Flickers: 'Lego Batman' opens BOX OFFICE LEADERSSplit R Three girls are kidnapped by a man with 24 unique personalities, and they most work with the gentle ones to escape and avoid the evil ones. Rings PG-13 The mystery surrounding a videotape reveals a death curse and a film within a film discovered by a teen bent on saving her boyfriend.A Dog’s Purpose PG A dog begins to realize his purpose in life as he returns after each of his lifetimes to encounter a new owner and challenge. Hidden Figures PG Three African-American women scientists engineer America’s first launch of an American astronaut, John Glenn, into space.La La Land PG-13 Two love-struck aspiring performers travel to Hollywood to seek their dreams while putting their love to the ultimate test.Resident Evil: The Final Chapter R Alice as sole surviving combatant against the undead returns to Raccoon City to destroy the Umbrella Corp.Sing PG In this animation comedy, a koala named Buster Moon seeks to restore his historic theatre to its past glory by holding a singing competition.
Lion PG-13 A 5 year old boy gets lost in India and is ultimately adopted by an Australian family but years later he embarks on finding his birth parents.The Space Between Us PG-13 The first human born on Mars joins his on-line friend during a visit to Earth, and they race against time to help hisxXx: Return of Xander Cage PG-13 Left for dead, Xander secretly returns for another assignment under the direction of his handler, Augustus.Rogue One: A Star Wars Story PG-13 The Rebellion focuses on their most daring mission as stolen blueprints lead them to sabotage Death Star.Monster Trucks PG A high school senior builds a monster truck from scrap parts and joins a subterranean creature bent on speed to escape town.Gold R A prospector joins a geologist in finding gold in the hidden jungles of Indonesia but keeping their riches will be the most difficult task of all.***Also Playing in Theaters***20th Century Women, Arrival, Fences, The Founder, Hacksaw Ridge, Jackie, Manchester by the Sea, Mifune: The Last Samurai, Moana, Moonlight, Nocturnal Animals, Passengers, Patriot’s Day, Red Turtle, Silence, Sleepless
, Toni Erdmann, Underworld, Why Him?Coming to theaters Feb. 10Fifty Shades Darker R Christian attempts to lure Anna back into his lifestyle, but he must deal with the drama of women who came before her. Stars: Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson, Tyler Hoechlin, Bella Heathcote — Directed by James Foley.John Wick 2 R Wick hopes to retire from his criminal life, but a past debt and a contracted kill will force him into a life-threatening assignment. Stars: Ruby Rose, Keanu Reevs, Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane — Directed by Chad Stahelski.The LEGO Batman Movie PG Bruce Wayne, Batman, takes on an even greater challenge than fighting evil as he raises a newly adopted young boy. ing Soon: A United Kingdom, The Great Wall, Fist Fight, A Cure for Wellness, Patient Zero, Land of Mine, Everybody Loves Somebody, Get Out, Rock Dog, Tulip Fever, Bitter Harvest.New on DVD Feb. 14Arrival PG-13 As 12 huge alien spacecrafts land in various parts of Earth, a crack team of linguists is hired to communicate before panic ensues.
Edge of Seventeen R Teenage drama peaks when Nadine’s best friend, Krista, starts dating her older brother, but a new friend may save the day.Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk R Through a series of flashbacks, we see the horrors of war experienced by a veteran returning to America.Foreign, Classics, Documentaries, and more: Priceless, Bleed for This, Christine, King Cobra, Quarry, The Story of Film-An Odyssey, Flamenco Flamenco, El Chavo Del Ocho, Alleluia, Paulo Coelho’s-Best Story, Meru, Hidden, Dog Lover, Devoured, Assassin X, Panzer, Robot World, Tree of Wooden Clogs, Catatonia, Creature Lake, Intervention, Race to Win, Bride, London Town, Five Nights in Maine, American Girl, Maybe Tomorrow, Reconciler, The Crooked Man, All I Need, Pig Pen, Three Sisters, Fresh Rot, Sisters of the Plague, Witness, Tharlo, Policeman, Tumbling Doll of Flesh, Long Way from Home, Black Dove, Big Bad, Grace of Jake, This Last Lonely Place.Television: Stake Land 2, The Crash, Henning Mankell’s Wallander, Mercy Street s2, Hap & Leonard s1, Le Bureau s2.
In some cities, people already are camping outside theaters.Jared Brodeur isn't doing that, even though he's an epic "Star Wars" fan. He has too much to do. He owns and runs The Battle Standard, a tabletop gaming store at 1540F Pleasant Valley Road in Manchester, where fans of gaming hang out to talk, buy and play games. "Star Wars'' is a year-round passion. Every night of the week is dedicated to a different game at The Battle Standard. Wednesday is "X-Wing Night." At the most recent X-Wing Night, about a dozen "Star Wars" fans engaged in table battles between X-Wings, Tie Fighters and other "Star Wars" ships, flown by Rebels, Imperial troops or "Scum and Villainy," aka bounty hunters and other criminals. John Williams' "Star Wars" score played on the sound system while Chewie, Brodeur's English bulldog-boxer mix, ran around in a "Star Wars" dog hoodie."The characters in the games mimic the behaviors of the characters in the movies. It feels like you're in the cockpit, almost," said Edwin Heck of Windsor Locks.
"It's equal parts planning and foresight." Heck's favorite "Star Wars" character is Wedge Antilles. "He's the only one who survived both Death Star attacks," he said. The guys may be competing against each other, but they help each other with rules and game play. Martin Cabrera of Stafford Springs — whose favorite character is Lando Calrissian because "he's like Rico Suave, even when he's a jerk you like him" — played against Nate Sessler of Vernon. "You try not to hit an asteroid," Cabrera explained. A moment later, Sessler asked, "Can you shoot when you're on debris?" A few other guys chimed in to answer. The Battle Standard crowd is looking forward to the new "Star Wars" movie. None of them are camping out Some have their tickets already. Others, surprisingly, plan to wait a few days to see it, to avoid the mania of opening weekend."It would be perfect to see it in a theater all by myself," Brodeur said, although he plans to see it on opening night with his girlfriend, Denise Marois, and possibly a second time a few days later with relatives.
Brodeur's relationship with "Star Wars" is very personal. He loves Han Solo (Harrison Ford) best, and Chewbacca, Han's best friend. "My father was disabled. He was a good guy but he was limited," said Brodeur, 41. "Harrison Ford was a cool male role model. He was sort of my on-screen father." The Enfield home Brodeur shares with Marois shows his love for the action hero. Brodeur's car's license plate is MFALCON, and a little Millennium Falcon, Han Solo's ship, flies around his home by remote control. Brodeur even owns a 6-foot Han frozen in carbonite, as seen in "The Empire Strikes Back," and a replica of Han's pistol.Brodeur liked the three "Star Wars" films with Han Solo in them. The other three, not so much. He's ecstatic that "The Force Awakens" features Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia again. "I'll probably cry," he said. 'A Tale Of Two Clones'Meanwhile, several other events in the state are glomming onto the "Star Wars" mania.The heroes of the Hartford comic bromance "A Tale of Two Clones" are Imperial Storm Troopers.
They're clones who missed the mean gene and can't figure out why they must kill rebels.Matt Saccullo, 32, of Wethersfield, plays Darth Vader in the silly and energetic show, which he wrote and performs with local comic actors. He said he wanted his homage to the six-film series to blur the line between villains and heroes."Why do you think they are the villains?" he said. "Obi-Wan kidnapped Vader's kids, I'd say that's pretty villainous quality. Luke blew up the Death Star that had hundreds of thousands of people on it. They couldn't all be bad, right? Maybe we had it backwards this whole time."No character is safe from lampooning. Yoda is a dozy Italian grandmother who flops her sentences. Leia wears Cinnabons on her ears and swats away men who want to eat them. Darth Vader has a less-than-terrifying voice. Characters break into song.Surprisingly, Saccullo isn't a "Star Wars" superfan. "When I did the casting for this, I made sure to get some real big 'Star Wars' fans to help fact-check me and let me know what was OK or 'Star Wars' blasphemy," he said."
A Tale of Two Clones, Episodes 2 to 6" will conclude its run at the Carriage House Theater, 360 Farmington Ave. in Hartford, on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11 and 12, at 8 p.m. Admission is $10. 'A Billion Bricks'An exhibit at Stamford Museum & Nature Center doesn't distinguish the bad guys from the good guys either. They're presented side by around the center's small gallery. One of every "Star Wars" mini-figure produced by LEGO — 620 in all — are there. Many carry light sabers or other weapons. A few are dressed in Santa suits; they were in a "Star Wars" advent calendar. One Yoda wears a T-shirt, "New York I ♥."In addition, several assembled "Star Wars" LEGO kits are shown, including the 3,803-piece Death Star, the Millennium Falcon, the ice planet Hoth, Cloud City and the Mos Eisley Cantina, where mini-fig Han Solo gets ready to blow away mini-fig Greedo.Inside the larger gallery, the annual huge LEGO exhibit is dominated by "Star Wars" setups and mini-figs. The creators of the show, the New York LEGO Users Group, place the "Star Wars" guys in different worlds.
Storm Troopers fight orcas. An Imperial soldier sits on a bus bench.Both galleries are enhanced by artistic photographs of "Star Wars" mini-figs by Dale May. May often riffs on pop-culture imagery, such as a photo of Chewie against a Tory Burch logo, Storm Troopers against a rainbow flag backdrop and a Storm Trooper wearing Mickey Mouse ears."A Billion Bricks 3: Galactic Travels" is at Stamford Museum & Nature Center, 39 Scofieldtown Road, until Feb. 7. On Saturday, Dec. 12, the Prospector Theater, 25 Prospect St. in Ridgefield, will host a morning of "Star Wars"-inspired short films. The family-friendly movies are one to four minutes in length. A costume contest will be held. Showtime is 11 a.m. Admission is $7.The theater also will offer a "Star Wars"-themed pancake breakfast on Sunday, Dec. 13, at 8 a.m. On Friday, Dec. 18, from 7 to 9 p.m., members of the 501st Connecticut Garrison, a group that cosplays as "Star Wars" villains, will visit the Prospector Theater. The Garrison is the state's chapter of an 8,200-member national group.
Paul Starybrat, of the 34-person Connecticut group, said members must own a screen-accurate "Star Wars" bad-guy costume. "Why do we make Imperial costumes? They look cooler than Rebel costumes," he said.The 501st appears at events on the condition that a donation is made to a worthy cause. The 501st likes the Prospector Theater because the cinema has a mission of hiring people with developmental disabilities. , .Elsewhere In The GalaxyThere are other "Star Wars"-themed events in Connecticut this month.•Three Connecticut multiplexes will show a marathon of the first six episodes of the "Star Wars" saga, starting in the very early morning hours of Dec. 17. The 18-hour marathon of "The Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones," "Revenge of the Sith," "A New Hope," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" will begin at 1 a.m. Dec. 17 at AMC Loews Danbury 16 and at 3 a.m. Dec. 17 at Cinemark Buckland Hills in Manchester and Cinemark Connecticut Post 14 in Milford. After the six-movie retrospective, screenings of "The Force Awakens" begin.
The marathon in Manchester is sold out. The ones in Milford and Danbury still have tickets. .•Since the 2012 Aurora, Colo., movie-theater shootings, cinema chains have cracked down, so fans may need to scale back the costumes. Masks, face paint and real or fake weapons are forbidden. AMC spokesman Ryan Noonan said AMC makes one exception. "Light sabers are welcome because there's no such thing as a real light saber, at least in this galaxy," he said. Other chains ban light sabers.•Stew Leonard's, 3475 Berlin Turnpike in Newington, is having a "Star Wars Movie Premiere Party" on Saturday, Dec. 19, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Admission is $20 per child (ages 5 to 12) and includes "Star Wars"-inspired snacks. .•Members of High Adventure, a Litchfield band that writes and sings songs inspired by "Star Wars" and other movies, will perform and host a "Star Wars" trivia contest at Seymour Entertainment Cinemas, .•Comic-book artists Chrissie Zullo, Matthew Fletcher and Chris Uminga will meet & greet at Alternate Universe comics store, 398 Bridgeport Ave. in Milford, on Saturday, Dec. 19, from noon to 4 p.m. and will sell "Star Wars"-themed artworks.