King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Not long after Uther Pendragon, King of the Britons (Bana), defeats a villainous warlock, he is betrayed by his own brother, Vortigern (Law), who stages a coup and murders his brother. Years later, Uther's son Arthur (Hunnam) has grown into a man ignorant of his royal heritage, but when he successfully pulls the magical sword Excalibur out of its stone, the truth of his lineage is revealed. This draws the ire of King Vortigern, and the attention of an underground resistance movement whose members want Arthur to lead it in its fight to overthrow the tyrant. Vortigern, however, will stop at nothing to see his royal nephew captured and executed to preserve his own place on the throne.

Director: Guy Ritchie. Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Eric Bana, Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, Freddie Fox, Craig McGinlay. 2017. 126 min. Action.

The Exception

During the Second World War, German Kaiser Wilhelm II (Plummer) lives in exile in the Netherlands, where he dreams of one day returning to his homeland. When the German authorities become concerned that spies might be watching the Kaiser, they send soldier Stefan Brandt (Courtney) to guard him. Brandt soon finds himself deep in an intense and passionate romance with one of the Kaiser's maids, a woman named Mieke (James), whom he soon discovers is both Jewish and passing along information to the British. His loyalties thus tested, he is forced to choose between his country and the woman he loves.

Director: David Leveaux. Stars: Jai Courtney, Lily James, Christopher Plummer, Janet McTeer, Kris Cuppens. 2016. 107 min. Drama.

Snatched

Emily Middleton (Schumer) has a trip to Ecuador planned, and she won't let anything interfere with her enjoyment of it, not even getting dumped by her boyfriend (Park) or getting fired from her job. She convinces her mother (Hawn), who is a cautious woman not used to travel, to come with her, but when the two of them are kidnapped and held for ransom, their dream vacation turns into a nightmare.

Director: Jonathan Levine. Stars: Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn, Ike Barinholtz, Bashir Salahuddin, Randall Park, Tom Choi. 2017. 90 min. Comedy.