Reel-View Ratings: The Bigger The Beard, The Better The Movie

CONFETTI HARVEST

A conservative Dutch Christian family finds itself resisting — oh so gently — the tides of change. The story centers on Katelijne, the only girl among seven siblings, living in a rural community, chafing against the boundaries placed against her by her strict parents and insular world. But this is not a dramatic coming-of-age tale, nor a defiant pushback against fundamentalism. There’s not a great deal of dramatic conflict to be had, nor even very much of a plot. It’s honestly not very much of anything, other than a subtle, sun-spackled ode to the simpler life with a gentle admonishment to let children be children. Nice, but not exactly thrilling cinematic fare.

Plays at 1, 4:45 and 8:30 p.m. March 28, and 11:30 a.m., 3:15 and 7 p.m. March 31 at the Movie Museum

KNIGHT OF CUPS

Christian Bale and a pantheon of beautiful women drift in and out of Terrence Malick’s mostly wordless, always beautiful contemplation of an empty Hollywood life.

Bale is a screenwriter who can’t keep a relationship (his archetypical exes include the likes of Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman and Frieda Pinto) as he meanders along in his life of excess, but there’s never any explicit reckoning of what’s happening here. Voiceovers murmur poetic things, and there’s a lot of tarot imagery, and … well, it takes two hours to look at a lot of things without saying much of anything about anything. Does it need to be said? Or is it all about how it makes you feel? Opens March 25 at Kahala Theatre

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2

Here’s a tip: Reviving unexpected sleeper hits of 14 years ago with gratuitous sequels is generally not the path treaded by good cinema. Oh, that’s not to say that this second visit to a loving-but-dysfunctional Greek family is completely without charm. It simply overstays its welcome, like a cousin stuck telling the same old stories over and over until someone kicks him out. It was fine the first time, but then it got redundant. This recycled plot focuses on a different big, fat Greek wedding, but it hits all the same beats (and jokes) as the original. Don’t waste your time.

Opens March 25 in wide release