THIS WEEK:
Crown Heights Having performed this year in everything from Get Out to Atlanta to Death Note, Lakeith Stanfield takes on the real-life role of Colin Warner, who was sent to jail in 1980 for a murder he didn't commit and remained there even after the real killer confessed. It was just one of the many miscarriages of justice in pre-gentrification Brooklyn that today's white folk would just as soon not dwell upon. But the movie itself is based on a "This American Life" podcast, so they might see it anyway by mistake! (R)
Gun Shy Antonio Banderas plays a middle-aged rock star who has to save the day when kidnappers abscond with his supermodel wife. See, when that happens to Rod Stewart, he just trades her out for another one. (R)
Home Again When your mother is Hollywood force of nature Nancy Meyers, you don't just get a wide release for your very first writing and directing project – you get Reese Witherspoon to star in it, too! Hallie Meyers-Shyer has decided to apply those considerable resources to the story of a woman who separates from her husband and heads to L.A., where she opens her home to three aspiring filmmakers. OK, can we all just agree that this is the definition of a dumb move? Especially if you expect some help paying the water bill and would like to get some sleep at 2 a.m. instead of listening to GoodFellas playing in the next room for the 6,000th time. (PG-13)
It Stephen King's 1986 novel It is probably unfilmable, and that's probably a good thing. The book is positively gripping for the first 900 pages or so, then stumbles into a morass of dippy spiritualism and semi-glorified kiddie porn that shows just how whacked out of his brain on drugs the author was at that point in time. Still, the prospect of an adaptation that's scarier than the blandola 1990 TV miniseries was enough to rack up record-breaking views for the trailer to this new feature version. (R)
Also Playing:
Hazlo Como Hombre On the eve of his wedding to a woman, a poor slob discovers that he's actually gay. Man, and you thought the chick on the AncestryDNA commercial was surprised to learn she's one-quarter Cherokee. (R)
The Layover Quick: What's in worse taste right now then a sex comedy about two women who fight over the same guy when their plane is redirected to avoid a hurricane? If you said "nothing," congratulations! You can remain a human being instead of going into film distribution. (R)
Temple American kids on a visit to Japan look into the legend of a creature that's purported to be half woman and half fox. "The actors appear as confused as the filmmakers," observes the Hollywood Reporter. Well, good. I like it when everybody's on the same page. (NR)
Tulip Fever A script by Tom Stoppard didn't stop the Weinstein Company from delaying the release of this 17th-century potboiler by three years. In fact, up until the very last minute, nobody seemed sure if it was going to open last weekend or not. Well, it did. (R)
Valley of Bones Digging up dinosaur bones in North Dakota may be the ticket to redemption for a disgraced paleontologist. Yes, it's another disgraced-paleontologist movie. Goddamn, Hollywood, when are you going to try something new for a change? (R)
