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    New in Theaters: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Sisters & More

    Star Wars: The Force Awakens

    It’s been thirty years and Stormtroopers still can’t hit the side of a barn.

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    Like all goodhearted people, you will be need to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens this Christmas season. Come on, you know you want to. Luckily, the JJ Abrams retooling doesn’t disappoint.

    Back in 2009, when Abrams rebooted Star Trek, he proved that, with talent and genuine fondness for the source material, an aging franchise can not only be reinvigorated, but bettered. It was only a matter of time before he took on the superior galactic icon.

    There’s an ingenious simplicity to this film. From the opening sequence it’s clear that Abrams has no intention of distancing himself from the original trilogy. Abrams – aided in scripting duty by Lawrence Kasdan (who wrote, among other things, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), and Michael Arndt (who wrote, among other things, Toy Story 3). It’s a perfect combination of source material and giddy genius that shows in every scene.

    Since the happy ending of Jedi, the Galaxy is again seeing dark times. Luke Skywalker has disappeared, and the First Order has risen to power thanks to Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis in surprisingly underwhelming motion capture) and his masked apprentice Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). They aim to find Skywalker, and eliminate the last hope of the Jedi Order.

    The resistance, led by the now General Leia, has hidden clues to Luke’s sanctuary in feisty droid BB-8, with ace pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), runaway Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega), and mysterious scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley) all doing their part to keep BB from the bad guys.

    Then Han and Chewie join the fun, and it’s goosebump time (one of several).

    The Force Awakens is eerily true to the sensibilities of the original trilogy, though the script is more humorous and the actors are more talented. Isaac alone is absolutely among the most gifted actors working today, and Domhnall Gleason impresses again as the evil General Hux. Driver brings menace as well as nuance, with relative newcomer Ridley looking like a real find.

    And just seeing Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher back in their iconic roles brings a wealth of good will that Abrams is smart enough not to squander.

    He knows better than to overthink, or overdo. The entire look of the film is right, with the entire universe, like the famous trio of actors, aged to perfection.

    It’s really hard to overstate the effect of the Star Wars franchise of popular culture. After all this time a reboot so completely satisfying, so much fun, and so welcoming to future installments seems out of the question.

    Or not.

    Grade: A-

     

    Sisters

    With charm and chemistry, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler play Kate and Maura Ellis, respectively. After learning their parents (Dianne Wiest and James Brolin) plan to sell the house they grew up in, the two head back home to Orlando to talk the old folks out of it, but settle for throwing the party of the year, “Ellis Island.”

    Fey and Poehler both play against type, which is part of what holds the film back in the early going. Both actresses push a little hard at the outset – Fey seems just a breath away from laughing at the camera and saying “Look! I’m the bad girl!”

    Gags are lazy and obvious, and it all seems doomed when, right on cue, it’s party time and the fun comes calling. A bevy of familiar faces invades Ellis Island, hilariously sending up various high school stereotypes. All find their mark, especially Maya Rudolph as the bitchy queen bee, Bobby Moynihan as the awkward guy who wants to be funny, and Kate McKinnon as the leader of the lesbian clique. Props again to WWE’s John Cena, following up his scene-stealing in Trainwreck with a winning cameo as Pazuzu. (His “safe words” are priceless).

    Sisters is alternately crude, silly, and sentimental, and at least one dance routine too long, but it is funny, with a heart that feels true. There’s both warmth and humor on Ellis Island. Just don’t be late for the party.

    Grade: B

     

    He Never Died

    With a funny shuffle step and a blank stare, Henry Rollins announces Jack, anti-hero of the new indie noir/horror mash up He Never Died, as an odd sort.

    Jack, you see, has kind of always been here. The here in question at the moment is a dodgy one bedroom, walking distance from the diner where he eats and the church where he plays bingo. An exciting existence, no doubt, but this mindlessness is disturbed by a series of events: an unexpected visit, a needed ally with an unfortunate bookie run in, and a possible love connection with a waitress.

    From the word go, He Never Died teems with deadpan humor and unexpected irony. Casting Rollins in the lead, for instance, suggests something the film actively avoids: energy. The star never seethes, and even his rare hollers are muted, less full of anger than primal necessity.

    (Bonus! CLICK HERE to read our interview with Henry Rollins about the film!)

    Rollins’s performance is strong, offering Jack as a solitary figure who clings to all things mind numbing as a way to pass the time without complication or human interaction. As a survival mechanism, he’s all but forgotten how to behave around humanity, a species he regards without needless sentimentality.

    It’s an unusual mix worth checking out. Plus, who hasn’t always wanted to see Henry Rollins eat a man’s larynx?

    Grade: B

     

    Also opening this week in Columbus:

    • ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP (PG)
    • BODY (NR)
    • THE LADY IN THE CAR WITH GLASSES AND A GUN (NR)
    • MOJIN: THE LOST LEGEND (NR)
    • SURPRISE (NR)

    Reviews with help from George Wolf.

    See a full set of movie reviews on MADDWOLF and listen to Hope’s weekly horror movie podcast, FRIGHT CLUB.

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    Hope Madden
    Hope Maddenhttps://columbusunderground.com
    Hope Madden is a freelance contributor on Columbus Underground who covers the independent film scene, writes film reviews and previews film events.
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