Opening this week:
Fighting With My Family The unlikely creative team of Stephen Merchant and Dwayne Johnson hooked up to tell the story of wrestling superstar Paige. In the lead role is British actress Florence Pugh, who was hopefully polite enough to not point out to Johnson the grammatical inaccuracy of "layeth the smacketh down." (PG-13)
Great Bear Rainforest A personality-laden white bear is our window into the world of Canada's Great Bear Rainforest, as captured by IMAX cameras and narrated by Ryan Reynolds. Keep your eyes on TMZ, because I'm pretty sure we're going to hear Reynolds has dumped Blake Lively and is now shacking up with the bear. (G; opens Saturday at Orlando Science Center)
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World The third of DreamWorks' dragon flicks depicts the search for a fabled paradise that's said to be a safe haven for the winged creatures. Those of us who grew up on Logan's Run are bound to be suspicious of such a scenario; we still go to bed with "There is no sanctuary!" ringing in our ears. Will the promised nirvana again prove to be merely a rotting U.S. capitol populated by Peter Ustinov and his cats? I hope not, because I don't think the next generation needs to be as messed up as me. (PG)
Never Look Away This story of a German painter troubled by his past was not only nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film in the 2019 Oscars, but scored the simultaneous distinction of being tapped for Best Cinematography as well. Of course, that part seemed much more important when cinematography was still part of the televised program. Boy, that Germany just cannot catch a break. (R; opens Friday at Regal Winter Park Village Stadium 20 & RPX)
Run the Race Heisman-honored pain in the ass Tim Tebow co-produced this story of two brothers whose success in life and football varies greatly depending on the degree of their faith. Remember, kids, God punishes those who don't give him his props. That's why there are three Commandments about it, and none about feeding the poor or rescuing greyhounds. (PG; opens Friday at Regal Winter Park Village Stadium 20 & RPX, Regal Waterford Lakes Stadium 20 & IMAX and Regal Oviedo Mall Stadium 22)
Also playing:
Gully Boy A Hindi-language musical drama based on the careers of real-life Mumbai street rappers Naezy and Divine. Wait a minute: Divine came back as an Indian MC? I was betting she'd be reincarnated as a junior senator from the state of Nebraska. (NR; playing at Universal Cinemark at CityWalk and Touchstar Cinemas Southchase 7)
The Wandering Earth In what is being called China's first outer space spectacular, humanity tries to escape the collapse of the Sun by propelling the Earth itself out of this solar system and toward Alpha Centauri. Yeah, you know what? Space: 1999 tried this with just the moon, and we all came down on it like a ton of bricks. I'm calling shenanigans, Jina. (NR; in Mandarin; playing at Regal Waterford Lakes Stadium 20 & IMAX)
