Already a skilled marksman when it comes to shooting himself in the foot, our so-called president bagged himself another bone spur last week by forcing the cancellation of The Hunt – a movie that, from what it seemed, was actually going to depict “deplorables” as the sympathetic prey of elites who want to kill them for their lowly status (as opposed to, you know, disdaining them for their genocidal hatred of several demographic groups, which was always kinda the point of the term). In caving to 45’s misguided tweet-pressure, Universal Pictures rationalized that the immediate aftermath of El Paso and Dayton was not the right time to show Americans hunting each other down. Gotcha! So since that’s good and settled, we can all just sit back and enjoy ...
Ready or Not A movie about Americans hunting each other down. More specifically, it’s about a young working-class bride whose filthy-rich in-laws subject her to a deadly game of cat and mouse. So in other words, we’re talking Get Out with the racial element replaced purely by class. Which means we get to enjoy the 1 percent depicted as the predatory maniacs they are, while knowing that, no matter how the story turns out, we’re probably going to see a few dead white people. Sounds like a helluva good trade for The Hunt to me. (R; **opens Wednesday, Aug. 21**)
Angel Has Fallen This latest installment in Gerard Butler’s political-thriller franchise has heroic Secret Service agent Mike Banning fighting a legion of shadowy enemies to prevent the assassination of a black president. Boy, how did Trump let this one fall through the cracks? (R; **opens Friday, Aug. 23**)
Overcomer Nothing can match the career high of getting to work with Kirk Cameron, but the Kendrick brothers keep on trying. Two films after Fireproof, the writing-directing team is out to save more souls with Overcomer, in which a white cross-country coach helps motivate a black female athlete. You get no points for guessing that said motivation revolves around Jeebus – especially after Stephen Kendrick told Baptist Press that “One person coming to Christ is better than 10 Academy Awards.” Right, like he’s ever going to have to choose. But his brother, Alex, apparently thinks the Supreme Being keeps at least one eye on the box office: “We're excited to see what God does with this one,” he told the site. My guess is it’s going to be somewhere between Avatar and the Great Flood. (PG; **opens Friday, Aug. 23**)
Also playing:
David Crosby: Remember My Name Cameron Crowe produced this documentary about the legendary musician who cofounded CSN and was the inspiration for the song “I Am the Walrus.” (That last one is not at all true, but let’s see if we can get it going). (NR; **playing at Regal Winter Park Village & RPX**)
Honeyland A documentary portrait of a Macedonian beekeeper whose way of life is threatened by the arrival of greedy new neighbors. Why not just solve it the American way: Hunt them down! (NR; **playing at Regal Winter Park Village & RPX**)
Also also playing:
After the Wedding Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams star in a remake of the Oscar-nominated 2006 Danish drama. This time, it’s two women whose complicated history comes to light as they negotiate a donation to a struggling orphanage. I’m waiting until Guillermo del Toro remakes this flick yet again, when the reveal is going to be that they’re all dead. (PG-13; **opens Friday, Aug.23, at Regal Winter Park Village & RPX**)
