Movie recommendations from critic Kenneth Turan and other reviewers.
April and the Extraordinary World
Ambitious in scale and often gorgeous to look at, this French animated feature is part science fiction cosmos, part alternate reality steampunk universe — and all adventure all the time. (Kenneth Turan) PG.
Brooklyn
Impeccably directed by John Crowley, feelingly adapted by Nick Hornby from Colm Tóibín’s fine novel and blessed with heart-stopping work from star Saoirse Ronan and the rest of the cast, “Brooklyn” is about love and heartache, loneliness and intimacy, what home means and how we achieve it. (Kenneth Turan) PG-13.
Embrace of the Serpent
This Oscar-nominated Colombian film is a strikingly photographed blackand-white epic that intertwines a passionate attack on the depredations of invasive capitalism with a potent adventure story. (Kenneth Turan) NR.
Hail, Caesar!
A droll Coen brothers tribute to and spoof of Hollywood past that amuses from beginning to end with its site-specific recreation of the studio system and the movies that made it famous. (Kenneth Turan) PG-13.
The Lady in the Van
Maggie Smith stars in this sharp British comedy — written by Alan Bennett, based on his play and directed by Nicholas Hytner. A delicately written, boisterously performed movie about the difficult people who dare us to care about them. (Rebecca Keegan) PG-13.
Midnight Special
A Michael Shannon-starring drama that announces the arrival of Jeff Nichols as a filmmaker in total control of his technique as well as our emotions. A bravura science-fiction thriller that explores emotional areas like parenthood and the nature of belief, it’s a riveting genre exercise as well as something more. (Kenneth Turan) PG-13.
My Golden Days
Arnaud Desplechin’s Cannes sensation contains an intoxicatingly realistic portrayal of the intense emotionality, the intertwined joy and pain, of first love. (Kenneth Turan) R.
Spotlight
The saga of how the Boston Globe won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for uncovering sexual abuse by Catholic priests, the film is mightily impressive not only because of the importance of the story it tells but also because of how much effort and skill went into bringing it to the screen. (Kenneth Turan) R.
The Witch
Robert Eggers’ impressive debut feature sows suspicion into nearly every frame, so intent on a darkening mood that the stillness of trees at the edge of a wood, even an ambling goat, carries the same capacity to unnerve. (Robert Abele) R.
Zootopia
Bursting with a rich blend of timely themes, superb voice work, wonderful visuals and laugh-out-loud wit, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ latest is a great time. (Gary Goldstein) PG.