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Clarke), in this reenactment of Kennedy’s tragic accident (resulting in the death of a young woman) and the subsequent coverup. This is a low-key film that eschews scandal mongering, but it will appeal to people interested in a straight dramatization of the known facts. Rated PG-13. 101 minutes. — M. LaSalle
The Death of Stalin Hilarious, but not in a laugh-out-loud way, this comic retelling of Stalin’s death and the ensuing power struggle is told from the standpoint of the Central Committee, with a fretting, befuddled Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) going up against the ruthless, depraved Beria (Simon Russell Beale). It’s a very original and successful comedy from director Armando Iannucci. Rated R. 106 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
A Fantastic Woman Chilean trans actress Daniela Vega delivers a stunning performance as a trans singer named Marina Vidal whose older lover (Francisco Reyes) dies suddenly. She battles grief, but more to the point, hatred from her lover’s family out to erase her from their late husband and father’s memory. Director Sebastián Lelio does a solid job with a somewhat predictable script, but Vega elevates the film to
fantastic heights. Rated R. 103 minutes. — D. Wiegand
Final Portrait Alberto Giacometti’s final painting was of the American writer James Lord, and Stanley Tucci’s film attempts to dramatize the event, but there’s not much to dramatize. This is just the kind of thing that led to the cliche about watching paint dry. Starring Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer. Rated R. 90 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Finding Your Feet It starts out caustic, then quickly turns sentimental and loses its comic edge, but this story of an upperclass woman (Imelda Stubbs), who finds herself living with her free-spirited sister following the breakup of her marriage, has its moments, thanks to its strong cast, which also includes Celia Imrie and Timothy Spall. Rated PG-13. 111 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Flower This dark comedy, about a teenage girl who’s too sexually advanced for her own good, is clearly not everyone’s idea of a bouquet, but it’s highly entertaining in its own brutal way. The plot twists run amok in the second half, yet it doesn’t dim the star-making performance
of Zoey Deutch. Rated R. 90 minutes. — D. Lewis
Foxtrot Israeli filmmaker Samuel Maoz consistently surprises with this movie, winner of Israel’s top film award for 2017. It moves from a serious portrait of the grief of an urban-dwelling father (the excellent Lior Ashkenazi) to an absurdist look at remote desert military checkpoint where most traffic comes from camels. Although the pieces are too disparate to hang together completely, the film always engages. Rated R. 112 minutes. In Hebrew with English subtitles. — C. Meyer
Gemini A morally empty, downbeat Los Angeles noir about a personal assistant (Lola Kirke, “Mozart in the Jungle”), the No. 1 suspect in the murder of her bratty movie-star boss (Zoë Kravitz), trying to clear her name as a homicide detective (John Cho) closes in. Writer-director Aaron Katz’s strategy seems to be exposing Hollywood as a fake, soulless place by making a authentically soulless movie. Rated R. 93 minutes.
— G. Allen Johnson
Have a Nice Day Liu Jian’s Chinese animated noir about a bag of stolen money and the lowlifes drawn into its orbit is visually
interesting in its depiction of a small industrialized town and its hardscrabble citizens, but it’s slow moving with a paperthin screenplay. Not rated. 77 minutes. In Mandarin Chinese with subtitles.
— G. Allen Johnson
I, Tonya Craig Gillespie delvers a tonally brilliant mix of caustic comedy and genuine pathos in this uncompromising story of Tonya Harding, an Olympic skater implicated in a conspiracy to maim her chief rival. Featuring standout performances from Robbie, as Harding, and Allison Janney, as Tonya’s terrifying mother, this is one of the best of 2017. Rated R.
121 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Isle of Dogs This latest from Wes Anderson, an animation from Japan featuring an all-star cast of voice actors playing dogs in a dystopian future world, seriously outlasts its welcome and suffers from long dull stretches. But it’s so original and (occasionally) funny that it’s, on balance, a good movie. Rated PG-13. 101 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Itzhak This documentary about violinist Itzhak Perlman, which follows him as he goes about his life, benefits enormously from not only the artistry but
the personality of its subject. Perlman is very easy guy to be around, and the movie is a pleasure. Not rated. 83 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Journey’s End This is a small-scale, well-acted film based on a 1928 stage play, focusing on the horror of life in the trenches in World War I. It conveys the claustrophobia and terror experienced by its soldier characters — English playwright R.C. Sheriff knew the war firsthand — but the film never quite overcomes a certain stodgy quality. Rated R. 107 minutes. — W. Addiego
Jumanji: Welcome to
the Jungle A nominal sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams movie, this fun film is more like a mash-up of ’80s John Hughes teen films and wrong-body comedies like “Big” and “All of Me.” Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan play avatar versions of four detention-doing teens who get sucked into a video game. The action scenes are decent, but the film’s entertainment value comes from seeing adult stars playing teens very different from themselves. Rated PG-13. 119 minutes. — C. Meyer
Keep the Change Boy meets girl and then there are complications. But this isn’t the trite romantic comedy of beautiful young lovers It’s the heartfelt story of love between two imperfect people, both of them living, with separate strategies, with autism. The viewers’ pleasure is glimpsing the beauty in the characters as they become familiar. Brandon Polansky and Samantha Elisofon play the leads. Not rated. 93 minutes.
— L. Garchik
Lady Bird Greta Gerwig’s debut as a solo writer-director is this unconventional coming-of-age 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
Leaning Into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy
Sixteen years after Thomas Riedelsheimer’s first portrait of the visionary landscape artist, “Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time,” became a national box-office hit through Roxie