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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 2018)
Page 6 The Skanner January 31, 2018 Arts & Entertainment Kam’s Kapsules: Movies Opening Friday, February 2, 2018 BIG BUDGET FILMS Winchester (PG-13 for violence, sexuality, drug use, mature themes and disturbing images) Re- venge flick revolving around a Winchester Gun heiress (Helen Mir- ren) whose house is haunted by the ghosts of people killed by her com- pany’s repeating rifle. Kam Williams Kam’s Kapsules Movie Reviews despite being sold into slavery after the murder of his mother. Voice cast lives when their fami- ly’s cabin in the woods is seized by drug smug- glers. With Jill Wagner, Garret Dillahunt and Brendan Fletcher. The Cage Fighter (Unrated) Blue-collar hero biopic chronicling 40-year-old journeyman Joe Carman’s return to Mixed Martial Arts after ‘Driving While Black’ ‘Bilal: A New Breed of Hero’ With Sarah Snook, Jason Clarke and Angus Samp- son. Bilal: A New Breed of Hero (PG-13 for violence and mature themes) Ade- wale Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays the title charac- ter in this animated ad- venture, set a thousand years ago, about an or- phan who dreams of be- coming a great warrior includes Ian McShane, Jacob Latimore and Chi- na Anne McClain. INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS Braven (R for violence, sexual references and pervasive profanity) Ac- tion thriller about a log- ger (Jason Momoa) and father (Stephen Lang) forced to fight for their a long layoff, over the ve- hement objections of his wife and four daughters. Driving While Black (Unrated) Hands on the dashboard comedy, set in L.A., highlighting the hazards of being an Af- rican American (Domi- nique Purdy) delivering pizza in a city where cops routinely make profile stops. With Sheila Teja- da, John Mead and Julian Bane. (In Spanish with subti- tles) A Fantastic Woman (R for profanity, nudity, sexuality and disturbing violence) Chilean drama, set in Santiago, about a struggling cabaret sing- er (Daniela Vega) who becomes a murder sus- pect when her straight sugar daddy (Francisco Reyes) suddenly dies and the cops find out she’s a transsexual. Support cast includes Luis Gnec- co, Aline Kuppenheim and Amparo Noguera. Lies We Tell (Unrated) British crime saga about a trusted limo driver (Ga- briel Byrne) who comes to regret destroying evi- dence of his recently-de- ceased, billionaire boss’ (Harvey Keitel) clandes- tine affair with a 16 year- old, Muslim mistress (Sibylla Deen). With Mark Addy, Jan Addin and Reece Ritchie. The Music of Silence (Unrated) Thinly-veiled biopic of Andrea Bocel- FILM REVIEW: Jessica Chastain Plays Skier-Turned-Felon in ‘Molly’s Game’ By Kam Williams For The Skanner News M olly Bloom (Jessi- ca Chastain) was the third-ranked downhill skier in North America when her dream of representing the U.S. in the 2002 Win- ter Olympics was dashed by a crippling back in- jury suffered during a qualifying run. So, the multi-talented Universi- ty of Colorado grad had a change of plans, and instead set her sights on law school. Then, in the break be- fore starting, Molly took a job in L.A. as a cocktail waitress. While work- ing in the upscale bar, she was recruited by her abusive boss (Jeremy Strong) to help run his high-stakes, after-hours poker operation. Molly had such a rare combination of brains and charm that she soon turned the game into a ‘Molly’s Game’ popular destination for not only professional athletes and Hollywood celebrities, but mobsters li (Toby Sebastian), the blind Italian boy who overcame his limitations and humble origins en route to opera superstar- dom. Cast includes Anto- nio Banderas, Jordi Molla and Luisa Ranieri. Scorched Earth (R for violence and profanity) Post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller about a female bounty hunter (Gina Ca- rano) with criminals to kill before the end of the world. Featuring John Hannah, Stephanie Ben- nett and Patrick Gilmore. and titans of industry. Despite raking in mil- lions, her management skills remained unappre- ciated and unrewarded by her ingrate of an em- ployer. Consequently, it wasn’t long before she copied his Rolodex of high roll- ers and went into busi- ness for herself. Crafty enough to stay one step ahead of the authorities, Molly’s floating card game flourished for about eight years. However, crossing over to the wrong side of the law did eventually catch up with her. And on April 16, 2013, the FBI busted Molly, seized her assets and froze the $9 million in her bank ac- counts. Desperate, she retained the services of a leading defense attorney (Idris Elba) to help her avoid prison time. Thus unfolds “Molly’s Game,” a warts-and-all biopic based on Molly Bloom’s 2014 memoir of the same name. The book was adapted to the screen by Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin (“The So- cial Network”), who also makes his directorial de- but here. I’m not sure how much of an appetite audiences have for crooked, female Winter Olympians, giv- en that “I, Tonya” is also See REVIEW on page 7
