WORTH SEEING
Which Movies to Watch This Weekend
Colossal: Nacho Vigalondo wrote and directed this exceptionally imaginative high-wire act, about a young woman who notices that every time she has an alcoholic binge, a monster attacks Seoul. The movie doesn’t retreat into metaphor but stays wild and imaginative. Starring Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis. Rated R. 110 minutes.
— Mick LaSalle Free Fire: A wild exercise in cinematic excess that amounts to a seemingly endless shootout in a Boston warehouse over an arms deal gone bad. Directed by British cult filmmaker Ben Wheatley, it’s a comic, ultraviolent salute to 1970s genre films. Perhaps the joke goes on a bit long, but it will tickle certain movie aficionados. With Sharlto Copley, Cillian Murphy, Brie Larson and Armie Hammer. Rated R. 90 minutes.
— Walter Addiego
Norman: Richard Gere gets a strong and unusual showcase as a small-time hustler trying to crack into the big time, by putting over a deal involving American big business and the Israeli government. It features excellent character work by Gere and a swift-moving story by writer-director Joseph Cedar. Rated R. 117 minutes.
— Mick LaSalle Their Finest: Gemma Arterton and Sam Clafin are co-workers who become romantic, while making a British propaganda movie before the United States has entered World War II. The two pieces of cinema become tied together, with many of the same weaknesses and strengths. But the film succeeds with a smart script, and positive outlook for humanity in tough times that resonates in 2017. Bill Nighy plays an oblivious actor. Rated R. 117 minutes. — Peter Hartlaub