NOW IN THEATERS
THE ADDAMS FAMILY
The new animated version of The Addams Family begins with the wedding of Gomez (Oscar Isaac) and Morticia (Charlize Theron) before they are chased off by angry villagers. They wind up in New Jersey and make their home in an abandoned asylum where Thing gives Lurch tips on tickling the ivories. The movie is the diversion you would expect, getting laughs from the disparity between the Addams’ congenital gloominess and the planned community, called Assimilation, that’s being developed near their mansion. If this installment lays on the moral (all families are freaky in their own ways) a bit thick, it has just enough wit and weirdness to honor its source material. Animated comedy, rated PG, 105 minutes, screens in 2D only at Regal Santa Fe 6. (Ben Kenigsberg/The New York Times)
A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
This movie is about how a man who has devoted his life to being kind helps a man with a professional investment in skepticism to become a little nicer. It could easily have turned into something preachy, sentimental, and overstated. Fred Rogers was none of those things. His decency presented itself with a serene consistency that could be a little unnerving. That’s how Rogers sometimes struck Tom Junod in the Esquire profile that inspired Marielle Heller’s film. And that’s how the movie’s Mister Rogers, played by Tom Hanks, often strikes Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), a fictional character who, like Junod, writes for Esquire. This movie is not primarily about Rogers’ work in children’s television. It’s about how his friendship helps Lloyd become a more forgiving son, a more responsive husband, and a more involved father. Hanks performs this with faultless technique, but you never lose sight of the performance. Rogers demurs when Lloyd describes him as a “celebrity,” but this film, in spite of its skill and sincerity, can’t find anything else for him to be. Biopic, rated PG, 108 minutes, Regal Stadium 14 and Violet Crown. (A.O. Scott/The New York Times)
CHARLIE’S ANGELS
The 1970s TV show Charlie’s Angels, which birthed a pair of films in the 2000s, returns for another reboot co-written and directed by Elizabeth Banks. The premise remains roughly the same, with three private investigators (here played by Ella Balinska, Naomi Scott, and Kristen Stewart) solving crimes for the mysterious Charlie (represented by assistants played by Banks, Djimon Hounsou, and Patrick Stewart). The sexploitation of the ‘70s show is replaced by high-concept feminism, with these “Angels” part of a network of highly skilled women who are called into action to save the world. Action-comedy, rated PG-13, 118 minutes, Regal Santa Fe 6, Regal Stadium 14, and Violet Crown. (Not reviewed)
DOCTOR SLEEP
Grown up and battling ghosts and alcoholism, Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) is struggling to compartmentalize his demons when he runs into a girl (Kyliegh Curran) with more “shine” than is good for her. Perhaps not surprisingly, his bid to save her takes him back to the Overlook Hotel, the site of his daily nightmares. Inspired as much by Kubrick’s revisionist film as by either of Stephen King’s books — 1977’s classic The Shining and its sequel, 2013’s Doctor Sleep — this film by horror wunderkind Mike Flanagan returns to the Overlook in ways both literal and figurative. Part homage to Kubrick’s moody atmospherics, and part hyper-literal superhero story, Doctor Sleep is stylish, engrossing, at times frustratingly illogical, and ultimately less than profoundly unsettling. Which is, in a word, a disappointment. Horror, rated R, 151 minutes, Regal Santa Fe 6 and Regal Stadium 14. (Michael O’Sullivan/The Washington Post)