A neglected maid, a hit man and a shoe expert are heading to theaters this weekend with the releases of “Cinderella,” “Run All Night” and “The Cobbler.”
Here’s what The Hollywood Reporter’s critics are saying about the weekend’s new offerings (as well as which film will likely top the weekend’s box office).
‘Cinderella’
Director Kenneth Branagh’s film stars Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden and Helena Bonham Carter in a retelling of the fairy tale about a young woman whose oppressive stepmother stands in the way of her feelings for a dashing prince. THR film critic David Rooney writes in his review that “anyone nostalgic for childhood dreams of transformation will find something to enjoy in an uplifting movie that invests warm sentiment in universal themes of loss and resilience, experience and maturity.”
‘Run All Night’
Liam Neeson, Ed Harris and Joel Kinnaman star in director Jaume Collet-Serra’s crime film about a hit man trying to save his estranged son from a revenge plot. THR chief film critic Todd McCarthy writes in his review that the film is Neeson’s “latest slab of amped-up urban mayhem” and “consists entirely of angry threats, pointed guns, hiding out from and eluding same, and mad dashes down mean streets on foot and in vehicles.”
‘Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief’
Director Alex Gibney’s documentary focuses on Scientology and its ties to Hollywood. “This impeccably assembled and argued film represents a brave, timely intervention into debates around the organization that have been simmering for some time,” writes THR film critic Leslie Felperin in her review.
‘The Cobbler’
Adam Sandler, Steve Buscemi, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen Barkin and Dan Stevens star in director Thomas McCarthy’s comedy about a dissatisfied shoe repairman who is magically able to live his customers’ lives by wearing their footwear. THR film critic John DeFore describes the film as “likeable but ordinary” in his review.
‘Home Sweet Hell’
A woman isn’t pleased when she learns her husband is cheating on her in director Anthony Burns’ dark comedy. Katherine Heigl, Patrick Wilson and Jordana Brewster star. “The kind of blithely confident, creatively impoverished dud that leaves you slightly stunned someone greenlighted it, the movie has the distinction of feeling like a bad idea from its very first frames,” according to THR film critic Jon Frosch’s review.
‘Seymour: An Introduction’
Pianist Seymour Bernstein is the subject of this documentary from director Ethan Hawke. THR film critic Stephen Farber writers in his review that “the film is a loving portrait of Seymour Bernstein,” although “one might want to know a little more about his personal history.”
