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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2016)
Page 6 The Skanner November 23, 2016 Arts & Entertainment Kam’s Kapsules: Movies Opening Friday, Nov. 25, 2016 BIG BUDGET FILMS Allied (R for sexuality, nudity, profanity, vio- lence and brief drug use) Real life romance drama, set in North Africa in 1942, about a Canadian spy (Brad Pitt) who falls in love with a French Re- sistance fighter (Marion Cotillard) while on a dan- gerous mission behind enemy lines only to learn that she might be a dou- ble agent in league with the Nazis. Cast includes Kam Williams Kam’s Kapsules Movie Reviews Bob Thornton is back as naughty St. Nick to hatch a plan with his evil elf sidekick (Tony Cox) to fleece a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. With Kathy Bates, Jeff Skow- Billy Bob Thornton and Tony Cox are back in ‘Bad Santa 2’ ing around a headstrong, Polynesian teenager (Auli’i Cravalho) who embarks on a dangerous mission across the Pacific Ocean to save her people with the help of a legend- ary demigod (Dwayne Johnson). Voice cast in- cludes Rachel House, Temuera Morrison and former, NFL great Troy Polamalu. Rules Don’t Apply (PG- 13 for sexuality, mature themes, drug use and brief profanity) Warren Beatty wrote and direct- ed this romantic dram- edy, set in Hollywood in 1958, about an aspiring actress (Lily Collins) and a limo driver (Alden Eh- renreich), both employed by Howard Hughes (Be- atty) who break their bil- lionaire boss’ workplace edict against fraterniz- ing between employees. With Paul Sorvino, Can- dice Bergen, Annette Be- ning, Martin Sheen and Matthew Broderick. Lizzy Caplan, Jared Har- ris and Vincent Latorre. ron and Christina Hen- dricks. INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS Bad Santa 2 (R for sex- uality, crude humor, graphic nudity and per- vasive profanity) Billy Moana (PG for peril, scary images and mature themes) Seafaring ani- mated adventure revolv- Always Shine (Unrat- ed) Suspense thriller about a couple of actress BFFs (Mackenzie Davis Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt in ‘Allied’ and Caitlin FitzGerald) whose friendship is tested when they travel from L.A. to Big Sur for a weekend getaway in the woods. Cast includes Lawrence Michael Levine, Alexander Koch and Khan Baykal. Baden Baden (Unrated) Character-driven dram- edy about a fledgling, 26 year-old movie director (Salome Richard) who returns home to Stras- bourg for the summer af- ter her foreign film shoot falls through. Featuring Claude Gensac, Lazare Gousseau and Swann Arlaud. (In English, Ger- man and French with subtitles) Behind the Cove (Un- rated) Cruelty to animals documentary counter- ing the negative public- ity disseminated about the Japanese whaling in- dustry by the Oscar-win- ning expose The Cove. Lion (PG-13 for ma- ture themes and some sensuality) Inspiration- al, real-life saga about a 30-year-old’s (Dev Patel) search for his long-lost birth mother (Priyanka Bose) and big brother (Abhishek Bharate) back in India with the help of Google Earth, a quar- ter-century after being adopted by an Australian couple (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham). With Rooney Mara, Di- vian Ladwa and Eamon Farren. (In English, Hin- di and Bengali with sub- titles) Mifune: The Last Sa- murai (Unrated) Rever- ential biopic, narrated by Keanu Reeves, chron- icling the life and ca- reer of Toshiro Mifune, the legendary star of The Seven Samurai, Ra- shomon, Yojimbo and nu- merous other Japanese film classics. Featuring commentary by Mar- tin Scorcese and Steven Spielberg. (In English and Japanese with subti- tles) Miss Sloane (R for profanity and sexuality) Jessica Chastain plays the title character in this political thriller about a ruthless, D.C. lobbyist hired to match wits with a couple of former col- leagues (Michael Stuhl- barg and Sam Waterston) representing gun man- ufacturers. With John Lithgow, Gugu Mbatha- Raw, Mark Strong and Alison Pill. Seasons (PG for mature themes) Meteorological documentary observing assorted metamorpho- ses in nature during the changing of the seasons. (In French with subtitles) FILM REVIEW: ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ follows Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a British Wizard, who stops off in New York on his way home from his trip studying the Fantastic Beasts. by Kam Williams For The Skanner News I t’s New York harbor in 1926, which is when we are introduced to Newt Sca- mander (Eddie Redmayne) as he dis- embarks a steamship from England that’s just docked at the pier. The young wizard has to resort to a sleight of hand to slip through customs, since his suit- case is filled to the point of bursting with a unique brand of contraband. Newt happens to be hiding a menag- erie of mythical creatures with unusu- al names like obscurials, bowtruck- les and dougals. Given the unreliable latch on his tattered, leather satchel, it doesn’t take long for a mischievous niffler to escape. We soon observe the odd-looking critter breaking into a bank vault where it proceeds to indulge its insatiable appetite for gold by stuff- ing its pouch with glittery coins. See BEASTS on page 7
