James McAvoy providing the former, and Angelina Jolie the latter. And hey, doesn’t that just make you want to watch Wanted again? Only me? Never mind.
Cyber-Seniors: “Hey, who wouldn’t want to watch an hour and a half of young people helping the elderly sign up for Facebook?” Well, Jose, for one.
Filth: Arriving a week after Days of Future Past got James McAvoy’s mug back on billboards, Jon S. Baird’s adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s cracked-copper novel is something of an unholy mess. Rad liked it more than I did, mind you. (Also, I’m introducing an opening-night double bill of this and Danny Boyle’s truly brilliant take on Welsh’s Trainspotting Friday night at the Carlton Cinemas. You should come!)
The Grand Seduction: Don McKellar moves La Grande Seduction to Newfoundland for an East Coast spin on the material — and imbues it with a little more relevance than it might otherwise have had.
Hotel Congress: Nadia Litz and Michel Kandinsky’s tiny little character study-cum-romantic mystery is an intriguing experiment in austerity, and a very dry comedy.
Maleficent: Angelina Jolie goes dark — and Susan digs it — in Disney’s live-action Sleeping Beauty remake, which also stars Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville and Juno Temple as the good fairies (seriously!) and Elle Fanning as the princess in peril.
A Million Ways to Die in the West: Seth MacFarlane’s latest sandbox has actual sand in it — and a really great Charlize performance — but not much else, I’m sad to say.
The Missing Picture: Rithy Panh’s innovative documentary explores the impact of the Khmer Rouge on his own personal history — and turns profound horror into literal art, which is no small achievement.
Tom at the Farm: Xavier Dolan’s quasi-thriller opens in English Canada on the heels of his Cannes triumph with Mommy. John liked this a lot at TIFF, but I have yet to catch up to it myself.
We Are the Best!: Susan falls hard for Lukas Moodyson’s scrappy charmer about three teen girls who form a punk band — and why wouldn’t she? It’s great!
Web Junkie: The flip side of Cyber-Seniors is this documentary about Chinese teens on a detox program from the internet. Rad is impressed by its level-headedness.
… so what are you doing this weekend? It’s been forever since you saw Trainspotting on the big screen, right?