Freeze Frame

Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn are two comic stars that bring a lot of personal appeal to their roles. Audience goodwill may be tested, however, with their broad and raunchy comedy, “Snatched.” Schumer plays a colossally irresponsible twentysomething dumped by …

Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn are two comic stars that bring a lot of personal appeal to their roles. Audience goodwill may be tested, however, with their broad and raunchy comedy, “Snatched.” Schumer plays a colossally irresponsible twentysomething dumped by her boyfriend on the eve of a romantic trip to Equador. She decides to take her reluctant mom on the vacation instead. As you’d expect, things go painfully awry. There are some shamelessly funny moments along the way, but “Snatched” is essentially an R-rated sitcom that glosses over some borderline racist elements on the way to its predictable finale. It’s likeable cast escapes unscathed.   The low budget Australian horror flick “The Hounds of Love” is one of the most disturbing, off-putting dramas you’re likely to see. A pair of serial killers abducts a teenaged girl for a torturous sexual threesome. Her only hope of survival is to drive a wedge between them. Yes, the subject matter is brutal, but the film debut of writer-director Ben Young is beautifully shot and thoughtfully acted.   Also opening this week, director Guy Ritchie brings his over-the-top action sensibilities to the tale of Excalibur with “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.” “The Wall”…

Ten years ago, the harrowing Romanian abortion drama “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” marked the arrival of a major new talent, filmmaker Christian Mungiu (Chris-tee-ann Mon-JEEW). His latest effort, “Graduation,” won him the Best Director Award at the …

Ten years ago, the harrowing Romanian abortion drama “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” marked the arrival of a major new talent, filmmaker Christian Mungiu (Chris-tee-ann Mon-JEEW). His latest effort, “Graduation,” won him the Best Director Award at the most recent Cannes Film Festival. Starkly realistic and involving, “Graduation” examines what occurs when good people compromise their principles when faced with a moral dilemma.   Adrian Titieni plays Romeo, a middle-aged doctor who wants only the best for his bright and ambitious daughter, hoping he can get her out of repressed Romania and into a prestigious British university. She can get a scholarship if she aces her high school exit exams. Just before exams day, however, she’s sexually assaulted and the emotionally drained girl underperforms on her tests. Her frustrated dad decides to pull some strings that could help her cheat on her follow-up tests.   Mungiu’s naturalistic story is complex and compelling as it fills us in on the details of Romeo’s life. The tension mounts as we come to understand his motives and put ourselves in his shoes. Would we act differently? What are the compromises we might make to ensure the success and safety of our children?…

It’s no accident that “The Promise” is the second war drama to open in the last few weeks that’s set in Turkey during the run up to WWI. The earlier film, “The Ottoman Lieutenant,” gives the Turkish point of view, …

It’s no accident that “The Promise” is the second war drama to open in the last few weeks that’s set in Turkey during the run up to WWI. The earlier film, “The Ottoman Lieutenant,” gives the Turkish point of view, minimizing the cost of the conflict to the Armenian people. “The Promise” supports the view of an Armenian genocide. “The Promise” is a romantic triangle about an Armenian medical student, played by Oscar Isaac, who falls for an Armenian nanny, played by Charlotte Le Bon. Problem is, the nanny’s boyfriend is an American journalist, played by Christian Bale, and the Turks are about to wipe them all out. Beautifully acted and produced, this respectable historical epic is far better than “The Ottoman Lieutenant,” but still never quite catches fire, romantically or politically.   “The Lost City of Z” is based on the true story of a British explorer who may have been the inspiration for Indiana Jones. Charlie Hunnam plays Percy Fawcett, the man who risked life and limb to repeatedly explore the Amazon rainforest in the early 1900s in order to prove his theory that an advanced civilization once thrived there. A slowly paced epic that clocks in at…

When “The Fast and the Furious” debuted in 2001, it was inspired by a true story about LA street racers. Now that we’re on the eighth entry, the series has morphed into an over-the-top sci-fi action extravaganza that makes James …

When “The Fast and the Furious” debuted in 2001, it was inspired by a true story about LA street racers. Now that we’re on the eighth entry, the series has morphed into an over-the-top sci-fi action extravaganza that makes James Bond adventures seem like realistic documentaries by comparison. In “The Fate of the Furious,” Vin Diesel’s Dom Torretto has gone rouge, joining forces with villain Charlize Theron in an attempt to steal nuclear codes and take over the world. It’s all an excuse for well staged cinematic mayhem, most of it computer generated. While it’s rousing and goofy fun, it all can be summed up in the name of one of its stars: Ludacris.   Young McKenna Grace gives one of the best child performances you’re likely to see in “Gifted,” the story of a seven-year-old math genius whose guardian uncle, played by Chris Evans, tries to help her fit in while fending off her meddling, manipulative grandmother. Octavia Spencer, Jenny Slate and Lindsay Duncan round out a fine cast. The performances elevate this touching tale that, in lesser hands, could have been as corny as a Lifetime TV movie.   “Colossal” is a well-acted cinematic experiment that doesn’t always…

There are three Oscar winners in the buddy comedy, “Going in Style” and their presence gives this broad, shopworn farce a very big boost. A loose remake of the 1979 George Burns movie of the same name, “Going in Style” …

There are three Oscar winners in the buddy comedy, “Going in Style” and their presence gives this broad, shopworn farce a very big boost. A loose remake of the 1979 George Burns movie of the same name, “Going in Style” stars Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin as three retirees who, faced with financial difficulties, decide to rob a bank. Director Zach Braff takes a very lighthearted approach to the material and, as a result, it’s less credible than the thoughtful original. But, thankfully, the three stars bring innate likeability and class to their roles. “Going in Style” may lack style, but it’s a crowd-pleaser.   It’s clear that the grisly horror flick “The Void” was inspired by the work of H. P. Lovecraft and John Carpenter. But this derivative gore-fest was clearly written as an excuse for its filmmakers to showcase their skills in over-the-top makeup effects. In a small, isolated town, members of a murderous cult surround a hospital where an evil entity has taken over the bodies of innocent folks, transforming them into hideous beasts. This deadly serious ode to 80s horror movies could have used a dose of humor, but it delivers the shudders for…