"Ammonite"
directed by Francis Lee
(R, 2 hours)
"Francis Lee's 'Ammonite' wears its drabbiness on its sleeve like a badge of honor," our Piers Marchant wrote when the film opened theatrically in November, and though you can appreciate the care that went into the production and the actorly efforts of Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan as, respectively, 19th-century palaeontologist and fossil dealer Mary Anning (it has been suggested that Anning inspired the "she sells sea shells by the seashore" tongue twister) and the wealthy, married convalescent Charlotte Murchison she comes to care for, in a couple of senses of the word. While women with these names actually existed, and were friends -- Murchison was actually an amatuer geologist -- there's nothing in the historical record to suggest they conducted a torrid affair.
But shouldn't matter if the onscreen affair was of sufficient interest; unfortunately, "Ammonite" feels a little airless and cool, and it pales in comparision to Céline Sciamma's "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" (2019) and Abdellatif Kechiche's "Blue Is the Warmest Color" (2013) to name but two recent examples of quality arthouse lesbian romance.
"Jungleland,"(R, 1 hour, 30 minutes) Max Winkler's remarkably tender bare-knuckles boxing film stars Jack O'Connell of "Unbroken" as Walter "Lion" Kaminski, a former boxer reduced to fighting in underground bouts. His older brother, Stanley (Charlie Hunnam), is his chief enabler -- his cornerman, coach, sparring partner and bookie. Lion fights, Stan handles the business.
It's pretty standard in its plot-- but remarkably well-executed. And doesn't wallow in sentimentality.
"Minding the Gap" (not rated, 1 hour, 33 minutes) A decade's worth of documentary footage goes into the telling of this insightful and compelling coming-of-age story concerning three young friends, bonded through skateboarding, who work together to escape violence and volatility in their rust-belt hometown. Directed by Bing Liu.
"Skylines" (R, 1 hour, 53 minutes) A lightweight yet watchable science-fiction adventure in which a virus starts to turn friendly earth-dwelling alien hybrids against humans, forcing a team of elite mercenaries to travel to the aliens' home to save what's left of humanity. With Lindsey Morgan, Jonathan Howard, James Cosmo, Rhona Mitra, Alexander Siddig; written and directed by Liam O'Donnell. A sequel to 2010's "Skyline" and 2017's "Beyond Skyline."
"Freedom" (aka "Liberté," not rated, 2 hours, 18 minutes) Set in 1774, a few years before the French Revolution, this slow-moving sadistic sex drama follows an unrestrained bunch of badly behaved anarchists who high-tail it to Germany after being tossed out of the Puritan court of Louis XVI, weird erotic proclivities in hand. Not for everyone. With Helmut Berger, Iliana Zabeth; written and directed by Albert Serra.
"Spell" (R, 1 hour, 31 minutes) After getting off to a rambunctious start, this violent, bloody horror mystery loses its punch in the tale of a man who barely survives a plane crash in rural Appalachia, but becomes suspicious of the elderly couple -- traditional Hoodoo practitioners -- who take him in. Dark magic is involved. With Omari Hardwick, Loretta Devine, John Beasley; directed by Mark Tonderai.
"Jonathan Scott's Power Trip" (not rated, 1 hour, 24 minutes) A PBS-aired documentary in which Jonathan Silver Scott of HGTV's "Property Brothers" is on a mission to dismantle the fossil fuel industry from getting in the way of the growth of renewable energy. With Bernie Sanders, Al Gore, Ed Markey, Debbie Dooley; co-directed by Scott and Edward Osei-Gyimah.
"Mean Man: The Story of Chris Holmes" (not rated, 1 hour, 18 minutes) A documentary on the ups and downs of iconic guitar player Chris Holmes, formerly of 1980s heavy metal band W.A.S.P., who started his life over after losing publishing rights of his own songs and dealing with addictions. With Stet Howland, Johnny Rod, Dizzy Reed; directed by Antoine de Montremy.