Weekend movies include a comedic duo’s desperate search for a missing cat, a star-packed ensemble comedy that sounds like it’s no gift to moms, a spacey video-game adaptation and more – including a continuing tribute to the Purple One.
Purple Rain
Cinemark Hollywood 16 began screening this 1984 movie – the best of the late Prince’s film output – Wednesday, which I missed until coworker Brian Frank pointed it out. Screenings of the 1984 musical drama – a semi-biographical tale about a young musician struggling to succeed, despite family and professional hurdles – will screen at 12:45 and 7 p.m. through Sunday. (R; Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive)
Keanu
Comedic duo Keegan-Michael Key & Jordan Peele star as friends who pose as drug dealers in an effort to rescue a stolen kitty cat. The trailers are hysterical, which should come as no surprise to fans of the duo’s late, lamented Comedy Central show, Key & Peele. Reviews are largely positive – “Putting a tiny kitten in an action film sounds like a bonkers idea. That is, until you see the bizarrely wonderful sight of a tiny kitten in an action film,” Brian Truitt writes for USA Today – though they bemoan that the film doesn’t showcase the duo’s versatility enough. (R for violence, language throughout, drug use and sexuality/nudity; United Artists Amarillo Star 14, 8275 W. Amarillo Blvd., and Hollywood 16)
Mother’s Day
What’s more awful? The idea that Garry Marshall keeps pumping out these holiday-based ensemble comedies, or that people keep buying tickets to them? Trick question! The answer is that nothing is more awful than the red bobbed wig they stuck on Julia Roberts’ head. (PG-13 for language and some suggestive material; Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16)
Ratchet & Clank
This animated film serves as a preview for a PlayStation 4 remake of the original game, so if you’re OK with spending money on a 90-minute commercial, more power to you. “It’s too lightweight to be obnoxious, and the better-than-average voice cast helps,” Ignatiy Vishnevetsky writes for The AV Club. “But the best things that could be said about Ratchet & Clank all point to how middling it is.” (PG for action and some rude humor; Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16)
The Preppie Connection
Based on a true story, this film tells of a working-class teen (Thomas Mann) who tries to fit in at his elite prep school by dealing cocaine from a Columbian cartel. Here's a fascinating interview with Derek Oatis, whose life inspired the film, and I'll post a review tomorrow. (Edit: Here it is.) (R for drug use, language throughout, sexuality/nudity and some violence; Premiere Cinemas Westgate Mall 6)
Elektra
The Met: Live in HD season continues with a live broadcast of Strauss’ adaptation of the Greek tragedy, starring Nina Stemme as the title character and Waltraud Meier as Klyamnestra. It’ll screen at 11:55 a.m. Saturday and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. (NR; Amarillo Star 14 and Hollywood 16)
