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American Assassin

What the film lacks in sense, it makes up for in blunt force entertainment. The muscular spy thriller is dumb, jingoistic and mostly forgettable. It’s also escapist, fun and features Michael Keaton capable of killing people with his bare hands. Know what you’re getting into and you might have some fun. Rated R. 95 minutes. — P. Hartlaub

American Made

The movie’s light, breezy tone doesn’t quite seem right — or even make sense — for this story of a TWA pilot turned drug smuggler in the 1980s. Still, Tom Cruise is his own quality control, so the movie is brisk and entertaining, anyway. Rated R. 115 minutes. — M. LaSalle

Baby Driver

Edgar Wright’s action movie, starring Ansel Elgort as a talented young getaway driver, is propulsive and fun, full of surprises and delights. The gimmick of a very pervasive soundtrack wears a bit, but this is an entertaining genre movie. Rated R. 113 minutes. — M. LaSalle

Battle of the Sexes

This dramatic feature about the 1973 tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King and the events leading up to it is a well-acted, breezy immersion into another time and consciousness, with Steve Carell especially brilliant in the way he captures Riggs strange, vulnerable appeal. Rated PG-13. 121 minutes.

— M. LaSalle

Beach Rats

This bold, masterful character study concerns an aimless 19-year-old in Brooklyn who is struggling with his homosexuality. It’s not the feel-good movie of the year, but it’s one of the most exquisitely haunting LGBT coming-of-age stories ever told. Rated R. 97 minutes.

— D. Lewis

The Big Sick

Kumail Nanjiani co-wrote (with his wife, Emily V. Gordon) and stars in this romantic comedy, based on his own life, about a romance that is interrupted by the woman’s getting sick and falling into a coma. Funny, unexpected,

human and appealing, it features winning performances by Nanjiani and especially Zoe Kazan, who is asleep for most of the film. Rated R. 120 minutes. — M. LaSalle

Brad’s Status

Surprisingly insightful and moving film from writer-director Mike White about a middle-class man (Ben Stiller) reflecting on his unsatisfying life as he takes his high school son on an East Coast tour of prospective colleges. Funny and sad, it will hit close to home for many. Rated R. 102 minutes. — G. Allen Johnson

Columbus

This gem of a romantic dramedy, about a translator stuck in a small Indiana town, beautifully illuminates not only the local architecture but also the characters that inhabit it. The film has a quiet wavelength all of its own, but thanks to excellent directing and acting, that wavelength always remains accessible. Not rated. 100 minutes. — D. Lewis

Despicable Me 3

The latest installment in the juggernaut series, about an ex-villain who now chases super-villains, has cute characters, some clever set-pieces and dazzling animation, but this time around, the story appears to have been lost in the shuffle. It’s competent, but rather joyless. Rated PG. 90 minutes. — D. Lewis

Dolores

This Peter Bratt documentary about labor leader Dolores Huerta is always solid. But the film soars when it shows the cost of the activist’s dedication, exacerbated by what now can be clearly seen as thickskulled men. A fitting companion to the Chavez-focused 1997 PBS documentary “The Fight in the Fields.” It also makes a fine double feature with “Wonder Woman. Not rated. 96 minutes.

— P. Hartlaub

Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan’s career-best film tells the story of World War II’s harrowing Dunkirk evacuation as experienced on land, sea and air. It’s inspired filmmaking from the first frame. Rated PG-13. 107 minutes. — M. LaSalle

The Fencer

This feelgood, heart-tugging film is basically an Estonian “Hoosiers” — a true story set in a 1950s small town, a coach with a mysterious past (in this case, with Soviet police on his tail) arrives to shape a rag-tag bunch of kids into tournament contenders. It’s a winner here, too. Not rated. 99 minutes. In Estonian, Russian and Armenian with English subtitles. — G. Allen Johnson

Flatliners

Horror drama about medical students who experiment with briefly stopping their hearts so they can experience the afterlife. With Ellen Page and Diego Luna. Not reviewed. Rated PG-13. 108 minutes.

The Force

Peter Nicks, who made the excellent 2012 “The Waiting Room” documentary about Oakland’s Highland Hospital, is back with a parachute drop into the middle of the city’s police department — its struggles, its scandals and its continued slog toward reform. Excellent verite filmmaking and a civic service. Not rated. 93 minutes. — P. Hartlaub

The Hitman’s Bodyguard

This is a pleasing action comedy, starring Samuel L. Jackson, as a hit man who needs to be escorted to the Hague (to testify in court) and the bodyguard assigned to protect him (Ryan Reynolds). Jackson and Reynolds make a good pair, and they get strong comic support by Salma Hayek, as Jackson’s impossibly profane, assertive wife. Rated R. 118 minutes. — M. LaSalle

Home Again

This Reese Witherspoon rom-com is the unalloyed product of the Hollywood sausage grinder.

An L.A. single mom just turning 40 winds up giving refuge to three young guys trying to crack the movie business. It’s hard to take the problems of these privileged types seriously, and the movie feels desanitized and defanged. The film is the directing debut of Hallie Meyers-Shyer, daughter of veteran moviemakers Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer. Rated PG-13. 97 minutes.

— W. Addiego

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to

Power Al Gore is back with a compelling update to his 2006 documentary about climate change. The film gives the latest in scientific research while following Gore on his worldwide crusade that includes a decisive visit to Paris during the Paris Agreement negotiations. Rated PG. 98 minutes. — M. LaSalle

It Even if it didn’t have the homicidal clown and sink spewing blood and missing children getting yanked into sewers, what remains here would still be an engaging movie. This horror remake based on Stephen King’s book is smart and funny and makes great effort to capture not just a time and place, but the specific feelings of being on the verge of adulthood and thinking the world is against you. Rated R. 135 minutes. — P. Hartlaub

The King’s Choice This is a stirring, well-made, old-school historical drama about the Norwegian king’s response to German military aggression in April, 1940. The film sees the king, nicely played by Jesper Christensen, as a heroic figure, and there are a couple of impressive battle scenes. Not rated. 135 minutes. In Norwegian with English subtitles.

— W. Addiego

Kingsman: The Golden

Circle For all its breathless action, mind-boggling gadgets and stylized fight sequences, nothing much happens in this belabored comic-book spy caper. It’s a sequel trying to set up the next sequel. Rated R. 141 minutes.

— D. Lewis

Leap! The Canadaproduced film has an appealing core — a sort of animated ballet version of “The Karate Kid,” with a young orphan girl who is easy to like. But every other part of the movie seems to be working in concert to sabotage the effort. The slapstick and modern pop music soundtrack distract, but don’t completely ruin “Leap! Rated PG. 89 minutes.

— P. Hartlaub

The Lego Ninjago

Movie “Lego Ninjago” is its best — and funniest — when it centers on the absurd human drama between the two main characters, ninja Lloyd and his oblivious and evil father, Lord Garmadon. Much of the rest of the film feels like an effort to sell toys. Still amusing, but the Lego movies are suffering from diminishing returns. Rated PG. 100 minutes. — P. Hartlaub

Logan Lucky It’s good director Steven Soderbergh is back, and it might even be good he got this one out of his system, a tiresome, overlong heist comedy about a pair of brothers who put together a plan to rob NASCAR of its box office take. But you don’t need to see it. Starring Channing Tatum and Adam Driver. Rated PG-13. 119 minutes. — M. LaSalle

Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards In this lush and loving new biography of famed shoemaker Manolo Blahnik, the subject comes to life most when exploring his incredible 50 years in fashion. Personal revelations are few, but the parade of celebrities, industry luminaries and fanciful footwear make the documentary immensely watchable for