By Chip Chandler — Digital Content Producer
Coming to Amarillo theaters in the week ahead: A gentle bull, a crazy filmmaker, a rebellious writer, a consummate showman — and a little thing called Star Wars.
New this weekend
The Disaster Artist
The making of the film dubbed "the Citizen Kane of bad movies" arrives in Amarillo a week later than expected and fresh off two Golden Globe nominations (best picture — musical/comedy and best actor — musical/comedy). James Franco directed and stars as wannabe movie maestro Tommy Wiseau, whose self-financed drama The Room developed a global cult following because of how genuinely, sincerely, unbelievably awful it was. His friend and co-star, Greg Sestero, co-wrote a book (The Disaster Artist) that tried to explain how the film got made and just who this bizarre Wiseau really was; neither is truly possible, but the attempt is glorious. Franco could be the best person to translate the book and The Room experience to film, and reviews have been pretty stellar. "It’s the making-of scenes in The Disaster Artist that bring the biggest laughs, but it’s what comes before the Room shoot that makes that laughter something deeper and richer than mere mockery," writes Slate's Dana Stevens. (R for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity; click here for showtimes at United Artists Amarillo Star 14, 8275 W. Amarillo Blvd.)
Ferdinand
A fearsome-looking but gentle bull is mistaken for a brutal beast in this new animated adaptation of the popular children's book. Wrestler-turned-actor John Cena voices the titular bull, with Kate McKinnon, Gina Rodriguez and Gabriel Iglesias among the other cast members. (PG for rude humor, action and some thematic elements; click here for showtimes at Amarillo Star 14 and Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive)
Rebel in the Rye
Writer Danny Strong (Game Change, Empire) makes his directorial debut with this biopic (which he also wrote) about author J.D. Salinger (Nicholas Hoult) and the writing of his seminal Catcher in the Rye. Sarah Paulson, Zoey Deutch and Kevin Spacey also star. Reviews have been less than promising. "Strong’s film is less interested in what Salinger did than in what led him to do what he did. It assumes the audience has already read Catcher in the Rye, and on that level, it’s a missed opportunity," writes RogerEbert.com's Matt Fagerholm in an early September review that raves about Spacey's performance, before allegations of sexual misconduct with young men derailed his career. (PG-13 for thematic elements, language including sexual references, some violence, and smoking throughout; click here for showtimes at Premiere Cinemas Westgate Mall 6)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
The hotly anticipated eighth chapter in the Star Wars saga finally arrives in theaters, boasting a larger role for the iconic Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and the final screen performance by the late Carrie Fisher as Leia. I'm studiously avoiding articles, trailers, commercials and reviews until I can see this for myself opening night. Check back on our site Friday for my review, or in the meantime, check out the film's Rotten Tomatoes page. (PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence; click here for showtimes at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16)
Opening Wednesday
The Greatest Showman
Inspired (quite loosely, presumably) by the story of P.T. Barnum, this musical (featuring music by La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen team of Justin Paul and Benj Pasek) depicts Barnum's visionary (or boondoggle-y) creation of the business of show. No reviews are out yet, but look for mine next week. The film scored three Golden Globe nominations this week — best actor (Jackman), best original song and best picture (musical/comedy). (PG for thematic elements including a brawl; click here for showtimes at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
A belated sequel (or possibly just a reboot) of the 1996 Robin Williams film, this comedy stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Jack Black as the video-game avatars for a quartet of teenagers who get sucked into a game they start playing during a Breakfast Club-like detention. Black's real alter-ego is a teenage girl, naturally, while Gillan's is a shy bookworm and Hart's is a powerful jock. Initial reviews are positive enough, but IndieWire's David Ehrlich says the film is "further proof that even the stalest whiff of brand recognition has become preferable to originality. Only part of the blame for that belongs to the studios, but after cannibalizing themselves for much of the last 20 years, Hollywood has clearly eaten their way down to the crumbs." (PG-13 for adventure action, suggestive content and some language; click here for showtimes at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16)
Special engagements
Elf
The weekly series of holiday movies at Amarillo Star 14 continues with a visit from Buddy the Elf at noon Saturday.
It's a Wonderful Life
Watch Frank Capra's melancholy holiday classic when it screens as part of Cinemark's Classics Series at 2 p.m. Sunday and 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Hollywood 16.
The MeshugaNutcracker! The Chanukah Musical
A Klezmer-enriched orchestration of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite drives the action in this original musical comedy that retells eight stories of Jewish heroes. It'll screen at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Amarillo Star 14.
Upcoming
Opening Dec. 21: Advance tickets are on sale now for Downsizing, Alexander Payne's sci-fi satire starring Matt Damon, and Pitch Perfect 3, the aca-expected return of the Barden Bellas. They are scheduled to open at both the Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16.
Dec. 23: The weekly series of holiday movies at Amarillo Star 14 concludes with Gremlins at noon Dec. 23.
Dec. 27: Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time, the annual Doctor Who Christmas special, gets the big-screen treatment in this one-night-only event. It's the last appearance of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, and it features David Bradley as the First Doctor, as well. It'll screen at 7 p.m. Dec. 27 at the Amarillo Star 14.
Dates are subject to change.
Still in theaters
(NOTE: These films are likely to change Wednesday with the arrival of new films, instead of next Friday, as usual.)
A Bad Moms Christmas (H-16); Coco (AS-14, H-16); Daddy's Home 2 (AS-14, H-16) Despicable Me 3 (WM-6); Geostorm (WM-6); Jigsaw (WM-6); Just Getting Started (AS-14, H-16); Justice League (AS-14, H-16); The Lego Ninjago Movie (WM-6); Let There Be Light (WM-6); Murder on the Orient Express (AS-14, H-16); The Star (AS-14, H-16); Thor: Ragnarok (AS-14, H-16); Tyler Perry's Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (WM-6); and Wonder (AS-14, H-16). (Click on titles for my reviews and on theaters for showtimes.)
Chip Chandler is a digital content producer for Panhandle PBS. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.
