THE TOP 5
The top five movies at the North American box office:
Crazy Rich Asians:
This unabashed throwback to ’90s-era rom-coms is also a bold step forward in diversity, as the entire cast and many of the top crew are Asian or Asian-Americans. Rachel (Constance Wu) is dating Nick (Henry Golding) when she learns that he’s the scion of a super-wealthy Singapore family; she then has to win over his mom. Cue fireworks ... and tears. ★★★★. (Chris Knight)
The Meg:
Jason Statham plays a deepsea rescue rogue who’s recruited to save a new research team trapped in the ocean and at the mercy of the titular shark. Any deeper philosophical questions — such as whether they are justified in killing it to spare human lives — serve mostly as window-dressing for the action sequences. Some of these are admittedly exciting. But there at least two too many.
★★ (Tina Hassannia)
Mission: Impossible — Fallout:
Tom Cruise owns this film, from beginning to end. His overlapping identity as character and movie star override all other considerations in a film that, like its leading man, never says die. His fearless stunt work is epic in an action-jammed movie that lurches from one spectacular set-piece to the next.
★★★★★ (Sadaf Ahsan)
Operation Finale:
Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley star in the true-to-life story about the capture of Adolf Eichmann, the infamous Nazi war criminal who fled to Argentina after the Second World War. Chris Weitz, known for films such as The Golden Compass and About a Boy, directs. Not reviewed. (Postmedia News)
Searching:
Like the horror movie Unfriended, this mystery-thriller takes place entirely on computer screens, as single Everydad John Cho comes unglued while trying to track down his missing 16-year-old daughter with the help of an intense police detective played by Debra Messing. Clever and fun, though the conclusion feels like a bit of a cheat. ★★★1/2 (Chris Knight)