Jay Manalo (left) and Assunta de Rossi in “Higanti”
Higanti
Directed by Rommel Ricafort; stars Assunta de Rossi, Jay Manalo, Katrina Halili, Alwyn Uytingco
Abused and battered, woman learns to fight back and retrieve everything that was stolen by her cruel politician-husband. De Rossi, who auditioned for the part, describes the drama movie as “very challenging … and intense.” Ricafort watched his actors’ previous movies “to learn as much as I could about them.” Opens today.
“Power Rangers”
Power Rangers
Directed by Dean Israelite; stars Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Elizabeth Banks
Ordinary teenagers gain super powers that they must harness to save the world from invaders. Cheetsheet.com’s Nathanael Arnold remarks: “Definitely won’t be as childish as the original 1990s TV show.” Commonsensemedia.org notes: “Expect lots of action, violence…and a little romance.” Opens today.
The Last Word
Directed by Mark Pellington; stars Shirley MacLaine, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Heche
Businesswoman rewrites her life story with young writer as accomplice. New York Times’ Manohla Dargis says: “There’s some scathing satirical potential…but that would require backbone…honesty.” Variety’s Owen Gleiberman quips: “Prefab indie whimsy, but [MacLaine] gives it an afterglow.” Opens today.
CHiPs
Directed by Dax Shepard; stars Dax Shepard, Michael Peña, Adam Brody, Kristen Bell
Highway cops get entangled in a multimillion dollar heist. Screencrush’s Emma Stefansky thinks it’s “a lot less family-friendly than the original ’80s TV series and rated R.” Digitaltrends’ Rick Marshall agrees: “Appears to be a raunchy, explosive adventure in the vein of…the ‘21 Jump Street’ franchise.” Opens tomorrow.
Jake Gyllenhaal in “Life”
Life
Directed by Daniel Espinosa; stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada
Alien threatens six astronauts in a space station. Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey sums it up as “‘Alien’ meets ‘Gravity’…promises a more grounded spin.” IndieWire’s Kate Erbland relates: “You can probably guess how it all pans out…[but] script has plenty of other stuff up its space sleeve.” Opens Friday.