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Amy The short, sad life of Amy Winehouse is compellingly told in a new documentary that sidesteps sensationalism and dime-store psychologizing and lets archival footage do much of the work. Rated R. 128 minutes. — W. Addiego
Ant-Man This is smaller scale and more human than most of the Marvel Comics superhero movies and therefore better, with Paul Rudd as a newly released prisoner who takes on the burden of saving humanity. Michael Douglas co-stars. PG-13. 117 minutes. Rated PG-13. 117 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Best of Enemies A top-notch documentary about the televised debates between conservative William F. Buckley and liberal Gore Vidal during the 1968 U.S. political conventions. The often heated nature of the exchanges and the men’s mutual dislike reflected the nation’s growing division. The movie is expertly crafted to lead us to consider the parallels between then and now. Rated R. 88 minutes.
— D. Wiegand
A Borrowed Identity A tale of two cultures, this marvelous coming-ofage story follows a young Arab living in Israel. The film is unusually delicate, sometimes funny, often dramatic and ultimately profound. Not rated. 104 minutes. In Hebrew, with English subtitles. — D. Lewis
Dark Places This workmanlike, often bland mystery thriller concerns a jaded woman (Charlize Theron) who investigates the murder of her family decades later. The film is thick with plot twists, but thin with character development. Rated R. 113 minutes. — D. Lewis
Do I Sound Gay? This documentary, about a homosexual who thinks he sounds too gay, is cute and easy to watch, though its jocular tone gives off the vibe that it’s an unambitious film about an ambitious topic. Not
rated. 77 minutes. — D. Lewis The End of the Tour Based on a real-life interview with the late author David Foster Wallace, this is practically a two-person movie, with Jesse Eisenberg as a probing reporter and Jason Segel as Wallace. It’s a fascinating portrait of the dynamic between writers and the efforts of an artist to stay true to himself in the face of fame. Rated R. 106 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
The Falling Drama about troubled students and a fainting epidemic at a strict English girls’ school in 1969. Not reviewed. Not rated. 102 minutes.
Fantastic Four Sci-fi action adventure, based on Marvel Comics characters, about four humans with extraordinary powers who unite to save Earth from an adversary. Rated PG-13. 105 minutes.
The Gift Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall are a normal upscale couple who become menaced by a friend from the husband’s
past, played by Joel Edgerton, who also wrote and directed. It’s a nice variation on the psycho-terrorizes-a-family genre, with some interesting turns. Rated R. 107 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Irrational Man The latest from Woody Allen is a dramatically limp suspense film about a philosophy professor who snaps out of a depression by committing an irrevocable act of violence. One of Allen’s worst. Rated R. 94 minutes. — M. LaSalle Jurassic World This is a superior monster movie that matches the pace and style of a 1990s sci-fi thriller with a witty script that deals with modern concerns, such as the influence of mad scientists and military manufacturers. It’s a good summer movie. Rated PG-13. 124 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Listen to Me Marlon A documentary about Marlon Brando’s life that makes clear his intelligence and supreme talent, but also pulls no punches about his limitations and personal tragedies. Brando fanatics may complain there’s little new here, but the film makes extensive use of the actor’s own voice, culled from hundreds of hours of audiotapes he recorded over the years. Not rated. 104 minutes. — W. Addiego
Love & Mercy This is a brilliant biopic about Brian Wilson, which contrasts the years of his peak creativity (in which he is played by Paul Dano) with his middle years, in which he was all but enslaved by a terrifying psychotherapist. John Cusack plays the older Wilson. This is one of the great movies about creativity — it makes other screen biographies, even good ones, look corny and obvious. Rated PG-13. 120 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Magic Mike XXL This sequel starts off interesting — as a road movie — but degenerates into an endless slog of very bad strip routines and lifeless character interludes. Channing Tatum is appealing, but he can’t do much in a film with no drama and no emotional consequences. At times, however, it’s so bad it’s funny, and that’s almost something. Rated R. 115 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Minions This spin-off from the “Despicable Me” films (which were bad enough) is a tired yet frenetic and pointless exercise, about little yellow guys who arrive in England in 1968, intent on stealing the queen’s crown. Just dreadful from beginning to end. Rated PG. 91 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation Tom Cruise, who hasn’t aged in 20 years, delivers again in this very entertaining, relentless action movie, in which agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) finds himself fighting a terrorist group committed only to spreading mayhem throughout the world. Rated PG-13. 131 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Mr. Holmes Mr. Holmes: Ian McKellen stars as Sherlock Holmes in extreme old age — at 93 and suffering the beginnings of memory loss — as he struggles to remember the details of his last case. Directed
by Bill Condon, the film is very good at melding this Holmes with our memories of Conan Doyle’s Holmes, and the result is an insightful, well-acted film. Rated PG. 105 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Paper Towns A teen’s lifelong crush disappears; he and his friends follow clues she has left behind in this coming-of-age comedydrama. Not bad, not great. Stars Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne. Directed by Jake Schreier. Rated PG-13. 109 minutes. reviewed by ordona
Pixels This sci-fi action comedy has a fun first half and a weak second half, but the film, directed by Chris Columbus — and starring Adam Sandler as a former ’80s video-game champ, whose Pac-Man skills must fend off an alien invasion — is hard to dislike. Rated PG-13. 106 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Ricki and the Flash This is a decent family drama larded with mediocre musical sequences, with Meryl Streep, who can do everything but sometimes shouldn’t, fronting a bar band. The supporting cast is strong, with Streep’s real-life daughter, Mamie Gummer, playing her screen daughter, and Rick Springfield terrific as Ricki’s friend and lead guitarist. Rated PG-13. 100 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Samba Omar Sy radiates the thought and presence of a true movie star in this film about an illegal immigrant from Senegal trying to stay in France. Charlotte Gainsbourg gives a typically sensitive performance as the social worker trying to help. Rated R. 119 minutes. In French with English subtitles.
— M. LaSalle
Shaun the Sheep Movie Aardman Animations’ beloved sheep and his barnyard pals take a wild trip to the big city in this entertaining feature. The film is a nearly wordless avalanche of slapstick and sight gags. It’s the usual Aardman style of stopmotion animation, and very nicely done. Rated PG. 85 minutes. — W. Addiego Southpaw This boxing film, one of the best movies of 2015, finds the truth behind the boxing cliches. It’s the story of a light heavyweight champ (Jake Gyllenhaal) whose life implodes over the course of a few tragic weeks. More than a sports movie, it’s a powerful look at grief and the struggle to rebuild. Directed by Antoine Fuqua. Rated R. 123 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
The Stanford Prison Experiment This is a straightforward dramatization of the famous psychological experiment in which mock guards in a mock jail started abusing mock prisoners, with ever-escalating cruelty. Billy Crudup stars as the psychologist who originated the study. It’s disturbing and fascinating. Rated R. 122 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Tangerine Tangerine: Filmed with an iPhone, this sublime dramedy focuses on two trans prostitutes and their Christmas Eve travails in Los Angeles. All the characters are finely drawn, and the street scene seems to burst from the screen. Rated R. 87 minutes. — D. Lewis
Trainwreck Amy Schumer, in her starring debut, is too little of a train wreck (not outrageous or shocking) and not enough of one (just obnoxious) in this comedy, written by Schumer and directed by Judd Apatow. She needed a director who didn’t endorse her completely, who could guide her — or he needed another lead actress. It’s funny, but not funny enough. Rated R. 122 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
Twinsters Documentary about two young women raised on different continents who believe they are twins separated at birth. Not reviewed. Rated PG-13. 90 minutes.
Vacation This semireboot of the “Vacation” series brings a welcome touch of vulgarity and outrageousness to the proceedings, with Ed Helms as a borderline imbecile who brings his wife (Christina Applegate) and kids on a vacation from hell. The movie is a succession of funny and outlandish gags, including the one in which the family bathes in excrement. Rated R. 99 minutes. — M. LaSalle