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It's Easter weekend and Passover — and what better way to celebrate than to race fast cars.
The weekend box office is expected to be dominated by "Furious 7," the latest — and possibly last — of the franchise that began with "The Fast and the Furious" back in 2001. It's a jumble of a movie, with a spy heist plot stuffed inside a revenge plot, and all wrapped in the sentimentality of saying goodbye to Paul Walker (who died in November 2013 in an unrelated car crash while the film was in production). The action is ferocious, the dialogue is idiotic, and the feelings for Walker are genuine.
The best movie opening this week is the documentary "The Hunting Ground," a vibrant and rage-building expose at the epidemic of rape and sexual assault on America's college campuses. Director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering present the gruesome staticistics, detail the obstruction by college administrators, point out the groups (fraternities, student athletes) that represent an outsized percentage of the perpetrators, and chronicle the efforts of survivors to fight back. It's a hard-hitting call to action for anyone who has kids going to college.
"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" is a beautifully arty take on vampire lore, an impressive debut from Iranian-American director Ana Lily Amirpour. It follows a lonely young vampire (Sheila Vand) through an Iranian ghost town, whose hunting is interrupted when she meets a lonely teen (Arash Marandi) with whom she falls in love. The gorgeous black-and-white cinematography and Amirpour's moody storytelling combine for a cool experience.
Actor Ethan Hawke goes behind the camera for the documentary "Seymour: An Introduction," a profile of pianist-turned-teacher Seymour Bernstein. The movie lets Bernstein tell his story, and present his simple philosophy of music and life — creating a charming look at a modest man who seems to have it all figured out.