NOW PLAYING
A Bad Moms Christmas This rushed sequel to “Bad Moms” (2016) feels more like a financial decision than an artistic mandate. And yet, through all its plot and editing problems, the comedy does deliver a lot of laughs — with a trio of bad grandmothers joining bad moms Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Kathryn Hahn. Icy and disapproving Christine Baranski stands out among the newcomers. Rated R. 117 minutes. — P. Hartlaub
Bill Nye: Science Guy Bill Nye has transformed himself from zany kids show host to a passionate defender of science who makes his case with a sense of urgency. This documentary focuses mainly on his work regarding climate change, and some of the most intriguing sequences are his debates with creationist Ken Ham. There’s some personal material as well, including Nye’s fear of inheriting a debilitating disease and the effects of fame on his personal life. Not rated. 101 minutes. — W. Addiego
Blade Runner 2049 Long and slow but never boring, this sequel to the 1982 sci-fi staple is a somber rumination on what it means to be human, with a story of a replicant LAPD officer (Ryan Gosling) charged with finding and destroying older, disobedient replicants. Harrison Ford co-stars. Rated R. 164 minutes. — M. LaSalle
Coco Pixar’s new Dia de los Muertosthemed animated movie crams the first sequences with exposition, and then takes a colorful yet light spin through the Land of the Dead. But everything is leading up to a powerhouse finish. The success of this final act, and the way it transforms the entire film, is remarkable. A strong second movie from “Toy Story 3” director Lee Unkrich is one of Pixar’s better productions. Rated PG. 105 minutes. — P. Hartlaub
Daddy’s Home 2 This sequel to the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg comedy brings in Mel Gibson and John Lithgow as grandparents; inspired casting ruined by a weak script. The plot relies on contrived conflicts, too many of which involve Ferrell’s character creating a disaster while using power tools. Audiences will yearn for the holiday slapstick subtlety of the “Home Alone” burglars. Rated PG-13. 100 minutes. — P. Hartlaub
The Divine Order Women in Switzerland didn’t get the vote until 1971, and this drama (with some comedy) focuses on the transformation of a woman in a small mountain village into a suffragist. The film, directed by Petra Volpe, has its moments, but it feels simplistic and, in the end, devolves into melodrama. Not rated. 96 minutes. In Swiss German with English subtitles.
— W. Addiego
Faces Places This may be the final film of Agnes Varda, one of the last surviving members of the French New Wave. It documents her tour of small and rural French towns in the company of a much younger artist (she’s 89), named JR, during which they photographed working-class people and posted huge, blown-up images of them on local structures. It’s good to spend time with Varda, Rated PG. 89 minutes. In French with English subtitles. — W. Addiego
The Florida Project This has a strong opening and a terrific finish, with 40 dead minutes in the middle. But it’s so
original and so well-done when it’s working — a brilliant portrait of childhood as experienced inside a poverty motel in Orlando — that it’s hard to imagine anyone forgetting it. Rated R. 115 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
The Foreigner Jackie Chan is ideally cast as a little aging fellow, living in London, whose daughter’s death turns him into a somersaulting, fist flying killing machine. This is one of the most satisfying action movies since “Taken.” Co-starring Pierce Brosnan. Rated R. 114 minutes.
— M. LaSalle
God’s Own Country This stirring, heartfelt drama, about the romance between an emotionally stifled English sheep farmer and an irrepressible Romanian migrant worker, is profoundly moving and captures the harsh yet beautiful moors. It’s why we go to the movies. Not rated. 104 minutes. — D. Lewis
Human Flow Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei doesn’t break any new ground in his documentary about the global refugee crisis, but he manages, in simple, artistic terms, to vividly illustrate the scale of the problem. Rated PG-13. 140 minutes. — D. Lewis
Jane Using previously unseen footage stored for more than 50 years in National Geographic’s archive, this documentary offers a close-up, extraordinary look at Jane Goodall’s pioneering work with chimpanzees in 1960s Tanzania. The film wraps up too quickly and neatly, but that does not make the Tanzania footage less exquisite. Rated PG. 90 minutes. — C. Meyer
Jigsaw Horror thriller about a series of gruesome killings and the suspected killer, a man known as Jigsaw who has been dead 10 years. The movie is part of the “Saw” franchise. Not reviewed. Rated R. 92 minutes.
Justice League DC Comics’ answer to the Avengers is a pretty ridiculous crew, in which Superman can do everything, the others can do little, and Batman can only stand there and get beaten up. Wonder