AVENGERS: ENDGAME

1/2 R, 106 minutes. Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. “Annabelle Comes Home” dives deep into the case history of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) through an ingenious conceit. While Ed and Lorraine head out on assignment, their daughter, Judy (Mckenna Grace), remains at home with her babysitter, Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman), whose meddling friend Daniela (Katie Sarife)

1/2 PG-13, 181 minutes. Through today only at Waterford, Stonington. Still playing at Westbrook, Lisbon. “Endgame” not only answers the cliffhanger of its predecessor — that puny $300 million 156-minute “appetizer” better known as “Infinity War” — but ties together the entire 22-film arc of the Marvel “cinematic universe,” begun with 2008’s “Iron Man.” Generous in humor, spirit and sentimentality, Anthony and Joe Russo’s “Endgame” is a surprisingly full feast of blockbuster-making that, through some time-traveling magic, looks back nostalgically at Marvel’s decade of world domination. — Jake Coyle, Associated Press

ECHO IN THE CANYON

PG-13, 82 minutes. Through today only at Mystic Luxury Cinemas. How did an apparently sincere tribute turn into such a weirdly clueless vanity project? The music scene evoked in the documentary “Echo in the Canyon” re

mains a chimerical wonder, equal parts bliss and chaos. In the 1960s, a daisy chain of like-minded songwriters and performers moved to the winding-road Eden up and over from Hollywood Boulevard, in the area of Los Angeles known as Laurel Canyon. — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS

PG-13, 131 minutes. Westbrook. Does this “Godzilla” come out roaring — a balanced mix of fire-breathing action and story that moves you, efficiently, from one kaiju bout to the next? The movie does not roar, but rather emits only a serviceable yelp. — Hau Chu, Los Angeles Times

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 — PARABELLUM

R, 130 minutes. Lisbon. Chad Stahelski’s “John Wick” has quickly spouted into a three-andcounting series, the latest of which is “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum.” What was once a taut, minimalist action movie with an appeal predicated on low-expectations and leanness has grown into a franchise with a typically overcooked subtitle and de-rigueur world-building. “Parabellum” finds Stahelski moving further beyond Wick’s hardboiled origins and into a more extravagant action thriller. — Jake Coyle, Associated Press

MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL

1/2 PG-13, 114 minutes. Westbrook, Lisbon. “Men in Black”? “X-Men”? That’s so 2000s. The trend of summer 2019 is blockbuster franchise reboots with women in the driver’s seat who are sick of being called “men.” In “Men in Black: International,” Emma Thompson and Tessa Thompson share a cringe over the secretive alien-fighting organization’s outdated name. The actual work is casting Tessa Thompson in the role of a funny, whip-smart, ahem, Person in Black. In fact, Thompson is what makes this otherwise completely unnecessary reboot work.. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

MIDSOMMAR

R, 140 minutes. Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” says Happy Hogan, the burly Marvel mascot played by Jon Favreau in “Spider-Man: Far From After the success of his directorial debut, last year’s defining horror film “Hereditary,” there’s almost impossibly high expectations swirling around writer/director Ari Aster’s sophomore feature, “Midsommar.” With this kind of anticipation, what other choice does Aster have than simply to defy expectations? Where there was dark, now there is light. “Midsommar” is set in the land of the midnight sun at a Swedish midsommar festival celebrating the summer solstice, where the sun rarely (if ever) sets. The setting primes us to expect the unexpected, but one thing’s for certain when it comes to Aster: Always expect to be disturbed, defiled and maybe even delighted. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

PAVAROTTI

PG-13, 140 minutes. Niantic, Madison Art Cinemas. Director Ron Howard’s recent interest in documentary filmmaking has created three productions that share a similar musical baseline but are very different in design and texture. “Made In America,” a backstage look at JayZ’s music festival, had a raw chaotic nature to it, while “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week” took a more intimate approach in looking at the Fab Four. Howard’s third and latest offering, “Pavarotti,” takes a more traditional approach to storytelling. In a threeact design, Howard shows the life and legend of Luciano Pavarotti, the man dubbed “The People’s Tenor.” Through a standard mix of interviews and archival footage, Howard tells a warm and inviting story of the singer from his humble beginnings to the almost godlike status he achieved in the opera world. The thread that holds the project together is how genius can be both a blessing and a curse. The way Howard has put the film together, it’s as if Pavarotti had lived a life similar to the tragic characters he sang about with such power and grace. — Rick Bentley, Tribune News Service

ROCKETMAN

R, 121 minutes. Through today only at Mystic Luxury Cinemas. Still playing at Westbrook. There are a few surprises tucked in amid the sweet sounds and bright, kaleidoscopic visuals of “Rocketman,” though the way it ends is not one of them. It plays out its final moments, as all biopics these days apparently must, over a montage of photos of its real-life subject. Still, because that subject is Elton John, this conventional postscript has its bonus pleasures, and not just because the images we see are unusually colorful and extravagant to behold. — Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times PG-13, 129 minutes. Niantic, Mystic Luxury Cinemas, Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. Director and co-writer Jon Watts returns for this “Spider-Man” follow-up, which repeats the formula with surprising success. “Spider-Man: Far From Home” welcomes us back into the engaging teenage world of Peter Parker, just another high school kid struggling with encroaching adulthood, his feelings for a girl (MJ, played by an endearingly quirky Zendaya) and — oh, yes — his secret identity. — Rafer Guzmán, Newsday

TOY STORY 4

G, 100 minutes. Niantic, Mystic Luxury Cinemas, Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. It’s easy to question the necessity of another “Toy Story” movie, especially after the emotionally devastating “Toy Story 3.” Arriving nine years later, “Toy Story 4” has to earn its relevance. It does so in spades, with astonishingly beautiful animation, smart humor and a story filled with the kind of pathos and poignancy we expect. In a summer glutted with tiresome sequels, the team at Pixar more than makes the argument for another “Toy Story” by combining the beloved characters and tone of the original trilogy with fresh comedic elements and new additions to the toy crew — most importantly, a spork named Forky who isn’t even sure he’s actually a toy. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

YESTERDAY

1/2 PG-13, 116 minutes. Niantic, Madison Art Cinemas, Mystic Luxury Cinemas, Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis’ “Yesterday” requires its viewers to take quite a few leaps of faith. First,