Movie guide

Four stars: superior. Three stars: good. Two stars: average. One star: poor. D (drug use), L (language), N (nudity), S (sexual situations, references), V (violence). Ratings by Dann Gire, Daily Herald Film Critic, unless otherwise noted.

Picks

“Arrival”— It’s Terrence Malick meets Steven Spielberg in Denis Villeneuve’s slow, but stylish and thoughtful sci-fi tale of a linguist (Amy Adams) enlisted by the military to decipher the language of aliens who’ve landed around the earth. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. (PG-13) L. 116 minutes.???

“Elle”— Steely, impervious French actress Isabelle Huppert commands Paul Verhoeven’s kinky drama about a rape survivor who takes the assault in stride, for she has too many other issues to deal with, among them a disappointing son and sleeping with her best friend’s hubby, even though she hates him. Reviewed by Jake Coyle, Associated Press. In French with subtitles. (R) L, N, S, V 130 minutes.???

“Fences”— Excellent performances by director Denzel Washington and Viola Davis (reprising their roles from Broadway) highlight Washington’s directorial debut based on August Wilson’s celebrated stage play, a character study of a bursting with pent-up resentment, thwarted potential and masculine pride. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. (PG-13) L, S. 139 minutes.???½

“The Founder”— John Lee Hancock tries oh-so-hard to make McDonald’s marketing man Ray Kroc (rendered with restrained obsession by Michael Keaton) a hero, but the best this handsomely mounted biopic can do is downplay his dishonesty in dealing with the original McDonald’s brothers (a hilarious pairing of Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch). Northwest suburban locations have been replicated by Georgian sets. (PG-13) L. 115 minutes.?? ?

“Hidden Figures”— This bracing movie, about a group of brilliant African-American women whose scientific and mathematical skills helped NASA launch its space exploration program in the 1950s and 1960s, is a shot of distilled, exhilarating joy. Starring Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. (PG) 127 minutes.??? ?

“Jackie”— Natalie Portman’s breathless Jacqueline Kennedy dazzles in this insightful, yet flawed study of the first lady following the 1963 assassination of her husband. Peter Sarsgaard’s Bobby Kennedy misses the mark ... really misses. (R) L, V. 95 minutes.? ??

“La La Land”— A joyous reinvention of the American movie musical from “Whiplash” creator Damien Chazelle. Star-crossed lovers Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, as a wannabe actress and a jazz musician, struggle to achieve their dreams in a jazzy, schnazzy tribute to 1940s Hollywood musicals. The theme song “City of Stars” will win the Oscar, by the way. (PG-13) L. 128 minutes.??? ?

“Lion”— Gorgeous cinematography caps this interesting fact-based drama about a lost Indian boy who grows up to be an obsessed man (Dev Patel) searching for his biological family after being adopted by an Australian couple for many years. Reviewed by Stephanie Merry, Washington Post. (PG-13) S. In English, Hindi and Bengali with subtitles. 118 minutes.???

“Manchester By the Sea”— Casey Affleck’s tight performance as a withdrawn handyman/janitor highlights Kenneth Lonergan’s piercing character study of loss, grief and survival. He doesn’t want custody of his teen nephew (Lucas Hedges), even though his deceased brother (Kyle Chandler) put it in his will. (R) L, S. 135 minutes.???½

“Moana”— Walt Disney’s lushly visualized animated musical tells the story of a feisty teen Polynesian princess (Hawaiian actress Auli’l Cravalhol) and her quest to break a long-standing curse, with assistance from an egocentric demigod (Dwayne Johnson) and his giant hook. Fun without romance. (PG) 103 minutes.???½

“A Monster Calls”— J.A. Bayona directs an imaginative, dark fairy tale about a tree creature (Liam Neeson) that materializes to tell three stories to a troubled British lad (a transcendent performance by Lewis MacDougall) dealing with an absent father, school bullies and his dying mother (Felicity Jones). (PG-13) scary images. 108 minutes.???½

“Moonlight”— Raw, yet gentle cutting-edge drama about an African-American kid in Florida glimpsed in three stages of life: as a shy little boy, a troubled teen and a ripped neighborhood drug dealer. An evocative tribute to the power of forgiveness from filmmaker Barry Jenkins. (NR) D, L, S, V. 110 minutes.?? ??

“Paterson”—Jim Jarmusch’s romance is a poem to love starring Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani as a married couple, a portrait of romantic devotion, contentment and vocation all the more affecting for being so utterly, unapologetically heartfelt. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. At the Century Centre, Chicago. (R) L. 118 minutes.?? ??

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”— Visual effects and action sequences squelch the characters in Gareth Edwards’ engaging prequel to “A New Hope.” Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) leads a band of rebels (borrowed from “The Seven Samurai”) to steal blueprints to the under-construction Imperial Death Star so that Episode IV can actually happen. (PG-13) V. 133 minutes.???

“Silence”— Martin Scorsese directs a relatively restrained epic about two 17th-century priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) searching for a missing priest (Liam Neeson) in Japan where Christianity is punishable by torture and death. Well-crafted, but a long dramatic fuse. At the Music Box in Chicago. (R) V. 161 minutes.?? ?

“Trolls”— Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake lead an animated cast in this musical tale of grumpy creatures who eat colorful little trolls for a happiness boost. Can Princess Poppy (Kendrick) sing something sweet enough to stop them? Reviewed by Sandie Angulo Chen, Washington Post. (PG) 100 minutes.???

“20th Century Women”— Absorbing and unabashedly meandering film with a wonderful performance by Annette Bening as a 1970s mom who recruits two younger women (Greta Gerwig and Elle Fanning) to help her teen son (Lucas Jade Zumann) be a better person. Reviewed by Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press. At the River East 21 and Century Centre in Chicago, plus the Evanston Century 12. (R) D, L, N, S. 118 minutes.???

Passables

“Collateral Beauty”— Three struggling actors — Amy (Keira Knightley), Raffi (Jacob Latimore) and Brigitte (Helen Mirren) — are hired to impersonate Love, Time and Death to a grieving father (Will Smith). Simultaneously superficial and heartbreaking. With Kate Winslet, Edward Norton and Naomie Harris. Reviewed by Stephanie Merry, Washington Post. (PG-13) L. 97 minutes.? ?

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”— It’s not exactly Harry Potter, but it’ll do. A Brit magizoologist (Eddie Redmayne) arrives in 1926 NYC, loses a suitcase full of mischievous critters, deals with an arresting agent (Katherine Waterston), befriends a charming baker (Dan Fogler) and battles a murderous wizard. Teeming with busy visual effects and an unwieldy running time. (PG-13) V. 133 minutes.??½

“Live By Night”— This Dennis Lehane crime tale contains a lot of stiffs, including the leading man, director Ben Affleck, moving like a block of granite through a plodding Prohibition-era tale of a disillusioned soldier caught up in an Irish-Italian mob war for the booze market. With Brendan Gleeson, Sienna Miller and Zoe Saldana. (R) L, N, S, V. 128 minutes.??

“Patriots Day”— The first part feels like a boring 1970s disaster movie. But once the hunt begins for the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing, Peter Berg’s crime thriller takes off like a booster rocket. Mark Wahlberg, J.K. Simmons, John Goodman and new star Jimmy O. Yang star. Reviewed by Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post. (R) D, L, V. 130 minutes.??½

“Sing”— An energetic animated kids comedy relying on 85 sampled pop songs, flicker-fast shots and jokes to cover for a deficiency of anything to say beyond the “follow your dreams” bromide. A koala (Matthew McConaughey) sponsors a singing competition to save his ailing theater. (PG) 108 minutes.??½

“Split”— M. Night Shyamalan directs and writes a meandering, suspense-diluted thriller about a man (the extremely versatile James McAvoy) possessed of 23 personalities, with the 24th about to hit, and he’s a doozy. (PG-13) L, V. 116 minutes.? ?

“Trespass Against Us”— Lethargically directed drama about generational conflict in a rural Great Britain family. A dad (Michael Fassbender) tries to break free of his outlaw father (Brendan Gleeson) for the sake of his own son. (R) L, N. 99 minutes.??

Pits

“Assassin’s Creed”— A joyless, convoluted movie based on a video game. A death-row inmate (Michael Fassbender) gets sent back in time to 1492 Spain to find the Apple of Eden. Relentlessly dumb. Reviewed by Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press. (PG-13) L, V. 115 minutes.?

“The Bye Bye Man”— Don’t say his name. Don’t think about him. Or he’ll get you! Derivative horror tale about an urban mythical killer that knocks off young people who say his name, and they apparently can’t shut up. Reviewed by Stephanie Merry, Washington Post. (PG-13) D, L, N, S, V. 96 minutes.?½

“Monster Trucks”— Dopey, shallow kids comedy about a disgruntled teen (Lucas Till) who befriends a cute, fossil-fuel consuming creature that turns his reconstructed Dodge truck into a rocket on wheels just in time to stop evil oil executives from poisoning the monster’s underground lake homestead. (PG) 122 minutes.?½

“Passengers”— Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence are space travelers awakened long before their 120-year commercial space mission is finished in Morten Tyldum’s dreary, derivative, over-plotted science-fiction drama. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. (PG-13) N, S, V. 116 minutes.?½

“Why Him?”— A perfunctory and boorish vulgar comedy about a dad (a slumming Bryan Cranston) who tries to put the kibosh on his daughter’s relationship with a filthy rich tech czar (James Franco) with the maturity of a fruit fly. Reviewed by Alan Zilberman, Washington Post. (R) L, N, V. 111 minutes.?

Unpreviewed

“Dangal”— Walt Disney presents an Indian drama about a former Olympic wrestler who realizes his four daughters have just as much athletic spunk and talent as boys. (NR) 155 minutes.

“The Resurrection of Gavin Stone”— A former child star (Brett Dalton) pretends to be a Christian to play Jesus Christ in a church’s passion play. He has no idea what forces he’s dealing with. D.B. Sweeney co-stars. (PG) 92 minutes.

“Sleepless”— How the mighty have fallen. Oscar winner Jamie Foxx stars as an undercover Las Vegas cop out to rescue his kidnapped teenage son from homicidal gangsters. Not screened for critics, and we all know what that means, don’t we? (R) L, V. 95 minutes.

“Underworld: Blood Wars”— Kate Beckinsale returns as the Vampire Death Dealer still trying to broker a peace between warring vampire and werewolf factions.Sheesh! It’s harder than negotiating peace in the Middle East. Not screened for critics,caveat emptor. (R) S, V. 91 minutes.

“XXX: The Return of Xander Cage”— Government agent Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) races nefarious forces to recover a sinister weapon known as Pandora’s box. (PG-13) L, S, V. 110 minutes.