Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), the new Captain America, meets with the President of the United States, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), who wants him to reassemble the Avengers in Captain America: Brave New World. However, after an assassination attempt on the President, Sam discovers a conspiracy involving a biologist, Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), and others who have hidden motives. The screenplay by writer/director Julius Onah and his co-writers, namely, Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson and Peter Glanz, is a tonally uneven, convoluted and unfocused mess with stilted dialogue, clunky exposition and too many subplots and underwritten characters. The plot takes too long to get to the meat of the story after spending too much time with all of the exposition and introducing the characters. Does Captain America really need so many villains including Seth Voekler (Giancarlo Esposito)? He also has a sidekick, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), and teams up with Ruth (Shira Haas) who works for the President. Oh, did I forget to mention that the President has an estranged relationship with his daughter (Liv Tyler)? There's enough going on here for at least five different movies. At least there aren't as many bad laughs as there are in Madame Web.

      The action scenes are somewhat exciting on a visceral level, especially a battle over the ocean, but they come with diminishing returns. Moreover, there are issues with scale when the President turns into the Red Hulk, so the visual effects are subpar and distracting in that regard. Some scenes feel cheesy while others just fall flat without enough palpable suspense or thrills. Unfortunately, none of the actors rise above the shallow and dumb screenplay. At 1 hour and 58 minutes, Captain America: Brave New World opens nationwide via Walt Disney Pictures.

 

        In Paddington in Peru, Paddington (voice of Ben Whishaw) travels to Peru with the Brown family to visit Aunt Lucy (voice of Imelda Staunton) who, as he's learned from a letter, hasn't been well lately. He finds out from the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) that Aunt Lucy has gone missing, so he embarks on a journey into the jungle to find her with a map, a special bracelet and eyeglasses that she had left behind. Mrs. Brown (Emily Mortimer), Mr. Brown (Hugh Bonneville), and their kids, Judy (Madeleine Harris), and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin), tag along, while Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters), the Browns' housekeeper, stays with the Reverend Mother.  Co-writers Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont deftly combine comedy, action and mystery with just the right amount of heart and life lessons. Although the plot feels formulaic and only has a few small surprises, so what? There's nothing wrong with following a formula or predictability as long as it's not done so in a dull or pedestrian way. Sure, there are scenes with over-explaining, i.e. in the third act, but that's forgivable because it's necessary exposition for younger audiences so that they won't be confused.

      Fortunately, the performances by the terrific ensemble cast help to enliven the film significantly. Everyone seems to be having fun in his or her role, even supporting roles like Antonio Banderas as Hunter Calbot. Olivia Colman steals the show, though, with her campy performance. Bravo to her for not being afraid to act goofy. The pace moves briskly enough and the CGI animation combined with live action looks seamless. Ultimately, this third installment of the Paddington franchise is a funny, heartwarming and delightful adventure for the whole family. At 1 hour and 46 minutes, Paddington in Peru, directed by Dougal Wilson, opens nationwide via Columbia Pictures.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

        At 1 hour and 20 minutes, Notes on Displacement, directed by Khale,d Jarrar opens at Anthology Film Archives.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2

      James Hayman (Namir Smallwood), a resident doctor, gets transfered to work at small town hospital after helping a patient to commmit suicide. He suspects that the mother (Rebecca Spence) of an asthma patient, Helen (Sidney Flanigan), might be tampering with her medication in Rounding. Writer/director Alex Thompson and co-writer Christopher Thompson have made an undercooked, unfocused and clunky story that veers into horror, supernatural and psychological thriller. Very few of the beats actually land which is disappointing because, on the page, the film seems like it could've been an interesting character study of a man wrestling with his guilt and trauma. Rounding isn't particularly gripping when it comes to its thriller elements nor does it generate any chills with its subdued horror elements. The characters, including James' superior, Dr. Emil Harrison (Michael Potts), just seem like plot devices instead of lived-in characters, especially because of the often stilted dialogue. Namir Smallwood gives a decent performance, so it's a shame that he's undermined by such a weak screenplay. A Mistake is an example of a far better character study and psychological thriller that tackles similar themes with much more focus and depth. At 1 hour and 30 minutes, Rounding, directed by Dougal Wilson, opens in select theaters and on VOD via Doppelgänger Releasing.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3

      Mags (Selina Ringel) and Ash (Ritesh Rajan), a married couple stuck in a rut, consider to rekindle their marriage by having a threesome with Angela (Sydney Park), a digital nomad/yoga instructor they meet while on vacation in Mexico in You, Me & Her. The screenplay by Selina Ringel takes the serious topics of an unhappy marriage, sexual identity crisis and love and turns it into a mildly engaging and breezy, but sugarcoated and contrived romantic comedy without any surprises or depth. From the get-go, it's clear that Mags and Ash, who've been married for a decade, have deep-rooted issues that could be affecting their marriage systemically. Instead of going to couples therapy, they take a vacation at a resort in Mexico where they meet swingers and, eventually, Angela. Soon enough, Mags and Angela share a kiss and sleep with each other which leads to Mags questioning her sexuality and the possibility of opening up her marriage in hope of saving it. What she and Angela don't realize nor does the film itself even acknowledge is that polyamory isn't designed to fix marital problems nor can it work if the husband and wife have issues that go beyond lack of sex and intimacy. Ash, as it turns out, isn't transparent with Mags about his financial problems; she has to find that out from someone else, so he had lied to her through omission. What else is he lying to her about?

      Unfortunately, You, Me & Her doesn't let any of the characters breathe to show a window into their heart, mind and soul. It's never a good sign when you can feel the wheels of the screenplay turning, especially with a contrivance like when Angela shows up out of the blue after ghosting Mags. Angela remains an underwritten character despite being the most interesting one, so it's a shame that the screenplay doesn't give her enough of a backstory which dehumanizes her in a way. It seems as though the film were too afraid to look at its provocative, relatable topics more unflinchingly. French director Eric Rohmer would've probably made a more tender, cerebral and deeper version of this story. You, Me & Her would be an interesting double feature with Doris Dörrie's bolder, smarter and funnier marital sex farce, Men.... At 1 hour and 34 minutes, You, Me & Her, directed by Dan Levy Dagerman, opens in select theaters nationwide via Attend.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2