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Reel Critics: ‘Skeletons’ opens a closet

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I’ll say it up front — “The Skeleton Twins” is one of the best films this year, with amazing performances from stars better known for comedic roles. But Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Ty Burrell show us real gifts at playing darker, more troubled souls.

Milo (Hader) and his fraternal twin Maggie (Wiig) both decide to attempt suicide on the same night. When she visits him at the hospital, it’s the first contact they’ve had in 10 years. Yet these two still have a connection, and both struggle to keep a cheerful façade in spite of some pretty big secrets they are carrying around.

Luke Wilson is warm and sympathetic as Maggie’s ever-cheerful husband, and Burrell (“Modern Family”) is excellent as a high school teacher who figured prominently in Milo’s past.

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The easy chemistry between Hader and Wiig is terrific, and from sillier moments (lip-synching to schmaltzy ‘80s pop) to heartbreaking revelations, we are completely immersed in their characters.

“The Skeleton Twins” lays bare emotional conflicts without unnecessary angst or tidy resolutions. It’s a grownup movie about people still struggling to grow up.

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‘Maze’ may lead to sequels

In “The Maze Runner,” Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) awakens among a group of lost boys in a primitive area surrounded by enormous walls. Beyond those walls is a maze that holds dangerous creatures, and no one has ever survived a night in the maze or found a way out.

This is an intriguing sci-fi mystery based on yet another YA novel, and viewers are kept in the dark as much as these wholesome-looking boys. Is this another “Hunger Games”-style test of endurance, and who is it that keeps sending a new boy every month along with supplies?

The final revelation leads to more questions and at least one sequel. And while neither the special effects nor acting are memorable, my curiosity is sufficiently piqued to learn more.

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Take this ‘Walk’ with caution

If it’s action you’re craving, you can’t go wrong if it stars Liam Neeson. From “Taken” to “Non-Stop,” the towering Irish actor is the go-to guy for intelligent, swift justice.

In “A Walk Among the Tombstones,” set in 1999 New York, Neeson plays Matt Scudder, an ex-cop turned private detective and a recovering alcoholic. He may not be hard-boiled, but he’s definitely the no-nonsense type.

Scudder is drawn into a case of a brutal kidnapping of the beautiful wife of a wealthy drug “distributor” (Dan Stevens of “Downton Abbey”), who was murdered even after the ransom was paid. Scudder finds ties to similar crimes and sets out to find the sadistic guys responsible.

Clearly, money is not the only motive. These are sexual crimes so disturbing it makes one actually sympathetic for their drug-trafficking spouses.

Neeson projects gentle humor and humanity in his investigations, especially toward a smart young street kid (Brian Bradley) who fancies himself as the next Philip Marlowe.

“Tombstones” is a solid mystery, but definitely not for the faint of heart.

SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a company in Irvine.

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