WORTH SEEING
Which Movies to Watch This Weekend
Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Mark Hamill takes the all-time “Star Wars” acting prize, as a jaded man confronting a life of failure, in this latest installment, in which Luke Skywalker (Hamill) is asked by the new guard to lead the Resistance. At a certain point some battle fatigue settles in, but this is an appealing entry in the series. PG-13. 152 minutes. (The print review appeared in the Wednesday, Dec. 13, Datebook section. To read online, go to SFGate.com or SFChronicle.com.) — Mick LaSalle Coco: Pixar’s new Dia de los Muertosthemed animated movie crams the first sequences with exposition, and then takes a colorful yet light spin through the Land of the Dead. But everything is leading up to a powerhouse finish. The success of this final act, and the way it transforms the entire film, is remarkable. A strong second movie from “Toy Story 3” director Lee Unkrich is one of Pixar’s better productions. Rated PG. 105 minutes.
— Peter Hartlaub Darkest Hour: Gary Oldman gives the performance of his career as Winston Churchill, fighting to rally his country and inspire a war Cabinet bent on surrender, in this dramatic study of a crucial month during World War II. If Oldman doesn’t win an Oscar for this, something is very wrong around here. Rated PG-13. 125 minutes. — Mick LaSalle The Disaster Artist: This fact-based comedy, about two friends and the making of a self-financed movie in Los Angeles (“The Room”), is the funniest movie in a year of funny movies, with James Franco, who also directed, as Tommy Wiseau, a bizarre and talentless actor who decides to write and direct his own starring vehicle. Costarring Dave Franco, and with Seth Rogen in a featured role, the movie is side-splitting. Rated R. 103 minutes.
— Mick LaSalle The Shape of Water: Visually brilliant and psychologically strange, this Guillermo del Toro film, starring Sally Hawkins, is essentially about the power of love, but it functions as another of its director’s indulgences in cruelty, with Michael Shannon as a sadistic government agent. Still, the set design and cinematographer make this film impossible to dismiss. Rated R. 123 minutes.
— Mick LaSalle