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Adult Beginners Comedian Nick Kroll stars as an arrogant entrepreneur who loses all his money and winds up working as a nanny for his sister’s (Rose
Byrne) 3-year-old son. The siblings, and the woman’s husband (Bobby Cannavale), all have some growing up to do. It’s an OK time-passer that breaks no ground. Executive produced by Mark and Jay Duplass. Rated R. 92 minutes.
— W. Addiego
The Age of Adaline A fascinating concept — a woman stops aging at 29 and looks like Blake Lively at 107 years old — is given weak treatment in this unimaginative movie. The script is unadventurous and unconvincing, and Lively is not actress enough to survive it. Harrison Ford shows up in the movie’s middle and provides some fun as Adaline’s long lost love, but he can’t save it. Rated PG-13. 113 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Avengers: Age of Ultron The possible destruction of humanity by artificial intelligence becomes an unintentional metaphor for the destruction of cinema by computers in this actionpacked and utterly dead sequel to “The Avengers.” This time, the team unites to defeat a robot and his robot army. It’s long, hard to follow and boring. Rated PG-13. 141 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Black Souls This riveting morality tale about mob life in southern Italy has a gritty sense of place and interesting characters across the board. It gets off to a slow start, but builds to a stunning, satisfying climax. Not rated. 103 minutes. In Italian with English subtitles.
— D. Lewis Boychoir Comedy-drama about what happens to a troubled Texas boy when he is sent to an elite music academy in the East. With Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Debra Winger. Not reviewed. Not rated. 103 minutes. Cinderella Kenneth Branagh retells the old story with most of the fairy-tale magic left intact, but with the addition of a back-story and realistic motives. Every old and familiar element is done beautifully. But the movie grinds down in plot details that fatten the narrative while deflating the spirit. Rated PG. 105 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Clouds of Sils Maria Juliette Binoche stars as a European stage and screen star who is asked to perform in the play that made her famous 20 years earlier — but this time as the older woman. It’s an effective study of life’s transitions by Oliver Assayas, with Kristen Stewart in the supporting role of Binoche’s assistant. Stewart won a much-deserved Cesar Award — the French Oscar — for her performance. Rated R. 123 minutes. In English and French with English subtitles.
— M. LaSalle Danny Collins Al Pacino gets his best showcase in years, as an aging pop star who decides to attempt to change his life after receiving a letter from John Lennon — finally delivered after more than 40 years. Bobby Cannavale stars as his (much taller) son. Rated R. 106 minutes.
— M. LaSalle Dior and I The story of Raf Simons’ first collection for Christian Dior makes for a gripping documentary about the creative process and the inner workings of a business. The pressure on Simons is so great he seems to age 10 years in eight weeks. Not rated. 90 minutes. In English and French with English subtitles.
— M. LaSalle Ex Machina There are lots of sci-fi movies, but few like this one, with intelligent things to say about science itself — in this case, artificial intelligence. Domhnall Gleeson stars as an employee who gets to stay for a week at the home of his employer, an eccentric billionaire tech entrepreneur, played with charm and an edge of menace by Oscar Isaac. Rated R. 110 minutes.
— M. LaSalle Far From the Madding Crowd The casting of Carey Mulligan as a woman of such appeal that every man she meets falls in love with her — a role previously played by Julie Christie — deflates much of the passion in this tale of a woman landowner juggling a series of suitors in the late 19th century. It’s not bad, but not fully realized. Rated PG-13. 118 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Felix and Meira The worlds of a Hasidic housewife (the impossibly beautiful Hadas Yaron) and a secular Jew (Martin Dubreuil) estranged from his father collide in Montreal. This movie — about fitting in, acceptance and sacrifice — seems simple, but isn’t. Rated R. 108 minutes. In multiple languages with English subtitles.
— L. Hertz Furious 7 Co-star Paul Walker died midway through the filming of this seventh installment of the action series, but the filmmakers decided to reanimate him in several scenes, and the result is just creepy. The action comes nonstop, but the spirit is gone, and when the movie isn’t creepy, it’s dull — and long. Rated PG-13. 137 minutes.
— M. LaSalle Insurgent The second installment in the “Divergent” series really moves the story forward, a strong virtue in a book based on the middle installment of a trilogy. But the world of it is so ridiculous — far-fetched without being interesting — that the movie is at best a mixed bag. Rated PG-13. 118 minutes.
— M. LaSalle It Follows A zombie-slacker movie with a slasher film sensibility, this horror film concerns a teenage girl who is cursed by zombies after she has sex. Though it doesn’t approach the palpable dread of “Halloween,” it’s a thoughtfully crafted creep show that doesn’t resort to gore to elicit some chills. Rated R. 100 minutes.
— D. Lewis Kingsman: The Secret Service An intermittently amusing comedydrama from director Matthew Vaughn (“Kick-Ass”), starring Colin Firth as a British secret agent who takes a novice under his wing, the movie collapses into absurdity in its second half, sloppily careening from silliness to sentimentality. Rated R. 129 minutes. — M. LaSalle Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter Suggestive of a fairy tale, this is an enigmatic drama with doses of dry humor about a deeply troubled young Japanese woman who sets out on a peculiar quest. Having seen the movie “Fargo,” she heads for Minnesota in pursuit of fictional stash of buried cash. Ironies and ambiguities abound, and there are overtones of Werner Herzog’s movies. Not rated. 105 minutes. In Japanese and English with English subtitles.
— W. Addiego Kung Fu Killer A satisfying, old-school martial arts film with a ’90s feel, this is the story of Mo (Donnie Yen), a kung fu master in prison for accidentally killing a man. But when a serial killer (Wang Baoqian) targets other martial arts masters, he persuades Detective Luk (Charlie Yeung) to temporarily release him and assist her team. Excellent action, and director Teddy Chen makes good use of Hong Kong exteriors. Not rated. 96 minutes. In Cantonese with English subtitles.
— G. Allen Johnson Little Boy This is a faithbased movie about a youngster who faces challenges in a small California town during World War II. Belief can move mountains, he’s told, and may help bring his father home safely from the war. The boy must also try to resist the community’s harsh anti-Japanese sentiments. There’s a good cast, including Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson, but the film is schmaltzy and has relatively little to say to those who don’t share its traditional religious values. Rated PG-13. 106 minutes.
— W. Addiego The Mafia Only Kills in Summer An inspired romantic comedy set against the Italian government’s war with the Mafia in Palermo beginning in the 1970s, this is about a boy’s pursuit of a a girl from their time in elementary school classmates to their adult lives as professionals. Director Pierfrancesco Diliberto, who plays the lead as an adult, has been deliriously inspired by historical events, weaving in archival footage of assassinations and funerals. But he never loses sight of the central focus, which is an innocent, unrequited (at least in the beginning) love story. Not rated. 90 minutes. In Italian
with English subtitles.
— G. Allen Johnson
Man From Reno Familiar San Francisco locations, an arresting leading lady (Ayako Fujitani) and offbeat pacing manage to keep this would-be modern noir afloat for about half its running. But the movie loses itself in convoluted plotting and a few unwise story turns, and long before the finish “Man From Reno” becomes a “who cares” proposition. Directed by Dave Boye. Not rated. 111 minutes.
— M. LaSalle Misery Loves Company This documentary assembles a star-studded lineup of comedians to discuss the art of comedy. It’s interesting but not very insightful: This is a pretty safe film about an unsafe art form. Not rated. 95 minutes.
— D. Lewis
Monkey Kingdom Documentary from Disneynature about the dynamics of a group of South Asian monkeys. Narrated by Tina Fey. Not reviewed. Rated G. 82 minutes.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 In this sequel to the 2009 comedy, Paul Blart (Kevin James) takes his teenage daughter on a vacation to Las Vegas. Not reviewed. Rated PG. 94 minutes. Unfriended A group of high school friends are tormented online by a mysterious interloper one year after the classmate they harassed and bullied killed herself. The film stars Shelly Hennig and Moses Jacob Storm and is directed by Levan Gabriadze. Rated R. 80 minutes.
— M. Ordoña The Water Diviner Russell Crowe does well in his feature directorial debut about an Australian man who travels to Gallipoli, where his three sons were killed in battle, to retrieve their bodies. There are strong performances throughout, particularly from Crowe, Olga Kurylenko (as a Turkish widow) and Yilmaz Erdogan (as a Turkish major). Rated R. 112 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
What We Do in the Shadows Even if you’re sick of vampire movies, you’ll enjoy this one, a mock documentary from New Zealand that follows, in the style of low-budget cinema verite, four vampires sharing a house in Wellington. It’s funny from start to finish. Very funny. Not rated. 86 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Wild Tales This collection of six short wild films from Argentina, all written and directed by Damian Szifron, has more energy, wit and invention in any of its sections than most films have in their entirety. These are bizarre tales of revenge, and they’re a demented delight. Rated R. 122 minutes. In Spanish with English subtitles.
— M. LaSalle
The Wrecking Crew This entertaining documentary shines a light on the ace studio musicians who, in anonymity, contributed to many of the top rock and pop hits of the 1960s and ’70s. The Beach Boys, Cher, Frank Sinatra, the 5th Dimension, Elvis Presley, and the Mamas & the Papas are just a few acts who made use of the Crew’s services. Rated PG. 102 minutes.
— W. Addiego