Arts & Entertainment
Kam’s Kapsules: Movies Opening Friday, Jan. 30
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Black or White (PG-13
for profanity, fighting and
mature themes involving
drugs and alcohol) Cross-
cultural drama chronicling
the bitter custody battle
between a black grandmoth-
er (Octavia Spencer) and a
white grandfather (Kevin
Costner) over their mother-
less, biracial granddaughter
(Jillian Estell). With Antho-
ny Mackie, Andre Holland,
Gillian Jacobs and Jennifer
Ehle.
The Loft (R for profanity,
sexuality, nudity, drug use
and graphic violence)
Remake of the 2008 Belgian
thriller of the same name
revolving around five mar-
ried suburbanites (Karl
Urban, James Marsden,
Wentworth Miller, Eric
Stonestreet and Matthias
Schoenaerts) who purchase
a penthouse in the city for
secret rendezvous with mis-
tresses only to become
suspicious of each other
after a female corpse is
found inside their pied-à-
terre. Cast includes Rhona
Mitra, Rachael Taylor and
Isabel Lucas.
Project Almanac (PG-13
for profanity and sexuality)
Found-footage sci-fi thriller
about a brilliant teen braini-
ac (Jonny Weston) who gets
more than he bargained for
after building a time-travel
machine with the help of his
sister (Virginia Gardner)
and his egghead BFFs (Sam
Lerner and Allen Evange-
lista).
With
Sofia
Black-D’Elia, Amy Lan-
decker, Agnes Mayasari and
Katie Garfield.
INDEPENDENT &
FOREIGN FILMS
Amira & Sam (Unrated)
Romantic dramedy about a
returning war vet (Martin
Starr) who takes a shot at
stand-up comedy back in
the States while dating the
niece (Dina Shihabi) of his
former Iraqi translator
(Laith Nakli). With Paul
Wesley, David Rasche, Ross
Marquand and Taylor
Black or White
Wilcox.
Backstreet Boys: Show
‘Em What You’re Made
Of (Unrated) Rockumen-
tary chronicling both the
career of the iconic boy
band as well as its 20th
anniversary reunion to
record a new album. Featur-
ing Brian Littrell, Nick
Carter, A.J. McLean, Kevin
Scott Richardson and
Howie Dorough.
Girlhood (Unrated) Com-
ing-of-age drama about a
troubled 16 year-old (Karid-
ja Toure) who joins an
all-girl gang after becoming
fed up with being abused
both at home and around the
‘hood. With Assa Sylla,
Lindsay Karamoh, Marietou
Toure and Idrissa Diabate.
(In French with subtitles)
Hard to Be a God
(Unrated) Outer space
adventure about a team of
scientists sent from Earth to
a distant planet to help put
its primitive inhabitants on a
path of progress. Co-star-
ring Leonid Yarmolnik,
Laura Lauri, Dmitriy Vlad-
mirov and Aleksandr Ilin.
(In Russian with subtitles)
Page 6 The Portland and Seattle Skanner January 28, 2015
My Name Is Hmmm…
(Unrated) Unlikely-buddies
road drama about an 11
year-old French girl (Lou-
Lelia Demerliac) who stows
away in the cab of a Scottish
truck driver (Douglas Gor-
don)
after
being
sexually-abused by her own
father (Jacques Bonnaffe).
With Sylvie Testud, Emile
Gautier, Noemie Ducourau
and Marie-Christine Bar-
rault. (In French and
English with subtitles)
Suburban Gothic (R for
sexuality, profanity, vio-
lence and drug use) Horror
comedy about a down-on-
his-luck MBA (Matthew
Gray Gubler) who moves
back in with his parents
(Barbara Niven and Ray
Wise) when he can’t find a
job. Plot thickens when he
enlists the assistance of a
ballsy bartender (Kat Den-
nings) to engage the ghost
terrorizing their hometown.
Cast includes Muse Watson,
Sally Kirkland and John
Waters.
Supremacy
(Unrated)
Abduction drama about a
See MOVIES on page 11