MOVIES IN BRIEF »

■ The following capsule reviews of recent releases, long runs and revivals come from various wire services, as noted: RATINGS: G — Suitable for all ages. PG — Parental guidance recommended. PG-13 — Parental guidance strongly suggested. R — Restricted; anyone under 18 must be accompanied by adult. 17 — No children under 17.

★ ★ ★ ★ Excellent

★ ★ Fair ★ Poor

Abominable

★ ★ ★ Good Animated. A teen and her two friends embark on an epic quest to reunite a Yeti with his family. There’s a Yeti that belches a lot, evil scientists, plucky kids and animals that look as if they were conjured up by toy merchandising executives. Even the sidekicks seem to have sidekicks. If all that isn’t mainstream enough, the theme music is perhaps the most inoffensive pop song ever recorded — “Fix You” by Coldplay. But there are a lot of welcome subtleties from writer/director Jill Culton, a former Pixar artist whose career goes back to the first “Toy Story.” “Abominable” features one of the most nuanced and likable young heroines in recent animated feature history. And for a film that often seems to be working off a checklist, it ends up being a memorable time at the movies. “Abominable” delivers all the notes you expect from family-friendly animation these days. And, thankfully, a little bit more. (PG for some action and mild rude humor) ★★ (Peter Hartlaub, Hearst Newspapers)

Ad Astra

Drama. Astronaut Roy Mcbride (Brad Pitt) undertakes a mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe. “Ad Astra” is a probing, searching movie by one of the medium’s best American directors whose reach, like his protagonist’s, exceeds his grasp. Still, director James Gray reaches, and his visually striking movie is mostly a success despite a dud of an ending. It’s a fascinating movie that aspires to the level of not “2001: A Space Odyssey,” as it has been compared by some, and more like Andrei Tarkovsky’s great Soviet sci-fi head-scratcher “Solaris.” Pitt is excellent, as he also was in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” He carries this film like only a big-time movie star can, with confidence and charisma. (PG-13 for some violence and bloody images, and for brief strong language) ★★★ (G. Allen Johnson, Hearst Newspapers)

Downton Abbey

Drama. The continuing story of the Crawley family, wealthy owners of a large estate in the English countryside in the early 20th century, based on the PBS series. “Downton Abbey,” an enjoyable but uneven film adaptation of the beloved PBS series, seems designed to give fans what they want. Having allowed most characters hard-won happy endings when the show ended in 2016, series creator (now screenwriter) Julian Fellowes simply lets most of them continue to be happy for two hours. Mostly gone is the melodrama that was so vital to the fancy soap opera’s appeal. In some ways, Fellowes’ lighter approach is welcome, even a relief. It also feels like justice to see wide-screen shots of the enormous castle that long-putupon Lady Edith now occupies with her marquess husband. Some things never change, like the excitement that accompanies first seeing Downton and its grounds come into view, the experience heightened, as ever, by John Lunn’s romantic score. With the transfer to the big screen, the visuals finally match that score’s grandeur. But the big-screen treatment also serves as a kind of white-glove test that the film sometimes fails. The actors appear to mug more often than they did on TV. (PG for thematic elements, some suggestive material, and language) ★★ (Carla Meyer, Hearst Newspapers)

Hustlers

Drama. Inspired by the viral New York magazine article, this comedy-drama follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Cardi B, Lizzo, Lili Reinhart and Keke Palmer. Martin Scorsese might have made a film like “Hustlers,” a based-on-truth crime story unlike any other. Given that the film stars Jennifer Lopez — in a powerhouse performance — and comedy star Constance Wu, one might be forgiven for thinking that this will be a comedy, maybe a lighthearted heist film like “Oceans 11,” or a titillating piece of trash like “Showgirls.” But then writer-director Lorene Scafaria’s film gets darker by the minute, becoming a toughas-(acrylic)-nails noir, complete with morally challenged femme fatales. Although the film is filled with strong female characters, this isn’t a triumph of female empowerment, nor is it really a feminist film. It is a film of anger and sadness at the stacked decks of our social and economic structures. (R for pervasive sexual material, drug content, language and nudity) ★★★ (G.A.J.)

Joker

Drama. Failed comedian Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) encounters violent thugs while wandering the streets of Gotham City dressed as a clown. Disregarded by society, he begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker. Also stars Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy and Zazie Beetz. It’s a very good movie, and it features a bloodcurdling performance from Joaquin Phoenix, in the most frightening portrayal of a violent maniac in decades. “Joker” is not without dull spots, for the simple reason that, with a movie like this, it’s hard to find a second act. You haven’t seen the movie, but you know how it ends — of course you do. And I already told you how it starts. The middle is just some space that needs to be filled in, which the movie does competently, but not so masterfully that there are no doldrums. Fortunately, there’s always Phoenix, who never lets up — always horrifying and always horribly human. (R for strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images) ★★★ (M.L.)

Judy

Drama. Legendary performer Judy Garland (Renee Zellweger) arrives in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold-out concerts. A great movie was within reach with “Judy,” but they made an epic mistake: They didn’t use Garland’s actual vocals. Instead, they let Zellweger pinch hit for Babe Ruth and ended up spoiling the movie. Otherwise, Zellweger is terrific. In all the offstage scenes, it’s possible to believe you’re looking at Judy Garland. But the second she opens her mouth to sing, the entire illusion is broken. There’s a lot here to admire and savor. There are a handful of lovely scenes and, throughout, there’s a real feeling for Garland’s way of speaking, her incisive sensitivity and the peculiar twist of her humor. (PG-13 for substance abuse, thematic content, some strong language, and smoking) ★★ (M.L.)

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice

Documentary. Ronstadt is our guide through her early years of singing Mexican canciones with her family, her folk days with the Stone Poneys and her reign as the “rock queen” of the ‘70s and early ’80s. Filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Freidman lay out a dizzying cavalcade of incredible vocal performances, woven into a tapestry of her associates telling her story. But none of the procession of associates and other commentators make the case for her greatness better than Ronstadt herself, captured in vintage clip after vintage clip, singing the hell out of everything she does. (PG-13 for brief strong language and drug material) ★★★★ (Joel Selvin, Hearst Newspapers)

Official Secrets

Drama. True story of a British whistleblower (Keira Knightley) who leaked information about an illegal spy operation designed to push the U.N. Security Council into sanctioning the 2003 Iraq invasion. Knightley, with that combination of fragility and intensity that has become her signature, plays a character on a kind of journey toward moral clarity. Director Gavin Hood, who also co-wrote the screenplay, is a specialist in the strain that international politics places on individual morality. (R for language) ★★★ (M.L.)

Rambo: Last Blood

Action. Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) must confront his past and unearth his ruthless combat skills to exact revenge in a final mission. The fifth entry in the John Rambo series is called “Rambo: Last Blood,” and we can only hope that’s a promise. There’s nowhere else to go with this character, except in circles. (R for strong graphic violence, grisly images, drug use and language) ★ (P.H.) changed over the years, so have the realities of farming. Stanton’s is now one of four remaining, full-time farms in the town of New Scotland — among them Indian Ladder in Altamont, another major destination for the pick-your-own crowd — and all have found a way to make it work.

“It’s just a matter of economics. It’s what you have to do to survive,” Stanton says. Sometimes people ask him: Why does he think his family’s farm has survived for 232 years? “You know, the first person who asked me that, I said, ‘I don’t know.’. . . and then I started thinking about it, and looking back. And basically, it’s always evolved. It’s always changed to a different thing,” he says. “I mean, nowadays, that’s what you have to do. Farming’s really hard. It’s not easy – you gotta love it to do it. And I guess my wife and I, we’re very determined to find a way. You know?”

And so, out in the pumpkin fields, Stanton pulls up a sequence of funny-looking gourds: a birdhouse, shaped like a bulbous hourglass. a gooseneck, which looks the part. he holds up a particularly freakish denizen of the farm: orange, yes, but elongated, asymmetrical, and covered with greenish bumps. “I mean, that ’s, like, the ugliest thing in the entire world,” he says. But consumers don’t care. “They want ugly.”

He lifts up another one. “The name of this one is red warty thing. Red. Warty. Thing.”

It sure is. Smiling, he places it back in the field, then picks up some other squashy oddity. Something not quite a pumpkin. Something that someone, riding the wagon into the field, might pick for their own.

“They might not buy a pumpkin out here, but they’ll come out with something out of here,” Stanton says. “Just because it’s some crazy weird thing.” ■ ■