Knight of Cups (15)

three stars

Dir: Terrence Malick

With: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett

SOMEWHERE along the way I’ve begun to fall out of love with Terrence Malick, perhaps the last great auteur of American cinema. His blend of stunning visuals and enigma, as seen in the Tree of Life, was less amazing in To the Wonder, and now it returns for another outing in Knight of Cups. Christian Bale stars as a Hollywood actor searching for meaning in his life via love affairs. On and on he travels, through one beautiful home and gorgeous woman after another, going we know not where. A visually magnificent, but for large stretches emotionally sterile, ride.

I Saw the Light (15)

three stars

Dir: Marc Abraham

With: Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen

Runtime: 124 minutes

THERE’S an “if” the size of Alabama in this biopic. If you can get over the idea of England’s Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager) playing country and western legend Hank Williams, then Marc Abraham’s picture is a perfectly respectable glimpse of the troubled singer’s life and times. It’s a soup to nuts affair, and just as routine as that sounds as we venture from early struggle to later riches and ill health, and Hiddleston’s voice may not slip down smoothly among fans. But he gives it his all, as does Elizabeth Olsen as one of Williams’ wives. Williams always railed against any notion that his music was simple. His was a complex personality, but there is little hint of that in this good-looking but workmanlike affair.