Films: October 13 - 19

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2021) 

Shiva Baby (2020) 

Halloween (1978) 

7 Women (1966)

Peter Pan & Wendy (2023)

Doraibu Mai Kā (Drive My Car) (2021)

Kill Me Again (1989)

A Complete Unknown (2024) ///

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2021) Strong cast bring vibrant life to collection of flawed, contradictory characters as small community deals with prejudice and pain in wake of Frances McDormand's determination to find daughter's killer. Bracing sense of humor amid overly schematic narrative maneuvers.

Shiva Baby (2020) Smartly detailed humor and uneasy character tension courses through drifting Rachel Sennott's attendance at funeral gathering with parents as poised ex-girlfriend Molly Gordon and present affair Danny Defarri, along with wife Dianna Agron, arrive. Brief run time keeps staging brisk.

Halloween (1978) Fifteen years after stabbing older sister, primal killer returns, silent, emotionless and ready to murder once more, as innocently resourceful babysitter Jamie Lee Curtis does best to protect kids. Will she survive? Told with stylish visuals and unnerving score, classic slasher thriller is perfect for the holiday. [MB]

7 Women (1966) Expansive setting of remote 1930s China condenses melodrama to tight design of Margaret Leighton's Christian mission as disruption of practical doctor Anne Bancroft and violent Mongol attack engulfs bleak, personal hardships. Fine cast endure cruel sacrifice to bitter, cynical end.

Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) Unremarkable adaptation strives for poetic realism to enhance magic as eternally young Alexander Molony whisks unsure teen Ever Anderson and her younger brothers to Neverland and pirate battles with Jude Law. Mostly dry of imagination and energy, only intermittently takes flight.

Doraibu Mai Kā (Drive My Car) (2021) Mesmerizing study of damaged characters dealing with grief, art, sex and dark of the soul as experimental director / actor Hidetoshi Nishijima comes to rely on driver Tōko Miura during production of Uncle Vanya. Considered visuals inform incisive performers.

Kill Me Again (1989) Committed to noir foundations, efficiently twisted thriller centers on manipulative Joanne Whalley-Kilmer double-crossing Michael Madson over stolen mob money and persuading desperate private investigator Val Kilmer to fake her death. Appropriately seedy atmosphere infuses uneven pacing.

A Complete Unknown (2024) More a portrait of creative anti-establishment during early 1960s than cohesive narrative as Timothée Chalamet's self-absorbed Bob Dylan arrives in New York to establish persona and career. Strong support from Monica Barbaro's Joan Baez and Elle Fanning's abused muse amid succession of resonant songs.