PG
THE WASHINGTON POST
.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
but it is dull and boring. (R, 114
minutes, contains violence and
crude language throughout.)
THE ANGRY BIRDS
MOVIE 2
The animated sequel delivers a
good message: If we put aside our
differences, we might save the
world. (PG, 96 minutes, contains
rude humor, cartoon violence and
SEE MOVIES ON 25
AMERICAN FACTORY
What happens when a Chinese
billionaire opens a factory in
Dayton, Ohio? This documentary’s
answer might surprise you.
(Unrated, 115 minutes, contains
nothing objectionable. In English
and Mandarin with subtitles.)
ANGEL HAS FALLEN
Secret Service thriller skewers
contemporary political paranoia,
remake of an Oscar-nominated
2006 Danish film. (PG-13, 112
minutes, contains mature
thematic material and some strong
language.)
ALADDIN
Disney’s live-action remake
charms, in a clumsy sort of way.
(PG, 128 minutes, contains some
action and peril.)
[NR] 47 METERS DOWN:
UNCAGED
A group of teenage girls is trapped
by sharks in an underwater cave.
(PG-13, 89 minutes, contains
creature-related violence and
terror, some bloody images and
brief rude gestures.)
AFTER THE WEDDING
The drama is a gender-flipped
Star ratings are from Post
reviews; go to
goingoutguide.com/movies for
the full-length reviews. Movies
not reviewed by The Post are
marked “NR.” For showtimes
and theaters, see the Movie
Directory.
Movies
Also Opening
“Miles Davis: Birth of the
Cool” delivers a lively, compre-
hensive primer on the life and
career of the legendary trumpet
player. Documentarian Stanley
Nelson does a masterful job of
chronicling Davis’s rise from a
young prodigy to one of the most
influential musical figures of the
20th century — as well as one of
the most troubled. He’s enlisted a
terrific cast of on-screen friends
and colleagues to offer their mem-
ories and testimonials, none more
fabulously scene-stealing than
Davis’s late ex-wife, Frances Tay-
lor. (Cicely Tyson declined Nel-
son’s invitation to participate in
the film, which is a shame.)
An entire movie could be made
about Davis’s exquisite collabora-
tion with Bill Evans, which was a
meeting of mismatched personal-
ities that resulted in a spiritual
meeting of souls; but Nelson goes
further to give Davis his due as an
innovator who continued to
search out and break boundaries
even after suffering through ad-
diction and illness. Like all great
cats, Davis had at least nine lives.
Unrated. At AFI Silver. 115 min-
utes.
— Ann Hornaday
In the documentary “Jay My-
self,” we watch as photographer
Jay Maisel prepares to vacate the
six-story, 36,000-square-foot
building in Manhattan that he
bought in 1966 for $102,000 (and
sold in 2014 for $55 million.) The
film, by Maisel’s former intern Ste-
phen Wilkes, documents the act of
divestment — Maisel is something
of a hoarder — a process that the
New York Times says “is fascinat-
ing and looks exhausting.” Unrat-
ed. At Landmark’s West End Cin-
ema. 79 minutes.
“Give Me Liberty” follows the
adventures of the young driver of a
medical transport van as he en-
counters various colorful charac-
ters. While the movie mostly suc-
ceeds, according to Variety, “the
overloaded result feels like an
ultra-low-budget cross between
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Bringing Out
the Dead’ and the Safdie brothers’
‘Good Time,’ minus movie stars or
any of the ingredients that made
those remotely commercial.” Un-
rated. At the Avalon. 110 minutes.
DON HUNSTEIN, SONY MUSIC ARCHIVES/ABRAMORAMA
Stanley Nelson’s “Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool” chronicles the rise
of the music legend — while touching on his addiction and illness.
STEPHEN WILKES/OSCILLOSCOPE LABORATORIES
In “Jay Myself,” documentary filmmaker Stephen Wilkes follows photographer Jay Maisel, above, as he prepares to vacate the six-story,
36,000-square-foot building in Manhattan that he bought in 1966 for $102,000 and sold in 2014 for $55 million.
MUSIC BOX FILMS
From left, Lauren “Lolo” Spencer, Steve Wolski and Chris Galust
star in “Give Me Liberty.”
ALSO PLAYING