THE SISTERS BROTHERS

PG-13, 132 minutes. Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. Based on the novel of the same name by Angie Thomas, George Tillman Jr.’s “The Hate U Give,” adapted by Audrey Wells, is not a “young adult” film, though the story has been labeled as such. It’s a film about young adults, but the issues they face are ones that grip our entire nation, no matter the age. It’s a story about young adults grappling with very large problems that have an overwhelming effect on young people, such as police brutality, gang warfare and state violence. “The Hate U Give” finally gives the magnetic young performer Amandla Stenberg a vehicle worthy of her talents. Having shone in mediocre efforts like “Everything, Everything” and “The Darkest Minds,” the film gives her a role to really sink her teeth into with the character of Starr Carter. Her father, Maverick (Russell Hornsby), a former gang member-turned-grocery store owner, instilled the Black Panther 10-point program in his children from a young age, instilling in them the knowledge both of the unfair and corrupt criminal justice and economic system, but also of their personal power. He trains his three children, Starr, Seven (Lamar Johnson) and Sekani (TJ Wright), to comply obediently with police to keep themselves as safe as possible in the event of an inevitable run-in with the law. Starr is well-versed in performing herself as non-threatening to white people, a skill she’s also developed at her private school, where she deftly code-switches for her white friends and white boyfriend, Chris (K.J. Apa). Although they freely appropriate rap music and black slang, Starr must be agreeable and amicable at all times. She walks a tenuous but manageable line that becomes unbearable when she becomes the sole witness to the police shooting of an unarmed black teen, her childhood friend Khalil (Algee Smith). — Katie Walsh, Associated Press

THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS

PG, 104 minutes. Westbrook, Lisbon. Witches are so 2017. Make way for warlocks, aka “boy witches,” as defined by the intrepid young Lewis (Owen Vaccaro), the boy hero of “The House with a Clock in Its Walls.” The adaptation of John Bellairs’ 1973 young adult fantasy novel, directed by Eli Roth and written by Eric Kripke, makes a play to move in on the young warlock turf vacated by Harry Potter, but the film just can’t quite keep time as a proper young adult fantasy adventure. The story, which takes place in 1955, follows Lewis as he travels to New Zebedee, Mich., to live with his uncle, Jonathan Barnavelt (Jack Black), after the tragic death of his parents. The film has a vintage steampunk aesthetic, with Lewis outfitted in tweeds and a ubiquitous pair of goggles. He fits right in to his uncle’s creaking, groaning, ticking house of wonders, where there are no rules, plentiful chocolate chip cookies and lots of mysterious goings-on, courtesy of Jonathan and his neighbor, Mrs. Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett). It’s not so easy to fit in with the kids at school, though Lewis does make one friend in the cool-kid greaser Tarby (Sunny Suljic). But if Lewis is going to learn anything from his impressively bearded and kooky uncle, it’s to embrace the weird — it’s the only way to be a warlock. Lewis is soon receiving lessons in magic from his uncle and Mrs. Zimmerman, a combination of old-school vaudeville magician tricks, and real, mystical conjuring of the ethereal fantastic. Despite all the rich elements — the fantastic cast, the wonderfully detailed production and costume design, an oddball family story of black sheep finding each other — there’s something missing from “The House with a Clock in Its Walls.” — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

NIGHT SCHOOL

1/2 PG-13, 111 minutes. Through today only at Lisbon. Still playing at Waterford, Stonington. For years, putting feisty comic Kevin Hart across from any movie star would automatically light a fire underneath an otherwise middling comedy. He was the magic ingredient, the spice that would enliven anything. But recently, Hart has been usurped as the secret sauce in any comedy sandwich. The challenger to his throne is “Girls Trip” breakout star Tiffany Haddish, and it was only a matter of time before the two faced off in a war of quippy comebacks. But in Malcolm D. Lee’s “Night School,” co-starring Hart and Haddish, Hart is now the star who needs a wacky supporting cast to prop him up this time around. Hart characters have become a genre unto their own. He plays men with outsize personalities, hustlers and salesmen who punch above their weight class when it comes to love interests and have a tenuous relationship with the truth. In a climatic speech in “Night School,” Hart’s character, Teddy, announces “I’m a liar. I’m a loudmouth hustler,” and it’s one of the most honest moments in his filmography. Because we know Hart’s cinematic persona so well by now, what livens up “Night School” — aside from Haddish, who plays his supportive, yet shockingly violent teacher — is the band of weirdos that are his classmates. Lee has assembled a group of beloved comic character actors to surround Hart and offer him some fodder off which to bounce. Rob Riggle, Al Madrigal, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Romany Malco embody a group of hilariously detailed characters that could easily carry their own spinoffs. Malco is especially funny as the conspiracy theory-spouting Jalen, who fires off couplets about the Illuminati and robots so quickly no one knows what hit them. The crew is what carries “Night School” through the bumpy patches. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

THE OLD MAN & THE GUN

PG-13, 93 minutes. Starts Friday at Niantic, Westbrook. Madison Arts Cinemas, Mystic Luxury Cinemas, Lisbon. A career criminal who robbed banks long after other thieves were out of the game — his last arrest came just short of his 79th birthday — Forrest Tucker had one thing going for him: movie star charm. “You got to hand it to the guy,” a juror who voted to convict Tucker told journalist David Grann about the desperado, who died in 2004. “He’s got style.” So it’s completely fitting that “The Old Man & the Gun,” written and directed by David Lowery based on Grann’s New Yorker profile, succeeds wonderfully well in part because of the effortless movie star charisma of its old school stars, Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek. Redford, 82, has said that this film is likely his last, and he has been well served by filmmaker Lowery, whose eclectic body of work includes the modern haunting tale “A Ghost Story” and the underappreciated family film “Pete’s Dragon.” For though its story of a bandit old enough to know better may sound like a conventional “Over the Hill Gang” kind of endeavor, in the writer-director’s hands, it’s a puckish film with a wistful quality, a gently comic end-of-the-line adventure about doing what you love, the passage of time and the things that might have been. A filmmaker with a touch that manages to be both relaxed and in control, Lowery and gifted costars Casey Affleck, Danny Glover, Tika Sumpter and Tom Waits have made a film that unfolds serendipitously, never quite doing what you expect when you expect it. And “Old Man” boasts any number of fun touches that reveal themselves at unforeseen moments, such as a diner sign that says “A Lunch Special That Is a Steal,” or a glimpse of three kids whitewashing a fence that inevitably recalls those earlier reprobates Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. The director even had cinematographer Joe Anderson shoot in Super 16mm to enhance the old-timey look. — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

A SIMPLE FAVOR

R, 117 minutes. Through today only at Westbrook. Comedy director Paul Feig tries a thriller on for size with the juicy “A Simple Favor,” a suburban Connecticut murder mystery that’s “Gone Girl” meets “The Stepford Wives.” Based on the novel by Darcey Bell, written by Jessica Sharzer, the consciously campy “A Simple Favor” is as bright and bracing as an ice cold gin martini with a lemon twist, and just as satisfying. Anna Kendrick stars as Stephanie, a mommy vlogger raising her son, Miles (Joshua Satine), on her own after her husband’s tragic death in a car accident. Shunned by the other parents (a gloriously catty trio played by Andrew Rannells, Aparna Nancherla and Kelly McCormack), she takes up with the glamorous, elusive and mysterious Emily Nelson (Blake Lively), mostly because their kids want a play date. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

1/2 R, 121 minutes. Through today only at Lisbon. Bloody, sentimental and shrewdly acted, “The Sisters Brothers” opens with a conspicuous bang and then clipclops along a winding path, alternating between sibling-rivalry wisecracks and wry observations of a rapidly changing mid-19th century frontier full of startling new inventions. The toothbrush, for example. Or flush toilets. The way John C. Reilly regards such wonders, you’re reminded of just how good he can be doing the simplest things. Reilly plays Eli Sisters, the naive, responsible one of the title duo. His alcoholic, dangerously touchy brother, Charlie, is portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix. “We’re good at what we do,” Charlie reminds Eli early on, by which time it’s already clear these siblings need a break — from their job, from their line of work, from the shadow cast by their drunken lout of a father. The Sisters brothers kill for a living. — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

SMALLFOOT

1/2 PG, 96 minutes. Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. Saturday and Sunday only at Mystic Luxury Cinemas. When If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as the saying goes. That seems to be the approach taken by the screenwriters of the new animated feature “Smallfoot.” The story is actually “Bigfoot,” but it hinges on a clever reversal of perspective, centering on a tribe of Yetis in the Himalayas who fear the dreaded unknown creature known to them as Smallfoot. The mysterious beings clad their feet in leather cases with ridged soles. They carry rolls of soft white paper in zippered satchels. That’s right, Smallfoot is human, and the notion of taking a storied monster like Bigfoot and making him the hero, and humans the monster, is the fun of the movie, based on the book “Yeti Tracks” by Sergio Pablos. The film is co-written and co-directed by Karey Kirkpatrick (“Over the Hedge”), while Jason Reisig co-directs, with Clare Sera, John Requa, and Glenn Ficarra as co-writers. The story itself is one we’ve seen before, just with a twist or two. Our hero, Migo (Channing Tatum), is a happy-golucky Yeti who loves his small snowy village so much he sings a song about the way it works in perfect harmony. Yes, you may be getting flashbacks to “Where You Are” from “Moana,” or “Belle” from “Beauty and the Beast,” but Migo is far more loyally unquestioning and optimistic than his Disney counterparts. But as soon as you hear the song, we know where we’re going with “Smallfoot” — a young, but brave naïf who loves their home will, by some turn of events, be thrust outside of their comfort zone, discover something new, go on an adventure and question everything they’ve ever known. And that’s exactly what happens. Migo has a chance encounter with a smallfoot pilot who crash lands on the mountain. He tries to tell his village, though he’s rebuffed and outcast by the Stonekeeper (Common), who denies his assertion. So Migo hooks up with the secret Smallfoot Evidentiary Society, and they go hunting for evidence of smallfoots. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

A STAR IS BORN

R, 135 minutes. Niantic, Madison Arts Cinemas, Mystic Luxury Cinemas, Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. With pop superstar Lady Gaga as his muse, legendary cinematographer Matthew Libatique behind the camera, and a well-worn, beloved Hollywood fable to work with, the cards are stacked in favor of star/ co-writer/director Bradley Cooper for his directorial debut, “A Star is Born.” And yet, his film is frankly startling in how assured, artful and emotionally authentic it is. This is finely-tuned precision filmmaking — genuine artistry on display in a huge, prestige studio movie. It’s a blockbuster romance that looks and feels like an indie film, all in service of an expression of pure love. In a physically and vocally transformed performance, Cooper stars as country rocker Jackson Maine, with an Arizona origin story right out of an epic western melodrama. His ears ringing from chronic tinnitus, and at the bottom of his bottle after a show, he stumbles into a drag bar for a drink and encounters Ally

(Gaga). She’s singing an Edith Piaf number, with painted hair and stick-on eyebrows. Sprawled on the bar, she locks eyes with Jackson, and with us, and instantly both he and we have fallen for the impish singer. After a few rounds in a cop bar, a fistfight and an impromptu intimate songwriting session in a supermarket parking lot, she’s fallen too. Fundamentally, “A Star is Born” is a movie about love — love that shines in the best of times, persists in the worst — but truly, it is about falling in love with Ally’s face. The moment that’s been in every version of the movie, where Jackson says he “just wants to take another look” at her, is the thesis, the spine around which the story rotates. It’s impossible not to fall in love with the stars of “A Star is Born,” but there’s so much more to love too. The supporting cast is dynamite, from Anthony Ramos as Ally’s best friend to Sam Elliott doing career-best work as Jackson’s older brother and embattled tour manager, Bobby. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Services

VENOM

1/2 PG-13, 112 minutes. Through today only at Niantic, Mystic Luxury Cinemas. Still playing at Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. The Superhero fatigue got you down? Tired of the same old bland Marvel Cinematic Universe offerings? A dose of “Venom” could be just the right antidote. This dark, wacky MCU-associated outing combines one of the most interesting contemporary leading men with a daring director who has a hit-or-miss track record. Throw an outlandish alien organism into the mix, shake well with a healthy serving of irreverent humor and you’ve got “Venom.” It’s a mess, but wow, is it ever a fun, fascinating mess. Those are always so much more thrilling than any of the formulaic superhero movies that parade through multiplexes all year. Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock, intrepid San Francisco investigative reporter and unwilling host body for alien Symbiote Venom. Although director Ruben Fleischer uses every tool in his cinematic arsenal, Hardy is firmly in charge here, steering this ship straight to Crazytown. One can’t help but wonder if Hardy is pulling the greatest trick any actor ever has on a multi-million dollar Hollywood comic book movie, because his insane performance as the edgy Eddie feels like an elaborate troll, like Hardy might be a Trojan horse, or the parasite itself feeding on the MCU from the inside out. He’s in full-on crazy-eyed “Wuthering Heights” mode, colored shades of “Bronson” physical intensity, while using his own heavy Brooklyn accent from “The Drop.” He’s absolutely riveting, and hilarious. Part of this is a character study, juxtaposing the freewheeling but principled reporter Eddie with nemesis Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), a shady bio-tech entrepreneur and Elon Musk type who would rather inhabit outer space than try to disrupt climate change and has a shocking disregard for human life. After receiving a tip from Dr. Skirth (Jenny Slate), Eddie breaks into a lab hoping to collect evidence that Drake has been abusing and killing homeless people for Symbiote trials. Venom inhabits Eddie’s body and turns him into an unlikely killing machine. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Services

Cheeseburger ($10.99) — I tried this because one can never have too many options in terms of fine burgers. This half-pound offering was just right. It came on a newly-baked brioche roll with lettuce and tomato. I chose Swiss from the cheese offerings. The patty was medium as asked, seeping just the right about of juice with each bite. No mayo or mustard onboard, and the menu doesn’t mention any. Might wanna ask if that’s your thing. A note: the spear of dill pickle was crisp and had a perfect vinegar bite.

I’ll be back at the Landing with some regularity, I suspect. They have a Cuban panini ($12.99), hot and cold lobster rolls ($19.99), and a roasted salmon cakes appetizer ($9.99), all of which call to me. Too, there are daily specials and that e’er-changing oyster menu.

Chef Martinez had it going on. Any gentle faux pas from the waitstaff are novice mistakes that will be, based on the collective charm and enthusiasm, quickly overcome.