‘UNCLE DREW’

PG-13 1:43

With a cast dominated by NBA stars, bearing heavy amounts of old-age makeup, “Uncle Drew” naturally inspires laughter and a love for the game of basketball.

As a nod to the ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries, the film begins by telling the story of the legend of Uncle Drew (Kyrie Irving), who became a basketball all star, only to mysteriously disappear a few years later.

For the remainder of the film, we follow Lil Rel Howery as Dax, an orphan who settled for being a coach after his dreams of being a basketball player were crushed by an embarrassing loss. Things only get worse for Dax. He puts all of his time and effort into his star player, only to find that his biggest competition and arch nemesis, Mookie (Nick Kroll) has stolen his entire team, along with his girlfriend (Tiffany Haddish).

Now homeless and penniless, Dax goes on a quest for a new team, without much luck. That is until he happens upon an old geezer who turns out to be none other than Uncle Drew. Dax convinces him to rebuild his old team — cue the road trip.

Drew and Dax together is opportune for senile old man and “youngblood” (as Drew repetitively calls members of the younger generation) jokes, making the trip quite comical. Each member of Drew’s former team has their own hilarious situation that came about after reaching old age — together making a team of a blind man, a man in a wheelchair, a preacher and a martial arts instructor.

Shaquille O’Neal as Big Fella often steals the show with his hilarious facial expressions and character. There’s nothing like seeing Shaquille O’Neal covered in old-age makeup, slightly resembling Wolverine, getting down on the dance floor.

Small conflicts between the players arise here and there throughout the film, but are often very quickly resolved — Drew and Dax have their ups and downs, but by the end of the film find that they share a connection through their past mistakes. “Uncle Drew” leaves you with a heartwarming ending as Dax realizes he’s finally found the family he never had and the courage to pursue his once crushed dreams.

Starring: Kyrie Irving, Reggie Miller, Lil Rey Howery, Nate Robinson (III), Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Erica Ash, Tiffany Haddish, Lisa Leslie, Nick Kroll, JB Smoove and Mike Epps. (suggestive material, language and brief nudity.) — Sierra Rains-Moad,

The Oklahoman is attacked by a swarm of suicide bombers.

It’s believed the bombers were jihadis who infiltrated the country by slipping through the Mexican border. Told that the cartels control the trafficking of migrants over the border, the Secretary of Defense (Matthew Modine) opts to clandestinely prompt a war between two cartels. Graver’s plan is to kidnap the 12-year-old daughter of a cartel kingpin to kick-start the war.

Things go from dark to darker still, as “Day of the Soldado” sets its genre tale against the backdrop of Mexican migrants in a way that sometimes feels topical and sometimes exploitive. As grim as the world of “Sicario” is, there’s also a sentimental stab at redemption by way of the kingpin daughter (played by a very good Isabela Moner), who ends up in a desert trek with Gillick.

Starring: Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Matthew Modine (strong violence, bloody images, and language.) — Jake Coyle, Associated Press John Cho into the mix as a detective straight out of a 1940s film noir, and you have a cast that punches way below its weight class. Kirke, so wonderful in “Mistress America,” and Cho, of the underappreciated “Columbus,” are endlessly fascinating to watch, but the gossamer-thin material underserves them.

I’ll say one thing for “Gemini”: You may have to see it twice. No, it’s not that good, but the inevitable twist is so unsatisfying that you may convince yourself you’ve missed something.

The film shows at 5:30 and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive.

Starring: Lola Kirke, Zoe Kravitz, John Cho (Contains pervasive crude language and a violent image.)

— Michael O’Sullivan, The Washington Post coming to terms with the decline of both his livelihood — represented by the struggling, vinyl-only record store that he runs — and his mother (Blythe Danner). As the film opens, we watch the increasingly confused woman almost get arrested for shoplifting, as Frank is forced to confront whether it’s time to have Mom move in with him and his teenage daughter, Sam (Kiersey Clemons).

It’s father and daughter, not mother and son, whose relationship is the central driver of this charming and multilayered tale. “Hearts” zeros in on the bittersweet nature of Frank’s special bond with Sam, who has inherited his love of, and affinity for, music.

When the two, on a whim, spend a chunk of daddydaughter time noodling on instruments and scribbling down lyrics, they manage — much to their own surprise — to write a half-decent song. This leads Frank to rekindle his aspirations of rock stardom, and Sam, who is preparing to begin pre-med studies at UCLA in the fall, to question whether she has the heart to crush her father’s dreams as she pursues her own.

Adding layers of nuance and emotion is a supporting cast that includes Toni Collette, as Frank’s landlord and is-she-or-isn’t-she love interest, and Sasha Lane, who plays a young artist who develops a crush on Sam.

The heart, of course, and its yearning for human connection (whether though romance, family or friendship) is the true subject of “Hearts Beat Loud.” Using an eclectic array of music — both original tunes, written by Keegan DeWitt, and performed by Offerman and Clemons, and a carefully curated soundtrack featuring snippets of pop songs by Jason Molina, Mitski and others — the movie articulates a point: Love is love.

Starring: Nick Offerman, Blythe Danner, Kiersey Clemons (Contains some drug references and brief coarse language).

— Michael O’Sullivan, The Washington Post