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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Friday’s openings: Some quality in this ‘Maze’ of movies

Dan Webster

What's Friday at the movies have to offer us? A bit of sci-fi, some comic domestic disturbance, a tad of neo-noir, two dueling UK comics and Terry Gilliam. There may be even more.

For the moment, though, this is likely what the Friday movie slate looks like:

"The Maze Runner": Unable to remember how he got there, our young protagonist must vie with a group of boys to escape a dangerous, ever-changing maze. Don't they call that high school?

"This Is Where I Leave You": When a man dies, members of a dysfunctional family are forced to face the problems that have separated them. Jason Bateman and Tina Fey should find something to laugh about here.

"A Walk Among the Tombstones": Liam Neeson stars as a former cop who does private security work, for "favors," and gets hired to investigate a deadly kidnapping team. Be fun to see what accent Neeson uses this time.

And at the Magic Lantern:

"A Trip to Italy": Adding Al Pacino and more to their impersonation battles, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon continue their trek (begun in 2010 with "The Trip") through la bella Italia. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

"The Zero Theorem": Christoph Waltz stars in the former Python cast member Gilliam's look at a computer hacker getting distracted from his quest to figure out the meaning of human existence. The distraction? A woman, naturally.

Anyway, enjoy.