NEWS ARTS & CULTURE FOOD SCREENS MUSIC ✪ type of character, one that bursts with the unruly sympa- IT CHAPTER TWO thy of a soul wrestling with life. Which is why it was just D: Andy Muschietti; with Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Judy Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill kismet that an origin story on the Joker, Batman’s biggest Skarsgård, Jaeden Martell, Wyatt Oleff, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn foil for 80-plus years, should land in Phoenix’s lap. But Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Teach director Todd Phillips (The Hangover) has gone dark (but Grant. (R, 169 min.) not too dark) in this saga of Arthur Fleck’s transformation You’ve got to hand it to director Andy Muschietti. into a supervillain. There is a very overdetermined trajec- Adapting any Stephen King novel – or, for that matter, tory that maps out the transformation from Arthur’s trials shorter material – is always a hit-or-miss gig, but It to his blossoming as Joker. It feels completely empty, a Chapter Two manages to pull out all the stops and in nod to some kind of gravitas that this film really strives several areas actually tops the first film. 27 years after the for, but never, ever gets. It’s DC Comics playing rough, but events of the first film, the no-longer-Losers Club make not rough enough. (10/04/2019) good on their childhood promise to return to the well and HHn – Josh Kupecki ALAMO RITZ, ALAMO LAKELINE, ALAMO MUELLER, ALAMO SLAUGHTER truly cursed Maine hamlet of Derry, and destroy cosmic LANE, ALAMO S. LAMAR, ALAMO VILLAGE, ARBOR, BARTON CREEK SQUARE, clown Pennywise (Skarsgård) forever. Incoming director CINEMARK 20, CM CEDAR PARK, CM HILL COUNTRY GALLERIA, CM STONE HILL of photography Checco Varese swaps outgoing DP Chung TOWN CENTER, FLIX BREWHOUSE, HIGHLAND, IPIC, LAKELINE, MOVIEHOUSE, Chung-hoon’s queasy tone for a more sustained cavalcade MOVIEHOUSE & EATERY LANTANA PLACE, SKY CINEMAS, VIOLET CROWN, of ghoulish grue. Earning its huge runtime, it’s a fitting WESTGATE capstone (headstone?) to the best cinematic Stephen King adaptation in recent memory. (09/06/2019) ✪ JUDY D: Rupert Goold; with Renée Zellweger, Finn Wittrock, Jessie HHHH – Marc Savlov CINEMARK 20, HIGHLAND Buckley, Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon, Andy Nyman, David Rubin, Darci Shaw, Royce Pierreson, Bella Ramsey. (PG-13, 118 JEXI min.) D: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore; with Adam Devine, Rose Byrne, Ron Renée Zellweger is a star reborn in this biopic of Judy Funches, Charlyne Yi, Alexandra Shipp. (R, 84 min.) Garland in the final year of her life. Tom Edge’s script, Not reviewed at press time. When a tech-addicted man which is loosely based on Peter Quilter’s West End stage is forced to upgrade his phone, the latest model comes drama, smooths over some of the play’s hard truths about with an unexpected feature: Jexi, an A.I. life coach, virtual Garland, explaining her self-destructive behavior during assistant, and cheerleader. (10/11/2019) the bumpy concert run as triggered by offenses, both real ALAMO LAKELINE, ALAMO S. LAMAR, BARTON CREEK SQUARE, CINEMARK and imagined, committed against her by an insensitive 20, CM CEDAR PARK, CM HILL COUNTRY GALLERIA, CM STONE HILL TOWN world. But it’s Zellweger who’s the main attraction here, CENTER, FLIX BREWHOUSE, HIGHLAND, IPIC, LAKELINE, MOVIEHOUSE, Yet this pretender to the throne never gets past the fact abler Cliff Booth (Pitt). The pair saunter through L.A. capturing the essence of Garland with such immersive MOVIEHOUSE & EATERY LANTANA PLACE, SKY CINEMAS, WESTGATE that it’s a remake, just with spiffier graphics. Sometimes it in full-on leisure mode, encountering various famous nuance that the line between the actor and the role works – most especially with Eichner and Rogen as Timon names, among them newly arrived next-door neighbors doesn’t only disappear, it’s as if it never existed. That JOKER and Pumbaa, the meerkat/warthog odd couple – but Sharon Tate (Robbie) and her sparsely glimpsed husband D: Todd Phillips; with Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Zellweger had the audacity to decide to actually sing the mostly it feels like a cover version by a musician who is all Roman Polanski (Zawierucha), Green Hornet star Bruce Beetz, Frances Conroy, Shea Whigham, Marc Maron. (R, 122 min.) standards in Garland’s act rather than lip-synch them, and technique, no heart. (07/19/2019) Lee (Moh), and those creepy hippies hanging out at the Make no mistake, Joaquin Phoenix is one of the most then perform them with such bravado in a voice eerily HHHn – Richard Whittaker Spahn Ranch. Cinematographer Robert Richardson bathes talented and empathetic actors currently working in channeling Garland is the real icing on the cake here. LAKE CREEK 7 everything in a honeyed, hyper-real glow that nonetheless Hollywood. He has a penchant for portraying a certain (09/27/2019) allows room for the seepage of creepy-crawling darkness HHH – Steve Davis LUCY IN THE SKY into the story’s explosive and horrifically comical finale. ARBOR, BARTON CREEK SQUARE, CM CEDAR PARK, CM HILL COUNTRY D: Noah Hawley; with Natalie Portman, Jon Hamm, Zazie Beetz, GALLERIA, SKY CINEMAS, VIOLET CROWN, WESTGATE Dan Stevens, Pearl Amanda Dickson, Ellen Burstyn, Jeffrey (08/02/2019) Donovan, Tig Notaro, Nick Offerman. (R, 124 min.) HHHH – Marc Savlov LAKE CREEK 7 LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF Lisa Nowak, the astronaut who drove from Texas to MY VOICE Florida over a love triangle, never wore an adult diaper in D: Jeffrey Friedman, Rob Epstein. (PG-13, 95 min.) ✪ THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON that trek. Neither does astronaut Lucy (Portman) in this D: Tyler Nilson, Michael Schwartz; with Shia LaBeouf, Zack ”When Will I Be Loved?” belts Linda Ronstadt. The “inspired by true events” story of space angst terrestrial answer to that musical query lies here in this loving and Gottsagen, Dakota Johnson, John Hawkes, Thomas Haden Church, adultery. Sitting in the black expanse of the endless uni- Bruce Dern, Jon Bernthal, Yelawolf, Wayne DeHart, Jake Roberts, valorizing survey of the life of this extraordinary song verse changes her profoundly. Once back home, she stares stylist. This documentary touches on all aspects of her life Mick Foley. (PG-13, 93 min.) at the popcorn ceiling of her home with her husband Drew The Peanut Butter Falcon is a movie that wears its and career: the solo and backup singer on countless folk (Stevens) before beginning an affair with fellow spacegoer rock, pop, and arena rock anthems; a Broadway soprano heart on its sleeve as Zak (Gottsagen), a young man with Mark Goodwin (Hamm). When he begins relations with Down syndrome, escapes from the nursing home where he and singer of Mexican canciones, a collaborator and another astronaut, Erin Eccles (Beetz), Lucy loses her shit harmonist with such other independent female artists as resides and runs into another fugitive, troubleseeking crab and hits the road to Florida for that third-act confronta- fisher Tyler (LaBeouf), who promises to accompany Zak Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, and others. tion. Portman gives her all in her performance, which is Love is ladled out in heaping spoonfuls through well-craft- to his desired destination: the training camp of a wrestler the only saving grace of the film (everyone else is truly known as the Salt Water Redneck (Church). First-time ed montages and testimonies from fellow artists. The con- forgettable), and in the end this film is a complete misfire. tent is enjoyable and informative, even if deeper analysis feature film writers and directors Nilson and Schwartz, To paraphrase the titular song, picture yourself seeing any compensate for the unoriginality of this Adventures of and insight rarely rear their heads. Yet I dare anyone not other movie than this. (10/11/2019) to snap to attention and spontaneously follow the sound Huckleberry Finn-styled narrative with a wide-open sense HHn – Josh Kupecki of authenticity. It may lack depth and subtlety, but you The Ultimate of that voice. (09/13/2019) ALAMO LAKELINE, ARBOR HHHn – Marjorie Baumgarten can always feel the beat of its heart. Read our interview AFS CINEMA, ARBOR with directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, and Sandlot Movie Party ✪ ONCE UPON A TIME ... star Zack Gottsagen, at austinchronicle.com/screens. D: David Mickey Evans; with Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, THE LION KING IN HOLLYWOOD (08/09/2019) Patrick Renna, Chauncey Leopardi, Marty York, D: Jon Favreau; with the voices of JD McCrary, Donald Glover, D: Quentin Tarantino; with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot HHH Brandon Adams, Grant Gelt, Shane Obedzinski, n – Marjorie Baumgarten Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, James Earl Jones, Billy Eichner, Seth Robbie, Rafal Zawierucha, Damon Herriman, Al Pacino, Dakota ARBOR, SKY CINEMAS Victor DiMattia, Art LaFleur, Denis Leary, Karen Allen, Fanning, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Kurt Russell, Emile James Earl Jones. (1993, PG, 101 min.) Rolling Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Keegan Michael-Key, John Oliver, Eric André. (PG, 110 min.) Hirsch, Mike Moh, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Scoot McNairy, Zoë PROMARE Roadshow. This cast reunion and outdoor screen- Bell, Austin Butler. (R, 161 min.) D: Hiroyuki Imaishi; with the voices of Billy Kametz, Johnny Yong ing of the classic coming-of-age baseball flick will The latest plundering by Disney of its own vaults, the feature pre-show shenanigans with Tom “Smalls” computer-animated remake of The Lion King takes the “The Ninth Film From Quentin Tarantino” is a fractured Bosch, Crispin Freeman, Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld, Neil Kaplan, Erica Guiry, Patrick “Ham” Renna, and Chauncey familiar story of a lion cub named Simba (McCrary) set up fairy tale too good to be true, because the truth hurts; Lindbeck.