The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

STILL SHOWING

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“Beauty and the Beast”

C+ The live-action take on the fairy tale stays true to the story of a beautiful girl falling for her captor, a beast. The film lacks a unique cinematic identity and it can’t decide between complete faithfulne­ss to the original and story innovation. Starring Emma Watson, Dan Stevens and Luke Evans. Directed by Bill Condon. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated PG for some action violence, peril and frightenin­g images. At metro theaters. 2 hours, 9 minutes.

“The Boss Baby”

C+ A baby comes along, but he’s really an ambitious young executive trying to find out about a new product launch. It’s funny for adults, but it remains to be seen whether kids will get it. Starring the voices of Alec Baldwin, Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow. Directed by Tom McGrath. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated PG for some mild rude humor. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 37 minutes.

“CHiPS”

C+ The pair of California Highway Patrol officers from the famous TV series from the 1970s and ’80s work an inside job heist, but the movie is really about their bonding brotherhoo­d. It has its faults, but overall is a light comedy worth a watch. Starring Dax Shepard, Michael Pena and Adam Brody. Directed by Dax Shepard. Rated R for crude sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language, some violence and drug use. At Austell Stadium. 1 hour, 41 minutes.

“Fist Fight”

C+ Two teachers at a failing high school face off with threats and a fist fight to try to keep their jobs. There is a theme of can’t-we-all-just-get-along, but everyone is really just going to see the face-off. Starring Ice Cube, Charlie Day and Tracy Morgan. Directed by Richie Keen. (Cary Darling, Fort Worth StarTelegr­am) Rated R for strong language throughout, sexual content/nudity and drug material. At Cinemark Movies 10. 1 hour, 31 minutes.

“Get Out”

A A black man goes to dinner at his white girlfriend’s house and suddenly feels like he went from predator to prey. The film and its heightened scenario forces the audience to confront uncomforta­ble truths here. Starring Daniel Kaluuye, Allison Williams and Bradley Whitford. Directed by Jordan Peele. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated R for violence, bloody images, and language including sexual references. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 43 minutes.

“Ghost in the Shell”

C A woman is cyberenhan­ced to be a perfect soldier after she was saved from a crash, but then she finds out her life was not saved but stolen. There are interestin­g themes floating around in this film, but it all gets bogged down in aesthetics. Starring Scarlett Johansson and Michael Pitt. Directed by Rupert Sanders. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, suggestive content and some disturbing images. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 46 minutes.

“Going in Style”

B Three former steel workers plan a bank heist after their pension disappears during a buyout. It’s not a laugh out loud comedy, but it will make you smile the whole way through. Starring Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin and AnnMargret. Directed by Zach Braff. (Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle) Rated PG-13 for drug content, language and some suggestive material. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 36 minutes.

“The Great Wall”

C+ Hordes of slobbering reptilian hyenas with T-Rex heads arrive at The Great Wall of China via meteor and it takes armies to fight them off. There’s lots of fun, but after the impressive initial display, it goes a bit downhill with silly schemes. Starring Matt Damon, Tian Jing and Pedro Pascal. Directed by Zhang Yimou. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy action violence. At Picture Show at Merchants Exchange. 1 hour 43 minutes.

“Hidden Figures”

B Three black women overcame gender and racial prejudices to provide significan­t contributi­ons to the NASA program in the early 1960s. The film does a nice job of organizing and telling a complicate­d story, though sometimes the tone seems a bit light. Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae and Kevin Costner. Directed by Theodore Melfi. (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) Rated PG for thematic elements and some languages. At Picture Show at Merchants Exchange. 2 hours, 7 minutes.

“John Wick: Chapter 2”

B The hitman is forced out of retirement to keep a former associate from seizing control of an internatio­nal assassins’ guild. The film stumbles in its plotting, but the surreal violence in the art exhibit is delicious. Starring Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane and Ruby Rose. Directed by Chad Stahelski. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated R for strong violence throughout, some language and brief nudity. At Austell Stadium and Picture Show at Merchants Exchange. 2 hours, 2 minutes.

“Kedi”

Review not available in time for publicatio­n. The documentar­y is about the hundreds of thousands of cats that roam Istanbul freely and the impact they have on everyone they touch. Starring Bulent Ustun. Directed by Ceyda Torun. Not rated. At Landmark’s Midtown Art. 1 hour, 19 minutes.

“Kong: Skull Island”

B A motley crew gets a military escort to an unknown island to check it out before the Russians do and find Kong defending the island against prehistori­c monsters. The film is sumptuous and full of color as well as a constantly moving camera and visual jokes and puns punctuate the action. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and John Goodman. Directed by Jordan VogtRobert­s. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language. At metro theaters. 2 hours.

“The Lego Batman Movie”

A The hero made from building blocks is working to save Gotham City from the Joker. It’s done well with visual gags, puns, wordplay and one-liners. It’s hysterical and very lovable. Starring Will Arnett, Ralph Fiennes and Michael Cera. Directed by Chris McKay. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated PG for rude humor and some action. At Picture Show at Merchants Exchange. 1 hour, 44 minutes.

“Life”

C A six-member space crew finds life on Mars, but that life grows and begins to eat the humans. It’s unoriginal, throwing back too much to “Alien,” but it has its taut moments. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson. Directed by Daniel Espinosa. (Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram) Rated R for strong language, sci-fi violence and terror. At metro theaters. 1 hours, 43 minutes.

“Logan”

B+ The mutant with retractabl­e claws is hoping to help himself and his mentor escapethe raiding parties when Wolverine is offered a big payment to transport a young girl to a distant location. The somber chapter in this series offers deep character studies and high-impact action sequences. Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Boyd Holbrook. Directed by James Mangold. (Colin Covert, Star Tribune-Minneapoli­s) Rated R for brutal violence, profanity and brief nudity. In English and Spanish. At metro theaters. 2 hours, 15 minutes.

“Moana”

B A young girl decides she must leave her island home to find the the demigod who can help save her people. Overall, it’s smart, funny, thoughtful and full of heart (and girl empowermen­t). Starring Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison. Directed by Ron Clements, John Musker, Chris Williams and Don Hall. (Kristin Finan, Austin American-Statesman) Rated PG for for peril, some scary images and brief thematic elements. At Cinemark Movies 10. 1 hour, 53 minutes.

“Power Rangers”

C+ The group of misfits who discover their new startling powers take on a gold monster who wants to steal the Earth’s life crystal. The film maintains the essence of its origins, but it errs on the side of goofy rather than gritty. Starring Elizabeth Banks, Bill Hader, Bryan Cranston and R.J. Cyler, Dacre Montgomery. Directed by Dean Israelite. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence, action and destructio­n, language, and for some crude humor. At metro theaters. 2 hours, 4 minutes.

“Rock Dog”

C A sheep-herding dog just wants to play music so he runs away to the city to do it. It’s a fine film with a few great tunes, but it doesn’t inspire any passion. Starring Luke Wilson, Eddie Izzard and J.K. Simmons. Directed by Ash Brannon. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated PG for action and language. At Cinemark Movies 10. 1 hour, 20 minutes.

“The Shack”

B A man’s depression is exacerbate­d by the abduction of his daughter when he meets up with a trio of groovy spiritual leaders in a tropical wooded paradise. The dialogue is written with the finesse of a self-help book, but there are some nuggets of wisdom. Starring Sam Worthingto­n, Octavia Spencer and Avraham Aviv Alush. Directed by Stuart Hazeldine. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated PG-13 for thematic material including some violence. At metro theaters. 2 hours, 12 minutes.

“Smurfs: The Lost Village”

D+ While the Smurfs try to prevent Gargamel from capturing them to turn them into gold, Smurfette goes on a journey of self-discovery. The movie has some imaginativ­e pleasures, but the movie ends up like a kind of family-friendly psychedeli­c trip. Starring voices of Demi Lovato, Rainn Wilson and Jack McBrayer. Directed by Kelly Asbury. (Pat Padua, Washington Post) Rated PG for mild action, rude humor and a color palette offensive to the eye. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 21 minutes.

“T2 Trainspott­ing”

C+ Renton returns to Edinburgh where he reminisces the old days with the rest of the gang from the original film. It can’t escape its own memorializ­ing and there’s no new ground for “T2” to tread. Starring Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle. Directed by Danny Boyle. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated R for drug use, language throughout, strong sexual content, graphic nudity and some violence. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 57 minutes.

“The Zookeeper’s Wife”

B During Nazi occupation, the zookeeper’s wife helps harbor Jewish families in her zoo and her home and ultimately help them escape. The film’s flaws are overlooked in the shadow of the moving performanc­es and the clarifying power of empathy in the film. Starring Jessica Chastain, Daniel Bruhl and Johan Heldenberg­h. Directed by Niki Caro. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, disturbing images, violence, brief sexuality, nudity and smoking. At metro theaters. 2 hours, 4 minutes.

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