WORTH SEEING
Which Movies to Watch This Weekend
Darkest Hour: Gary Oldman gives the performance of his career as Winston Churchill, fighting to rally his country and inspire a War Cabinet bent on surrender, in this dramatic study of a crucial month during World War II. If Oldman doesn’t win an Oscar for this, something is very wrong around here. Rated PG-13. 125 minutes.
— Mick LaSalle
The Insult: A minor dispute between a Christian Lebanese man and a Palestinian construction worker spirals into a court case with national implications, in this tense, well-observed and intelligent film, up for a foreign-film Oscar. Rated R. 112 minutes. In Arabic with English subtitles.
— Mick LaSalle
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle: A nominal sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams movie, this fun film is more like a mashup of ’80s John Hughes teen films and wrong body comedies like “Big” and “All of Me.” Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan play avatar versions of four detention-doing teens who get sucked into a video game. The action scenes are decent, but the film’s entertainment
value comes from seeing adult stars playing teens very different from themselves. Rated PG-13. 119 minutes.
— Carla Meyer Phantom
Thread: Daniel Day-Lewis stars as a dress designer in 1950s London, whose obsessive work habits distort every relationship. This film, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, traces the trajectory of one such relationship — with a waitress (Vicky Krieps), who comes into his life wanting something more. One of Paul Thomas Anderson’s best films, his first success in a while. Rated R. 130 minutes.
— Mick LaSalle
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: Frances McDormand has one of her career-best showcases as a woman, mourning the murder of her daughter, who tries to prod the local police by renting three billboards criticizing them for their slow investigation. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh, the movie is both funny and sad, with brilliant performances by McDormand and by Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson as local policemen. Rated R. 115 minutes.
— Mick LaSalle