Admit One 12/24

The Gambler

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jessica Lange, Michael K. Williams, Leland Orser

Directed by: Rupert Wyatt

Plot: Lit professor and gambler Jim Bennett’s debt causes him to borrow money from his mother and a loan shark. Further complicating his situation is his relationship with one of his students.

Rotten Tomatoes Freshness: 51%

Critic Consensus: “Well-paced and reasonably entertaining in its own right, The Gambler still suffers from comparisons to the James Caan classic that inspired it”

Unbroken

Starring: Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Finn Wittrock, Garret Hedlund, Miyavi, Jai Courtney

Directed by: Angelina Jolie

Plot: Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini was part of a bomber crew that is shot down in the Pacific and, after surviving 47 days at sea, was captured by the Japanese and held as a POW.

RT Freshness: 49%

Critic Consensus: “Unbroken is undoubtedly well-intentioned, but it hits a few too many of the expected prestige-pic beats to register as strongly as it should”

Big Eyes

Starring: Christoph Waltz, Amy Adams, Terence Stamp, Danny Huston, Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman

Directed by: Tim Burton

Plot: Walter Keane became a phenomenon in the late 50’s and early 60’s for his iconic paintings of big eyed waifs but they were all actually painted by his wife, Margaret.

RT Freshness: 73%

Critic Consensus: “Well-acted, thought-provoking, and a refreshing change of pace for Tim Burton, Big Eyes works both as a biopic and as a timelessly relevant piece of social commentary”

Into the Woods

Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, James Corden, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, Jake Gyllenhaal

Directed by: Rob Marshall

Plot: A witch tasks a childless baker and his wife with procuring magical items from classic fairy tales to reverse the curse put on their family tree.

RT Freshness: 72%

Critic Consensus: “On the whole, this Disney adaptation of the Sondheim classic sits comfortably at the corner of Hollywood and Broadway — even if it darkens to its detriment in the final act”