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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
A Bad Moms Christmas
This rushed sequel to “Bad Moms” (2016) feels more like a financial decision than an artistic mandate. And yet, through all its plot and editing problems, the comedy does deliver a lot of laughs — with a trio of bad grandmothers joining bad moms Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Kathryn Hahn. Icy and disapproving Christine Baranski stands out among the newcomers. Rated R. 117 minutes. — P. Hartlaub
Bill Nye: Science Guy
Bill Nye has transformed himself from zany kids show host to a passionate defender of science who makes his case with a sense of urgency. This documentary focuses mainly on his work regarding climate change, and some of the most intriguing sequences are his debates with creationist Ken Ham. There’s some personal material as well, including Nye’s fear of inheriting a debilitating disease and the effects of fame on his personal life. Not rated. 101 minutes. — W. Addiego
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
Brimstone and Glory
Though only 67 minutes, this documentary feels padded, though the subject is bizarre enough — a Mexican town that practically blows itself up every year at its annual fireworks festival. Not rated. 67 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Daddy’s Home 2
This sequel to the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg comedy brings in Mel Gibson and John Lithgow as grandparents; inspired casting ruined by a weak script. The plot relies on contrived conflicts, too many of which involve Ferrell’s character creating a disaster while using power tools. Audiences will yearn for the holiday slapstick subtlety of the “Home Alone” burglars. Rated PG-13. 100 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.
Gilbert Warm-hearted and funny, this documentary shows the quiet family man behind Gilbert Gottfried’s obnoxious comic persona. Gottfried does not reveal all, but enough that he no longer is just that guy whose presence on TV makes you immediately want to change the channel. Not rated. 94 minutes. .
— C. Meyer God’s Own Country This stirring, heartfelt drama, about the romance between an emotionally stifled English sheep farmer and an irrepressible Romanian migrant worker, is profoundly moving and captures the harsh yet beautiful moors. It’s why we go to the movies. Not rated. 104 minutes. — D. Lewis
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 re-live 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
Heal Documentary about how thoughts, beliefs and emotions affect people’s health. Directed by Kelly Noonan Gores. Not reviewed. Not rated. 106 minutes.
Hello Again A film based on the stage musical “Hello Again” by Michael John LaChiusa, recounting love affairs conducted at various times in New York City. With Martha Plimpton, Sam Underwood. Not reviewed. Not rated. 105 minutes.
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
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 Jade Pendant This melodrama, about Chinese immigrants in 1870s America, unabashedly pans for melodrama as if it were gold. It’s sometimes laughable, but it’s not boring. Not rated. 106 minutes. In English and Mandarin with English subtitles. — D. Lewis
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. . — 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.
Justice League DC Comics’ answer to the Avengers is a pretty ridiculous crew, in which Superman can do everything, the others can do little, and Batman can only stand there and get beaten up. Wonder Woman lifts the proceedings somewhat, thanks to her powers of indeterminate capacity and Gal Gadot’s face, which is more effective in close-up than all of the movie’s obvious-looking computer graphics. Rated PG-13. 119 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
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
LA 92 Powerful documentary about the riots in Los Angeles that followed the verdicts in the Rodney King beating case uses entirely archival footage, with no narrator or modern “expert” to give perspective. And that’s the right choice for this immersive gut-punch of a film that will have you questioning the social justice system. Rated R. 114 minutes.
— G. Allen Johnson
Lady Bird Greta Gerwig’s debut as a solo writer-director is this unconventional coming-ofage tale about an extroverted high school senior (Saoirse Ronan), clashing with her mother and wanting to leave her native Sacramento. This is a warm, good-hearted, intuitive movie that could be the start of an exceptional filmmaking career. Rated R. 94 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Last Flag Flying Richard Linklater’s film about Vietnam veterans reuniting to bury one of their sons, killed in Iraq, has some heartfelt, indelible moments, but the movie burns out within an hour and goes on for two. Rated PG-13. 100 minutes. — M. LaSalle
LBJ Weirdly structured and seemingly purposeless, the movie is somewhat redeemed by its subject, though watching it is like watching some crazy revisionist history that imagines what America might be like were Woody Harrelson the 36th president. A wacky, but likable misfire. Directed by Rob Reiner. Rated R. 98 minutes.
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 routine while coming to terms with his mortality. With appearances by David Lynch, Ron Livingston, Ed Begley Jr., Tom Skerritt, 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
Mudbound Filmmaker Dee Rees’ look at two families — one white, one black — living on a farm in the 1940s Jim Crow South is tense, immersive and ultimately as brutal as it is intimate. There are standout performances throughout, but Jason Mitchell and Garrett Hedlund are particularly good as just-returned World War II soldiers who forge a friendship. Rated R. 134 minutes..
— C. Meyer
Murder on the Orient Express This adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel has virtues that the original film lacks, including a more powerful opening, a stronger ending, a more engaging Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh, who also directed) and a powerhouse performance by Michelle Pfeiffer. It’s solid old-fashioned entertainment. Rated PG-13. 114 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
My Friend Dahmer Based on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s high school classmate John “Derf” Backderf’s graphic novel, this film focuses on Dahmer’s teenage years, emphasizing a thoughtful nurture-vs.-nature argument rather than prurient details. But filmmaker Marc Meyers does not come down strongly enough on either side — nature or nurture — to establish the film as particularly trenchant, or necessary, with Dahmer’s story having been told often elsewhere. Rated R. 107 minutes..
— C. Meyer
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
Nails Horror film about a woman paralyzed in an accident who is tormented in her hospital room by an evil ghost. Not reviewed. Not rated. 85 minutes.
Novitiate Easily one of the best movies of the year, this story of young nuns in training, set in a cloistered convent in 1964, features five — count ’em, five — knockout performances, though Melissa Leo takes the prize as the mother superior. Rated R. 123 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
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 battled 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
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.
The Square This Swedish satire of the mindless relativism that has infected modern art and thought is a study in how to make audiences feel unsettled — and keep them interested — for over two hours. The satire ultimately loses some of its pointedness, but this is a different and interesting film. In English and Swedish with English subtitles. Starring Claes Bang and Elisabeth Moss. Rated R. 142 minutes. — M. LaSalle
The Star Animated story of the first Christmas as seen through the eyes of the animals that witnessed Jesus’ birth. Not reviewed. Rated PG. 86 minutes.
Thor: Ragnarok The best of the “Thor” movies, this returns to the light, fun spirit of the original, while bringing on the blockbuster action sequences. The movie is funny, with strong turns from Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Hopkins as the King, and especially Cate Blanchett, who eats up the scenery as the Goddess of Death. Rated PG-13. 130 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,
Missouri Frances McDormand has one of her career-best showcases as a woman, mourning the murder of her daughter, who tries to prod the local police by renting three billboards criticizing them for their slow investigation. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh, the movie is both funny and sad, with brilliant performances by McDormand and by Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson as local policemen. Rated R. 115 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Tom of Finland This Finnish film about the renowned gay artist who helped create the leather culture and empower the gay community in the 1950s and ’60s is sensitively told. Fascinating figure. The film, while solid, is something you could take your straight grandmother to. Not rated. 116 minutes. In Finnish and English with English subtitles.
— G. Allen Johnson
Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea
Halloween The latest of Tyler Perry’s Madea comedies is a follow-up to last year’s “Boo! A Madea Halloween.” Not reviewed. Rated PG-13. 101 minutes.
Victoria and Abdul An unknown chapter of history is brought to light in this story of the elderly Queen Victoria’s friendship with an Indian clerk and the jealousies this provoked in the royal household. The motives of the clerk remain obscured, but the movie is very good at illuminating the inner life of a queen in her final days. Rated PG-13. 112 minutes.
— M. LaSalle Wait for Your Laugh This documentary is a well-deserved and enjoyable love letter to Rose Marie, a great entertainer of the old school. Known today mostly for her TV work (“The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Hollywood Squares”), the film traces her career all the way back to when she was a child star, “Baby Rose Marie,” singing on radio. Now 94, she’s still full of pizzazz. Not rated. 85 minutes.
— W. Addiego
Wonder Based on the bestseller, this is the story of a boy born with an odd face who must endure the trauma of going to school, in this heartfelt and surprisingly unsentimental film. Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson play the parents, but the real standout is Izabel Vidovic as the boy’s sister. Rated PG. 113 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Wonderstruck The latest from director Todd Haynes, which intercuts two stories, one set in 1927 and the other in 1977, each involving a deaf child exploring Manhattan, had interesting cinematic possibilities. But despite some winning moments, this is the movie equivalent of knockout drops, a movie that almost resists being watched. Starring Julianne Moore. Based on the book by Brian Selznick. Rated PG. 117 minutes.
— M. LaSalle