The Devil’s Violinist

The life story of Italian violinist and composer, Niccolò Paganini who rose to fame as a virtuoso in the early 19th Century.

Classical/crossover violin virtuoso David Garrett plays the title role in this historical piece on music’s first rockstar. Sex, drugs and unbelievable 1800s-style rock and roll violin are the order of the day in this interesting film. A fun, playful look at how Europe filled concert houses to hear this Italian stallion. Girls swooned and beat down his dressing room door. Skeptical artists soon bowed to his talent. Composers unsuccessfully tried to copy his music as he played it. And a devil’s advocate was his servant, moving heaven and earth to get him the renown he deserved.

Director: Bernard Rose.

Cast: David Garrett, Jared Harris, Joely Richardson.

Unrated

Time: 2:03.

Heaven is for real

A young boy suffers a near-death experience in which he claims to have visited heaven in this earnest inspirational drama based on the best-selling book of the same name. When their young son Colton enters the hospital with a life-threatening illness, devastated parents Todd and Sonja are uncertain whether he will make it out of the operating room alive. But in what Colton’s doctors credit as “a miracle,” he survives — and with an incredible story that seems to confirm the existence of heaven. His astonished parents seek meaning in the alleged miracle that has turned their once-peaceful lives completely upside down.

Director: Randall Wallace.

Cast: Greg Kinnear, Kelly Reilly, Margo Martindale, Thomas Haden Church, Jacob Vargas.

Rated: PG.

Time: 1:40.