Jackie,
directed by Pablo Larrain
(R, 1 hour, 40 minutes)
Natalie Portman absolutely owns the role of the former first lady in Jackie, a hard-hitting and high-powered examination of the seemingly delicate, ladylike wife of President John F. Kennedy in the days following his assassination during a motorcade in Dallas in 1963.
Her job, on which she intensely focuses, is to shape and preserve her husband's image and legacy. It's a mission she undertakes with ferocity and focus, and no small exercise of the power she hangs on to for as long as she can, no matter what the personal cost. And, pink suits and pillbox hats aside, there's plenty of that for her, as well as for her children, her dedicated staff members, and those who, for some reason or another, arrogantly think they can take control of the situation away from her.
With John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, Max Casella, Billy Crudup, Greta Gerwig.
Moana (PG, 1 hour, 47 minutes) A celebration of girl power, visually radiant Moana is the animated and highly musical tale of an I-can-do-anything teenager who defies expectations and issues of safety to sail away from her home on the islands of the South Pacific to rescue her people from impending disaster. Animated, with voices of Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Jemaine Clement, and an upbeat soundtrack by Lin-Manuel Miranda (the brains behind Hamilton); directed by Ron Clements, John Musker, Chris Williams, Don Hall.
The Lesson (not rated, 1 hour, 37 minutes) A clever and respectably punchy debut horror film in which Fin (Evan Bendall), an unhappy product of a fragmented family, finds solace with a bunch of troublemakers whose behavior provokes English teacher Mr. Gale (Robert Hands) to go to absurd lengths to teach them a lesson they won't soon forget. If ever. Written and directed by Ruth Platt.
Always Shine (not rated, 1 hour 25 minutes) Femininity takes a back seat to the harsher realities of competition and jealousy for two actresses who leave Los Angeles for a weekend vacation in Big Sur, where the trappings of civil behavior eventually disintegrate. With Mackenzie Davis, Caitlin FitzGerald, Alexander Koch, Jane Adams; directed by Sophia Takal.
The Eyes of My Mother (R, 1 hour, 16 minutes) Short, succinct, intense, and highly unsettling, this black-and-white horror drama concerns a surgeon who teaches her daughter the science of anatomy and death, which goes well until an unexpected visitor shows up at their secluded farmhouse bringing along a load of trauma. With Kika Magalhaes, Will Brill, Flora Diaz; directed by Nicolas Pesce
Notfilm (not rated, 2 hours, 8 minutes) This unique documentary employs hearsay and history to revisit the premise of 1964's Film, in which author Samuel Beckett collaborated with silent film star Buster Keaton on a brief avant-garde film.
100 Streets (not rated, 1 hour 33 minutes) Everybody loves Idris Elba, whose appeal soaks through even the most armored of his characters. Here, in rather melodramatic fashion, he plays a former rugby player struggling to rebuild his post-athletic life along with his fragmenting marriage to Emily (Gemma Arterton). Their stories intersect with those of a minor drug dealer looking for a way out of his wretched career choice and a local stage actor who comes to his aid. With Ken Stott, Kierston Wareing, Tom Cullen; directed by Jim O'Hanlon.
MovieStyle on 03/10/2017