Summer has officially arrived. While the heat has been tame so far, Kansas City natives know it likely won't stay that way for long. This weekend, Up To Date's indie, foreign, and documentary film critics have a whole new set of movie recommendations, just in case you're already hankering for the air-conditioned comfort of a local independent theater.
Steve Walker
The Exception, R
- Fueled by ferocious performances by Christopher Plummer and Janet McTeer as Kaiser Wilhelm and his regal wife, respectively, a high-stakes battle between the disgraced monarchy and the Third Reich also entangles a sympathetic Nazi captain and a Jewish house servant.
My Entire High School is Sinking Into the Sea, PG-13
- This trippy animated film from writer and director Dash Shaw finds high school students still trying to traverse petty adolescent drama while their school bobs up and down in the Pacific Ocean after an earthquake.
My Cousin Rachel, PG-13
- Based on a Daphne Du Maurier novel, Rachel Weisz plays the title character in this atmospheric period piece centering around a woman's dubious flirtations with a man whose cousin she may or may not have poisoned.
Cynthia Haines
The Exception, R
- A German soldier played by Jai Courtney falls in love with a Jewish maid while investigating the manse of exiled monarch Kaiser Wilhelm II. The romance confronts him with a choice: to follow his country or his heart.
My Entire High School is Sinking Into the Sea, PG-13
- An animated high school drama with a rather unusual premise: How would a bunch of hormone-driven teens act when their school breaks off a cliff and falls into the ocean?
Okja, Not rated
- A classic tale of a young girl and her pet, a one-of-a-kind animal being hunted down by a multi million-dollar corporation.
