A critical consensus

An assessment of current motion pictures by major American film critics. Film criticism is rated on a scale of 10 (excellent) to 1 (poor). Criticism not available at press time will be reflected in future columns. Roma Shoplifters Amazing Grace The Favourite Cold War

If Beale Street Could Talk Ruben Brandt, Collector Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Widows Happy as Lazzaro Can You Ever Forgive Me?

The Hate U Give Free Solo

A Star Is Born Bathtubs

Over Broadway The Old Man

& the Gun Green Book People’s Republic of Desire

Mirai

The World Before Your Feet At Eternity’s Gate Charmer

Stan & Ollie Meow Wolf: Origin Story Capernaum

Vox Lux

Never Look Away Mary Queen of Scots Ralph Breaks the Internet Sicilian Ghost Story Bitter Melon Intriguing, absorbing tragicomedy set in San Francisco’s Excelsior District by local writer-director H.P. Mendoza about a young gay man who visits his Filipino American family for Christmas and confronts the family’s dark undercurrent of domestic violence. The film changes tone on the second half, with several twists and turns. Not rated. 110 minutes.

— G. Allen Johnson

MBohemian Rhapsody Big and splashy, sentimental and not completely true, this is the biopic that Freddie Mercury deserved, an absorbing story about an outsider who was going to be either a weirdo or an artist, and so he became a very flamboyant artist. The sound track is full of Queen songs, and even if you’re not a big Queen fan, you’ll find they sound better in the movie than they do on the radio. Rated PG-13. 135 minutes.

— M. LaSalle

M9.3 9.1 9.0 8.9 8.8 8.7

8.7

8.6

8.6 8.5 8.4

8.4 8.2 8.2 8.1

8.0

7.9 7.9

7.8 7.8

7.7 7.6 7.6 7.5

7.4 7.3 7.1 7.0 6.9

6.9 Boy Erased Bumblebee

Mary Poppins Returns Vice

Anna and the Apocalypse Creed 2

The Party’s

Just Beginning

On the Basis of Sex Ben Is Back Destroyer Everybody Knows Bitter Melon

The Mercy

Bird Box

Mule

The House

That Jack Built Aquaman Fantastic Beasts:

The Crimes of Grindelwald Once Upon a Deadpool Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

The Grinch

Second Act Bohemian Rhapsody Mortal Engines

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Dead in a Week

(or Your Money Back) Welcome to Marwen The Possession of Hannah Grace Robin Hood Holmes and Watson Boy Erased This factbased story about a teenage boy who is put into gay conversion therapy doesn’t go to the depths of horror — it’s only a mildly dramatic story — but it’s well acted by a strong cast (Lucas Hedges,R. 114 minutes. Rated R. 115 minutes. — M. LaSalle

MMBumblebee The latest installment in the “Transformers” series, about an alien robot that befriends an angst-ridden teenager, actually has wit, charm and likable characters. It’s as if the often-unwatchable franchise has pleasantly mutated into a robotic version of “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” — and become a decent popcorn movie for the holidays. Rated PG-13. 114 minutes. — D. Lewis

LBurning Master filmmaker Lee Chang-dong assails South Korea’s current image-obsessed culture in an intriguing but ultimately frustrating tale of a young rural wannabe writer caught in the strange orbit of a Gatsby-like rich guy and his girlfriend, a onetime schoolmate of the writer with whom he is in love. It’s at times absorbing, but the intentionally obtuse second-half leads to an ending that satisfies no one, especially after 2½ hours. Not rated. 148 minutes.

— G. Allen Johnson

NCan You Ever Forgive Me? Melissa McCarthy is terrific in this reallife story of the writer Lee Israel who, after the collapse of her literary career, found a lucrative second career as the forger of letters by historical people. Directed by Marielle Heller, it’s a film of wit and atmosphere and about the most twisted rags-to-riches story you could ever hope to see. Rated R. 106 minutes.

— M. LaSalle

KCapernaum Programmed, slick and maudlin neo-neorealist film about the mean streets of Beirut. With a gripping lead performance by 14-year-old Zain Al Rafeea, a Syrian refugee; his energy recalls JeanPierre Leaud in Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows.” The filmmakers have not made a call to action, but a calling card for themselves. Rated R. 123 minutes. Reviewed by Carlos Valladares

MCreed II The sequel to the 2015 “Creed” doesn’t have the newness of its predecessor, but it does show that the characters and relationships established in the earlier movie will be good for the long haul. This is an entertaining Rocky-type film, with young Adonis Creed fighting the son of the man who killed his father in the ring. Rated PG-13. 130 minutes.

— M. LaSalle

LDivide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes This documentary provides an extensive laundry list of the shortcomings and culpabilities of the late GOP political consultant and media maven Roger Ailes. It’s good to have a critical accounting of his role in modern American politics, but most of what we see here has been reported elsewhere, and this film seems aimed at rallying the troops. Not rated. 107 minutes.

— W. Addiego

LDumplin’ In modern America, you’re nothing

if you’re not a victim. And so, we get “Dumplin’,” a movie about an obese high school girl (Danielle Macdonald), who is verbally abused by her fellow students, who call her fat. Typical of the movie, which is conscientious and inoffensive, but also sentimental and bland, the mother is hardly a villain. She’s normal enough to be played by Jennifer Aniston, who spends most of the movie on the receiving end of her daughter’s hostility. Rated PG-13. 116 minutes.

— M. LaSalle Escape Room Horror film about six strangers invited to compete in finding their way out of a series of escape rooms, which turn out to contain deadly traps. Rated PG-13. 100 minutes.

ONThe Favourite Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz are brilliant in this comedy-drama set during the reign of Queen Anne. Brilliantly directed by Yorgos Lanthimos on the knife edge between farce and drama, historical truth and anachronism. Rated R. 119 minutes. — M. LaSalle Free Solo Thrilling, vertigo-inducing documentary that chronicles Alex Honnold’s quest to scale the 3,000-foot vertical rock face of Yosemite’s El Capitan — with just his hands and feet — no ropes. It’s never been done; will he be the first? The photography is incredible, as is its subject. Rated PG-13. 100 minutes.

— G. Allen Johnson

NLThe Front Runner The subject is inherently interesting — the scandal that imploded Gary Hart’s presidential bid — and Hugh Jackson is charismatic in the central role. But the movie is undramatic, and the film’s casual treatment of facts makes this a so-so proposition, after all. Directed by Jason Reitman. Rated R. 113 minutes. — M. LaSalle

NGreen Book Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are ideally paired as an Italian American driver and an African American pianist on a concert tour through the deep South in 1962. Mortensen completely transforms and is probably on his way to an Oscar nomination. Rated PG-13. 130 minutes. — M. LaSalle

LThe Grinch The makers of “Minions” and the “Despicable Me” movies find a consistent offbeat humor in this “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” adaptation, while retaining the sneaky emotional core. But the uneven new film highlights the greatest problem of any bigscreen Seuss reimagination: It’s very hard to turn this 69-page picture book into a feature-length movie. Rated PG. 86 minutes. — P. Hartlaub

Holmes & Watson A comedy with Will Ferrell as Sherlock Holmes and John C. Reilly as Dr. Watson. Not reviewed. Rated PG-13. 91 minutes.

JThe House That Jack Built The latest from writer-director Lars von Trier is more of the same — long-winded, disgusting, utterly worthless, misogynistic garbage, about a guy going around murdering women. Two and a half hours of that. Rated R. 152 minutes.

— M. LaSalle

LIf Beale Street Could Talk Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of the James Baldwin novel has a couple of great scenes and at least as many good scenes, but Jenkins lards the film with musical interludes and adopts a mournful tone and a funereal pace that kills the movie dramatically. Still, the acting, particularly the supporting performances, is strong. Rated