Capsule reviews, by Standard-Examiner movie critic Steve Salles, of next week's releases:
THE TILLMAN STORY *** (R) Language. Pat Tillman was a star pro football player who left his team to join the Army. He was killed in 2004, and the accounts of his death were altered so the military could avoid embarrassment. When the lie was revealed, it really got ugly. See what happens in one of the most powerful indictments against the abuse of power I've ever seen. 94 minutes.
LET ME IN *** (R) Strong bloody horror violence, language and a brief sexual situation. This is a shot-for-shot remake of a chilling Swedish vampire movie called "Let the Right One In," but it lacks the subtlety of that original film. It's not bad, it's just not great. 115 minutes.
NEVER LET ME GO ** 1/2 (R) Some sexuality and nudity. Cute kids in a British boarding school are being groomed for something extraordinary, but when you discover what it is, you will be the only one who's aghast. That turns out to be very frustrating, despite some excellent acting (Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley). 103 minutes.
A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP ** (R) Some violence. In Mandarin with subtitles. The great Chinese director Zhang Yimou tries to remake the Coen brothers' "Blood Simple," with little or no success. His visuals are stunning, but the story doesn't translate well from our culture to his and back again. 95 minutes.
* * *
Also being released:
BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA 2 (G) The Chihuahuas are back and still barking in this sequel to the hit comedy that proved dogs have a lot on their minds. 84 minutes.
THE CLIENT LIST (Not rated) A mother (Jennifer Love Hewitt) secretly turns to prostitution to support her family, but soon finds herself in trouble with the law and faced with a major decision: reveal the names of her bigwig clients or lose her kids. Based on a true story. 95 minutes.
CONVICTION (R) Profanity, violence. As children, Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank) and her brother, Kenny (Sam Rockwell), survived bad parenting and poverty by leaning on each other for support. Kenny grows up to be something of a troublemaker, eventually being convicted for a murder he swears he didn't commit. His sister believes him and, without even a high school diploma, sets about going to law school in order to figure out a way to free him. 107 minutes.
WELCOME TO THE RILEYS (R) Profanity, strong sexual content, adult situations, drug content. Their relationship steadily deteriorating in the eight years following their daughter's untimely death, a married couple unable to break the cycle of grief gets a second shot at love thanks to a scrappy, underage prostitute. James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo and Kristen Stewart star. 111 minutes.
Steve Salles can be reached at films@standard.net.
Comments