Many people would rather not relive their awkward teenage years.

1. 62 T H E I M P R O P E R
EditedbyMeghanKavanaugh
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ReviewsbyBrettMichel
Cinderella HHHDisneyguaranteedaudiences
wouldshowupfordirectorKennethBranagh’slive-
actionremakeoftheir1950animatedhitbypreceding
itwitha7-minutemini-sequeltothe2013animated
smashFrozen.Butlikemostfollow-ups,thisshortis
aletdown.So,hownicethatthemaineventissucha
pleasantsurprise.Whilenotamusicalretelling(sure
todisappointsomeDisneyphiles),it’sneverthelessa
worthytribute.StarringDowntonAbbey’sLilyJames
asthewould-beprincess,thislatestinDisney’srecent
spateofflesh-and-bloodreconfigurationsofitsani-
matedclassicsfeaturesastandoutperformanceby
CateBlanchettasamoremoderninterpretationof
Cinderella’sstepmother,LadyTremaine.Unsurpris-
ingly,sheattemptstostopherstepdaughterfromslip-
pingherperfectlyfittingfootinsidethefamedglass
slipperandwinningtheheartofherPrinceCharming
(GameofThrones’RichardMadden).Whatissurpris-
ing,however,isthatTremaineistheonlywomanin
thekingdomnottotryonthecrystallinepump.Acul-
turedwomanhopingtoprovidestabilityforherfam-
ily,andshedoesn’teventrytoclaimaplaceasthenew
queen?Thisisafairytale!(AtBostonCommon,Fen-
way,AssemblyRowandinthesuburbs.)
Clouds of Sils Maria HHH 1/2 Youmaynot
knowhisname,butknowthis:OlivierAssayasis
oneofourgreatestlivingdirectors.The60-year-
oldFrenchmancontinuestobuilduponanamazing
filmographyseenbyfewintheU.S.withhislatest,
achallengingdramaaboutactingthatcomments
oncelebrity,gossipcultureandyoung,overprivi-
legedstarlets.Talkytoafault,itfeaturesspectac-
ularactingturnsbyOscarwinnerJulietteBinoche
asMariaEnders,anagingactressjustpastthepeak
ofherinternationalcareer,andKristenStewartas
herpersonalassistant,Valentine.That’sright,Twi-
light’smopeybrunetteisoneofthefilm’smany
slydelights,offeringameta-commentaryonher
ownpersonainaproductionthatrecallsBerg-
man’schamberdramas,morespecifically—and
fittingly—Persona.Don’tlaugh:Stewartbecame
thefirstAmericantoeverwinaBestActressCésar
(France’sOscar)withthisperformance,which
buildsuponherrecentcriminallyunheraldedwork
inStillAliceandthelittle-seenCampX-Ray.Butthis
isBinoche’sshow.AsMaria’srelationshipwithVal-
entineincreasinglyechoesthatoftheleadsinthe
playshe’srehearsing,Assayascommentsnolonger,
allowingustointerprethismasterfullyambiguous
ending.(AtKendallSquare.)
PUPPY LOVE Manypeoplewouldrathernotrelivetheirawkward
teenageyears.Butinembracingandexploringthetumultuousyearsofadolescence,
directorFernandoEimbckehasfoundhiscinematicsweetspot.Inhislatestfilm,Club
Sandwich,athick-as-thievesmotherandson,PalomaandHéctor,arepushedapart
byablossomingromancebetweenPaloma’sno-longer-so-littleboyandthespunky
Jazmínduringsummervacation.PlayingattheHarvardFilmArchiveonApril27,
thefilmclosesoutaseriesontheMexicanfilmmaker’sworkandfeaturesavisitfrom
Eimbckehimself.AndbesuretocatchEimbcke’sotherteenangst-inducedflicks,
LakeTahoeandDuckSeason,screeningonApril24-27. /HannahLanders
Danny Collins H1/2“Thefollowingiskindof
basedonatruestory,”readstheonscreentextatthe
startofthismaudlinmessofamovie,beforeit’squal-
ifiedwiththewords“alittlebit.”AlPacinoembar-
rasseshimselfmorethanusualasthetitlecharacterin
thedirectorialdebutofscreenwriterDanFogelman,
whopullsdoubledutyaswriterofthisshamelesstrea-
cle,whichfollowshisscriptforLastVegas,afilmthat
offeredcrummyrolesfornolessthanRobertDeNiro,
MichaelDouglas,KevinKlineandMorganFreeman.
Fogelman’snothingifnotconsistent.DannyCollinsis
anaging1970srockerwhowearsagirdlewhilecroak-
inghissignaturehit,“Hey,BabyDoll,”whichsounds
likeasongNeilDiamondmighthavecomeupwith,
butnothingatalllikesomethingpennedbytheinspi-
rationforCollins,BritishfolksingerSteveTilston.
LikeCollins,though,Tilstondiddiscoverahandwrit-
tenfanletterfromJohnLennonnearly40yearsafter
itwassent,butit’sherethatrealityendsandFogel-
man’sschmaltzyfictionbegins,promptingCollins
to“embarkonaheartfeltjourney,”accordingtothe
pressnotes.Don’tbelieveit.Notevenalittlebit.(At
CoolidgeCorner,WestNewtonandinthesuburbs.)
The Divergent Series: Insurgent HHThis
dystopianborebasedonthemiddleinstallmentof
VeronicaRoth’syoungadultnovelsonceagainstars
ShaileneWoodleyasKatniss...err,Tris,andTheoJames
as,um,Four,placingthemintheruinsofwhathadbeen
Chicago.Tris,herbrotherCaleb(AnselElgort)and
FourhavebeenhidingfromJeanine(KateWinslet),
butwhenthevillain’strigger-happytroopsfindthem,
thetriomanagetoescapeonaspeedingtrain,with
Fourleapinginfrontofit,likeSuperman.Andwhynot?
EventhoughtheDivergentserieshasbeenpackagedas
aprogressivegirl-powershowcase,thisfilmbackpedals
onmuscularfeminismasitshiftstheactionfocusonto
Four,whosavesTrismorethanonce.Wediscoverthat
Tris’motherdiedinthepreviousmovienotonlypro-
tectingherdaughter,butalsotryingtokeepatotemic
LED-bedazzledbox(appearingnowhereinthenovel)
fromfallingintoJeanine’shands—whichitdoes,any-
way.CalebhelpfullytellsTris(andconfusedreaders
ofthebook)thatitcontainsaVeryImportantMessage
fromtheFounders—whichcanonlybeaccessedvia
Trisandhersuperbvirtualrealityvideogameskills.Or
something.(AtAssemblyRow,BostonCommon,Fen-
way,Somervilleandinthesuburbs.)
Ex Machina HH 1/2 Manyviewersofthisscience
fictionthriller,thedirectingdebutofAlexGarland,
writerofDannyBoyle’s28DaysLaterandSunshine,
willmispronouncethetitleofthismovie,oblivi-
oustoitsorigins.Thisisprobablyforthebest,since
Garland’sscriptisn’tnearlyassmartasheseemsto
thinkitis.Ostensibly,thisisafilmaboutthemost
advancedartificialintelligenceevercreated.Toobad
writer/directorSpikeJonzeexploredthisconceptfar
moreeffectivelytwoyearsagowithhisOscar-win-
ningscriptforHer,whichfeaturedamanfallingin
lovewiththeoperatingsysteminhiscellphone.That
OSwasvoicedbyanunseenScarlettJohansson,while
here,theAIisvisiblyembodiedbyAliciaVikanderas
Ava.CalebSmith(DomhnallGleeson),aprogrammer