It’s nearly the weekend again, and that means Film Focus. Here’s Mike Laidman with what’s new in local theaters.

Another week of movie magic is upon us. Friday the 13th is here, and yet there is a complete lack of scary stuff at the box office. As nice as it would be to have something terrifying to sink your teeth into, this just isn’t a very popular time to be releasing horror flicks.

Instead, we’ve got another entry into a young-adult series that is trying to capture some of the audience that the Hunger Games series had.

We’ve got to dive into next week, however, to find what could prove to be a very lucrative children’s property.

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Mike Laidman

Welcome to another edition of Film Focus. I’m Mike Laidman.

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The Divergent Series: Allegiant (2016, Robert Schwentke)
Tris works to escape the wall surrounding Chicago with Four.

The Divergent Series: Allegiant is the second-to-last film in a quadrilogy that opened back in 2014 with Divergent and was followed by last year’s Insurgent. Unfortunately, what started as fairly ho-hum dystopian young-adult fare has not improved in the least.

Following the events in Insurgent, lead character Tris must escape with Four and go beyond the wall enclosing Chicago. For the first time ever, they will leave the only city and family they have ever known. Once outside, old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless with the revelation of shocking new truths. Tris and Four must quickly decide who they can trust as a ruthless battle ignites beyond the walls of Chicago which threatens all of humanity.

The reviews have not been kind to this one. There isn’t really much to see here. It’s full of action, sure, but at a cost to cohesion and character development. Unless you’re invested in the series, best to wait for this to come out on video.

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The Angry Birds Movie (2016, Clay Kaytis, Fergal Reilly)
Three birds discover what some newly-arrived pigs are up to.

Opening next week is a big title based off one of the first truly huge mobile games. The Angry Birds Movie takes flight on the 19th. Let’s see what’s in store.

The movie invites us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds--or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red, a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck, and the volatile Bomb, have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it's up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to. Maybe now we'll finally find out why the birds are so angry.