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with finding and destroying older, disobedient replicants. Harrison Ford co-stars. Rated R. 164 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
Chavela
This wonderful documentary pays tribute to Mexican singer Chavela Vargas, who became a queer icon and challenged gender stereotypes in her country. It’s a complex portrait and a nuanced look at Mexican society. Not rated. 91 minutes. — D. Lewis
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
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 thick-skulled men. A fitting companion to the Chavezfocused 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
Friend Request
Horror thriller about a popular college student who accepts a friend request that forces her to deal with a demonic presence. Not reviewed. Rated R. 92 minutes.
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
Ingrid Goes West
Ingrid is an Internet stalker, and she goes West to wangle her way into the life of her latest obsession, an Instagram celebrity. Aubrey Plaza is very funny but also emotionally connected and creepy/sympathetic as Ingrid, in this well-observed comic examination of the effects of social media on actual social life. Rated R. 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
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
Loving Vincent
This animation tells a story about the aftermath of Vincent Van Gogh’s death through the visual idiom of his paintings, and for 10 or 15 this is one of the greatest animated films ever made. But it goes on for another 80 minutes, and the movie suffers from a weak, flat narrative. Rated PG-13. 95 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Lucky
This is an affecting love letter to the late character actor Harry Dean Stanton, who portrays the title character, a cantankerous nonagenarian living in a tiny desert town who shuffles through his daily
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
Better Watch Out
Horror “comedy” about a deranged 12-year-old boy features a script that feels like it was written by a deranged 12-year-old boy. He (Levi Miller) ties up his babysitter (Olivia DeJonge) for torture and revenge on Christmas Eve while mom and dad (Virginia Madsen, Patrick Warburton) are at a party. If this is how you get your jollies, then ho ho ho. Rated R. 88 minutes. — G. Allen Johnson
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
Blade Runner 2049
Long and slow but never boring, this sequel to the 1982 sci-fi staple is a somber rumination on what it means to be human, with a story of a replicant LAPD officer (Ryan Gosling) charged