MOVIES: ‘Avengers: Age of Ulton’ among new movies in Bellingham this weekend
OPENING THIS WEEK
Avengers: Age of Ultron
PG-13, intense sequences of sci-fi action, violence and destruction, some suggestive comments; 141 minutes. The Avenger gang returns and finds themselves engaged with an artificial intelligence program that was designed to end threats to Earth but instead turns on mankind. Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Elizabeth Olsen, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson.
* * 1/2 “A bloated blockbuster movie-as-commodity like “Age of Ultron” doesn’t herald the end of this franchise or genre. But you see it from here. — TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 11 a.m., 1:30, 2:30, 5:15, 6:15, 8:30, 8:50, 9:45
Sat: 10:30 a.m., 1, 2:20, 4:50, 6:20, 8:10, 9, 10
Sun: 10:50 a.m., 12:50, 2:20, 4:20, 5:50, 7:50, 9:20
IMAX: Fri: 11:30 a.m., 3:15, 7, 10:30
Sat: 11:20 a.m., 3, 7, 10:30
Sun: 11:20 a.m., 2:50, 6:20, 9:50
RPX: Fri: 12:15, 4, 7:45, 11:10
Sat: 12, 3:40, 7:40, 11:10
Sun: 11:50 a.m., 3:20, 6:50, 10:20
3D: Fri: 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:50 a.m., 12:45, 2, 3:35, 4:30, 5, 5:30, 7:20, 8, 9:20, 10:45
Sat: 10 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 12:40, 1:30, 1:50, 3:15, 4:20, 5:10, 5:50, 7:15, 8:30, 9:30, 10:45
Sun: 10:20 a.m., 12:20, 1:20, 1:50, 2:35, 3:50, 4:50, 5:20, 7:20, 8:20, 8:50
Citizen Kane
Not rated; 119 minutes. Orson Welles’ classic film follows the rise and fall of a powerful newspaper tycoon through the eyes of the people who knew him best. Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Agnes Mooreheard.
No critical review available
Playing: Pickford
Times: 6:30 (Wed)
Fantastic Journeys: Live Action Shorts
Not rated; 62 minutes. Live action films for children that are family friendly and full of inspiration and new outlooks.
No critical review available
Playing: Pickford
Times: 11 a.m. (Fri, Sun), 12:30 (Sat),
Fantastic Journeys: Animation Shorts
Not rated; 65 minutes. Animated films for children that are family friendly and full of inspiration and new outlooks.
No critical review available
Playing: Pickford
Times: 11 a.m. (Sat), 12:30 (Fri, Sun),
The Hard Problem
Not rated; 120 minutes. Acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard’s new play follows a young psychology researcher who is dealing with troubling private issues and growing concerns about the impact of computers and technology will have on her future.
No critical review available
Playing: Pickford
Times: 6:30 (Thu)
Horizon Beautiful
Not rated; 90 minutes. A soccer magnate travels to Ethiopia to promote the sport and finds himself caught up in a faked kidnapping the leaves him in the Ethiopian wilderness with a street kid with gifted skills as a soccer player.
No critical review available
Playing: Pickford
Times: 12 (Sat), 5:15 (Sun)
Limited Partnerships
Not rated; 61 minutes. Documentary follows a gay couple who attempted to marry in 1971 and then sues the U.S. government in what became the first federal lawsuit seeking equal treatment and rights for homosexuals.
No critical review available
Playing: Pickford
Times: 5:30 (Tue)
Lola on the Pea (Lola auf der Erbse)
Not rated; 90 minutes. A 9-year-old girl lives on a houseboat in Germany with her mother. She misses her long-gone father and finds little to like in her mother’s new boyfriend. However, her life starts to turn around after she meets a young boy whose family has entered Germany without appropriate legal documents. Antoine Monot Jr., Tabea Hanstein, Tobias Oertel.
No critical review available
Playing: Pickford
Times: 6:30 (Fri)
Roar
PG; 92 minutes. A wildlife preservationist finds his life turned upside down when his wife and daughter visit his reserve in Africa, leading to more and more interaction with the reserve’s animals, some of it placing those involved in danger. Noel Marshall, Tippi Hedren, Melanie Griffith.
No critical review available
Playing: Limelight
Times: 3:15 (Sun), 4:15 (Sat), 7:40 (Sun), 8:40 (Fri-Sat, Mon-Thu)
Romeo and Juliet (Bolshoi Ballet)
Not rated; 135 minutes. The Bolshoi Ballet’s production of Shakespeare’s story of two young lovers consumed by their passion and desire to be together forever.
No critical review available
Playing: Pickford
Times: 11 a.m. (Sun)
Seymour: An Introduction
PG, some mild thematic elements; 81 minutes. Ethan Hawke’s documentary looks at the philosophy and skill of 87-year-old pianist and teacher Seymour Bernstein.
Ethan Hawke’s documentary on pianist Seymour Bernstein is very much like the sonatas Bernstein plays so beautifully, teaches so insightfully — quietly moving, infinitely deep. — LOS ANGELES TIMES
Playing: Limelight
Times: 1 (Sun), 2 (Sat), 4:15 (Fri, Mon-Thu), 5:30 (Sun), 6:30 (Fri-Sat, Mon-Thu)
Shana: The Wolf’s Music
Not rated; 96 minutes. A young Canadian First Nations’ girl who is skilled as a violonist finds a way to reach out and reconnect with her ancestors and her dead mother during a spiritual journey that opens her eyes to new and powerful things. Alana Aspinall, Sunshine O’Donovan, Marty Aspinall.
No critical review available
Playing: Pickford
Times: 2:30 (Sun)
Throne of Blood
Not rated; 100 minutes. Akira Kurosawa’s take on Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” finds a famed general being urged on to greater glory and wealth by his ambitious wife. Toshiro Mifuni, Yamada Isuzu.
No critical review available
Playing: Pickford
Times: 6:30 (Tue)
ONGOING
The Age of Adaline
PG-13, for a suggestive comment; 110 minutes. A young woman who quit aging 80 years ago deals with the problems and heartbreaks of new love and connecting with an elderly daughter. Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Kathy Bates, Harrison Ford.
* * * 1/2 It’s (Blake) Lively’s show, and she wears the period clothes and formal wear as easily as Adaline wears the burden of a body that never ages. — TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 12:35, 3:25, 6:30, 9:30
Sat: 12:35, 3:25, 6:30, 9:20
Sun: 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 9:15
Cinderella
PG, mild thematic elements; 112 minutes. Director Kenneth Branagh puts his mark on the children’s tale, updating the classic Disney animation with a live cast. Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter, Stellan Skarsgard.
* * The look is always spot-on, the transformation effects, pumpkin-to-carriage, etc., are perfect. But the pre-teen girls this is intended for have a right to expect more laughs, broader villainy and more fun. This time out, the glass slipper doesn’t fit. — MCCLATCHY
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 2:20 Sat: 12:10 Sun: 12
Ex Machina
R, graphic nudity, language, sexual references, some violence; 105 minutes. A young computer coder is brought by his billionaire boss to a retreat in Norway, where he is tasked with giving a “Turing test” to a sentient robot who exhibits human traits, including empathy and love. Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac, Sonoya Mizuno.
* * * “Ex Machina” is an “Island of Dr. Moreau” for the singularity era. — TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 1:40, 4:20, 7:30, 10:15
Sat: 1:10, 3:50, 6:50, 9:40
Sun: 1, 3:40, 6:35, 9:30
Furious 7
PG-13, frenetic scenes of violences and action, suggestive content, brief strong language; 137 minutes. Deckard Shaw seeks revenge against Dominic and his family for the death of his brother. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson.
* * * 1/2 With “Furious 7” looking at a potential $275 million opening weekend worldwide, this is one franchise that’s unlikely to run out of gas. — FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 1, 4:10, 7:15, 10:20
Sat: 12:50, 4, 7:10, 10:20
Sun: 12:40, 4, 7:10, 10:15
Home
PG, mild action, some rude humor; 94 minutes. An alien trying to flee from other members of his species and a young girl who is seeking her missing mother work together to solve their problems. Voices of Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin.
* * 1/2 “Home” is an energetic, obvious animated comedy packed with the sort of low humor and silly laughs that drive very small children wild. ...There’s not much here for anybody over the age of 8. — MCCLATCHY
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 11:10 a.m., 1:55, 4:50, 8:20, 10:35
Sat: 10:50 a.m., 2:10, 4:40, 8:20, 10:35
Sun: 11 a.m., 2:10, 6:10, 8:30
Insurgent
PG-13, intense violence and action throughout, some sensuality, thematic elements, brief language; 116 minutes. The second film in the “Divergent” series finds the group working to bring revolution to the land as they make contact with other factions seeking a better life and opportunities. Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Naomi Watts.
* * 1/2 As “Insurgent” wraps up, it picks up speed and depth and gives you hope that maybe this series won’t conclude as the copy-and-past “Hunger Games” it has felt like, from the moment the books were word-processed onto the best seller lists. — MCCLATCHY
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 12, 2:50, 7:10, 10
Sat: 11:40 a.m., 2:45, 7:30, 10:25
Sun: 11:30 a.m., 2:40, 5:40, 8:25
It Follows
R, violence, graphic sexual content, language; 94 minutes. A young man infects a female friends with the evil that is stalking him, leaving her to find a way to stop the evil before it destroys her. Keir Gilchrist, Lili Sepe, Maika Monroe.
* * * “It Follows” is a smart, disturbing and haunting tale that is truly, deeply scary. — THE FRESNO BEE
Playing: Pickford
Times: 7:30 (Sun), 9 (Fri-Sat, Mon, Wed-Thu), 9:15 (Tue)
Little Boy
PG-13, some mature thematic material, violence; 100 minutes. A young boy does whatever he can to insure that his father will return home after the conclusion of World War II. Jakob Salvati, Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson, David Henrie, Cary-Hiroyuki.
* * “Little Boy” is loaded with weighty subjects and teachable moments, all doled out between generous helpings of tragedy and sentiment. — TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: 11 a.m. (Sat), 11:05 (Sun), 11:40 a.m. (Fri), ,
The Longest Ride
PG-13, some sexuality, partial nudity, some war and sports action; 125 minutes. A young college co-ed finds herself falling in love with a bull-riding cowboy whom she meets during a chance encounter at a rodeo. Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson, Alan Alda, Oona Chaplin, Jack Huston.
* 1/2 Director George Tillman .... manages stunningly real bull riding scenes and gives his winsome young stars plenty of room to shine, though neither rises above dull. — TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 11:15 a.m. 6:50 Sat: 11:15 a.m., 7:20 Sun: 11:10 a.m., 7
Merchants of Doubt
PG-13, brief strong language; 96 minutes. Director Robert Kenner takes a close look at the “global warming denial” industry and how their efforts have resulted in political gridlock.
* * * A few well-fed, well-paid faces, amplified by constant TV exposure into a “Movement” without numbers, “experts” without real expertise, have gotten their way. — TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Playing: Pickford
Times: 2:15 (Sat), 3:15 (Tue), 4:15 (Mon, Wed-Thu), 4:20 (Fri-Sun), 6:35 (Sat, Mon)
Monkey Kingdom
G; 81 minutes. Documentary follows a newborn monkey and its mother as they struggle to survive within the Temple Troop, a group of monkeys living around ruins in southeast Asia. Narrated by Tina Fey.
* * * Filmmakers Mark Linfield and Alastair Fothergil never stray far from the overarching mission of Disney’s noblest film endeavor — capturing natural worlds and animal behavior at its rawest. — TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 12:05, 2:10, 4:15, 6:25, 8:40
Sat: 11:45 a.m., 2:25, 4:30, 6:35, 8:40
Sun: 12:10, 2:30, 5:10, 7:30, 9:35
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
PG; 94 minutes. Mall cop Paul Blart decides he needs a vacation and takes his daugher with him to Las Vegas, where Blart is called into action. Kevin James, Raini Rodrigeuz, Eduardo Verastegui.
No critical review available
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 11:05 a.m., 1:20, 3:50, 6:40, 9:25
Sat-Sun: 1:40, 4:10, 6:40, 9:25
Unfriended
R, violent content, language, some sexuality, drug and alcohol use; 82 minutes. A group of online chat friends are haunted by a mysterious force that uses the account of a dead online friend. Heather Sossaman, Matthew Bohrer, Courtney Halverson, Shelly Hinnig.
No critical review available
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 4:40, 10:40 Sat: 5, 10:40 Sun: 4:40, 10
While We’re Young
R, language; 97 minutes. A hipster couple heading into middle age befriends a twentysomething couple as they try to hold on to their bohemian lifestyle and connect with a younger generation they have little knowledge of. Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, Charles Grodin.
* * * “Young” is (director Noah) Baumbach’s most conventional film, but also his most wholly realized, from a baby’s music box playing David Bowie’s “Golden Age” to the shrewd observation about what becomes of documentaries in an age “when people record EVERYthing.” — TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Playing: Pickford
Times: 2:05 (Sat-Sun), 4:05 (Fri, Mon-Thu), 4:25 (Sat), 6:30 (Mon, Wed-Thu), 6:45 (Sat-Sun), 7 (Tue), 8:45 (Fri-Sat, Mon), 9:15 (Tue, Thu)
Woman in Gold
PG-13, thematic elements, brief strong language; 110 minutes. A woman struggles to recover a priceless Gustav Klimt painting stolen from her family by the Nazis and now located at an art gallery in the United States. Helen Mirren, Ante Traue, Francis Fisher.
With all these good things going for it, it’s regrettable that “Woman in Gold” is no more than adequate, more old-fashioned Hollywoodization that incisive modern dramatization. — LOS ANGELES TIMES
Playing: Barkley Village
Times: Fri: 11:20 a.m., 2:15, 5:40, 9:50
Sat: 11:30 a.m., 2:15, 5:40, 10:15
Sun: 11:40 a.m., 2, 6, 8:40
This story was originally published May 1, 2015 at 8:00 AM with the headline "MOVIES: ‘Avengers: Age of Ulton’ among new movies in Bellingham this weekend."