Rating system: (4=Don’t miss, 3=Good, 2=Worth a look, 1=Forget it)
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“The Ant Bully” (PG) (3.5) [Some mild rude humor and action.] [DVD and VOD only] — After an industrious group of ants (voiceovers by Nicolas Cage, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Bruce Campbell, Ricardo Montalban, et al.) fear for their lives and shrink a bullied 10-year-old boy (voiceover Zach Tyler Eisen) who tries to destroy their colony out of frustration and boredom in this clever, creative, pun-filled, and entertaining animated film, the frightened boy learns about the ant community, becomes friends with the insects, and ends up saving the colony from a zealous exterminator (voiceover by Paul Giamatti).
“August: Osage County” (R) (4) [Language including sexual references, and drug material.] [DVD and VOD only] — Superb acting dominates this powerful, compelling, down-to-earth, star-studded (Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, Dermot Mulroney, Margo Martindale, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Abigail Breslin), 2-hour film that explores the severe dysfunctional family dynamics when three sisters (Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, and Juliette Lewis) rally around their drug-addicted, cancer-stricken, curmudgeonly mother (Meryl Streep) in Oklahoma to deal with her disease and the sudden death of their father (Sam Shepard).
“Dark Nuns” (NR) (3.5) [Subtitled] [Available July 15 on various digital platforms.] — Hyeok-jae Kwon’s captivating, well-acted, superbly written, intense, dark, violent, 114-minute thriller sequel to “The Priests” highlighted by striking cinematography in which two nuns (Song Hye-kyo and Jeon Yeo-been) desperately try to perform an exorcism after a Korean boy (Moon Woo-jin) becomes possessed by a sinister, powerful, demonic spirit.
“Her” (R) (2) [Language, sexual content, and brief graphic nudity.] DVD and VOD only] — An Oscar-nominated, melancholy, depressing, repetitive, drawn-out, futuristic, albeit thought-provoking, star-dotted (Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde, Rooney Mara, Portia Doubleday, and Chris Pratt), 2-hour film in which a divorced, lonely letter writer (Joaquin Phoenix) for an Internet company develops an unhealthy relationship with his computer’s operating system (voiceover by Scarlett Johansson).
“Hunt the Wicked” (NR) (3) [Subtitled] [Available May 20 on various digital platforms.] — Nonstop action and stunning martial-arts choreography and special effects dominate Suiqiang Huo’s award-winning, fast-paced, bullet-riddled, violent, 108-minute thriller in which a Chinese narcotics detective (Tse Miu) and a vigilante Marine (Andy Oh)ta ke down a ruthless professor concocting the drug Ice Spider and then go after a corrupt, drug-trafficking mayor (Andrew Lin) running for governor, who is flooding the city with the powerful drug.
“Juliet & Romeo” (PG-13) (2.5) [Some violence, bloody images, and suggestive material.] [Available July 14 on DVD, Blu-ray™, and various digital platforms.] — Terrific costumes and sets dominate Timothy Scott Bogart’s engaging, colorful, twist-filled, star-studded (Derek Jacobi, Jason Isaacs, Rupert Graves, Dan Fogler, Martina Ortiz Luis, and Tayla Parx), 122-minute musical based on William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” in which a beautiful teenager (Clara Rugaard), whose parents (Rebel Wilson and Rupert Everett) are the Capulets, falls for a handsome Montague (Jamie Ward) in 1301 in Verona, Italy, and then find themselves in the middle of an increasing family feud.
“Life After” (NR) (3.5) [Opens July 18 in NYC at the Film Forum.] — Reid Davenport’s compelling, educational, complex, eye-opening, controversial, insightful, profound, gut-wrenching, thought-provoking, 100-minute documentary in which the disabled filmmaker investigates what happened to quadriplegic Californian Elizabeth Bouvia who was in terrible pain, sought the “right to die,” and was instrumental in the law that was finally passed in 2016 and consists of archival photographs and film clips and commentary by Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) assessor and provider Dr. Melissa Melnitzer, disabled employee Michal Kaliszan, care attendant Ann Gulliver, Canadian journalist Ash Kelly, disabled teenage student Jerika Bolen who wants to die, disability rights lawyer Carrie Ann Lucas, Elizabeth Bouvia’s sisters Rebecca and Teresa Castner, Minister of Justice David Lamerti, Michael Hickson’s wife Melissa Hickson, Toronto Metropolitan University professor emerita Catherine Frazer, right to die advocate Shanaaz Gokool, disability rights advocates (such as Sarah Jama, Krista Carr, and Megan Linton), Parliament member Arif Virani, Dying with Dignity Canada Helen Long, doctors Dr. Stephanie Green and Dr. Ramona Coelho, Riverside Hospital attorney Barbara Milliken, ACLU attorney Richard Scott, and Not Dead Yet activists Julie Farrar and Alex Thompson who oppose euthanasia.
“Lone Survivor” (R) (4) [Strong bloody war violence and pervasive language.] DVD and VOD only] — A gripping, intense, violent, action-packed, fast-paced, factually based film in which four members (Marcus Luttrell [Mark Wahlberg], Danny Dietz [Emile Hirsch], Matt Axelson [Ben Foster], and Mike Murphy [Taylor Kitch]) of a Navy SEAL team take on a harrowing, dangerous “Operation Red Wings” mission in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005, to help their military unit take down a key Taliban leader Ahmed Shahd (Yousef Azami).
“Marcella” (NR) (3.5) [Played July 16 as part of AARP’s Movies for Grownups and available on DVD and on various VOD platforms.] — Scrumptious food dominates Peters Miller’s entertaining, informative, fascinating, well-paced, 98-minute documentary that showcases the fabulous life and career of outspoken, stubborn, authentic, well-educated, no-nonsense Italian chef, teacher, and cookbook author Marcella Hazan, who was born in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region and was married to husband Victor for 33 years, as she made a name for herself influencing American women and many around the world in the art of classic Italian cooking and consists of archival photographs, home videos, film clips, cooking classes and live-action recipe excerpts, and interview snippets with chefs (such as Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, April Bloomfield, Lidia Bastianich, and Shola Uninlouo), husband Victor Hazan son Giuliano Hazan, sister-in-law Lael Hazan, writers (such as Mayukh Sen, Dorothy Kalins, and Pamela Fiori), ^New York Times” journalist Kim Severson, cookbook editor Susan Friedland, cooking student Loraine Alterman Boyle, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage curator Preston Scott, friends Connie Ruscont and Marta Zani, publishers Bill Shinker and Susan Moldow, musician Francesco Dosi, and restaurateurs Danny Meyer, Mara Martin, and Maurizio Martin.
“Miami Vice” (R) (2.5) [Strong violence, language, and some sexual content.] DVD and VOD only] — After a leak compromises the identities of several FBI agents and results in the death of another undercover agent (John Hawkes) and his family in this bullet-splattered action film based on the 1984 television series, two Miami detectives (Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx) go undercover to nab two ruthless South American drug lords (Luis Tosar and John Ortiz) and their henchmen (Li Gong, et al.).
“The Priests” (NR) (3) [Subtitled] [Available July 15 on various digital platforms.] — When a Korean high school student (Park So-dam), whose parents (Lee Jeong-yeol and Kim So-sook) are distraught, becomes possessed by a powerful, dangerous, ancient demon in Jang Jae-hyun gripping, award-winning, 115-minute, dark, tension-filled, violent, 108-minute, 2015 thriller based on the award-winning short film “12th Assistant,” a priest (Kim Yoon-seok) and a rebellious seminary student (Gang Dong-won) try to perform an exorcism.
“The Prosecutor” (NR) (3.5) [Available May 27 on DVD, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™, and various digital platforms.] — After a young Chinese man (Mason Fung), who lives with his poor grandfather (Lau Kong) in Hong Kong, is erroneously charged with drug-trafficking and sentenced to 27 years in prison by the judge (Michael Hui) in Donnie Yen’s compelling, factually based, well-acted, action-packed, fast-paced, 117-minute film inspired by a 2016 case and highlighted by terrific martial-arts choreography, a tenacious detective-turned public prosecutor (Donnie Yen) and his partner (Chu Pak Hong) appeal the case and try to prove a corrupt lawyer (Julian Cheung) framed the defendant.
“Travel Plans” (NR) (3) [Screens July 18 at 10 p.m. in the shorts block during the L.A. Shorts International Film Festival that runs July 16-28; for more information, log on to https://www.lashortsfest.com.] — Zoey Sidwell’s confusing, compelling, realistic, thought-provoking, 3-minute film provides a snapshot of a young couple (Krista Amigone and Jared Boghosian), who may be lovers or newlyweds, bickering in a car about many subjects, including moving to Italy, revealing they really don’t seem to know much about each other, and then they are visited briefly by mysterious man (Sean Michael Boozer) who taps on the car window and offers the woman a drink, and then disappears.
“Wassup Rockers” (R) (1.5) [Pervasive language, some violence, sexual content, and teen drinking.] [DVD and VOD only] — A deafening and screeching soundtrack mars this occasionally charming film about seven Latino skateboarders (Jonathan Velasquez, Eddie Velasquez, Francisco Pedrasa, Milton Velasquez, Yunior Usualdo Panameno, Luis Rojas-Salgado, and Carlos Velasco) who have a night from hell when they leave their gun-infested, racially charged ghetto neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles and venture into Beverly Hills.
Wendy Schadewald is a Burnsville resident.
