See ‘A Minecraft Movie,’ ‘A Nice Indian Boy’ and ‘Freaky Tales’ in theaters this week
A computer game kid show, a gay rom-com and an anthology flick that combines so many other genres, it’s fair to say that Hollywood has all its bases covered at the cineplex this weekend. Here are three of the buzziest movies on the way.
A Minecraft Movie
In theaters Friday
A Minecraft Movie is the first attempt to adapt the blockbuster video game Minecraft for the big screen. The film stars Jack Black and Jason Momoa in a goofy and sprawling adventure full of blocky animals and magical macguffins. Minecraft is the biggest-selling video game of all time, so it’s only natural that it would spawn a film franchise. But the Minecraft universe in the games isn’t really built on characters with discrete personalities — it’s more of a sandbox-style world-building game, where you construct elaborate shelters that help protect you from marauding pig-warriors and zombies. Turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it’s possible to get it spectacularly right.
A Minecraft Movie stars Jack Black as Steve — he’s the default blank-slate character in the Minecraft games. Here, he’s an extremely eager adventurer who lives for the mines and is trying to protect a powerful cube that allows its holder to pass through different realms. An army of pigs wants to use the cube for the purposes of plundering, but their efforts are complicated when the cube — the movie has fun with the fact that everyone calls it an “orb” — falls into the hands of a washed-up gamer named Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison. He’s played by Jason Momoa.
Soon enough, Garrett, Steve, a pair of plucky orphans, and a realtor played by Danielle Brooks are venturing through different realms. Naturally, along the way, they unveil and deploy various Minecraft Easter eggs, and maybe even learn a little something about the value of creativity and friendship. — Stephen Thompson
Freaky Tales
In theaters Friday
Before they directed Captain Marvel, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck made such indies as Half Nelson, Sugar and Mississippi Grind. But even their indie cred won’t prepare you for this underdog grindhouse freak-out in four chapters. It’s May 10, 1987 in the Bay Area, the night the Golden State Warriors outlasted the Lakers in a fourth quarter blaze of glory by point guard Eric “Sleepy” Floyd (played here by Jay Ellis). But Oakland’s got a lot more going on that night: a music club brawl between freaks and neo-Nazis, a hip-hop battle between rapper Too Short and two disrespected women who mop up the floor with him, a crime-world debt collector (Pedro Pascal) who’s got more to live for than he thought when he decided this was his last day on earth, and a foiled heist that will lead to some truly epic retribution.
There’s a lot going on in this anthology film. The directors find joy in moments that might otherwise read as brutal — a shy kid with a beautiful smile who discovers his grin’s more seductive when a fight leaves him gap-toothed, the balletic grace of the final act’s slice-and-dice fest; and some fabulously athletic breakdancing under the final credits. Real life Too Short and Sleepy Floyd put in brief appearances, as does a green glow that may or may not explain how these stories are all connected. — Bob Mondello
A Nice Indian Boy
In limited theaters Friday
Also a story in chapters, this charmer of a rom-com starts at a big Indian American wedding where Naveen (Karan Soni, of Deadpool fame) is sitting alone, the gay son who never brings boyfriends home to meet the family. Not that he has a boyfriend, though that changes when he and Jay (Jonathan Groff, of Glee and Hamilton), meet cute. A handsome white photographer who was adopted by an Indian couple, Jay is arguably more culturally Indian than Naveen — they first lay eyes on each other in their local Hindu temple. But tell that to Naveen’s folks, who are startled and then charmed when Jay calls them Auntie and Uncle and touches their feet as a sign of respect.
By the time mom’s planning a gay Indian wedding, it’s hard to tell who the fish-out-of-water is in director Roshan Sethi’s sweetly corny adaptation of a stage play by Madhuri Shekar. The film doesn’t look deeply at the traditions it’s variously spoofing or employing, or the psychology of its characters, but it brings plenty of color, music and Bollywood flair to getting its two lovebirds to finally sing in harmony. — Bob Mondello
Colombia’s lone Amazon port faces drying river and rising tensions with Peru
Colombia's only Amazon port town could soon be cut off from the river that keeps it alive. As drought and a shifting river spark a tense border dispute with Peru, locals are scrambling to adapt—and politicians are raising flags, literally.
Sunday Puzzle: Common denominator
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with Weekend Edition puzzlemaster Will Shortz along with listener Cynthia Rose of Littleton, Colorado.
South Korea says it has reached a deal with the US for the release of workers in a Georgia plant
More than 300 South Korean workers were detained in an immigration raid on Thursday. Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said South Korea plans to send a charter plane to bring the workers home.
The silent killer increases your risk of stroke and dementia. Here’s how to control it
New recommendations for early treatment for hypertension to prevent strokes, heart attacks and dementia come as an experimental medication is shown to lower blood pressure in hard to treat patients.
Are you a grandparent-to-be? Here’s some advice from those who came before you
Sept. 7 is National Grandparents Day. NPR readers shared the joys of becoming grandparents and offered some sage advice.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to resign
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed his intention on Sunday to step down following growing calls from his party to take responsibility for a historic defeat in July's parliamentary election.
