Steven Rea's Weekend Movie Selections

Born to Be Blue Ethan Hawke dives into the role of cool-cat jazzman Chet Baker in this half-tribute/half-speculative exploration of the great musician's life. Carmen Ejogo (Coretta Scott King in Selma) is terrific as an actress cast opposite Baker in a movie within the movie. Against her best instincts, she takes up in real life with the trumpet player, singer – and junkie. R

Embrace of the Serpent Ciro Guerra's profoundly beautiful black-and-white film, set in the infinite forests of Colombia, follows two explorers from the West as each encounters a shaman, the last of his tribe, in the quest for a rare and transformative plant. One of this year's nominees for best foreign-language film at the Academy Awards. No MPAA rating

Midnight Special Mysterious, electric new movie from Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter), in which a little kid (St. Vincent's Jaeden Lieberher), in the company of gun-toting Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton, is pursued across the Gulf states by feds, cult members, and who-knows-who-else. Strange stuff happens, Adam Driver and Kirsten Dunst co-star. PG-13