Flash, the town bully, in a winner-take-all foosball competition. That win will cost Jake dearly in the future. With the voices of Pablo Rago, Fabian Gianola; directed by Juan Jose Campanella.

MovieStyle on 11/27/2015

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