The Washington Post - 06.09.2019

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.”

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