Kam’s Kapsules are Kam Williams’ Weekly Previews that make choosing a film fun.
Big Budget Films
Films out of the big studios this week are Before I Wake, The Boss and Demolition.
Before I Wake
Before I Wake is a heart-pounding horror flick. A married couple, Jessie and Mark, played by Kate Bosworth and Thomas Jane, take in Cody, an 8 year-old orphan, played by Jacob Tremblay. Cody is possessed by an evil demon, and his dreams and nightmares manifest physically while he sleeps.
92% of 9,585 readers at Rottentomatoes really want to see it.
The cast includes Annabeth Gish, Scottie Thompson and Dash Mihok.
Before I Wake is rated PG-13 for violence, terror and disturbing images.
The Boss
Melissa McCarthy plays the title character in The Boss. Although there is plenty of profanity, The Boss is a comedy about a business tycoon convicted of insider trading. She is thrown into the slammer, and after she is released from prison, she tries to re-brand herself as America’s sweetheart. The cast includes Kathy Bates, Kristen Bell, Cecily Strong and Peter Dinklage.
The Boss has just been released, and you need to be a true Melissa McCarthy to love this. Only about half of the 13,878 RottenTomatoes readers who have seen it already, actually like it. Out of the 91 critics who have reviewed it already, only 17 didn’t think it was a stinker.
The Boss is rated R for sexuality, profanity and brief drug use.
Demolition
Demolition is a Bittersweet dramedy about an investment banker, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, whose wife dies in a car crash. After his wife’s death, his father-in-law, played by Chris Cooper, tried to get him to pull it together, but it doesn’t work and he continues to unravel.
He writes a stupid letter of complaint to a vending machine company, and that turns into a series of letters, in which he reveals startling personal admissions about himself. The vending machine company’s customer service rep, Karen, played by Naomi Watts, takes notice of his letter. Although she has her own emotional and financial burdens, the two form an unlikely connection. Davis enlists the help of Karen and her son, played by Judah Lewis, to demolish of the life he once had. His aim is to start again.
Featuring Heather Lind, Judah Lewis, Chris Cooper and Royce Johnson.
Critics rated Demolition 5.8/10, with 52% liking it. 66% of the 4,394 Rottentomatoes readers who have seen this just-released movie already, agree.
Demolition is rated R for profanity, drug use, disturbing behavior and some sexual references.
Independent & Foreign Films
Previews of independent and foreign films released this week.
Hardcore
Hardcore is a thriller by Henry Revenge. It takes place in Moscow, around a vigilante’s attempt to rescue his wife, played by Haley Bennett. She was kidnapped by a Russian warlord, played by Danila Kozlovsky, with an army of assassins. Included in the cast are Sharlto Copley, Tim Roth and Will Stewart. Hardcore is in English and Russian with subtitles.
Hardcore is rated R for pervasive profanity, incessant mayhem and graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and drug use.
Havana Motor Club
Havana Motor Club is a Classic car documentary about Cuba’s first, state-sanctioned drag race since 1960. (In Spanish and English with subtitles)
Havana Motor Club is Unrated.
High Strung
High Strung is a romance drama about a Manhattan street musician, played by Nicholas Galitzine and a ballet student from the Midwest, played by Keenan Kampa who fall in love at first sight upon her arrival in New York City. Also starring Jane Seymour, Sonoya Mizuno and Paul Freeman.
High Strung is rated PG for mature themes and mild epithets.
Look at Us Now, Mother
Gayle Kirschenbaum directs Look at Us Now, Mother, a dysfunctional family documentary that chronicles her challenging decades-long relationship with her mother.
Look at Us Now, Mother is Unrated.
Mr. Right
Mr. Right is a romantic comedy about a woman, played by Anna Kendrick, who becomes smitten with an intriguing suitor, played by Sam Rockwell. Unfortunately for her, she is not aware that he is a professional hit man, and he is on the run from mobsters who have it in for him. Also stars Tim Roth, RZA, Anson Mount and James Ransone.
Mr. Right is rated R for violence and pervasive profanity.
Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt
Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt is a thought-provoking documentary that revisits the checkered career of Hannah Arendt (1906-1975). Arendt was a Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendtself-hating Jewish philosopher who escaped Europe during the Holocaust only to later express sympathy for Nazi war criminals like Adolph Eichmann. Audio for the documentary is in English, Hebrew and German with subtitles.
Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt is Unrated.
