‘Spitak’
With a theatrical release timed to coincide with the anniversary of the devastating 1988 Armenian Earthquake, Alexander Kott’s “Spitak” is a spare, haunting, character-driven drama set in the immediate aftermath of the temblor that left more than 25,000 dead.
Hurrying back to Spitak, where he left his family behind for a new life in Moscow with another woman, Ghor (Lernik Harutyunyan) finds his hometown, located at the quake’s epicenter, reduced to rubble.
Driven by desperation and guilt, Ghor feverishly combs through the ashen debris in search of his wife and young daughter, probing locals for clues as to their possible whereabouts.
Somewhat reminiscent in tone of 2012’s “The Impossible,” which dealt with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the production, Armenia’s official selection for foreign-language film Academy Award consideration, is more concerned with the unfolding, subdued human drama than action-heavy rescue sequences.
That doesn’t mean Russian filmmaker Kott spares us the horrific images — the most disturbing of which involves the discovery of a school classroom full of lifeless students entombed beneath the rocky wreckage.
“The sun has gone into hiding,” remarks one of the survivors of the gray, perpetual winter that engulfs them, against the aching strains of the mournful score by System of a Down lead vocalist Serj Tankian.
Amid the despair, “Spitak” nevertheless offers a glimmer of hope in the bleakness.
— Michael Rechtshaffen
‘Spitak’
In Armenian and French with English subtitles
Not rated
Running time: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Playing: Starts Dec. 7, Laemmle’s Glendale Theatre, Glendale
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‘Elephants’
The small scale and isolation of a rekindled relationship allows “Elephants” to limit itself to just a handful of locations. After a three-year hiatus, Kate (Allison Blaize) is surprised to see her ex Lee (Luca Malacrino) on her doorstep. They quickly pick up their volatile romance where they left off and rarely leave her Los Angeles home, but their life-changing experiences since they were last together have left them wondering if they can succeed as a couple again.
This indie romance is writer-director Alexander Hanno’s feature debut, and there’s promise here, even if it doesn’t fully cohere. His script and the performances from Blaize and Malacrino get a few laughs (not quite as many or as big as they’re angling for), but the actions — particularly of secondary characters — often don’t ring true in the more serious moments. “Elephants” almost works, but it self-destructs with as much frequency as its damaged characters.
— Kimber Myers
‘Elephants’
Not rated
Running time: 1 hour, 31 minutes
Playing: Starts Friday, Arena Cinelounge, Hollywood
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‘Bernie the Dolphin’
It’s the classic struggle of the little guy versus the evil real estate developer in this family adventure, but the “little guy” is actually two kids. St. Augustine businessman Winston Mills (Kevin Sorbo, missing only a mustache to twirl) wants to develop an isolated cove, but 11-year-old Kevin (Logan Allen) and 9-year-old Holly (Lola Sultan) will fight to defend their beloved Florida beach and the dolphin pod swimming nearby.
There’s clear affection for the ocean and its inhabitants in “Bernie the Dolphin,” but the movie’s script from Terri Emerson and Marty Poole is on the level of educational placards at a second-rate aquarium. It’s informative, but there’s little entertainment in director Kirk Harris’ film. Marine mammal-obsessed kids might like the titular cetacean and his family, but grown-ups will want to find something else to watch.
— Kimber Myers
‘Bernie the Dolphin’
Rated: G
Running time: 1 hour, 28 minutes
Playing: Starts Friday, Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills; AMC Rolling Hills, Torrance
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‘The Rainbow Experiment’
Christina Kallas’ second feature, “The Rainbow Experiment,” is a meandering faux documentary about a tragic incident at a high school that exists in some intersection of “The Office” and “American Vandal,” but it’s a lot less funny, and not very interesting.
In the wake of a disfiguring incident in a science class, a high school falls into chaos as the teachers crumble, the students spiral, and the school board undertakes an investigation like a band of bad cops. The burn victim, the rascally Matty (Connor Siemer), serves as an omniscent narrator, hanging out in scenes unseen by the other characters, snarkily commenting on their inability to deduce the truth. In reality, Matty is incapacitated in a hospital bed, his face destroyed by a lab fire.
“The Rainbow Experiment,” which runs 2-plus hours, doesn’t relegate itself to just the investigation. Rather, it dives into the dramas swirling around this galaxy of characters — the parents, teachers, students, consultants, substitutes and board members. But every time the film strays from the investigation — which is often — it loses focus. The film is dramatically overstuffed with boring storylines that only reveal their narrative purpose after the credits have rolled — which is too little, too late. The film even dives into meta-storytelling, reflecting on the nature of the film itself, far after viewer patience has worn thin. Experimental, yes, but this one wildly overstays its welcome.
— Katie Walsh
‘The Rainbow Experiment’
Not rated
Running time: 2 hours, 9 minutes
Playing: Starts Friday, Arena Cinelounge, Hollywood
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‘Frank & Ava’
The makers of the cheesy biopic “Frank & Ava” lack the artistic chops, much less the budget, to pull off a movie as ambitious as this look at the stormy relationship between Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner. It’s a valiant but awkward effort.
Rico Simonini, an L.A. cardiologist and actor, stars as the crooner and adapted the clunky, melodramatic script with Willard Manus, upon whose play the film is based. Unfortunately, they’ve jammed in too many events and real-life characters surrounding the Sinatra-Gardner coupling instead of staying more focused and intimate — and credible.
The movie is set circa 1950 to 1954 when the singer, past the World War II-era days of Sinatra-mania and in a career slump, begins a bad-behavior-fueled affair with sultry actress Ava Gardner (Emily Elicia Low). A split from wife Nancy and an ill-fated marriage to Gardner follow.
In the meantime, Sinatra, desperate for a comeback, is campaigning to play Maggio in the film adaptation of “From Here to Eternity,” a struggle here that seems to go on for an eternity.
Simonini is okay as “The Voice” (which we never hear, by the way) but Low, stuck with some of the film’s worst dialogue, is subpar as Gardner. The dizzyingly large cast is, at best, uneven, as is director Michael Oblowitz’s intrusive use of archival footage, flashbacks, reenacted gossip reports and celebrity testimonials.
— Gary Goldstein
‘Frank & Ava’
Not rated
Running time: 1 hour, 53 minutes
Playing: Starts Friday, Laemmle Ahrya Fine Arts, Beverly Hills; Laemmle Town Center 5, Encino
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‘Return to Seattle’
It’s a small miracle that any film gets made. So kudos to writer-director-producer-star-etc. Brock Mullins for nearly single-handedly getting his feature debut, “Return to Seattle,” in the can. Mullins, a Seattle native, stars in this DIY film-within-a-film as Robert, a struggling filmmaker who returns to Seattle from L.A. after his mother dies. At loose ends, and at the behest of his friends, Robert decides to write, direct and star in a film about a man returning to Seattle from L.A. Just one question: was this offensively outdated and amateurish pablum worth the effort?
“Write what you know!” Robert chirps to his new girlfriend, the way-too-young, way-too-hip for him bartender Kate (Allie Pratt). Side note: He harasses her into dating him at her place of work. The overwrought script is full of dusty old clichés like this, and Mullins and Co. don’t have the chops to sell them. The supporting cast offers wooden line readings, while Mullins is an uncharismatic performer, with a range that extends from dead-eyed to high-pitched yelling.
As Robert receives a no-strings-attached investment in his film from an old friend, becomes the unlikely center of a love triangle between Kate and his leading lady Kirina (Amy Danneker), and is offered “seven figures” for his micro low-budget film about the state parks of Washington, it’s all too clear that “Return to Seattle” is simply pure (and unrealistic) male fantasy.
— Katie Walsh
‘Return to Seattle’
Not rated
Running time: 1 hour, 28 minutes
Playing: Starts Dec. 7, Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills
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