Home Movies

Home Movies

Us,

directed by Jordan Peele

(R, 1 hour, 56 minutes)

And we thought Jordan Peele was just a funny guy with an equally funny sidekick (Key & Peele on Comedy Central is hilarious). Who knew about his unique directing skills?

Those skills were first revealed in 2017's groundbreaking horror film Get Out, written and directed by Peele, a thought-provoking, unnerving, often funny, and totally unpredictable tale of benevolent racism gone wrong. Critics were blown away, and audiences are still talking about it.

Us, released in March (typically a time of year when mediocrity rules theater screens), although not as precise as Get Out, increases the tension and sophistication of Peele's storytelling. It concerns a a mother and a father who take their kids to their beach house, expecting to enjoy time with friends. But their serenity quickly evolves into chaos when some visitors arrive uninvited, resulting in a standoff between them and the challenging presence of four copies of themselves.

With Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Elisabeth Moss.

The Beach Bum (R, 1 hour, 35 minutes) If you know anything about Harmony Korine-directed films, you'll have a good idea about how meandering, disjointed, funny, and excessive this is. Set in the stretch of Florida from Key West to Miami, the plot, such as it is, circles around over-the-hill hard-core partying stoner/poet named Moondog (Matthew McConaughey) who continues to find success in life without any justification. With Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg, Martin Lawrence, Zac Efron; directed by Harmony Korine.

Hotel Mumbai (R, 2 hours, 3 minutes) A dramatization of actual events, Hotel Mumbai tells the appalling yet heroic and sometimes hard to follow story of the victims and survivors of the devastating 2008 terrorist attacks on Taj Hotel in Mumbai. With Armie Hammer, Jason Isaacs, Dev Patel, Natasha Liu Bordizzo; directed by Anthony Maras.

Under the Silver Lake (R, 2 hours, 19 minutes) A promising, engaging comedic drama in which Sam (Andrew Garfield), 33, affable but aimless, becomes an unwitting detective who's over his head as he investigates the mysterious disappearance of his beautiful neighbor (Riley Keough). Directed by David Robert Mitchell.

Wonder Park (PG, 1 hour, 25 minutes) Aimed at the youngest of audiences, this unassuming, predictable animated story revolves around imaginative and forward-thinking June, who discovers an incredible amusement park hidden in the woods. The problem is that it only exists in her imagination. So when it's in need of repair, she enlists help from the talking animals that live there. Animated with voices of Matthew Broderick, Jennifer Garner, Jeffrey Tambor, Kenan Thompson; directed by Dylan Brown.

Crypto (R, 1 hour, 45 minutes) Loosely put together with a plot that defies logic, Crypto is a curious cybercurrency tale about an anti-money laundering agent who's investigating corruption and fraud in his remote New York hometown. Russian bad guys are involved. With Luke Hemsworth, Alexis Bledel, Kurt Russell, Malaya Rivera Drew, Vincent Kartheiser; directed by John Stalberg Jr.

Run the Race (PG, 1 hour, 42 minutes) This is a good-hearted faith-based sports drama that, like so many of that genre, isn't as good as it could be. Good performances help in telling the story of two brothers in a small Southern town, one a superstar high school running back, who face an impending standoff because of their opposing world views. With Mykelti Williamson, Frances Fisher; directed by Chris Dowling.

photo

Us

MovieStyle on 06/21/2019

Upcoming Events