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Up To Date

Up To Date's Indie, Foreign & Doc Critics' 'Three To See,' January 5-7

Focus Films
Kristin Scott Thomas and Gary Oldman play Clemintine and Winston Churchill, respectively, in 'Darkest Hour,' which follows the prime minister as he decides whether to negotiate with Nazi Germany, or "fight them on the beaches."

The holidays are officially over and now, well, it's just a gray winter stretching ahead of us. Exhausted from the week back at the old grind? Tired of always being cold? Our Film Critics have some ideas for how you can relax — and stay warm — this weekend. 

Cynthia Haines 

Darkest Hour, PG-13

  • With the fate of western Europe in the balance, newly-appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill, played by Gary Oldman, must decide whether to negotiate with the rapidly expanding Third Reich or unite his countrymen and take up arms. 

The Shape of Water, R

  • This dark romance-fantasy follows the relationship night-shift janitor Elisa Esposito, brought to life by Sally Hawkins, forges with a strange creature housed in the government lab where she works. This film from Guillermo del Toro echoes 1950s films featuring creatures from the deep sea.

Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, R

  • In Martin McDonagh's latest acclaimed film, Frances McDormand deftly plays an anguished mother who makes a 15-foot-tall statement to her local law enforcement, led by Woody Harrelson's sheriff, about their inability to find her daughter's killer.

Steve Walker

I, Tonya, R

  • Margot Robbie is sensational as the notorious figure skater Tonya Harding, whose abuse at the hands of her disturbed mother (Allison Janney) and husband fostered self-doubt that resulted in the 1984 attack on her chief rival, Nancy Kerrigan.

Wait For Your Laugh, Not rated

  • Arriving just after the Dec. 28 death of its subject, this documentary spotlights Rose Marie recalling a career that included her own radio show at the age of 5, her iconic role on The Dick Van Dyke Show and a friendship with Al Capone.  

Faces Places, PG

  • Agnès Varda, 89, and one of the leading figures of the French New Wave, pairs up with JR, a 33-year-old French photographer and muralist, for a road trip where both make good on their vow to energize and personalize their distinct artist visions. 
Since 1998, Steve Walker has contributed stories and interviews about theater, visual arts, and music as an arts reporter at KCUR. He's also one of Up to Date's regular trio of critics who discuss the latest in art, independent and documentary films playing on area screens.