Kam's Kapsules for movies opening December 8, 2017

 

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun  

by Kam Williams

OPENING THIS WEEK

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Just Getting Started (PG-13 for profanity, suggestive material and brief violence) Unlikely-buddies comedy about a retired FBI agent (Tommy Lee Jones) and a former Mafia lawyer (Morgan Freeman), both residing in a luxurious Palm Springs resort, who reluctantly join forces to take on the mob. With Rene Russo, Joe Pantoliano and the late Glenne Headley.

The Shape of Water (R for violence, profanity, sexuality and frontal nudity) Cold War suspense thriller, set in Baltimore in 1962, about a lonely, mute janitor (Sally Hawkins) working in a top secret government laboratory whose life is changed forever when she and a sassy colleague (Octavia Spencer) make a shocking discovery. Support cast includes Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins and Michael Stuhlbarg. (In English, Russian and sign language with subtitles)

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Big Sonia (Unrated) Bittersweet biopic about great-grandmother, businesswoman and haunted Holocaust survivor Sonia Warshawski who, after losing her tailor shop's lease at the age of 91, recounts for posterity the horrors she witnessed at Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen and Majdanek, which included watching her mother being marched into the gas chamber.

Hollow in the Land (Unrated) Suspense thriller revolving around a woman's (Dianna Agron) effort to clear her murder suspect brother's (Jared Abrahamson) name after he flees from the scene of the crime. Supporting cast includes Shawn Ashmore, Rachelle Lefevre and Jessica McLeod.

I, Tonya (R for violence, pervasive profanity, and some sexuality and nudity) Warts-and-all biopic recounting the rise and fall from grace of Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie), the American figure skater whose bodyguard (Paul Walter Hauser) and ex-husband (Sebastian Stan) hired a mobster (Ricky Russert) to break the legs of her primary rival, Nancy Kerrigan (Caitlin Carver), weeks before the two were set to compete against each other in the 1994 Winter Olympics. With Allison Janney, Bobby Cannavale and Julianne Nicholson.

Miss Kiet's Children (Unrated) Poignant profile of Kiet Engels, a schoolteacher who has dedicated her career to helping recent refugees make the cultural adjustment to life in Holland. (In Dutch with subtitles)

November Criminals (PG-13 for profanity, mature themes, teen sexuality, drug use and brief violence) Adaptation of Sam Munson's young adult novel about a couple of high school seniors (Ansel Elgort and Chloe Grace Moretz) who attempt to solve the senseless murder of a classmate (Jared Kemp). With Catherine Keener, David Strathairn and Cory Hardrict.

The Pirates of Somalia (Unrated) Adaptation of journalist Jay Bahadur's (Evan Peters) best-selling memoir of the same name recounting how, in 2008, he embedded himself with African hijackers holding Western ships for ransom. Support cast includes Melanie Griffith, Russell Posner and Barkhad "I'm the Captain Now!" Abdi. (In English and Somali with subtitles)

Quest (Unrated) Inspirational documentary, shot over the course of a decade, chronicling an African-American family's struggle to survive in a North Philly ghetto. 

 

The Rape of Recy Taylor (Unrated) Civil rights documentary, set in 1944, recounting a black rape victim's quest for justice in the Alabama courts with the help of the NAACP's Rosa Parks (Cynthia Erivo). With Robert Corbitt, Tommy Bernardi and Alma Daniels.