✹ WEEKLY FILM RUNDOWN: April 14-20
Renfield Nicholas Cage goes for broke as Dracula in this workplace comedy riff on Bram Stoker’s classic that finds the Count’s bug-eating sycophant (Nicholas Hoult) trying to quiet quit and romance a traffic cop (Awkwafina). It’s had must-see future midnight classic written all over it since its first trailer dropped in January. Now playing in theaters.
Rimini Fallen pop idol Richie Bravo spends his days totally loaded and singing for tourists in the coastal Italian city until his adult daughter drops back into his life to speed up his unraveling. The latest acid-washed comedy from Ulrich Seidl, Austria’s most underrated filmmaker. Now playing at The Belcourt.
Tori and Lokita This tale of two African immigrant preteens caught up in the drug trade and the petrifying bureaucracy of the state may seem like the latest movie that just appeals to people who really love White Fragility. But, the most recent work from Belgium’s Dardenne Brothers once again showcases their keen talent for social observation and ability to level easy answers with an admirable brutality. Now playing at The Belcourt.
The Pope’s Exorcist Russell Crowe is making crosses, saying prayers, and fighting round the world in a supernatural horror flick that’s getting such good reviews he must have sold his soul to Satan. Now playing in theaters.
Mafia Mama Toni Collette plays a wine mom tasked with running an Italian mob family as fish-out-of-water humor and other sundry hijinks ensue. Now playing at theaters.
Sweetwater The true story of the first African-American basketball player to sign with the NBA. We’re definitely there to see Jeremy Piven and Eric Roberts chew scenery. Now playing in theaters.
Suzume Japan’s anime blockbuster about a 17-year-old girl tasked with stopping disasters from hitting cities all across Japan finally comes to the U.S. Now playing in theaters.
Nefarious At least a horror movie about a serial killer (Sean Patrick Flanery) who claims to be a demon and threatens to possess his psychiatrist (Jordan Belfi) from the directors of God’s Not Dead 2 won’t be boring. Now playing in theaters.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline The only way this “eco thriller” about a group of whiny Gen Z radicals descending on a Texas town for some domestic terrorism is not the Deepwater Horizon of indie movies is if the whole thing is just a Borat-style epic troll of the type of people who would actually pay to see it. Now playing at the Belcourt.
The Latest in Bolly/Tolly/Kollywood
Shaakuntalam (Telugu) A sage’s curse keeps two lovers apart, but fate has other plans. Now playing at AMC Thoroughbred 20 and Regal Hollywood 27.
Soppana Sundari (Tamil) A struggling family wins a car in a raffle, but internal strife and greedy neighbors threaten the windfall in this dark comedy. Now playing at Regal Hollywood 27.