Director Jonathan Butterell opens the movie in a sublime way to prepare his audience for what they’re about to experience. The screen reads, “This story really happened, then we added the singing and the dancing.” What a perfect way to set you up for the entertainment you’re about to have propelled toward you.
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“The Card Counter” is a movie about a man with a unique skill, and you can guess that skill. During a spell in the slammer, he learned that he was good at counting cards, meaning the cards used in gambling. He is a low-profile expert at winning. He keeps a low profile due to his criminal record, and because casinos discourage ‘card counter’ players. But when his past catches up to him, he goes all in. He does not count on what happens next.
Director: Edgar Wright
Writers: Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao, Synnøve Karlsen
Producers: Nira Park, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Laura Richardson, Edgar Wright
Run Time: 1h 56min
Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Directed by: Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan
Screenplay by: Dan Hernandez & Benji Samit and Ben Queen and Susanna Fogel
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Kroll, Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton, Wallace Shawn, with Snoop Dogg as ‘IT’, with Bette Midler and Bill Hader
Rated: PG for macabre and rude humor, violence and language
Genres: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Producers: Gail Berman, p.g.a., Conrad Vernon, p.g.a., Danielle Sterling, p.g.a., Alison O’Brien, p.g.a.
Executive Producers: Kevin Miserocchi, Jonathan Glickman, Cassidy Lange, Andrew Mittman, Aaron L. Gilbert, Jason Cloth
Billy Porter. That’s really all I have to say. Billy Porter. Well, since I can’t give just a two-word review, I’ll go on; however, I see a day when that’s all you would have to write for a Billy Porter picture.
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Imagine being trapped indoors for a long period of time with someone you can’t stand. This film brings that horror to life for you by introducing an unidentified couple who attempt to get along during a desperate situation despite their lack of compassion for one another.
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“Candyman” is movie based a previous movie version of the urban legend about an evil spirit of a man with a hook for a hand who would pass out sweet treats to get new victims. This older movie was a minor cult classic, and of course it is now time to bring it up to date with more socially relevant topics. Read more
“Flag Day” is about Journalist Jennifer Vogel and her relationship with her oft-imprisoned father, John. John and Jennifer are played by the father/daughter acting team of Sean Penn and Dylan Penn.
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“The Protégé” believes that old movie plot ideas can be done with a new twist and with new characters and still be a rip-roaring experience. They would be correct in that thinking, because this movie finds a unique place to become a globe-trotting revenge fight-fest and shoot-out that makes the best use of the excellent cast.
“The Night House” is a spooky drama with few real scares, but a slow burn of a thriller to see if ghosts exist in the main character’s mind — or in real life. Due to her husband’s recent suicide, a woman deals with supernatural troubles in her house, where things tend to go bump (or worse) in the night. Rather than do the normal thing, and LEAVE, she sticks around to unfold the mystery.
