NEW THIS WEEK
One of the year’s most acclaimed movies, Battle of the Sexes stars
Emma Stone and Steve Carell as Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, the legendary opponents
in the groundbreaking 1973 tennis match the film is based on. Standing on
opposing sides of the gender equality argument, the two star athletes create a
national phenomenon when they face off in a game that represents more to
society than just which player is superior. As their lives grow more
complicated in the lead up to the game, both King and Riggs have to come to terms
with their new found importance and influence.
We Said: “Battle
of the Sexes, with its commitment to vintage period aesthetics and
vibrant performances from Stone and Carell, is a real winner that serves up
rare insights into the events leading up to the match. In fact, the film is at
its best when the lens is tightened on the personal factors that led to King
and Riggs' showdown.” Rating: 3.5 out of
5
Based on the unbelievable true story of Barry Seal, a former
pilot turned CIA operative swept up in one of the biggest and craziest
international espionage plots in national history, American Made stars Tom
Cruise as the hard-partying Seal, a man riding the glory of being in over his
head. A love-letter to the larger-than-life action/adventure films we’ve come
to expect from Cruise, American Made is one of the most
uniquely fun movies of 2017.
We Said: “Tom Cruise is
feeling the need for speed again, and he's still fighting for the good guys. It
just depends on who you think the good guys are. American Made […] shouldn't
be as much fun as it is considering the story it tells. Cruise straps into the
cockpit as Barry Seal, a disgruntled TWA pilot in the 1970s and '80s who
crossed paths with the CIA, the Medellin drug cartel led by Pablo Escobar, the
FBI, the Reagan Administration...and they all came to regret it. He lived a
wild, fast, and dangerous life, and American Made is exactly the kind of
movie Seal would probably want made about it.” Rating: 4 out of 5
The new dramadey from acclaimed indie Writer/Director Mike
White, Brad’s Status stars Ben stiller as the eponymous Brad, an
average suburban man in the midst of a midlife crisis. Constantly comparing his
life to the life of his four best friends from college, Brad imagines a better
life for himself, and resents the one he has. When he’s suddenly reunited with
the friends he envies, Brad begins to reconsider his position, and whether he’s
ultimately happier than they are.
We Said: “Brad's Status isn't exactly
funny in the way most Stiller movies are. It finds nuggets of humor within the
minor life observations White reveals about Brad, like that for all of his
jealousy, he'd call on his friends in a heartbeat if their success could help
him. He has a tendency to daydream about the awesome lives everyone but him is
leading, like a really pathetic Walter Mitty.” Rating: 3 out of 5
Also Available: Rebel in the Rye, The Breakfast Club: Criterion Collection, The Stolen, A Question of Faith, Axolotl Overkill, and Breathe
