Film Shorts: Valley Cinemas, Streaming, The Worx

This week, Valley Cinemas is holding over the already-award-winning misery-fest The Revenant. When one resides in a town with a single movie theater, it can be hard to pass on a feature that garners as much praise as director Alejandero Gonzalez Inarritu's film has thus far. But be warned: It's pretty rough stuff, and the rough stuff isn't much fun.

Being added to the mix is The 5th Wave, a dystopian, world-in-the-balance film for the teenage set directed by J. Blakeson.

The Worx, the local video shop at 700 1/2 1st Ave N (228-4474) is suffering an off week. New selections include the teen film Jem and the Holograms, based on the Hasbro toys and the Saturday morning cartoon with a cult gay following, about the rise to fame of a video singer; the depressing "event" film Everest, about the tragic and foolish climb in 1996 that resulted in eight deaths and which was written about by many people, including Jon Krakaeur in Into Thin Air; and Woodlawn, the inspirational Christian film about the travails of a high school football team.

But over at the Glasgow City-County Library (408 3rd Ave S, 406, 228-2731), there's a happier array of new films. First there are seasons one and two (of four) of the beloved TV drama Last Tango in Halifax, about lovers reuniting after 50 years with different people. For movie goers, there is the underrated Tom Cruise SF vehicle Edge of Tomorrow, which has a somewhat complicated premise (Groundhog Day meets Terminator), but excellent effects, good performances from Mr. Cruise and Emily Blunt, among others, and a genuinely touching conclusion. Also on hand is A Million Ways to Die in the West, another underrated comedy. This one comes from the controversial Jack-of-all-trades Seth MacFarlane, and parodies western action film tropes with consistent hilarity. One favorite moment is when Charlize Theron teaches the inept MacFarlane character how to shoot.