WORTH SEEING
Battle of the Sexes This dramatic feature about the 1973 tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King and the events leading up to it is a well-acted, breezy immersion into another time and consciousness, with Steve Carell especially brilliant in the way he captures Riggs’ strange, vulnerable appeal. PG-13. 121 minutes.
— Mick LaSalle The Force Peter Nicks, who made the excellent 2012 “The Waiting Room” documentary about Oakland’s Highland Hospital, is back with a parachute drop into the middle of the city’s police department — its struggles, its scandals and its continued slog toward reform. Excellent verite filmmaking and a civic service. Not rated. 93 minutes. — Peter Hartlaub
Mother! Darren Aronofsky’s horror extravaganza involves a couple living in a remote house — he’s a blocked poet, she’s rehabbing the place — who are besieged by an increasing number of invasive “guests.” Issues treated in the director’s over-the-top style include artistic narcissism, paranoia, a sense of personal encroachment and the threat of collectivist madness. The film, which is not for everyone, may remind you a bit of “Rosemary’s Baby.” With Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer. Rated R. 120 minutes.
— Walter Addiego Stronger The story of Boston Marathon bombing victim Jeff Bauman runs screaming in pain from the kind of simplistic inspirational storytelling that might be expected from the subject matter. Jake Gyllenhaal as Bauman focuses his performance on what you can’t recover during your recovery, and how much a good support network matters on the way back. Rated R. 119 minutes. —Peter Hartlaub