Movie recommendations from critics Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
A bright, cheery distraction from darker, heavier Marvel Studios outings, this Peyton Reed-directed sequel to 2015’s “Ant-Man” reunites Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly in a superhero caper of deliberately low stakes and enormous charm. (Justin Chang) PG-13
The Cakemaker
A provocative, unexpected and very moving GermanIsraeli coproduction that is as unusual a love story as you are likely to find. (Kenneth Turan) NR
Eighth Grade
Starring a superb Elsie Fisher as a girl about to graduate from the eighth grade, writer-director Bo Burnham’s debut feature paints a beautifully, painfully honest portrait of adolescent girlhood. (Justin Chang) R
Incredibles 2
There is good news in the world tonight: Writer-director Brad Bird has brought everyone’s favorite superhero family back to the big screen, and we are all better off for it. (Kenneth Turan) PG
Juliet, Naked
A charming film of an engaging, adult nature about two very different people trying to press reset in their lives, it is impressively directed by Jesse Peretz and acted with verve, passion and great skill by Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O’Dowd. (Kenneth Turan) R
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Led by a vivacious star turn from Lily James, Ol Parker’s sequel to “Mamma Mia!” is a thoroughly unexpected delight, an ABBA jukebox musical that improves on its dreadful 2008 predecessor in every respect. (Justin Chang) PG-13
Searching
A Bay Area dad (John Cho) looks for his missing daughter in this compelling and formally innovative thriller from first-time director Aneesh Chaganty, which unfolds entirely on the characters’ computer and phone screens. (Justin Chang) PG-13
Sorry to Bother You
Rapper-activist Boots Riley’s joyous dystopian cackle of a directing debut stars a superb Lakeith Stanfield as an Oakland telemarketer who stumbles into that arrestingly surreal zone where racial identity, class rage and corporate malfeasance intersect. (Justin Chang) R
Three Identical Strangers
A scientific and philosophical inquiry by way of a detective story, Tim Wardle’s intensely compelling documentary tells the twistier-by-the-minute story of identical triplet boys who found each other 19 years after being separated at birth. (Justin Chang) PG-13
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
The goal of this exemplary documentary is not to tell the story of TV host Fred Rogers’ life but to show the way of someone whose formidable task was, in his own words, “to make goodness attractive” and made it happen. (Kenneth Turan) PG-13