By Chip Chandler — Digital Content Producer
In Amarillo theaters this week: Norse gods and questionable maternal figures, plus Nazis, Pokémon and an acclaimed anime hit.
New in theaters
A Bad Moms Christmas
This sequel starring Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn and Mila Kunis finds the mamas revolting against holiday expectations — and battling with their own visiting madres (Cheryl Hines, Susan Sarandon and Christine Baranski), as well. Initial reviews indicate that the rushed sequel to the surprise 2016 hit isn't as engaging: "A Bad Moms Christmas is thin and silly, like an overlong Christmas episode of a sitcom you pair with some reheated lo mein when you can’t figure out what else to do on a stray weeknight. (The fact that it’s opening on November 1 is the real War on Christmas.) It’s a warmed-over repeat, sans the charm." writes Vox's Alissa Wilkinson. (R for crude sexual content and language throughout, and some drug use; click here for showtimes at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16)
The Exception
German soldier Stefan Brandt (Jai Courtney, Suicide Squad) investigates Kaiser Wilhelm II's (Christopher Plummer) life in exile in this World War II thriller. While in Holland, Brandt finds unexpected love with a Jewish Dutch woman (Lily James), one of the Kaiser's maids. The Arizona Republic's Bill Goodykoontz writes that it's "an exceedingly odd movie in which one of the romantic leads is a Nazi, the other Jewish and Kaiser Wilhem II is vaguely charming when he's not being a virulent anti-Semite. So, yeah. Odd. And yet for the most part it works, both as a bizarre romance and a fanciful World War II almost-thriller." It'll screen exclusively on the indie screen at Premiere Cinemas Westgate Mall 6. (R for sexuality, graphic nudity, language and brief violence; Premiere Cinemas Westgate Mall 6, 7701 W. Interstate 40)
Thor: Ragnarok
The highly anticipated adventure with the Norse god of thunder (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and more hits theaters with a fan event at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16 offering the chance to see the film an hour early with extra content and collectibles. The buzz for this film is through the roof — somewhat surprisingly so, because Thor's solo adventures have been the least well-received entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But director Taita Waititi's imaginative take looks to be the most idiosyncratic yet in the MCU, and most critics are eating it up. So far, reviews have been great: "(T)he fun here is in the little moments the actors find, and in the way that Waititi, within the massive machine that is a studio superhero movie, brings out a looseness and playfulness in the performances," writes The Seattle Times' Moira Macdonald. (PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief suggestive material; click here for showtimes at Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16)
Special engagements
Chasing Trane
The Amarillo College Department of Music and Panhandle PBS will team for this Indie Lens Pop-Up screening of a film about iconic jazz great John Coltrane. The Jim Laughlin Jazz Quartet will perform at 6:30 p.m., with the film screening at 7:15 p.m. in the AC Concert Hall Theatre on the Washington Street campus. The event is free. Call 806-371-5340 or 806-371-5479. (Chasing Trane will air Monday and be available to watch online and on PBS apps Tuesday.)
I'll Push You
This inspirational documentary tells the story of two friends who took on the 500-mile El Camino de Santiago hike — one of them in a wheelchair. It'll screen at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at the Amarillo Star 14. (NR)
The Grand Tour Drive-In Takeover
Amazon Prime's hit series The Grand Tour will take over Clarendon's Sandell Drive-In for a free party Saturday. Gates open at 6 p.m. at the drive-in, 12 S. Center Drive in Clarendon. In addition to the seventh episode of the series, in which the trio attempts to journey across Namibia in three beach buggies, the drive-in will screen 2003's The Italian Job starring Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron. (For more, check out my preview.)
Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
This new feature film reveals the first meeting between Ash and Pikachu. It'll screen at 12:55 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Monday at both the Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16. (NR)
The Price of Fame
This faith-based documentary tells the story of pro wrestler Ted "Million Dollar Man" Dibiase and his struggles with what the high life afforded him — told through the eyes of his son, fellow wrestler Ted Dibiase Jr.
Sharp-eyed viewers will spot Groom's giant cross in the trailer. Turns out, the cross has a special meaning for director Peter Ferriero, as he told me in an email: "Years ago my wife and I drove across the country with her father, and discovered it. We had a very powerful spiritual moment with him in the hospital in the time of his passing. We rediscovered it at that time. Then when I was filming the movie, I was on this journey I had a flight scheduled from Oklahoma to Amarillo, but it was cancelled last minute. So I had to drive it. It didn’t even occur to me that I would run into the cross again. But, there it was. In a lot of ways that cross in Groom was a guiding sign from above that I was on the right path. So I made sure to include it!"
Ferriero came to town to interview WWE Hall of Fame wrestler (and Amarillo native) Terry Funk for the documentary. "Ted spent quite some time in the region when he was a child as his father Iron Mike DiBiase was a wrestler as well," Ferriero told me.
The documentary will screen at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Amarillo Star 14. (NR)
A Silent Voice
This well-received anime film examines childhood bullying as a boy relentlessly teases a new, deaf classmate and finds himself ostracized as a result. Years later, he tries to redeem himself. "Naoko Yamada is regarded as one of the 'up and coming' animated filmmakers seeking to fill the void created by the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki. Considering the artwork in A Silent Voice, it’s easy to see why. The backgrounds are rich and the characters, although appearing like traditional anime types, have a sense of individuality," writes ReelViews' James Berardinelli. It's scheduled to screen just two times — 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday — at the Amarillo Star 14. (NR)
Mully
This faith-based documentary tells the story of Charles Mully, who rose from being abandoned on the streets to becoming a wealthy, powerful man in Kenya. He used his fortune to start a children's rescue organization. It'll encore at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Amarillo Star 14.
Opening Nov. 9
Advance tickets are on sale now for comedy sequel Daddy's Home 2 and Agatha Christie mystery Murder on the Orient Express.
Still in theaters
American Assassin (WM-6); Despicable Me 3 (WM-6); The Emoji Movie (WM-6); The Foreigner (H-16); Geostorm (AS-14, H-16); Happy Death Day (AS-14, H-16); It (AS-14); Jigsaw (AS-14, H-16); Let There Be Light (H-16); Only the Brave (AS-14, H-16); Same Kind of Different As Me (AS-14, H-16); Spider-Man: Homecoming (WM-6); Suburbicon (AS-14, H-16); Thank You for Your Service (AS-14, H-16); Tyler Perry's Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (AS-14, H-16); and Wind River (WM-6). (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.
