DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LONG HAUL

the tensions between spirituality and science, faith and family, emotional and analytical intelligence, and manages to do all that in the style of a slasher horror film. The story is a whirlwind smashand-grab as the group is slowly pulled in different directions and picked off one by one, until a final girl, or woman, is left standing. The final woman is played here by Katherine Waterston. She is broken, in mourning, trying to put herself back together and keep fighting for her dream. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

BORN IN CHINA

1/2 G, 76 minutes. Through today only at Mystic Luxury Cinemas. “Born in China” is the latest installment in the “Disneynature” documentary series. It’s “Planet Earth” aimed at younger audiences, but any nature lovers can find enjoyment here, especially in the stunning cinematography. While other installments have focused on specific species and eco-systems, “Born in China,” directed by Lu Chuan, gets up close and personal with some of the unique species found in China — pandas, snow leopards, cranes, Chiru antelope, and golden monkeys. Chuan’s team follows these incredible animals through the seasons and throughout the circle of life while incorporating Chinese spiritual beliefs about life and death. John Krasinski does his best Sir David Attenborough as the narrator of “Born in China,” though he doesn’t achieve that singular mix of gravitas and cheeky wit that the “Life” and “Planet Earth” legend brings to those classic nature documentaries. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

THE BOSS BABY

PG, 97 minutes. Westbrook, Lisbon. The idea of a baby (voiced by Alec Baldwin) who is more worried about the formula for a good stock market buy than the formula he drinks has potential. A genius baby hiding his abilities is the set-up for a lot of potential plot points. But Michael McCullers’ script, based on the book by Marla Frazee, takes the least interesting option. Even in the flexible world of animation, the idea behind “Boss Baby” is too convoluted and confusing to be interesting. Tim (Miles Christopher Bakshi) is convinced he has the perfect life. When he’s not imagining himself on a wild adventure or living a spectacular life, his parents treat him with waves of love and affection. The idea of a boy who can’t stop daydreaming is interesting but done far better in the 1954 cartoon “From A to Z-Z-Z-Z.” The life Tim loves so much changes when a baby brother arrives. It is a taxi driver who delivers the new bundles of joy. This is no ordinary baby brother but a representative of a mysterious baby corporation. — Rick Bentley, Fresno Bee PG, 90 minutes. Niantic, Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. From 2010 to 2012, a trilogy of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” films were released in rapid succession, starring Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris and Steve Zahn. Adapted from the web comic turned kids novels by Jeff Kinney, the films featured the kinds of embarrassments and toilet humor that tend to make up most middle school lore. Five years later, a fourth film, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul,” is hitting theaters, with a completely new cast making up the Heffley family. Director David Bowers, who helmed the “Rodrick Rules” and “Dog Days” installments of the franchise, returns to wrangle this particular out-of-control-minivan down the freeway. This story of a family vacation gone wrong could have just been subtitled “Road Trip,” but it turns out “The Long Haul” is an ironically apt descriptor for this film. One hesitates to refer to it as a “comedy,” as the jokes are few and far between. No, “horror” was the word that popped into mind frequently during these grim ninety minutes. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul” is a deft exploration of the horrors of modern life in the tech-obsessed, neoliberal, advanced capitalist 21st century America; a world where social media rules our brains and behavior, and constant connectedness means constant work. This family’s road trip illustrates how America has become a polarized nation obsessed with nostalgia, gripping tight to the construct of a “real” America in light of rapid cultural change. Some fun. It’s also a terrifying cautionary tale about distracted driving — adults in the audience may cower every time one of the Heffley parents behind the wheel takes their eyes off the road or uses their phone while shepherding a teen, tween, toddler, spouse, piglet and boat trailer behind the cursed minivan. Fittingly, the central conflict of the film is about technology and screen time. Mom Susan (Alicia Silverstone) confiscates all electronic devices so the family can enjoy real face time on their road trip — but dad Frank (Tom Everett Scott) hasn’t taken the days off work, while titular wimpy kid Greg (Jason Drucker) and metalhead brother Rodrick (Charlie Wright) are scheming to get to a video game convention. Greg’s determined to clean up his online reputation after he becomes the star of an embarrassing meme, and thinks a video with his hero, star gamer Mac Digby (Joshua Hoover) will do the trick. Their juvenile and selfish meddling takes the family trip from bad to apocalyptic. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING

1/2 PG-13, 96 minutes. Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. The sickly teen romantic weepy isn’t exactly a new genre — consider the 1970 smash hit “Love Story” — but it’s gained resurgence in the past few years with the runaway success of the likes of “The Fault in Our Stars.” The success or failure of such a film, which can so often dip treacherously too far into sentimentality, rides on the plucky charm of its lead actors. Fortunately, “Everything, Everything,” based on the novel by Nicola Yoon, has the radiant Amandla Stenberg at the center. Stenberg’s relaxed charisma carries what’s a rather preposterous premise. She plays Maddy, an 18-year-old girl who’s been confined to her hermetically sealed, sterilized home for her entire life, to avoid the threat of infection. She’s got Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disorder, or SCID. Think Bubble Boy, only her bubble happens to be a fashionably appointed high-end modern home. But all it takes is a glimpse of a moving truck and the new hunk next door to burst Maddy’s carefully curated bubble. After a few furtive glances with Olly (Nick Robinson), and a few text conversations, the two are quickly down the path to falling in love, a secret they keep from her controlling physician mother, Pauline (Anika Noni Rose). Aside from its leading lady, what “Everything, Everything” has going for it is its light, fantastical aesthetic, an unexpected sense of buoyancy and light. Maddy has a highly developed imagination, informed by the books she reads, and the architectural models she builds. Director Stella Meghie sets the text conversations between Maddy and Olly in the diners and libraries she designs, which brings a visual intimacy to their budding connection and a quirky sense of humor and style to what could be rather maudlin and staid proceedings. Olly is, unfortunately, underwritten. Like many of the male leads in films of this ilk, he is only defined by his love for Maddy. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

GIFTED

1/2 PG-13, 101 minutes. Lisbon. It often seems that Hollywood filmmaking trends too often to the “more is more” philosophy: more special effects, more stars, more spectacle. Alternatively, there’s the micro budget “less is more” of the indie scene. Like Goldilocks, you might be looking for something not more or less, but “just right.” “Gifted” is a rare example of the kind of mid-budget family dramedies that used to populate movie theaters but are now hard to come by. It even stars the class president of cinematic spectacle, Captain America himself. Chris Evans, putting down the star-emblazoned shield, demonstrates his chops beyond the “Avengers” universe in this exceedingly pleasant tale of a young prodigy and the uncle who encourages her to just be a kid. The story is an amalgamation of familiar story tropes and character types — the custodial courtroom drama, the precocious whiz-kid, the odd couple,