Aquarius
See review, this issue.Cinema 21.
Arrival
In the bright light of something shiny and new, it’s easy to declare that thing an outlier: To smile and point and proclaim that here, at last, is a thing that makes everything that follows a little bit different. I saw Arrival Monday night, which means it’s undoubtedly just a bit too soon to declare it a science-fiction classic. Given that we’re finally (finally, finally) coming to the end of 2016, though, it’s probably fair to declare it this: One of the bright points, and one of the greatest movies, of this horrible, awful year. It’s also likely the best film yet from Denis Villeneuve, the director behind the excellent Sicario and Prisoners—and who, with Arrival, offers something entirely different. Arrival is an ominous, thrumming, beautiful thing that starts out being about aliens who need a decoder ring. It ends up being about something quite different. ERIK HENRIKSEN Various Theaters.
Bad Santa
There’s a sequel to this now. Don’t go to that. Go to this. Not only does it work better as a stand-alone story of cheerful misanthropy, but it also works better as a Gilmore Girls finale, thanks to the presence of Lauren Graham. Plus for as long as this movie is running, you can pretend that Bernie Mac and John Ritter are still alive, and that’s a Christmas miracle all by itself. At least right up until the point where Bernie gets hit by a car and electrocuted (spoilers.) But still! Watch this. Avoid the sequel. Celebrate the hate. Merry fuckin’ Christmas. BOBBY ROBERTS Laurelhurst Theater.
Bad Santa 2
A Christmas movie doesn’t have to be that good to make it into the yearly holiday rotation. (Cases in point: Elf. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Love Actually. Don’t @ me.) So when a Christmas movie is just a little bit better than it needs to be, it’s reason to rejoice. After all, we’re gonna be stuck watching the damn thing every year for the rest of our lives, so every little bit counts. Bad Santa is one of those above-average Christmas movies. Bad Santa 2 is not. NED LANNAMANN Various Theaters.