The big movie this week is Zhang Yimou’s epic period action film starring Matt Damon, and it’s exactly the kind of “good guys vs. monsters” PG-13 spectacle intended to draw wide-eyed younger audiences. That said, how young is too young to see the movie? Read on for details on The Great Wall, plus a Best Picture-nominated sci-fi mystery on DVD.
NOW IN THEATERS
NEW ON DVD
Rating: PG-13, for brief strong language.
Older kids – especially those with a taste for science fiction – will find this slow-burn drama compelling. But they might be a little confused by the movie’s time-hopping narrative structure; then again, you might be, too. Nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Denis Villeneuve, Arrival is an inventive take on the alien-invasion thriller. Amy Adams plays a linguist trying to understand the aliens’ intricate language; Jeremy Renner plays the biologist hoping to study their complex makeup. The images are beautiful and haunting at the same time, with a mix of mystery and wonder. There’s a bit of language and a few intense situations. And part of the film’s drama comes from the death of a little girl who’d been suffering from a disease. But for the most part, Arrival defies your expectations of this ordinarily panicky, heart-pounding genre. It’s beautifully shot and ultimately, surprisingly, hopeful.
