Quick Flicks
Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★ Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★ KEY: D, Drug use; N, Nudity; P, Profanity; S, Sexual activity; V, Violence. Reviews are by Bill Goodykoontz unless noted. Listings are subject to late changes by theaters.
NEW THIS WEEK ‘The Bookshop’ ★★★1⁄2
(Kerry Lengel) A war widow opens a bookshop in a small English town only to discover she has stepped on the toes of a powerful society lady in this quietly intense period drama based on the novel by Penelope Fitzgerald. (PG — 112 minutes) P.
‘Kin’
(Not reviewed) An excon and his younger brother go on the run, in possession of a mysterious weapon with strange powers. (PG-13 — 102 minutes) P, V.
‘The Little Stranger’ ★★★★
Lenny Abrahamson’s film stars Domhnall Gleeson as a doctor called back to the manor where his mother worked. He finds mysterious goings on. Effectively creepy, with terrific acting and a nice payoff. (R —111 minutes)
Narthanasala
(Not reviewed) Yamini Bhaskar and Kashmira star in a comic caper. (Not rated — 125 minutes)
‘Operation Finale’ ★★★
(Kerry Lengel) Oscar Isaac stars as a Mossad Nazi hunter opposite Ben Kingsley’s Adolf Eichman in this historical drama. As a spy movie, it’s not quite “Argo.” (PG-13 — 122 minutes) P, V.
‘Reprisal’
(Not reviewed) A bank manager (Frank Grillo) teams with an ex-cop (Bruce Willis) to bring down a violent bank robber. (R — 89 minutes) P, V.
‘Searching’ ★★★★
(Randy Cordova) A father (John Cho) frantically seeks to find out what’s happened to his teen daughter, who never came home. A tense, inventive thriller. (PG-13 — 102 minutes) P, D, V.
‘3100: Run and Become’
(Not reviewed) Documentary focuses centers on the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Run, the world’s longest race. (Not rated — 90 minutes)
‘Ya Veremos’ ★★1⁄2
(Randy Cordova) A young boy facing blindness schemes to get his divorced parents back together. Oddball romcom is too earnest for its own good. (PG-13 — 85 minutes) P.
STILL PLAYING ‘A.X.L’
(Not reviewed) Sci-fi fantasy about a robot dog and his relationship with a human. (PG — 100 minutes). V.
‘Alpha’ ★★1 ⁄2
(Kerry Lengel) A prehistoric hunter fights to survive a trek through the wilderness with the help of an unlikely companion, a gray wolf. (PG-13 — 96 minutes)
‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ ★★★1⁄2
Paul Rudd and director Peyton Reed return for a sequel that improves on the original. (PG-13 — 118 minutes) V.
‘Beautifully Broken’
(Not reviewed) The lives of three very different people converge in a faith-based drama. (PG-13 — 108 minutes). V, D. ‘BlacKkKlansman’ ★★★★ 1⁄2 Spike Lee’s film is based on the true story of a black police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan, sort of. Messy and maddening and powerful. (R — 88 minutes) P, S, V.
‘The Cakemaker’ ★★★★
(Samantha Incorvaia) German pastry chef Thomas (Tim Kalkhof) travels to Jerusalem to find his dead lover’s family. (Not rated – 105 minutes).
‘The Captain’
(Not reviewed) A German army deserter (Max Hubacher) finds an abandoned Nazi captain’s uniform in the final weeks of World War II.(Not rated — 118 minutes).
‘Christopher Robin’ ★★★★
(Samantha Incorvaia) Ewan McGregor plays the grown-up Christopher, who encounters Winnie the Pooh, who helps him return to the Hundred Acre Wood. (PG — 104 minutes)
‘Crazy Rich Asians’ ★★★★
Jon M. Chu’s film version of the Kevin Kwan bestseller about a woman dating a rich Asian man, is a treat. (PG-13 — 120 minutes) P.
‘The Darkest Minds’ ★★1⁄2
(Kerry Lengel) In this formulaic incarnation of the dystopian sci-fi trend, Amandla Stenberg stars as Ruby, one of a few teenagers to have survived a global plague — and gain superpowers. (PG-13 — 105 minutes) V.
‘Death of a Nation’ ★
Poor even by Dinesh D’Souza’s standards, this polemic positions Democrats as racists and Fascists and a threat to the country, and compares Donald Trump to Abraham Lincoln. (PG-13 — 109 minutes) D, P, V.
‘Dog Days’ ★★
Ken Marino’s film is an ensemble comedy in which LA residents lives are loosely tied together by their dogs. Pretty standard stuff. (PG — 112 minutes) P.
‘Eighth Grade’ ★★★★1⁄2
Elsie Fisher is brilliant as a girl navigating the perilous last days of junior high. (R — 94 minutes) P, S.
‘The Equalizer 2’ ★★★★
(Barbara VanDenburgh) Vengeance is personal for Denzel Washington’s deadly ex-CIA operative. (R — 121 minutes) P, V, D.
‘Geetha Govindam’
(Not reviewed) A charming young man (Vijay Deverakonda) falls in love, but staying together with Geetha (Rashmika Mandanna) proves difficult. (Not rated — 150 minutes)
‘The Happytime Murders’
Two clashing detectives — one human, one puppet — work together to solve a series of brutal murders. Brian Henson’s comedy definitely isn’t aimed at kids. (R — 91 minutes) P, S, V, D.
‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’ ★★1⁄2
(Barbara VanDenburgh) Dracula goes on a cruise and falls in love with Van Helsing’s great-granddaughter. (PG — 97 minutes).
‘Incredibles 2’ ★★★★
Elastigirl fights crime while Mr. Incredible changes diapers in Pixar’s latest sequel. Not the original, but worthwhile. (PG — 118 minutes)
‘Juliet, Naked’ ★★★1⁄2
Ethan Hawke plays a reclusive rock star over whom Chris O’Dowd obsesses — and with whom O’Dowd’s girlfriend (Rose Byrne) strikes up a relationship. (R — 105 minutes) P.
‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ ★★★★
(Randy Cordova) Sequel/ prequel brings us up-tospeed on characters from the 2008 film while digging deeper into the ABBA catalogue. (PG-13 — 114 minutes)
‘The Meg’ ★★1⁄2
Jason Statham fights a gigantic shark-like creature in John Turteltaub’s action thriller. (PG-13 — 113 minutes) P.
‘Mile 22’
(Not reviewed) Mark Wahlberg leads a topsecret command unit in Peter Berg’s action thriller. (R — 95 minutes) P, V.
‘Mission: Impossible Fallout’ ★★★★
Tom Cruise is once again unstoppable in the latest film in the franchise, as he tries to halt a nuclear buffet of explosions. (PG-13 — 147 minutes) P, V.
‘Neevevaro’
(Not reviewed) Aadhi Pinisetty plays dual roles in a murder mystery about a chef who dies in an unusual accident. (Not rated — 150 minutes)
‘Papillon’ ★★★
(Barbara VanDenburgh) A competent but relentlessly miserable remake of the 1973 prison-escape classic, this time starring Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek. (R — 133 minutes) P, V, N, S.
‘Puzzle’ ★★★★
Kelly Macdonald is outstanding as a woman who discovers a hidden talent for puzzles, leading to surprising discoveries in her life. (R — 103 minutes) P.
‘Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood’ ★★★1⁄2
Scotty Bowers provided sexual partners for the rich and famous for years; Matt Tyrnauer’s film looks at the gossip and what’s behind it. (Not rated — 98 minutes)
‘Slender Man’
Sylvain White’s horror film is based on the urban legend about a tall, thin man who haunts childen. (PG-13 — 93 minutes) P, S.
‘Solo’ ★★★1⁄2
Alden Ehrenreich plays the young Han Solo in Ron Howard’s film. (PG-13 — 135 minutes) V.
‘Sorry to Bother You’ ★★★★1⁄2
Boots Riley makes a spectacular feature debut, directing a film about a telemarketer (Lakeith Stanfield) whose life gets weird as he grows successful. (R — 105 minutes) D, N, P, S.
‘The Spy Who Dumped Me’ ★★
(Barbara VanDenburgh) A tonally incongruous, plodding and graphically violent comedy about two best friends who accidentally become spies. (R – 116 minutes) P, V, N.
‘Teen Titans Go! To The Movies’ ★★
(Samantha Incorvaia) Robin and the Teen Titans want their own movie. But to be seen as more than “a joke,” and movie material, they need to find an arch nemesis. (PG — 92 minutes).
‘Three Identical Strangers’ ★★★★
Tim Wardle’s documentary explores triplets separated at birth who find each other in their 20s. (PG-13 — 96 minutes)
‘The Wife’ ★★★★
Jonathan Pryce is excellent and Glenn Close better in Bjorn Runge’s film, about a writer who wins the Nobel Prize and the wife who has supported him. Secrets are revealed. (R — 100 minutes) P, S.
‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?’ ★★★★1⁄2
Morgan Neville’s documentary about Fred Rogers, the children’s TV show host, is quietly moving, much like the man himself, and most welcome. (PG-13 — 94 minutes) P.