Dallas/Plano: 5 Films Worth Seeing at the Angelika Film Center Locations This Weekend (Oct. 2-4)

Preston Barta // Editor

There are many great movies playing at the Angelika Film Center locations in Plano and Dallas this weekend. Let us help you by giving our picks of the ones most worth your time.

A BRILLIANT YOUNG MIND | 111 min | NR
Director: Morgan Matthews
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins

A BRILLIANT YOUNG MIND is one of the most lovable and surprisingly terrific films playing at the Angelika. Perhaps you’ve seen films that have embarked on a similar road of a smartie (Asa Butterfield) going on to do big things for the world. However, this film offers more relatable, human moments than one might expect. It focuses on loss, family and most importantly love— and it only helps that it features a strong script and impressive performances. – Preston Barta

Playing today at Dallas.

BLACK MASS | 122 min | R
Director: Scott Cooper
Cast: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton and Benedict Cumberbatch

This true story follows the most infamous violent criminal in the South Boston history books, James ‘Whitey’ Bulger (Johnny Depp). Brother of Senator Billy Bulger (Benedict Cumberbatch), Whitey became an informant to help the FBI get various mobsters who also happen to be his rivals. So, while his old buddy and FBI agent, John Connolly (a terrific Joel Edgerton), protects him from the law, Whitey gets an all-access pass to do whatever he wants with no consequences, while also pushing his enemies out of the streets.

What ultimately makes this such a powerful film is Depp’s performance. With his seamless look, he really transforms himself into the ruthless psychopath that is Bulger. The story itself may be rather dense and some star’s talent may be wasted, but director Scott Cooper presents all the cards in this well-paced, well-composed and digestible crime drama, giving us a winning-hand. – Preston Barta

Playing today at the location in Plano.

GOODNIGHT MOMMY | 99 min | R
Director: Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz
Cast: Susanne Wuest, Lukas Schwarz and Elias Schwarz

GOODNIGHT MOMMY opens on Lukas and Elias (played by twins of the same name, Lukas and Elias Schwarz) as they happily play a game of tag. The brothers are close and jovial, but nothing to sound off any alarms for the viewer. Then, Mother (Suzanne Wuest) arrives home from the hospital after undergoing plastic surgery. We see her bandaged and visibly awkward as she moves around. They live together in a secluded home away from the world, looking welcoming on the outside, but quiet and cold within its walls. Mother is unnecessarily strict on her children, causing the boys to realize that maybe their mother isn’t who she appears to be.

This film is something beautifully creepy that sticks with you days after your first viewing. It’s not really children that we’re afraid of; it’s that their imaginations are so unpredictable that it makes us feel uneasy. Are they playing or are they playing nice? In the case of GOODNIGHT MOMMY, playtime doesn’t exist. – Jared McMillan

Playing today at the location in Dallas.

THE INTERN | 121 min | PG-13
Director: Nancy Meyers
Cast: Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway and Rene Russo

Foibles aside, THE INTERN has a lot of charm with its story about a senior intern (Robert De Niro) at an online fashion site. The generational gap is there, but it never becomes so overwhelmingly preachy that it takes the audience away from being involved. It has a good heart and doesn’t throw in any gratuitous conflict in order to make sure they change for the better. THE INTERN goes through the motions but it gets the job done in the end. – Jared McMillan

Playing today at the location in Dallas.

MISSISSIPPI GRIND | 108 min | R
Director: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Ryan Reynolds and Yvonne Landry

Ryan Reynolds has not had a great track record when it comes to mainstream cinema over the past decade, culminating with the disastrous GREEN LANTERN in 2011. However, he has done quite well on the independent front, especially in the dark comedy THE VOICES from earlier this year. Reynolds’ latest, MISSISSIPPI GRIND, is no different and shows Reynolds rolling nothing but 7’s and 11’s in a story that follows a poker-playing duo (Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn) who go on a road trip through the South with visions of winning back what’s been lost. – Cole Clay

Playing today at the location in Plano.

Also showing: COMING HOME, LEARNING TO DRIVE, PAWN SACRIFICE, SHANGHAI and STONEWALL.