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Born in China A documentary from Disneynature filmed in the wilds of China and focusing on animal life including a mother and baby panda and a golden snub-nosed monkey. Not reviewed. Rated G. 66 minutes.
The Boss Baby “Madagascar” director Tom McGrath returns with a satisfying animated comedy about a corporate baby (voiced by Alec Baldwin) making life miserable for a 7-year-old boy. But there are distracting side plots — and side plots to the side plots — that keep the movie from rising to greatness. Rated PG. 97 minutes.
— P. Hartlaub
Buster’s Mal Heart Writer-director Sarah Adina Smith gives this feature mood and atmosphere, and its story, about a workingclass husband and father cracking under the economic strain, has some points of interest. But the movie degenerates into vagueness and obscurity in its last laugh. Still, it has something. Not rated. 96 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary The fast pace, loose structure and constant superlatives of this well-produced John Coltrane documentary offer more for the already converted than for newcomers. “Chasing Trane” celebrates its subject with great passion — interviewees include Bill Clinton and Common — but it often feels like walking in late into a good party. Not rated. 97 minutes. — P. Hartlaub
The Circle As chilling as any horror film and even more disturbing because the world it depicts is so close to our own, this is a dystopian vision of what could happen to human interaction if the big tech companies have their way. Based on Dave Eggars’ novel and starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks. Rated PG-13. 110 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City This documentary is a good introduction to the life and work of writer and urban activist Jane Jacobs, focusing on her epic battle with New York planning czar Robert Moses. Moses was the embodiment of the slashand-burn urban renewal policies that disrupted many lives in the middle of the last century. The story of how Jacobs won the war has been told many times, and this film can only skim the surface — but it still has value. Not rated. 92 minutes. — W. Addiego
Colossal Nacho Vigalondo wrote and directed this exceptionally imaginative highwire act, about a young woman who notices that every time she has an alcoholic binge, a monster acts Seoul, Korea. The movie doesn’t retreat into metaphor but stays wild and imaginative. Starring Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis. Rated R. 110 minutes. — M. LaSalle
David Lynch: The Art Life David Lynch hasn’t made a new nondocumentary feature since 2006 but is back in the news for reviving his groundbreaking TV series, “Twin Peaks.” This documentary focuses on his early life and training in the
visual arts, up to the time of his breaksthrough film, “Eraserhead.” We also see him at work today on art projects. The film is mainly for Lynch aficionados, who will appreciate how it hints at the origins of the darkness that permeates his work. Not rated. 90 minutes.
— W. Addiego
The Dinner This psychological drama, in which four people struggle with family matters at a high-end restaurant, features excellent acting, though the film bites off more subplots than it can chew. Rated R. 120 minutes. — D. Lewis
The Fate of the Furious In this latest installment of the “Fast & Furious” action franchise, Dominic (Vin Diesel) falls prey to the machinations of an unscrupulous new lover (Charlize Theron). This new film is a welcome return to the series’ true, silly nature. Rated PG-13. 136 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Finding Oscar This is hard to watch, but it’s a worthy documentary depicting horrors most Americans don’t know about, specifically the 1982 massacre of a small town by Guatemalan soldiers. The movie tells that story and also that of a young boy who survived. Not rated. 94 minutes. In English and in Spanish with English subtitles.
— M. LaSalle
Free Fire A wild exercise in cinematic excess that amounts to 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. — W. Addiego
Get Out This first film from director Jordan Peele is very much a product of 2017, a comic horror film about a young black man (Daniel Kaluuya) who goes with his new girlfriend (Allison Williams) on a visit to her parents’ house. It’s a funny and unsettling mix of paranoia and a comic awareness of its own paranoia, and it’s irresistible. Rated R. 103 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Gifted This modest, well-made film overcomes — or rather skirts around — the cliches associated with math geniuses in the movies, with this story of a 7-year-old math prodigy (Mckenna Grace) being raised by her uncle in Florida. Rated PG-13. 101 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 This second installment improves on the first by concentrating on the comedy. It’s like a post-modern take on the sci-fi action film genre, with Kurt Russell showing up this time as Ego, the long-lost father of Peter (Chris Pratt). It’s a pretty good action movie, but it’s also one of the funniest movies of the season. Rated PG-13. 138 minutes.
— M. LaSalle The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki This Finnish drama about real-life boxing contender Olli Maki is a touching spin on the sports movie — a film for people who appreciated the Rocky/Adrian relationship more than the Rocky/Apollo Creed bout. There will be no rousing finish in the ring, but the light human drama adequately compensates. Not rated. 92 minutes. In Finnish with English subtitles.
— P. Hartlaub
I Called Him Morgan Kasper Collin’s compelling documentary details the rise and fall of jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, and the
complex story of his wife, Helen, who saved him from a heroin habit only to kill him just as he had made it to the top again. It has all the elements of great tragedy, and it is a unique and invigorating portrait of the New York jazz scene, circa 1956-72. Not rated. 93 minutes.
— G. Allen Johnson
Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent
From director Lydia Tenaglia, this is a well-made documentary about the celebrity chef, one of the originators of California cuisine and of the legendary Stars restaurant. Tower is a complicated figure and makes for fascinating viewing. Rated R. 115 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Logan
The ninth appearance by Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in 17 years takes a massive tone shift from the relatively bloodless earlier X-Men films, going berserk in its own moody and ultra-violent direction. Jackman and director James Mangold create something great here, upsetting comic book norms without losing entertainment value. Rated R. 141 minutes. — P. Hartlaub
The Lost City of Z
The British explorer Percy Fawcett becomes the subject for this very long story of a man who didn’t accomplish much. It’s about Fawcett’s journeys to South America in search of artifacts of a lost civilization. It stars Charlie Hunnam as the driven explorer and Sienna Miller as the wife who saw him every few years. Directed by James Gray. Rated PG-13. 141 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
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.
— M. LaSalle
The Promise This film tries to tell the story of the Armenian genocide in Turkey during World War I, but the fictional tale, involving Oscar Isaac as a medical student torn between two women, undercuts the seriousness of the subject. It’s a respectable attempt, and it has its moments, but it ultimately fails. Rated PG-13. 132 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
A Quiet Passion This so-so biopic charts the sad decline of Emily Dickinson from a bright, capable youth to an embittered, rancorous older woman. Despite a good cast (Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Ehle) and a good director (Terence Davies), there’s a heavyhandedness that disappoints. Rated PG-13. 125 minutes. — W. Addiego
Risk This fascinating documentary offers remarkable access to Wikileaks chief Julian Assange, and though it’s not a narrative masterpiece, it’s must-see viewing. Not rated. 84 minutes.
— D. Lewis
Smurfs: The Lost Village This animated reboot featuring the troll-like Smurfs has none of the bathroom humor or darkness of the recent live action movies. Smurfette even gets a storyline that borders on female empowerment. Sadly, almost all of this goodwill is wasted on a film that simply isn’t very well-written, imaginative or memorable. Rated PG. 91 minutes. — P. Hartlaub
Summer Wars Japanese animated tale of a teen math prodigy recruited by a girl to pose as her boyfriend. Not reviewed. Rated PG. 114 minutes. In Japanese with English subtitles.
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. Rated R. 117 minutes.
— P. Hartlaub
Tomorrow This French environmental documentary has a bit more polish and vitality than what’s become the norm for the genre. The film travels the world looking at global warming, food production and the like, offering possible answers that often focus on decentralization and bottom-up decisionmaking. Co-directed by activist Cyril Dion and actress Melanie Laurent. Not rated. 118 minutes. In French, English and Hindi with English subtitles.
— W. Addiego
Truman This best picture winner at Spain’s Goya Awards (the Spanish Oscars) stars Ricardo Darin and Javier Camara as two friends reunited in Barcelona when one falls seriously ill. It’s a brilliant film, beautifully acted. Rated R. 108 minutes. In Spanish with English subtitles. — M. LaSalle
Unforgettable This purported drama about a scorned woman who tries to destroy her ex-husband’s fiancee is a perversely entertaining showcase of deliciously awful acting, memorably putrid lines and laughout-loud set pieces. Whether intended or not, it’s an instant camp classic. With Rosario Dawson and Katherine Heigl. Rated R. 100 minutes.
— D. Lewis
Your Name What starts out as a “Freaky Friday”type body exchange between high school kids — a rural village girl and a Tokyo boy — becomes a rumination on time travel, cataclysmic fate, rural-urban dynamics and, of course, a love story in novelistturned-director Makoto Shinkai’s anime, which is more Miyazaki than “Ghost in the Shell. Rated PG. 106 minutes.
— G. Allen Johnson The Zookeeper’s Wife Jessica Chastain and Flemish actor Johan Heldenbergh are brilliant as Antonina and Jan Zabinski, a Polish couple who used their zoo in Warsaw as a transit point for rescuing Polish Jews from the Warsaw ghetto. This is a humane and extremely wellmade film from director Niki Caro. Rated PG-13. 124 minutes.
— M. LaSalle