Three escaped convicts, Tay (Dustin Nguyen), Aden (Dali Benssalah) and Eddie (Phi Vu), hold an elderly cab driver, Long Ma (Hiep Tran Nghia), hostage at gunpoint and force him to be their getaway driver in The Accidental Getaway Driver. Writer/director Sing J. Lee and his co-writer, Christopher Chen, take a premise that sounds like it could be a gripping crime thriller and, instead, turn it into psychological drama and character study of two lost and wounded souls. The crime thriller elements aren't very believable nor clever. They feel very contrived here, so audiences expecting to be at the edge of their seat will be disappointed. However, Tay and Long Ma gradually develop a friendship that adds layers of emotional depth as they both confront their past traumas. Long Ma, as it turns out, has been estranged from his children for many years. Will he and Tay inspire each other? Will he get to reconnect with his children? Of course he becomes like a surrogate father to Tay. The Accidental Getaway Driver doesn't offer any surprises or take any risks, but there are some tender moments with Tay and Long Ma together. Exposition isn't among the film's strengths, though, especially with the lazy use of flashbacks that somewhat distract from the narrative momentum. However, strong performances from Dustin Nguyen and Hiep Tran Nghia help to keep the film mildly engaging. At 1 hour and 42 minutes, The Accidental Getaway Driver opens at AMC 34th Street via Utopia.

 

       Brothers After War is a heartfelt, unflinching and illuminating documentary about the life of U.S. marines and soldiers in the aftermath of serving in the Iraq War. Director Jake Rademacher revisits the soldiers whom he embedded with in Brothers at War over fifteen years ago to get a sense of what they've been through emotionally and psychologically as they adjusted to life back at home and became veterans. The marines soldiers, who include Jake's brothers, Isaac and Joe, give candid interviews that highlight their struggles, but also their resilience and strengths. It's not an easy documentary to sit through because it does deal with heavy topics like suicide. However, that's okay because it's a topic that needs to be discussed and addressed, so kudos to director Jake Rademacher for not sugar-coating anything and for asking tough, yet vital questions to the soldiers and marines. Brothers After War is an intimate, honest and eye-opening experience that ultimately highlights the importance of providing mental health services for war veterans. At 1 hour and 48 minutes, it opens in select theaters nationwide via SDG Releasing.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

      Deep-sea divers Chris (Finn Cole), Duncan (Woody Harrelson) and David (Simu Liu) bravely go through a mission to repair a cable line on the ocean floor while tethered to a ship in Last Breath. When Chris' air supply cord snaps in the middle of a storm with just ten minutes of oxygen left, Duncan and David desperately try to rescue him.  Based on a true story, the screenplay by writer/director Alex Parkinson and his co-writers, Mitchell LaFortune and David Brooks, keeps the plot lean and gripping, but ultimately shallow with cheesy and on-the-nose dialogue. Exposition is kept to a bare minimum, so all that the audience knows is that Chris leaves his girlfriend, Morag (Bobby Rainsbury) back at home, and that Duncan is about to retire. Morag doesn't get informed when Chris gets trapped and goes on unconscious. The underwater scenes are the film's most intense moments with palpable tension, exquisite cinematography and great sound design. Moments of silence are also used effectively. On a purely technical level, Last Breath is quite impressive. However, the characters are underdeveloped, so they're at a cold distance from the audience from start to finish. The third act feels rushed, contrived and somewhat anticlimactic. At 1 hour and 33 minutes, Last Breath opens nationwide via Focus Features.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

      In My Dead Friend Zoe, Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) still struggles with PTSD after serving in the war in Afghanistan whee her good friend,  Zoe (Natalie Morales) died during combat. She attends group therapy with Dr. Cole (Morgan Freeman) and decides to take care of her grandfather, Dale (Ed Harris), who's suffering from Alzheimer's. Meanwhile, she repeatedly sees visions of Zoe. Writer/director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes and co-writer A. J. Bermudez have woven a tender, honest and heartfelt emotional journey. Merit deals with it in her own way by imagining Zoe's still around. No one else can see her. With a less sensitive screenplay, My Dead Friend Zoe could've been a maudlin or clunky drama. It could've also taken a lighter route by turning into a comedy, but it doesn't. Instead, the filmmakers opt for a more grounded and serious film that highlights the intrinsic value of friendship and overcoming grief, a process that's easier said than done. Merit doesn't open up during group therapy initially, but eventually she does. There are no surprises or big twists, but this isn't that kind of film; it's ultimately a character study. Merit gradually finds a way to heal innately through introspection and not bottling all of her emotions including anger and deep sadness. It's inspiring to watch as her soul blossoms. As poet Pablo Neruda once wisely observed, "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming." Sonequa Martin-Green anchors the film with a genuinely moving performance. Bravo to the filmmakers and to Martin-Green for seeing and treating Merit as a complex human being, warts-and-all. At 1 hour and 41 minutes, My Dead Friend Zoe opens nationwide via Briarcliff.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

       Robert (William Baldwin), a real estate agent, struggles financially while attempting to get rid of homeless people camping out in tents in No Address. The homeless people who refuse to leave include Harris (Xander Berkeley), Dora (Beverly D’Angelo), Lauren (Isabella Ferreira) and Jimmy (Lucas Jade Zumann). The screenplay by writer/director Julia Verdin and co-writer James J. Papa is unfocused, clunky, heavy-handed and preachy while barely scratching the surface of its provocative issue of homelessness. It's not even clear about its messages and solutions to the problem of homelessness nor the practicalities of the solutions. All you need is love and empathy? That's a very over-simplified, myopic and cheesy approach to an issue that's complex and multifaceted. Homelessness can happen to anyone? Yes, that's true, but not a solution. There are no surprises here, even when Robert inevitably becomes homeless. What has he learned about homelessness as a result of becoming homeless? Perhaps if there were fewer characters or more backstories to at least a few of the homeless people, the audience would get a better understanding of how they ended up homeless and what could be done to prevent it to begin with. Looking for temporary solutions that don't solve the homeless people's systemic issues isn't enough. Watch the documentary Americans with No Address instead. At a bloated running time of 2 hours and 5 minutes, No Address opens in theaters nationwide via Fathom Events.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

       Rats! At 1 hour and 25 minutes, Rats!, co-written and co-directed by Maxwell Nalevansky and Carl Fry, opens in select theaters via Yellow Veil Pictures.

Number of times I checked my watch: 5




 

       Vince (Ed Harris), a former gangster, lives a peaceful life with his wife, Sandy (Gabrielle Union) and son, DJ (Miles J. Harvey). His past comes back to haunt him when his estranged son, Rocco (Lewis Pullman), shows up with his girlfriend, Marina (Emanuela Postacchini), while Leftie (Bill Murray), his former mob boss, searches for him with his henchman, Lonnie (Pete Davidson) in  Riff Raff. Rocco also brings alon Vince's ex-wife, Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge. The screenplay by John Pollono suffers from plot that's convoluted with unfunny dialogue and lack of suspense and thrills that could've made the film a fun slice of mindless entertainment. There are too many underdeveloped subplots, barely any internal logic, and clunky exposition. Having characters merely standing around while explaining things is a very lazy way of explaining things to the audience. Why not have them doing other things like eating or drinking while they do the explanation? It's never a good sign when you can feel the wheels of a screenplay turning. While it's okay to heavily borrow from Tarantino and the Coen brothers, it's not okay if the elements of action, thriller and dark comedy are thrown together haphazardly without much wit or surprises. Cutting to scenes with Leftie and Lonnie as they get closer and closer to Vince's home vastly reduces the suspense and the surprise when they arrive at their destination. Some scenes, especially during the last 30 minutes, are so preposterous that they're unintentionally funny. Unfortunately, none of the cast get a chance to shine. If you're looking for a smarter, funnier and wittier dark comedy with lots of interconnected subplots, see the superior 2 Days in the Valley which also has a terrific ensemble cast. At 1 hour and 43 minutes, Riff Raff, directed by Dito Montiel, opens nationwide via Roadside Attractions.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

       In A Sloth Story, 12-year-old Laura (voice of Teo Vergara), a sloth, and her family, brother Mani (voice of Facundo Herrera), father Luis (voice of Ben Gorroño) and mother Gabriella (voice of Olivia Vásquez) move to the big city with their food truck and a secret recipe after a storm destroys their home. They compete with a popular fast food chain owned by Dotti (voice of Leslie Jones). Writer/director Tania Vincent and co-writer Ryan Greaves have made a slight and forgettable, but charming and amusing film that will delight both older and younger audiences. It offers nothing even remotely as brilliant nor as imaginative that reaches the heights of Pixar's Ratatouille, though, and the villain, Dotti, isn't as interesting as Anton Ego. If you're looking for a simple, sweet and uplifting animated movie that doesn't break any new ground or rise above mediocrity, you'll enjoy A Sloth Story. At just 1 hour and 30 minutes, it opens in select theaters nationwide via Blue Fox Entertainment.

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

       In Superboys of Malegaon, Nasir Shaikh (Adarsh Gourav), an aspiring filmmaker, gathers his friends to make a film set in the town of Malegaon, India, despite many obstacles. Based on a true story, the screenplay by Varun Grover is exuberant, lighthearted and mildly engaging, but contrived, cheesy, shallow and sugar-coated. While it's fun to root for the underdog, that's not enough to hold the audience's attention. The characters remain underwritten, espeically Nasir, so it's hard to connection with him on an emotional level and the beats don't quite land. The first hour or so has unnecessary exposition and scenes that become tedious which means that it takes a while for the film to gain narrative momentum and that it suffers from unneven pacing. Tighter editing would've been made the narrative flow much smoother. Moreover, there's a scene at the end with the use of slow-motion that diminishes the catharsis because it's too awkward. Unfortunately, the film doesn't ultimately earn its uplift and it also overstays its welcome by at least half an hour. At 2 hours and 5 minutes, Superboys of Malegaon opens in select theaters via MGM.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3