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All I See Is You This psychological drama, about a blind woman who regains her sight and subsequently views her marriage much differently, takes a promising concept and turns it into a boring, artsy experiment. Rated R. 110 minutes.
— D. Lewis
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
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
Bending the Arc This rousing documentary concerns medical students who went on to redefine health care on a global scale. It’s a feel-good story about how to overcome barriers — poverty, lack of medical access — even when the challenges are inherently bleak. Not rated. 102 minutes.
— D. Lewis
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 with finding and destroying older, disobedient replicants. Harrison Ford co-stars. Rated R. 164 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
BPM (Beats Per Minute) French director Robin Campillo directed and co-wrote this visceral memory piece about a period in the early ’90s when he worked with ACT UP in Paris. A little long-winded and ultimately monotonous, it’s nonetheless a powerful film that takes audiences back to that era with directness and immediacy. Not rated. 143 minutes. In French with English subtitles. — M. LaSalle
Breathe This is the story of Robin Cavendish, an active 28-year-old man who, in the 1950s, was stricken with such a awful case of polio that he was completely incapacitated from the neck down and couldn’t breathe without a respirator. Not the most cheerful subject for a mostly cheerful movie, the film is watchable and even likable, though the happy gloss it puts on things seems far-fetched. Starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy. Rated PG-13. 117 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Dina This compelling documentary follows the marriage preparations, and working out of potential marital issues, of a middle-aged couple, both of whom are on the autistic spectrum. It’s a well-made piece, neither precious nor exploitative, that gets us rooting for the pair’s success. The film won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year Not rated. 101 minutes. — W. Addiego
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 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
Faces Places This may be the final film of Agnes Varda, one of the last surviving members of the French New Wave. It documents her tour of small and rural French towns in the company of a much younger artist (she’s 89), named JR, during which they photographed working-class people and posted huge, blown-up images of them on local structures. It’s good to spend time with Varda, Rated PG. 89 minutes. In French with English subtitles. — W. Addiego
The Florida Project This has a strong opening and a terrific finish, with 40 dead minutes in the middle. But it’s so original and so well-done when it’s working — a brilliant portrait of childhood as experienced inside a poverty motel in Orlando — that it’s hard to imagine anyone forgetting it. Rated R. 115 minutes. — M. LaSalle
The Foreigner Jackie Chan is ideally cast as a little aging fellow, living in London, whose daughter’s death turns him into a somersaulting, fist-flying killing machine. This is one of the most satisfying action movies since “Taken.” Co-starring Pierce Brosnan. Rated R. 114 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Geostorm Sci-fi thriller about a network of satellites launching an attack against Earth by creating a worldwide storm. With Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish. Not reviewed. Rated PG-13. 109 minutes.
Goodbye Christopher Robin This is a beautiful and sometimes painful movie about the creation and consequences of “Winnie-the-Pooh,” a grand success that ended up disturbing the childhood of its inspiration, Christopher Robin Milne, son of “Pooh” author A.A. Milne. Directed by Simon Curtis (“My Week With Marilyn”). Rated PG. 107 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Happy Death Day “Halloween” meets “Groundhog Day” in this tame slasher movie about an obnoxious sorority sister who must relive the day of her murder. Lots of so-so joshery about college life, a big mawkish moment and a redemptive theme make this strictly mall fodder. Rated PG-13. 96 minutes. — W. Addiego
Human Flow Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei doesn’t break any new ground in his documentary about the global refugee crisis, but he manages, in simple, artistic terms, to vividly illustrate the scale of the problem. Rated PG-13. 140 minutes. — D. Lewis
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
Jane Using previously unseen footage stored for more than 50 years in National Geographic’s archive, this documentary offers a close-up, extraordinary look at Jane Goodall’s pioneering work with chimpanzees in 1960s Tanzania. The film wraps up too quickly and neatly, but that does not make the Tanzania footage less exquisite. Rated PG. 90 minutes. Reviewed by C. Meyer
Jigsaw Horror thriller about a series of gruesome killings and the suspected killer, a man known as Jigsaw who has been dead 10 years. The movie is part of the “Saw” franchise. Not reviewed. Rated R. 92 minutes.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer Interesting and very low-key horror film, with Colin Farrell as an emotionally disconnected, flawed heart surgeon whose family becomes terrorized by a malevolent and destructive force. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. Rated R. 121 minutes. — M. LaSalle
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 minutes 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 routine while coming to terms with his mortality. With appearances by David Lynch, Ron Livingston, Ed Begley Jr., Tom Skerrit, Beth Grant and James Darren. Not rated. 88 minutes.
— W. Addiego
Marshall Chadwick Boseman plays the coolest guy in the world, who just happens to be future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, shown here as a young man in one of his earliest cases. This is a terrific courtroom drama and also a satisfying buddy movie, with Josh Gad as Marshall’s co-counsel and temperamental opposite. Rated PG-13. 118 minutes. — M. LaSalle
The Mountain Between Us Idris Elba and Kate Winslet are in a plane crash that strands them in the snowy mountains with little hope of rescue, and that’s kind of how the audience feels. The
actors are appealing, but the movie drags, though the last 20 minutes almost redeem the experience. Rated PG-13. 109 minutes. — M. LaSalle
My Little Pony: The Movie This rainbowhued animated pony movie is well-intentioned, but filled with low production values. Putting the words “The Movie” in the title turns out to be a necessary reminder. The film looks like the cable network cartoon, simply expanded to larger physical dimensions for the big screen. Rated PG. 99 minutes. — P. Hartlaub
Only the Brave The ensemble drama rises to challenges it never knew it was going to face — solidly honoring frontline firefighters like the ones who battles the North Bay fires, while detailing the risks they take. The film is mainstream entertainment, but it’s also boldly staged, with an inventive and informative approach to action filmmaking. Jennifer Connelly and Miles Teller stand out in the solid cast. Rated PG-13. 133 minutes.
— P. Hartlaub
The Paris Opera Jean-Stephane Bron’s fly-onthe-wall documentary follows the first season of the 348-year-old institution under new director Stephane Lissner. There are rehearsals, office meetings, auditions, costume fittings, and, up to a point, backstage intrigue, but not a ton of actual opera. Still, it has its moments. For opera fans only. Not rated. 110 minutes.
— G. Allen Johnson
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women The unconventional lives of the people behind the creation of Wonder Woman are the focus of this satisfying three-way romantic drama, about Professor Marston (Luke Evans) and his long relationship with his wife, Elizabeth (a brilliant Rebecca Hall) and a former student (Bella Heathcote). Rated R. 108 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Rat Film A documentary that uses rats to explore the history of Baltimore. Written and directed by Theo Anthony. Not reviewed. Not rated. 82 minutes.
Rebel in the Rye Writer-director Danny Strong profiles “Catcher in the Rye” author J.D. Salinger (Nicholas Hoult) during the writer’s formative years, from dating Oona O’Neill (Eugene’s daughter), getting advice from writing mentor Whit Burnett (Kevin Spacey), fighting in World War II and publishing an instant American classic. Interesting film with many pleasures, but Strong never arrives at an understanding of a man who didn’t want to be understood. Rated PG-13. 106 minutes. — G. Allen Johnson
Serenade for Haiti This documentary, about a Port-au-Prince music center, is a film in search of a story, but it still provides a fascinating slice of life from an island state that Americans have traditionally ignored. Not rated. 70 minutes. In Creole and French with English subtitles. — D. Lewis
The Snowman Boring and incoherent, this is a slow, dull, prurient film about a serial killer, going around severing the heads of female victims. The movie stars Michael Fassbender as a veteran detective, but benefits mainly from the performance of Rebecca Ferguson as a young investigator. But nothing and no one could save this botched, ugly mess. Rated R. 119 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Suburbicon It’s the worst of both worlds as the zany outlandishness of a Coen Brothers screenplay meets the liberal earnestness of George Clooney’s direction, and the result is something