2017-02-09

OPENING FRIDAY

“Fifty Shades Darker”

Not reviewed

Sequel to psychosexual thriller “Fifty Shades of Grey” has the eccentric Christian Grey trying to woo back Anastastia Steele. (R, 1:58)

“John Wick: Chapter 2”

“The Lego Batman Movie”

“The Salesman”

“Toni Erdmann”

NOW PLAYING

“The Comedian” **1/2

Robert De Niro gives a lived-in, sincere performance as aging comic Jackie, who can’t outpace his past as the star of an ’80s sitcom. When a heckler taunts him at a gig and a video of the resulting scuffle goes viral, Jackie is sent to the clink and sentenced to community service. After his release, he feels free from the sitcom stereotype and plunges into aggressive crowd work and ribald humor, whether at a gig or not. Meanwhile, Jackie’s relationships with family, business partners, even colleagues in comedy become somewhat strained, so meeting Harmony (Leslie Mann) at a homeless shelter, where they’re both working off their community service, offers the opportunity for something else. De Niro surrounds himself with real comedians (Charles Grodin, Danny Devito) and old compatriots (Harvey Keitel), so “The Comedian” feels authentic. Scenes in the Friars Club are a treat and a roast featuring Cloris Leachman is the pinnacle of the film’s humor. But while the world of the “The Comedian” is rich, the themes often thought-provoking, it spoils that with a cutesy happy ending, one that Jackie definitely wouldn’t approve of. (R, 1:59)

“A Dog’s Purpose” **

“A Dog’s Purpose,” based on the book by W. Bruce Cameron and directed by Lasse Hallstrom, suggests that dogs are constantly reincarnated. We follow the lives of a pup voiced by Josh Gad: first, briefly, as a stray puppy; then a red retriever named Bailey in the 1960s and ’70s; Ellie, a German shepherd police dog; Tino, a chubby ’80s corgi; and finally Buddy, a neglected St. Bernard. For all his shapes, forms and lives, it’s always Bailey inside there, retaining all the memories and experiences along the way. Bailey’s a rather existential dog, constantly questioning the meaning of life. Is it to have fun? To make humans happy? Bailey just can’t stop questioning as he journeys to a “Pleasantville”-like town to join boy Ethan (Bryce Gheisar, then K.J. Apa), then experiences the human dramatics of first loves, alcoholic fathers and tragedy. The novelty of the film comes from its “dog’s perspective.” There are digs at cats, cutesy misunderstandings about what donkeys are called, and speculation about why humans press their mouths together. The problem is that it’s painfully cheesy pabulum, relying on hokey stereotypes and cliches. (PG, 2:00)

“Fences” ****

Director-star Denzel Washington captures the poetry of playwright August Wilson’s text, and the result is an experience of exuberance and richness. Washington portrays Troy, a scarred and formidable personality. He was a star in the Negro baseball league, but he was 40 when baseball integrated, so he never knew real money or fame. Instead, Troy works as a sanitation man, aware of his own magnificence while hiding his bitterness. He seems to unconsciously want to destroy his family, his wife (Viola Davis) and a teenage son (Jovan Adepo). He also has an older son, a struggling musician (Russell Hornsby) who craves his approval, but Troy won’t give it. Washington gives one of the best self-directed performances in cinematic history, and Davis is staggering, especially in a scene in which she lets loose her fury. (PG-13. 12:18)

“Gold” ***

This is Matthew McConaughey’s most extreme character work yet, with him playing a balding, paunchy, cigarette-chomping gold prospector in the 1980s. He tears into this role “inspired by true events,” playing Kenny Wells, a third-generation Reno mining prospector, carrying his company through the good times and the bad. By 1988, he’s at the end of his rope when he dreams of a tropical valley ripe with undiscovered gold, in Indonesia, as it turns out. The bad guys of the film are bankers, who give Kenny their stamp of approval but let their cynicism get the better of them. “Gold” isn’t quite as it was sold. The trailers promise a sort of rollicking “American Hustle” vibe, but “Gold” is tonally muted, and at times, the story feels compressed, with some jarring transitions. But you’re along for the ride with the fully committed McConaughey, who swings for the fences with his bold acting choices and studious lack of vanity, and he manages to create a seamless, inhabited performance. (R, 2:01)

“Hidden Figures” ***

“Hidden Figures” takes us back to 1961, when segregation and workplace sexism were widely accepted facts of life, and the word “computer” referred to a person, not a machine. The most important computers here are three African-American women who work at data entry jobs for NASA but go on to play crucial roles in the space program. Based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s nonfiction book, the film, directed by Theodore Melfi, turns the entwined careers of Katherine Goble (played with perfect nerd charisma by Taraji P. Henson), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) into a rousing celebration of merit rewarded and perseverance repaid. It’s a well-told tale with a clear moral and a satisfying emotional payoff. (PG, 2:06)

“Journey to the West: Demons Strike Back”

Not reviewed

Loosely based on the popular Chinese “monkey” legend, this sequel pits a Chinese monk and his three disciples against demons. (PG-13, 1:49)

“The King”

Not reviewed

South Korean crime thriller about a man from humble origins who strives to become a prosecutor, a powerful position in the 1990s, only to find his decision comes with a dilemma. (NR, 2:14)

“Kung Fu Yoga” **1/2

The new Jackie Chan film, “Kung Fu Yoga,” is a throwback to the kinetic, comedic Chan audiences fell in love with in the ’80s. As the first major Chinese-Indian co-production, “Kung Fu Yoga” doesn’t try to hide the fact that it’s going after the most multicultural market possible. In this “Indiana Jones” ripoff, Chan is a famed Chinese archaeologist named Jack on the hunt for a secret treasure buried by an Indian dynasty many centuries ago. Indian actresses Disha Patani and Amyra Dastur and Chinese pop-star/actor Aarif Rahman play members of his incredibly good-looking crew, who match wits and kicks with dapper villain Randall (Sonu Sood). It’s obvious that most of the actors aren’t accustomed to working in English — characters also speak in Mandarin and Hindi, with subtitles — and many of the CGI effects are patently fake. But Chan’s longtime director-writer Stanley Tong (“Police Story 3: Supercop”) knows what Chan fans want, and he mostly delivers. (unrated, 1:47)

“La La Land” ****

A musical with big numbers, intimate reveries and adult feelings, Damien Chazelle’s musical “La La Land” is a boy-meets-girl tale with early-21st-century rhythms. It grapples with love between equals in a story about an aspiring actress, Mia (Emma Stone), who meets an ambitious musician, Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), Los Angeles-style during a traffic jam: He honks at her; she flips him the bird. They end up swaying in that fading, soft-light time known as the magic hour, tapping and twirling. This must have been what it was like to see Astaire and Rogers dance for the first time, and one hopes it will appeal to contemporary moviegoers. While “La La Land” engages with nostalgia, it also passionately speaks to the present. (PG-13, 2:08)

“Lion” ***

“Lion” is the incredible true story of two remarkable journeys that Saroo Brierley took in his life — one far away from home, and his return trip. Based on his memoir, “A Long Way Home,” the film is split in two. The first half depicts the travels of young Saroo (Sunny Pawar), who is just 5 when he becomes separated from his brother in Khandwa and ends up 900 miles away in Kolkata. Two decades later, after he’s been taken from an orphanage and adopted by an Australian couple, he returns as the adult Saroo (Dev Patel) in the emotional journey, using modern technology to find his family. Both Pawar and Patel are impressive in their portrayal of Saroo young and old, and Nicole Kidman, as his adoptive mother, Sue, in a brief but juicy role, is luminous as a woman who demonstrates her boundless love in sharing a son with another mother. (PG-13, 2:00)

“Moana” ***

Those fretting over the depiction of Polynesian cultures in “Moana” shouldn’t trouble themselves. The movie itself is not realistic. It’s fantasy, magical, with a cave of magic canoes and an anthropomorphic ocean. Kamehameha Schools student Auli‘i Cravalho does a wonderful job as the voice of Moana, bringing depth and heart to the character. Moana feels the ocean is calling to her, but her father, Chief Tui (Temuera Morrison), forbids her to set sail. Suddenly, her island has no fish, and coconuts become infected with a blight, so Moana jumps on a canoe and does just that. Her quest includes finding the powerful Maui (Dwayne Johnson), returning a green stone heart to a creation goddess, learning wayfinding and stopping the blight. Maui, meanwhile, needs to get his magic fis**ook back, but what he really wants is for mortals to admire him for his wondrous feats. (PG, 1:53)

“Monster Trucks” *1/2

“Monster Trucks” starts out with a relatively adult, science fiction premise: that fracking threatens underground creatures unknown to us. Then the film overwhelms this idea with a childish conceit: These same creatures — a cross between Jabba the Hut and Jaws — just love big trucks. One of them inhabits a truck that lonely high school student Tripp (Lucas Till, looking far too old for the role) has been working on. The film is reminiscent of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” but the crucial relationship between Tripp and the creature falls flat. We don’t care what happens to Tripp, and while the monster-in-the-truck adventure makes for a decent set piece, it does not a movie make. The film in some ways is too complex for kids, yet leaves the adults feeling left out, as well. (PG, 1:44)

“Paterson” ***1/2

Waking up. Making coffee. Walking to work. Talking to co-workers. Walking the dog. These are the mundane activities of life, but in Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson,” they’re everything and they’re beautiful. This sentimentality comes to us through Paterson (a wonderful Adam Driver), a bus-driving poet in Paterson, N.J., who favors William Carlos Williams, author of the epic poem “Paterson.” Paterson goes about life gently, often letting his poems take over his thoughts. We hear him working out a poem in his head: “We have plenty of matches in our house ….” The audience sees Paterson’s verses scribbled across the screen, daring us to consider the words. Paterson’s world is full of characters. When he drives, he enjoys the conversations between men obviously lying to each other about girls, or the teens talking about anarchy. His girlfriend Laura (Golshifteh Farahani) is sometimes ridiculous, but endlessly supportive. One day she’s going into the cupcake business, the next she wants to be a country star. It’s at the corner bar where Paterson really comes to life, laughing more here than he does anywhere else, but he never comes up with poems at the bar. It’s his break, too. “Paterson” might just leave you reconsidering whatever awaits you after watching it, whatever banalities your future holds. (R, 1:58)

“Resident Evil: The Final Chapter”

Not reviewed

Final installment of video game-based horror movie series stars Milla Jovovich as returning hero Alice, battling zombies, mutant monsters and the evil Umbrella Corporation as she races to save humanity from a deadly virus. (R, 1:46)

“Rings”

Not reviewed

The third entry in the supernatural horror franchise, this film involves a movie that supposedly puts a curse on those who watch it, and a young woman who, after sacrificing herself for her boyfriend, discovers that there’s a movie inside the movie. (PG-13, 1:42)

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” ***1/2

The Force is strong with this spinoff, which provides a solid prequel to the original, taking us to a galaxy of new planets shrouded by ice or cloud-capped fog, drenched in rain or adorned by towering palm trees, all property of the evil Empire. At the center is rebel Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and her allies, whose goal is to capture the Imperial Death Star blueprints designed by her father (Mads Mikkelsen), or perhaps to assassinate him for aiding the totalitarians. As in every “Star Wars” film, the focus is the little guy fighting the big guy. This time the combat leaves palpable scars coated in filth; you experience them and wince. Of course, authoritarians are still entirely evil. Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn is the gold standard of personified malice as the main villain, Krennic. (PG-13 2:13)

“Silence” **1/2

Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” is a frustrating paradox. Japanese author (and Christian convert) Shusaku Endo’s exquisite novel tells about Portuguese Jesuit priests persecuted for their beliefs in 17th-century Japan, and Scorsese’s screen adaption is a carefully considered epic, with some remarkable images and sequences. It’s obviously a labor of love, but it’s also methodical and stately to a fault. “Silence” tells how Father Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Garupe (Adam Driver) travel to Japan to find their colleague, Father Ferreira (an excellent Liam Neeson), whose last letter tells of priests and believers dying in horrifying ways at the hands of the Japanese authorities, led by the Inquisitor, a splendid Issey Ogata. Scorsese, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and editor Thelma Schoonmaker try a little of everything visually, but the film proceeds dutifully. Endo’s novel, barely 200 pages in its original form, doesn’t respond well to Scorsese’s expansive tack. Endo’s perspective in the novel, at once questioning and urgent, has been replaced by a less complicated martyr’s travail in Scorsese’s hands. (R, 2:41)

“Sing” ***

What “Sing” might lack in originality of concept — “American Idol” with animated animals — it more than makes up for in execution. The story revolves around Buster Moon (a koala voiced by Matthew McConaughey), a theater owner who has run into tough times. Buster scrapes together $1,000 for a singing contest, but a typo on the fliers raises it to $100,000. Hordes show up to audition, giving voice to characters like Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), an overworked mama pig; Johnny (Taron Egerton), a gorilla trying to break free of his father’s criminal gang; Ash (Scarlett Johansson), a talented teen porcupine with a jerky boyfriend; and Mike (Seth MacFarlane), a spendthrift rat with a Sinatra-esque croon. A series of inappropriate animal/pop song mashups, like a snail singing “Ride Like the Wind,” makes the film sing. (PG, 1:48)

“The Space Between Us” **

This movie presents a compelling situation, genuinely touching moments and pockets of strong acting … and dialogue so absurd that it has the audience laughing. The tone shifts from lofty fantasy to gritty realism, but the realism is more fake than the fantasy. It starts with a mission to create the first Martian colony, but it turns out the lone woman on the journey is pregnant. She gives birth on Mars, then dies almost immediately. Because her baby gestated in a gravity-free environment, his organs and skeletal system developed in an odd way. He’s suited to Mars and to space travel, but there is a real question about whether he could survive Earth. Asa Butterfield plays the 16-year-old boy, Gardner, and he’s appropriately tall and thin, frail, earnest and otherworldly. When his health finally allows him to travel to Earth, we have the fun of seeing him react to things we take for granted as though they were new. He wants to meet a girl he has spoken to online, but she’s played by Britt Robertson, who looks like his babysitter. Gary Oldman, as the man who started the Mars program and is ripped up with guilt over Gardner’s situation, hams it up, seeming to be really happy to finally play a decent human being. (PG-13, 2:01)

“Split” ***

M. Night Shyamalan’s name has always been synonymous with one thing: twist. Which is a kind of a shame when the filmmaking and performances are particularly exceptional. In the multiple-personality psychothriller “Split,” Anya Taylor-Joy and James McAvoy shine as prey and predator. McAvoy sinks his teeth into the role of a young man who developed dissociative identity disorder to deal with an abusive childhood. He keeps 23 personalities in control with the help of a therapist, but darker proclivities have taken over, and he kidnaps three young girls to satisfy those urges. McAvoy is delightfully demonic; each of his characters has unique gestures, and he slides seamlessly from one to another. Taylor-Joy portrays Casey, one of the kidnap victims. She’s thoughtful and composed in dealing with the situation, drawing on lessons learned from hunting trips with her father and uncle. Unfortunately, Shyamalan retreats to tried-and-true formulas. Cinematographer Michael Gioulakis’s creative camera work, rapidly swapping character point-of-view, contributes greatly to the film, but it’s tiresome to see yet another movie where young women get locked in a basement. (PG-13, 1:57)

“XXX: The Return of Xander Cage” **1/2

After a one-film absence from the franchise, Vin Diesel is back as the thrill-seeker turned government agent. He’s surrounded by stars from around the world: Hong Kong wushu star Donnie Yen, Thai martial artist Tony Jaa, Bollywood beauty Deepika Padukone, Aussie personality Ruby Rose, Chinese singer-actor Kris Wu, British UFC champ Michael Bisping, “Game of Thrones” fave Rory McCann and Brazilian soccer phenomenon Neymar. Even Toni Collette turns up, and she’s fantastic. Out of this group, Diesel’s Cage is the least interesting. He gets pulled out of retirement to pursue bandits who have stolen a weapon capable of dropping satellites out of orbit. That’s the ostensible plot, but mostly the film is about extreme stunts, adolescent jokes, female bodies and Xander’s cheesy come-ons. The punch lines are mostly silly, but when Xander starts opining about extreme stunts, it tips into unintentionally hilarious territory. As far as the stunts go, Xander skis through a jungle and rides waves on an ocean-going motorbike, but Yen’s wushu mastery swipes this movie right out from under his prodigious pecs. (PG-13, 1:47)

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

“An Affair to Remember” 60th Anniversary

2 and 7 p.m., Feb. 12 and 15, Regal Dole. $13

Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr star in this tearjerker, made famous all over again when it was summed up in “Sleepless in Seattle.” Grant and Kerr portray wannabe artists who make a pact to meet atop the Empire State Building at a certain time if they are both romantically available. When the meeting doesn’t happen, it takes a series of serendipitous events to bring them back together again.

“Bolshoi Ballet: Sleeping Beauty”

12:30 p.m., Feb. 12; and 7 p.m., Feb. 14, Consolidated Kahala, $20

The famous Russian ballet company performs this fairy tale set to music of Tchaikovsky.

“Casablanca” 75th Anniversary

7 p.m., Feb. 14, Olina by Consolidated. $10

Humphrey Bogart actually doesn’t say “Play it again, Sam,” he merely says “Play it!” in this classic war-era movie about an apolitical, tough-guy club owner forced to take sides between Nazis and Allies when the long-lost love of his life (Ingrid Bergman, ravishing as Ilsa) walks into his club.

Disney’s “Newsies: The Broadway Musical”

7 p.m., Feb. 16, Regal Dole and Regal Pearl Highlands. $21

Filmed version of the hit stage play about a newsboy (a young person who sells newspapers on the street) taking on the publishers of major newspapers who are trying to squeeze their hard-earned dollars from them. Based on a true incident.

ART HOUSE

DORIS DUKE THEATRE

Honolulu Museum of Art, 532-6097, honolulumuseum.org; $8-$10

Honolulu African-American Film Festival 2017

Runs through Feb. 17.

“Daughters of the Dust”

1 and 7:30 p.m. today

Members of a multigenerational family of Gullah people — descendants of slaves who inhabit islands off the southeastern U.S. — struggle to maintain their cultural heritage and folklore as they contemplate moving north during the Great Migration. Directed by Julie Dash, this was the first wide release by a black female filmmaker. (1991, 1:53)

Art & Racial Justice: Conversation with Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza (co-founders of Black Lives Matter)

1 p.m. Saturday, with Hawaii premiere of “I Am Not Your Negro” at 3 p.m., followed by reception at 5 p.m., $15-$20.

>> “I Am Not Your Negro”

Filmmaker Raoul Peck’s documentary completes the “unfinished” story James Baldwin set out to tell in his revolutionary book that contained personal accounts about the lives of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., all of whom were close friends and assassinated. (2016, 1:35)

>> “13th”

7 p.m. Sunday, free, followed by a panel discussion on incarceration in the U.S. and Hawaii with Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter and executive director of Dignity & Empower Now.

Ava Duvernay’s documentary, titled after the Constitution’s 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery, examines America’s prison system and its history of racial inequality. (2016, 1:40)

2017 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Documentary

7 p.m. Monday

>> “Extremis”

Doctors, patients and families are faced with end-of-life decisions in a hospital ICU. Directed by Dan Krauss. (2016, 0:24)

>> “4.1 Miles”

While thousands of refugees are at risk of drowning, a Coast Guard captain on a small Greek island is suddenly charged with saving them. Directed by Daphne Matziaraki. (2016, 0:22)

>> “Joe’s Violin”

An unlikely friendship between a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor and a 12-year-old Bronx schoolgirl is forged by a donated musical instrument. Directed by Kahane Cooperman. (2016, 0:24)

>> “Watani: My Homeland”

A family escapes from war-torn Syria and attempts to make a new life in Germany. Directed by Marcel Mettelsiefen. (2016, U.K./Syria/Germany, 0:39)

>> “The White Helmets”

A group of unarmed, neutral civilian volunteers are brave first responders who have saved more than 60,000 lives since 2013 during Syria’s civil war. Directed by Orlando von Einsiedel. (2016, U.K., 0:41)

2017 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Live Action

1 p.m. Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and 1 p.m. Thursday

>> “Sing (Mindenki)”

Based on a true story, this childhood drama is about a new girl in school who joins the school’s famous award-winning choir, only to find that the inspirational director might not be the person everyone thinks she is. Directed by Dristof Deak. (2016, Hungary, 0:25)

>> “Silent Nights”

While volunteering at a homeless shelter, Inger meets and falls for illegal immigrant Kwame, who reveals nothing about his family and children in Ghana until his daughter is hospitalized. Inga believes his lies about stealing money from the shelter to pay bills but soon learns more about his life in Ghana through his mobile phone. Directed by Aske Bang. (2016, Denmark, 0:30)

>> “Timecode”

Diego and Luna are parking lot security guards, one of whom works the day shift while the other works the night. (2016, Spain, 0:15)

>> “Ennemis Interieurs”

A French-Algerian man is accused of protecting terrorists’ identities during an interview at a police station during France’s turbulent period in the 1990s. Directed by Selim Aazzazi. (2016, France, 0:28)

>> “La Femme et la TGV”

For many years, lonely Elise waves at an express train as it passes her house. One day, she finds a letter from the train conductor, which starts a chain of correspondence between the two until the day the train line gets canceled. Inspired by true events. Directed by Timo von Gunten. (2016, Switzerland, 0:30)

2017 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Animation

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 1 p.m. Wednesday and 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Short films include “Borrowed Time,” “Pearl,” “Piper,” “Blind Vaysha”and “Pear Cider and Cigarettes.” Additional films “The Head Vanishes,” “Asteria” and “Happy End” are not nominees.

MOVIE MUSEUM

3566 Harding Ave., 735-8771; $5, $4 members

“Riptide”

11 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. today

A quiet man arrives in a seaside town during the rainy season, leading locals to speculate on his mysterious presence. For ages 12 and older. In French with English subtitles. (1949, France/Netherlands, 1:31)

“A Man Called Ove” (“En man som heter Ove”)

12:45, 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. today; 11 a.m. and 3, 5 and 7 p.m. Saturday

Adaptation of Frederick Backman’s Swedish best-seller about a widower contemplating suicide so he can join his beloved wife, only to find salvation by picking at his new neighbors. Rated PG-13. In Swedish and Persian with subtitles. Nominated for two Oscars: best foreign language film and best makeup/hairstyling. (2016, Sweden, 1:56)

“The Murderer Lives at Number 21”

1 and 9 p.m. Saturday

Comical thriller about a serial killer who leaves behind a calling card on each victim, leading an inspector to a boarding house filled with eccentric suspects. For ages 10 and older. In French with English subtitles. (1942, France, 1:24)

“Loving”

12:15, 2:30, 6:30 and 8:45 p.m. Sunday

Interracial couple Mildred and Richard Loving legally wed in 1958 in Washington, D.C. However, it is illegal in their home state of Virginia, so they must defend their marriage by taking it to the Supreme Court. Ruth Negga is Oscar-nominated for best actress. (2016, U.K./U.S., 2:03)

“Family United” (“La gran familia espanola”)

4:45 p.m. Sunday and noon, 3:15 and 6:30 p.m. Monday

Five brothers gather for a wedding at their family home near Madrid on the same day Spain plays in 2010 World Cup finals, resulting in soccer, dysfunctional family drama, sex and long-hidden secrets being added to the mix. Rated R. (2013, Spain, 1:35)

“The Suitor” (“Le soupirant”)

1:45, 5 and 8:15 p.m. Monday

Comedy about a shy young man who is determined to find a wife, at his parents’ urging, so he quits studying astronomy and instead studies other men’s rituals of attracting women. For ages 10 and older. In French with English subtitles. (1962, France, 1:23)

“Bekas”

Noon, 3:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday

In war-torn Iraqi Kurdistan, two young orphaned brothers leave for America in search of Superman, who they feel can solve their problems and punish Saddam Hussein. In the process they become heroes to each other. For ages 12 and older. In Kurdish with English subtitles. (2012, Sweden/Finland/Iraq, 1:37)

“The Executioner” (“El verdugo”)

1:45, 5:15 and 8:45 p.m. Thursday

A young undertaker marries the daughter of an executioner but cannot afford a new home for his bride, so he asks his father-in-law for help in securing a home in exchange for “a killer deal.” For ages 15 and older. In Spanish with English subtitles. (1963, Spain/Italy, 1:30)

SUNDAY SUPPER CINEMA @ WISP

7 p.m. Sunday, WISP Restaurant & Lounge, Lotus Hotel, second floor; doors open 5:30 p.m. (for dinner). $5. Reservations: 436-4326.

“Bossa Nova: The History and the Stories”

Musical film about the people, places and performances that put Brazilian music on the map in the early 1960s. Directed by Paul Thiago. In Portuguese with English subtitles. (2005, Brazil, 2:01)

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