OPENING
In deep space, the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryo-sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call from an alien vessel. The terror begins when the crew encounters a nest of eggs inside the alien ship. An organism from inside an egg leaps out and attaches itself to one of the crew, causing him to fall into a coma. With Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. Ridley Scott directs. Sci-fi/horror, rated R, 117 minutes, Violet Crown
Director Bertrand Bonello’s latest film is a time-traveling, skin-crawling thriller that borrows from David Lynch and dystopian sci-fi while remaining its own unique evocation of our modern world. The film is a loose time-and-space-jumping adaptation of Henry James’ 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle, in which a man refuses love out of a belief that he is destined for a catastrophe. In The Beast, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) is thwarted in her quest for romance with Louis (George MacKay) across three historical periods by multiple catastrophes: in 1910, by the Great Flood of Paris; in 2014, by incel culture; and in 2044, by a world dominated by artificial intelligence in which people are purified of their traumatic memories. “The Beast is such a luxurious cinematic experience; it’s created with such elan and attack, and the musical score amplifies its throb of fear.” (The Guardian) Sci-fi/romance, not rated, 146 minutes, CCA
Bill Skarsgård stars as “Boy,” a man who vows revenge after his family is murdered by the deranged matriarch of a corrupt post-apocalyptic dynasty that left him orphaned, deaf, and voiceless as a boy. Driven by an inner voice co-opted from his favorite childhood video game, Boy trains with a mysterious shaman to become an instrument of death and is set loose on the eve of the annual culling of dissidents. As he tries to get his bearings in this delirious realm, Boy falls in with a desperate resistance group, all the while bickering with the apparent ghost of his rebellious little sister. “Skarsgård is a treat in the role; the character is deaf and mute, so his performance approaches something of a lethal Buster Keaton.” (Guardian) Action/comedy, rated R, 111 minutes, Dreamcatcher 10
Tashi (Zendaya), a tennis player turned coach, has transformed her husband (Mike Faist) from a mediocre player into a world-famous grand slam champion. To jolt him out of his recent losing streak, she makes him play a challenger event — close to the lowest level of tournament on the pro tour. Tensions soon run high when he finds himself standing across the net from the once-promising, now burnt-out Patrick (Josh O’Connor), his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend. “Anchored by three arresting performances and playfully experimental direction, Challengers is fresh, exhilarating, and energetic.” (Entertainment Weekly) Drama, rated R, 131 minutes, Dreamcatcher 10, Regal Santa Fe Place 6, Violet Crown
Radu Jude’s new film takes a fierce and darkly comic swipe at modern day life in Romania. Overworked and underpaid production assistant Angela is assigned to film a workplace safety video for a multinational corporation, designed, slyly, to exonerate the corporation. The main thread of this knotted feature follows Angela, who drives around Bucharest auditioning the victims of accidents at the German-owned furniture factory. When one of the interviewees makes a statement that ignites a scandal, Angela has to re-invent the story. Her plot line is interwoven with scenes from a 1981 Romanian movie, Angela Moves On, which depicts the life of a woman cab driver during the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, as the past comments on the present. “Do Not Expect … captures what it’s like to live in this chaotic and deadening world so well it might be the movie of the year, and last year, and next year too.” (Slate) Comedy/drama, not rated, 163 minutes, CCA
This documentary explores the vanishing world of private film collecting — an obsessive, secretive, often illicit world of basement film vaults, piled-high with forgotten reels and inhabited by cinephiles devoted to the rescue and preservation of photochemical film. Condemned as pirates and hounded by the FBI, film collectors have long lurked in the shadows, yet their efforts have resulted in the survival of countless films that would otherwise have been lost to history. Archives and studios now look to private hands for missing titles, and many collectors have begun restoring and releasing films themselves. Film is Dead. Long Live Film! is a lively tribute to the private film collector, a celebration of the fetishistic subculture of pre-video movie love, and a timely reminder of the glories of analog film. Documentary, not rated, 102 minutes, CCA
Dita never wanted to be a mother, but circumstances force her to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters, tiny troublemaker Mia and rebellious teen Vanesa. A battle of wills ensues as the three continue to butt heads and become an unlikely family that must fight to stay together. “A fizzy, huggable portrait of a self-made, roughly blended queer family.” (Hollywood Reporter) Drama, rated R, 104 minutes, Violet Crown
The Old Oak is the last pub standing in a once thriving mining village in northern England, a gathering space for a community that has fallen on hard times. There is growing anger, resentment, and a lack of hope among the residents, but the pub and its proprietor, TJ, are a fond presence to their customers. When a group of Syrian refugees moves into the village, a decisive rift fueled by prejudices develops. The formation of an unexpected friendship between TJ and a young Syrian woman opens up new possibilities for the divided village in this moving drama about loss, fear, and the difficulty of finding hope. “[Director] Ken Loach’s coup de grace in The Old Oak is a moving, hopeful finale … genuine emotion fuels the final scene.” (Indiewire) Drama, not rated, 113 minutes, CCA
David Smallbone, his pregnant wife, and their seven children leave Australia to rebuild their lives in America, where David and Helen realize the musical talent of their children, who become two of the most successful acts in inspirational music history: For King + Country and Rebecca St. James. Drama, rated PG, 112 minutes, Dreamcatcher 10, Regal Santa Fe Place 6
In 1992 best friends Malik and Eric traverse the city of Chicago, looking to escape the mundaneness of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing. They soon find their unbreakable bond challenged when a tragedy shakes their community. “You’re immediately invested in Malik and Eric, who together have formed a private world that … exists apart from real life, its pressures and its dangers.” (The New York Times) Drama, rated PG, 93 minutes, Violet Crown. Review Page 42
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Monday, April 29
The Video Library, America’s oldest video rental store, hosts free movie screenings each Monday at Jean Cocteau Cinema, and the next Video Club featured film is William Friedkin’s 1977 thriller. In the small South American town of Porvenir, four men on the run from the law are offered $10,000 and legal citizenship if they will transport a shipment of dangerously unstable nitroglycerin to an oil well 200 miles away. Led by Jackie Scanlon (Roy Scheider), the men set off on a hazardous journey, fighting for their lives as they struggle to complete their dangerous quest. Adventure/thriller, rated PG, 121 minutes, Jean Cocteau Cinema
Tuesday, April 30
CCA hosts the Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival screening of Seven Blessings, a film directed by Ayelet Menahemi — and the winner of 10 Israeli Academy Awards — that follows Marie as she travels from France to Israel, where her Jewish-Moroccan family now lives, to get married . Her warm and excited family is preparing for the custom of Seven Blessings — a week of festive meals in honor of the bride. Between family meals, secrets and lies are revealed. Marie is desperate for an apology although her family is sure she should be thanking them, and the week turns into a sad comedy about forgiveness and loss. “Seven Blessings might appear to be genteel matinee fare. Not the case at all. It’s raw, uncompromising and brutally honest.” (MiamiArtZine) A Moroccan Mimouna celebration at Temple Beth Shalom follows the film. Comedy/drama, not rated, 108 minutes, CCA
Sunday, April 28
CCA hosts Global Santa Fe’s screening of this Oscar nominated 2022 American short documentary, directed by Joshua Seftel, about an Afghan refugee named Bibi Bahrami and the members of her Indiana mosque who come face to face with Richard “Mac” McKinney, a U.S. Marine with PTSD who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and has secret plans to bomb their community center. But McKinney’s plan takes an unexpected turn when he spends time with a community that welcomes him. Bahrami and Saber Bahrami, subjects in the film, will be present for a post-screening discussion. Global Santa Fe is an education based nonprofit igniting dialog on critical world issues. Documentary, not rated, 29 minutes, CCA
CONTINUING
A group of would-be criminals kidnaps the 12-year-old daughter of a powerful underworld figure. Holding her for ransom in an isolated mansion, their plan starts to unravel when they discover their young captive is actually a bloodthirsty vampire. Horror/thriller, rated R, 109 minutes, Dreamcatcher 10, Regal Santa Fe Place 6, Violet Crown
In a dystopian future America, a team of military-embedded journalists races against time to reach Washington, D.C., before rebel factions descend upon the White House. With Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Nick Offerman, and Jesse Plemons. Action, rated R, 109 minutes, Dreamcatcher 10, Regal Santa Fe Place 6, Violet Crown
Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between love and the fate of the universe, he must prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. Sci-fi/adventure, rated PG-13, 166 minutes, Violet Crown
The Spengler family returns to the iconic New York City firehouse where the original Ghostbusters (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson) have taken ghost-busting to the next level. When the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must unite to save the world from a second ice age. Comedy/fantasy, rated PG-13, 115 minutes, Dreamcatcher 10, Violet Crown
Godzilla and Kong face a colossal threat hidden deep within the planet, challenging their very existence and the survival of the human race. Action/sci-fi, rated PG-13, 115 minutes, Dreamcatcher 10, Regal Santa Fe Place 6, Violet Crown
With 40 years of making music as the iconic folk-rock band Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have made their mark as musicians, songwriters, and dedicated activists. They have represented radical self-acceptance to many, leading multiple generations of fans to say, “the Indigo Girls saved my life.” Still, Amy and Emily battled misogyny, homophobia, and a harsh cultural climate chastising them for not fitting into a female pop star mold. Sundance award-winning director and Santa Fean Alexandria Bombach offers a contemporary conversation with Amy and Emily alongside decades of the band’s home movies and intimate present-day verité. Music documentary, not rated, 123 minutes, Violet Crown
Po (Jack Black) must train a new warrior when he’s chosen to become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace. However, when a powerful shape-shifting sorceress sets her eyes on his Staff of Wisdom, he realizes he’s going to need some help. Teaming up with a quick-witted corsac fox, Po soon discovers that heroes can be found in the most unexpected places. Comedy/adventure, rated PG, 94 minutes, Dreamcatcher 10, Violet Crown
In 1955, five young Mexican-American caddies are determined to learn how to play and create their own golf course in the middle of the South Texas desert. With Jay Hernandez, Dennis Quaid, and Cheech Marin. Drama, rated PG, 112 minutes, Dreamcatcher 10, Violet Crown
Inspired by true events, director Guy Ritchie tells the story of the first-ever special forces organization formed during WWII by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials including author Ian Fleming. The top- secret combat unit, composed of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks, goes on a daring mission against the Nazis using entirely unconventional and utterly “ungentlemanly” fighting techniques. Ultimately their audacious approach changed the course of the war and laid the foundation for the British SAS and modern Black Ops warfare. With Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, and Henry Golding. Action/comedy, rated R, 120 minutes, Dreamcatcher 10, Regal Santa Fe Place 6, Violet Crown
PERFECT DAYS
Hirayama (Kôji Yakusho) seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his structured everyday routine he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveals more of his past. Wim Wenders directs. Drama, rated PG, 123 minutes, Violet Crown
In the misty forests of North America, a family of Sasquatches — possibly the last of their enigmatic kind — embark on an absurdist, epic, hilarious, and ultimately poignant journey over the course of one year. These shaggy and noble giants fight for survival as they find themselves on a collision course with the ever-changing world around them. With Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg. Comedy/adventure, rated R, 99 minutes, Violet Crown
He’s a spy. She’s an assassin. Together, Loid and Yor keep their double lives to themselves while pretending to be the perfect family. However, their adopted daughter Anya, a telepath, knows their secrets. While under the guise of taking his family on a weekend winter getaway, Loid’s attempt to make progress on his current mission proves difficult when Anya mistakenly gets involved and triggers events that threaten world peace. Anime, rated PG-13, 110 minutes, Violet Crown
Based on a stranger than fiction true story, Wicked Little Letters follows two neighbors in a 1920s English seaside town: deeply conservative local Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). When Edith and fellow residents begin to receive letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanities, foul-mouthed Rose is charged with the crime and a trial ensues. However, as the town’s women, led by Police Officer Gladys Moss, begin to investigate the crime themselves, they suspect that something is amiss, and Rose may not be the culprit after all. Comedy/mystery, rated R, 102 minutes, Violet Crown
SOURCES: Google, IMDb.com, RottenTomatoes.com, Vimeo.com, YouTube.com