Bonsai
Starring Diego Noguera, Nathalia Galgani, Trinidad Gonzalez  
Visually and verbally witty, the clever Bonsai chronicles the love of handsome Julio (Noguera) and the disarming Emilia (Galgani), who meet in college and lie about reading Proust. Eight years later, Julio lies to his neighbor/lover Blanca (Gonzalez) about being hired to type out a great author’s handwritten book. Instead, Julio writes his own version of the author’s novel, even comically staining his notebooks with coffee and cigarettes to make it seem ‘authentic.’ Alternating between these two storylines, Bonsai is a wise, reflexive meditation on truth and desire, synchronicity and sex, and, of course, books. When Julio romantically suggests to Emilia that they read one page of Proust every night before bed, she is perhaps daunted by the idea of 20 years of this. Although this idiosyncratic film is full of literary references, even the most obscure ones are well-incorporated and make sense. Writer-director Cristian Jimenez shrewdly uses images, narrative devices and metaphors—Julio’s hobby, bonsai trees, are symbolic of both love and writing, to appropriately tell his melancholic love story. Bonsai opens with a narrator announcing that in the end, Julio lives and Emilia dies, but this fact only adds to this fantastic film’s achingly romantic tone. Opens June 22. 4/5 stars —Gary M. Kramer

Paul Williams in Still Alive
Filmmaker Stephen Kessler idolized 1970s star Paul Williams, the little guy with the super-huge talent. Williams wrote dozens of Oscar- and Grammy-winning hits for Streisand, the Carpenters, the Muppets and more. Kessler so deeply connected with Williams’ songs about loneliness, he wanted to make this documentary to (re-)connect with his hero on a more personal level. Yet while Kessler eats and plays golf with Williams—and even accompanies the singer to the Philippines for a concert—his biggest desire is to have a sleepover and review his subject’s career (not have sex). Initially reluctant, Williams soon bonds with Kessler over squid and allows his life to be filmed. Significantly, Williams humors the filmmaker, but he also occasionally harasses him. This remarkable documentary traces Williams’ incredible up, down and on-the-rebound career, with fantastic clips of Williams making Johnny Carson laugh on The Tonight Show, skydiving for Circus of the Stars and having an epic fail as guest host of The Merv [Griffin] Show. While the singer/songwriter’s candor about being sober and wanting respect and privacy are most illuminating, Paul Williams is Still Alive provides an extremely savvy portrait of both celebrity and the pangs of celebrity worship. Opens June 22. 4/5 stars —Gary M. Kramer

Rock of Ages
Starring Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Diego Boneta
Based on the jukebox musical about hair metal nights on the Sunset Strip in the late ‘80s, Rock of Ages is rousing entertainment. Directed by Adam Shankman—who proved his musical chops with Hairspray—the movie follows wide-eyed Sherrie Christian (Hough), an Oklahoman seeking fame in Los Angeles, and the exploits at The Bourbon, the bar where she lands her first job. She meets some colorful characters, including aging rock fan/bar owner Dennis Dupree (Baldwin, hysterical as always), his right hand man Lonny (Russell Brand), the cute bar-back/wannabe rocker Drew (Boneta) and, eventually, rock legend Stacee Jaxx (Cruise). The songs mash-up ‘80s hair metal classics; they’re done proud by the cast (including Mary J. Blige, bringing the soul). But it’s Cruise’s movie. He’s revelatory as Jaxx, a combo of Axl Rose and, in the way he slithers, Iggy Pop. The characters are cardboard archetypes, but Cruise brings a musky hint of soul-weary sadness to Jaxx that lingers past the credits. And though all that leather and testosterone is a straight boy’s wet dream, there’s a funny, touching and rousing surprise halfway through the film for the gays. Rock on. Opens June 15. 5/5 stars —Dan Loughry

Your Sister’s Sister
Starring Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass, Rosemarie DeWitt  
Writer/director Lynne Shelton scored a bullseye with Humpday, a hilarious mumblecore movie about two straight buddies who wanted to make a gay porno. Her sophomore effort, Your Sister’s Sister, also traverses issues of sexual identity and experimentation but with far less humor and success. Iris (Blunt) instructs her best friend Jack (Duplass) to go stay at her family’s cabin in the Pacific Northwest after an awkward memorial service for his late brother. He arrives to unexpectedly encounter Iris’ sister Hannah (DeWItt), a lesbian who has just ended a seven-year relationship. The two strangers get drunk, have sex and then, in the morning, Iris arrives, unannounced. Much of the tension stems from Jack not wanting Hannah to tell her sister that they slept together. Much of the second act has two characters talking behind the other’s back (breaking insecure Jack’s rule not to). While some drama stems from Hannah’s veganism, the various confessions that are revealed cause all the characters to go into major tailspins. Yet little of this serio-comedy works—none of the revelations or relationships are believable, despite the actors’ improvising. Like Hannah’s bad batch of gluten pancakes, Your Sister’s Sister is a noble effort that needs more flavor. Opens June 15. 2/5 stars —Gary M. Kramer