Movie capsules: 'Fences'; 'La La land'
Compiled from El Paso Times staff and wire reports. Listings are subject to change.
Opening this week
“Fences” (PG-13): An African-American father (Denzel Washington) struggles with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s and coming to terms with the events of his life.
“La La Land” (PG-13): Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) are drawn together by their common desire to do what they love. But as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart. (No review)
Also in theaters
“Arrival” (PG-13): When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team, led by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams), is brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers — and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and, quite possibly, humanity.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
“Assassin’s Creed” (PG-13): Through a revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, the Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day.
“Collateral Beauty” (PG-13): Retreating from life after a tragedy, a man questions the universe by writing to Love, Time and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.
“Dangal” (NR): Dangal is an extraordinary true story based on the life of Mahavir Singh and his two daughters, Geeta and Babita Phogat. The film traces the inspirational journey of a father who trains his daughters to become world class wrestlers. (No review)
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (PG-13): A magizoologist (Eddie Redmayne) makes a brief stop in 1926 New York but is waylaid by a Muggle, a misplaced magical case and the escape of some fantastic beasts.
“Jackie” (R): Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman) fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband’s historic legacy.
“Manchester by the Sea” (R): After the death of his older brother Joe, Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is shocked that Joe has made him sole guardian of his teenage nephew Patrick. Taking leave of his job as a janitor in Boston, Lee reluctantly returns to Manchester-by-the-Sea, the fishing village where his working-class family has lived for generations. There, he is forced to deal with a past that separated him from his wife, Randi (Michelle Williams), and the community where he was born and raised.
“Moana” (PG): An adventurous teenager sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana meets the once-mighty demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master way-finder. Together they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds. Along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she always sought: her own identity.
“Nocturnal Animals” (R): An art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband’s novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a veiled threat and a symbolic revenge tale. (No review)
“Passengers” (PG-13): On a routine journey through space to a new home, two passengers, sleeping in suspended animation, are awakened 90 years too early when their ship malfunctions. As Jim (Chris Pratt) and Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence) face living the rest of their lives on board, with every luxury they could ever ask for, they begin to fall for each other, unable to deny their intense attraction until they discover the ship is in grave danger. With the lives of 5,000 sleeping passengers at stake, only Jim and Aurora can save them all.
“Office Christmas Party” (R): Hoping to close a sale and save their jobs, two co-workers (Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller) must rally their colleagues to throw an epic Christmas party.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (PG-13): In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.
“Sing” (PG): Dapper koala Buster Moon (voiced by Matthew McConaughey) presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. An eternal optimist, and a bit of a scoundrel, he loves his theater above all and will do anything to preserve it. Facing the crumbling of his life’s ambition, he takes one final chance to restore his fading jewel to its former glory by producing the world’s greatest singing competition. (No review)
“Trolls” (PG): Poppy (Anna Kendrick), the optimistic leader of the trolls, and Branch (Justin Timberlake), her polar opposite, embark on an adventure that takes them far beyond the only world they’ve ever known. (No review)
“Why Him?” (R): Over the holidays, Ned, an overprotective but loving dad, and his family visit his daughter at Stanford, where he meets his biggest nightmare: her well-meaning but socially awkward Silicon Valley billionaire boyfriend, Laird (James Franco). The straight-laced Ned thinks Laird, who has absolutely no filter, is a wildly inappropriate match for his daughter. The one-sided rivalry — and Ned’s panic level — escalate when he learns that Laird is about to pop the question.
Discount movies
“The Accountant” (R): Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is a mathematics savant with more affinity for numbers than people. Using a small-town CPA office as a cover, he makes his living as a freelance accountant for dangerous criminal organizations. With a Treasury agent (J.K. Simmons) hot on his heels, Christian takes on a state-of-the-art robotics company as a legitimate client. As Wolff gets closer to the truth about a discrepancy that involves millions of dollars, the body count starts to rise.
“Bad Santa 2” (R): Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus, to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. (No review)
“Bleed For This” (R): The inspirational story of World Champion Boxer Vinny Pazienza who, after a near fatal car crash, which left him not knowing if he’d ever walk again, made one of sports most incredible comebacks. (No review)
“Deepwater Horizon” (PG-13): Crew members fight for survival when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Don’t Breathe” (R): Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex and Money are three Detroit thieves who get their kicks by breaking into the houses of wealthy people. Money gets word about a blind veteran who won a major cash settlement following the death of his only child. Figuring he’s an easy target, the trio invades the man’s secluded home in an abandoned neighborhood. Finding themselves trapped inside, the young intruders must fight for their lives after making a shocking discovery about their supposedly helpless victim.
“The Girl on the Train” (R): A train commuter (Emily Blunt) investigates a mystery revolving around a couple whose house she passes every day. (No review)
“Inferno” (PG-13): After waking up in a hospital with amnesia, professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and a doctor (Felicity Jones) must race against time to foil a deadly global plot. (No review)
“Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” (PG-13): Jack Reacher must uncover the truth behind a major government conspiracy in order to clear his name. On the run as a fugitive from the law, Reacher uncovers a potential secret from his past that could change his life forever.
“Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life” (PG): A new student (Griffin Gluck) clashes with a tyrannical principal (Andy Daly) who’s obsessed with following the rules.
“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” (PG-13): From director Tim Burton. Jake discovers clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times and finds a place known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
“No Manches Frida” (PG-13): An ex-convict (Omar Chaparro) lands a job as a substitute teacher to find money that's buried under the school. (No review)
“Queen of Katwe” (PG): A young girl from Uganda trains to become a world chess champion. (No review)
“The Secret Life of Pets” (PG): Max’s life as a favorite pet is turned upside down, when his owner brings home a sloppy mongrel named Duke.
“Shut In” (PG-13): Following a recent accident that took the life of her husband and left her son paralyzed, a female psychologist (Naomi Watts) finds herself isolated in her own home caring for her child. Cut off from the outside world during a deadly storm, she starts to believe someone is inside her house trying to harm them.
“Storks” (PG): Storks deliver babies — or at least they used to. Now, they deliver packages for a global internet retail giant. Junior (Andy Samberg), the company’s top delivery stork, lands in hot water when the Baby Factory produces an adorable but wholly unauthorized girl.
“Suicide Squad” (PG-13): Intelligence officer Amanda Waller assembles a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a covert mission. (No review)
“Sully” (PG-13): After landing a plane in New York’s Hudson River, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) faces an investigation that threatens to destroy his career and reputation.
“Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween” (PG-13): Madea (Tyler Perry) winds up in the middle of mayhem when she spends a hilarious, haunted Halloween fending off killers, paranormal poltergeists, ghosts, ghouls, and zombies while keeping a watchful eye on a group of misbehaving teens.
Fountain Theatre
The Mesilla Valley Film Society screens films at the historic theater, 2469 Calle de Guadalupe in Mesilla. Screenings are usually at 7:30 nightly, plus 1:30 p.m. Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Admission is usually $5 to $7. mesillavalleyfilm.org, 575-524-8287.
“The Handmaiden” (NR): With help from an orphaned pickpocket (Kim Tae-ri), a Korean con man (Ha Jung-woo) devises an elaborate plot to seduce and bilk a Japanese woman (Kim Min-hee) out of her inheritance.
Film Salon
Films are screened and discussed at 7 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month at Alamo Draftouse Cinema Montecillo, 250 E. Montecillo.
Pax Christi
Series of free topical films presented by Pax Christi El Paso and the Peace and Justice Ministry of the El Paso Catholic Diocese, at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Mother Teresa Center, 2400 E. Yandell. 490-1451 or 740-3962.
IMAX theater
Films are shown at the New Horizons Dome Theater & Planetarium at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo. $4.50-$6. nmspacemuseum.org.