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New and Noteworthy: Movies

COMING THIS WEEK By Steven Rea Brick Mansions Paul Walker is an undercover cop in a dystopian Detroit, in one of the last films the Fast & Furious star made before his fatal car crash last fall. David Belle and RZA also star. Based on a screenplay by Luc Besson. PG-13

Is that a Bloody Mary?: Tilda Swinton plays a vampire in Detroit in Jim Jarmusch's "Only Lovers Left Alive." (Sony Pictures Classics)
Is that a Bloody Mary?: Tilda Swinton plays a vampire in Detroit in Jim Jarmusch's "Only Lovers Left Alive." (Sony Pictures Classics)Read more

COMING THIS WEEK

By Steven Rea

Brick Mansions Paul Walker is an undercover cop in a dystopian Detroit, in one of the last films the Fast & Furious star made before his fatal car crash last fall. David Belle and RZA also star. Based on a screenplay by Luc Besson. PG-13

Only Lovers Left Alive Jim Jarmusch's music-steeped vampire movie, starring Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston as a pair of very old souls - one of whom lives in, yes, a dystopian Detroit. R

The Other Woman A cuckold comedy in which the wife of a cheating spouse confronts his mistress, only to discover that he's cheating on her, too. The three women - Leslie Mann, Cameron Diaz, and Sports Illustrated supermodel Kate Upton - band together to exact revenge. Not set in a dystopian Detroit. PG-13

Also Opening

 

Alphaville Rerelease of Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 sci-fi metafiction in which the hard-boiled, famed (in France) American secret agent Lemmy Caution (craggy Eddie Constantine) travels in a spaceship that looks a lot like a Ford Galaxie to pursue a mystery in a city on a distant planet that looks a lot like Paris. French with subtitles.

 Hateship Loveship A teen courts trouble when she arranges a romance between her father and her nanny. Kristen Wiig and Guy Pearce star.

Locke A single phone call during his drive home sets in motion a series of events that places everything a man has worked for over the years in jeopardy.

  The Quiet Ones A university professor assembles a team of students to conduct dark experiments at his estate outside of London.

The Railway Man 50 years after World War II, a Brit who was brutally tortured while being forced to work on the infamous "Railway of Death" from Thailand to Burma seeks out his Japanese interrogator.

Walking With the Enemy A young Hungarian, separated from his family during World War II, goes undercover as a Nazi officer in an effort to save his family and many more of his countrymen.

Excellent (****)

Reviewed by critics Steven Rea (S.R.), Tirdad Derakhshani (T.D.), and David Hiltbrand (D.H.). W.S. denotes a wire-service review.

Finding Vivian Maier A fascinating puzzle-piece mystery - and a revelatory portrait of an eccentric figure who worked as a nanny in Chicago from the 1950s through the 1990s - and who dragged her charges through the city, taking pictures. The heretofore unknown street photographs are nothing less than brilliant; the documentary about this curious figure is a find in more ways than one. 1 hr. 23 No MPAA rating (adult themes) - S.R.

The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson's eighth, and most teeming, film is a between-the-wars comic caper set in a fictitious central European land, where Ralph Fiennes is the concierge of an elegant alpine hostelry. When a wealthy guest dies, and the will is read, a mad dash for money and a prized painting ensues. With Adrien Brody, Willem Defoe, F. Murray Abraham, Saoirse Ronan, and newcomer Tony Revolori. Sublime. R (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Very Good (***1/2)

Jodorowsky's "Dune" This fascinating documentary looks at the thwarted attempt in the 1970s by cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Santa Sangre) to make a big-budget adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi masterpiece Dune. Featuring extensive interviews with the Chilean-French filmmaker and his colleague, the film walks the viewer through the preproduction process and shares Jodorowsky's remarkable interpretation of a novel that later yielded two very flawed adaptations. 1 hr. 30 PG-13 (some violent and sexual imagery, language, adult themes) - T.D.

Oculus A woman tries to win her brother's freedom by proving that the murder he was convicted of was committed by a supernatural force. 1 hr. 45 R (scenes of extreme bloody violence, profanity, sexual situations) - T.D.

The Raid 2: Berandal Combine every film made by Bruce Lee and muay thai master Tony Jaa and you might get an approximation of the sheer level of martial-arts mayhem, gunplay, knifeplay, car chases, explosions, murder, maiming, and general bloodletting in this extraordinary sequel. Indonesian actor, stuntman and silat fighter Iko Uwais returns as Jakarta cop Rama, the sole survivor of a police raid who goes undercover to destroy three gangs, including a group of dirty, deadly cops. R (strong bloody violence, sexuality, profanity) - T.D.

Under the Skin Scarlett Johansson, slightly robotic and definitely hypnotic, stars in this deeply creepy and mysterious noir, about a stranger who trolls around Scotland looking for men to seduce - and devour. From filmmaker Jonathan Glazer. 1 hr. 48 R (nudity, sexual violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Also on Screens

Captain America: The Winter Soldier **1/2 The ninth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings Steve "Cap" Rogers (Chris Evans, sporting Popeye biceps) to modern-day Washington, D.C., where the old-school "super soldier" struggles to come to terms with a preemptive, paranoid government mindset. With Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and Robert Redford in a sinister supporting role. 2 hrs. 16 PG-13 (action, violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Divergent *** Dystopian teen drama, with Shailene Woodley as a Katniss Everdeen type defying the 22d-century postapocalyptic social order, and Theo James as her mysterious, muscley warrior mentor. Adapted from the Veronica Roth novel, and directed, surefootedly, by Neil Burger (Limitless, The Illusionist). 2 hrs. 19 PG-13 (violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Draft Day **1/2 Kevin Costner is the beleaguered general manager of the Cleveland Browns, trying to make the right decision on that fateful spring day when the NFL teams go culling through the college rosters. Ah, professional football: The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, the teleconferencing. With Jennifer Garner and Denis Leary. PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Rio 2 ** Blue-feathered 3D computer-animated Spix's macaw Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and his mate Jewel (Anne Hathaway) return for another life-, love-, family- and environment-

affirming adventure in this muddled, mediocre sequel to the $485 million-grossing hit from 2011. Joined by their motley crew of animal pals (Tracy Morgan, Jamie Foxx, will.i.am, and George Lopez) they trek deep into the Amazon rain forest in search of other members of their nearly-extinct species. The musical numbers are grand and pretty, but the plot is muddled and the message woefully facile. 1 hr. 41 G - T.D.

Transcendence **1/2 Johnny Depp is a superstar in the field of artificial intelligence - you can tell by the glasses he wears - in this big-idea thriller where the forces of technology and humanity collide. Even with the snazzy visual effects, it's a messy, talky endeavor. With Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Morgan Freeman, and Kate Mara. 1 hr. 59 PG-13 (violence, proafnity, adult themes) - S.R.