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
“Bridget Jones’s Baby”— Great Britain’s most celebrated singleton finally gets pregnant, but who is the father? Renée Zellweger returns with Colin Firth and Patrick Dempsey as her competing baby daddies. Reviewed by Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press. (R) L, N, S. 122 minutes.???
“Don’t Breathe”— “Evil Dead” director Fede Alvarez goes for suspense in this home-invasion thriller during which a blind homeowner (Stephen Lang) shows he can fight back. And then some. Taut, tense and tawdry tale. With Jane Levy. (R) L, S, V. 88 minutes.???
“Finding Dory”— Pixar’s fun, animated comic adventure, but lacking the imagination and creativity of “Finding Nemo” from 13 years ago. Dory the fish (Ellen DeGeneres) searches for her missing parents with help from an octopus (Ed O’Neill), Nemo (Aurora resident Hayden Rolence) and Marlin (Albert Brooks). Really, a car chase in an ocean movie? (PG) 100 minutes.???
“Florence Foster Jenkins”— Meryl Streep wows us again as the titular character, a lovable, self-deluded woman in the 1940s who tries to sing opera, but can’t, and doesn’t let that stop her. A crowd-pleasing, eccentric comedy about romance, sort of. With Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg. (PG-13) S. 110 minutes.???½
“Goat”— With its disturbing tale of fraternity hazing, “Goat” isn’t an easy film to watch. And it’s even harder to forget, in part because of Ben Schnetzer’s powerful performance as a twice-traumatized pledge. At the Music Box Theatre. Reviewed by Stephanie Merry, Washington Post. (R) D, L, N, S, V. 96 minutes.???
“Hell or High Water”— Well-crafted modern western about two bankrobbing brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster) and the Texas Rangers (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham) on their tails. (R) L, S, V. 102 minutes.???½
“Kubo and the Two Strings”— Gorgeous stop-motion action blends with other forms of animation in this Japanese-inspired family fantasy about a boy’s magical quest through dazzling animated landscapes. Voices by Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes and Matthew McConaughey. Reviewed by Jake Coyle, Associated Press. (PG) 101 minutes.???
“Pete’s Dragon”— David Lowery’s reboot of the 1977 cheesy Walt Disney musical is a far superior work of amazing fantasy, all about the friendship between a young boy (a well-cast Oakes Fegley) and his giant dragon Elliott. (PG) 90 minutes.???
“Queen of Katwe”— Inspiring, true tale of an illiterate girl (Madina Nalwanga) from Uganda who discovers a natural talent for chess and, with the help of a caring coach (David Oyelowo), becomes a champion. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o stars as her disapproving mother. Reviewed by Sandy Cohen, Associated Press. (PG) 124 minutes.???
“Sausage Party”— Lewd, rude, insane animated adult comedy about living food substances in a supermarket hoping to be taken into heaven by shoppers. It’s like a Pixar movie on acid, but really a smart and smarting religious and political satire, too. With Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig. (R) D, L, S. 89 minutes.???½
“Sully”— Clint Eastwood directs a thrilling account of the “Miracle on the Hudson” with a stellar Tom Hanks as the US Airways captain, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, whose critical thinking skills and sheer cool save the day and make this a perfect movie for our time. With a wasted Laura Linney and a well-cast Aaron Eckhart. (PG-13) L. 96 minutes.???½
Passables
“Bad Moms”— Three stressed-out mothers (Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Bell) fold under their daily pressures and go crazy by breaking all the routine mom rules. With Christina Applegate and Jada Pinkett Smith. Reviewed by Stephanie Merry, Washington Post. (R) D, L, N, S. 101 minutes.??½
“Ben-Hur”— An abbreviated, moreChrist-centered take on William Wyler’s 1959 film that garnered 11 Oscars. Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) and Messala (Toby Kebbell) are like brothers until Messala becomes a Roman officer and falsely accuses Judah of betrayal, prompting him to exact vengeance during a thrilling chariot race. Reviewed by Sandy Cohen, Associated Press. (PG-13) V. 124 minutes.??
“Central Intelligence” —Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart share comic chemistry in this wild buddy action comedy about two mismatched high school grads who save the U.S. the day of their 20th class reunion. All because of a single act of kindness. (PG-13) L, N, S, V. 114 minutes.??½
“Ghostbusters” —Plainfield’s Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon take over the job of saving New York City from supernatural entities in Paul Feig’s bold but noisy, unscary, witless remake of Ivan Reitman’s comedy. But hey, it has its funny moments and original cast cameos to keep us amused. (PG-13) supernatural action, crude humor. 105 minutes.??
“The Hollars”— “The Office” star John Krasinski directs a tepid, sitcom-like family comedy about a would-be cartoonist (Krasinski) who returns home when his mom (Margo Martindale) develops a brain tumor. Martindale and Richard Jenkins (as Dad) hijack the movie. With a wasted Anna Kendrick. (PG-13) L. 88 minutes.??
“The Light Between Oceans”— Well-acted, but stodgy, pretentiously photographed and sloggily edited period tragedy about a post-WWI couple (Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander) who live to regret finding a baby and passing her off as their own. From the best-seller by M.L. Stedman. (PG-13) S. 100 minutes.??½
“Nerve” —Just in time to provide a dark commentary on “Pokemon Go.” A shy teen (Emma Roberts) becomes swept up in a smartphone contest for popularity and money if she accomplishes increasingly dangerous assignments. A disastrous ending destroys what would have been a provocative, paranoid thriller. With fidgety Dave Franco as her date for the night. (PG-13) D, L, N, S. 96 minutes.??½
“The Magnificent Seven”— A less-than-magnificent remake of a Western classic about a bounty hunter (Denzel Washington) and six other gunslingers hired to bring down the man (Peter Sarsgaard) who has been terrorizing a town and made a widow of the luminous Haley Bennett. (PG-13) L, S, V. 132 minutes.??
“Max Rose”— A retired jazz musician (90-year-old Jerry Lewis) mourns his wife and learns she may have carried on an affair. A somber drama about aging and fidelity. Reviewed by Pat Padua, Washington Post. (NR) 83 minutes.??½
“Mr. Church”— Eddie Murphy returns to the big screen as a kind yet secretive cook for an ailing woman and her daughter. Reviewed by Mark Jenkins, Washington Post. (PG-13) 105 minutes.??
“Snowden”— Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in Oliver Stone’s fact-based drama about Edward Snowden, the NSA analyst who exposed illegal surveillance activities and became one of the most wanted men in the world. Reviewed by Jake Coyle, Associated Press. (R) L, N, S. 138 minutes.??½
“Star TrekBeyond”— More mano-a-alieno fights than an intergalactic WWE match, an interracial bromance, plus a swarm of nasty mechanical space bees highlight this visually engaging third chapter in the sci-fi reboot, which looks great, but doesn’t feel 100 percent Trek. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana return. (PG-13) V. 122 minutes.??½
“Storks”— The titular birds have gotten out of the baby business, but an error sets Junior (voiced by Andy Samberg) and a human girl named Tulip on a quest to deliver a bundle of joy to a stressed-out family. The film has a lot of the ingredients for a playful cartoon, but the humor and sentiment don’t quite gel. Reviewed by Jake Coyle, Associated Press. (PG) 86 minutes.??
Pits
“Blair Witch”— A second sequel to the original inspiration for all “found footage” horror tales takes up with college students looking in the Black Hills Forest for clues about what happened to one student’s sister. It doesn’t go well. Reviewed by Mark Jenkins, Washington Post. (R) L, V. 89 minutes.?½
“The Dressmaker”— Kate Winslet plays a seamstress who returns home to Australia to see her mother and settle scores. It’s a toxic, tiring tale of madness and revenge. Also starring Liam Hemsworth, Judy Davis and Hugo Weaving. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. (R) L, V. 118 minutes.?½
“I.T.”— A psychotic I.T. guy (James Frecheville) targets a wealthy industrialist (executive producer Pierce Brosnan) by taking control of the computers operating his company and home. A timely topic wasted in a simple-minded, predictable screenplay. (NR) L, N, V. 95 minutes.?½
“Jason Bourne”— Frenetic, noisy, blurry action footage suffocates story and character as Matt Damon’s amnesiac CIA assassin discovers the truth about his father and settles a score with a ruthless new CIA director (Tommy Lee Jones). Perfunctory screenplay sets a record for utterances of “Copy that!” With Alicia Vikander and Julia Stiles. (PG-13) L, V. 123 minutes.?½
“The Secret Life of Pets”— Engaging animated comedy about what pets do all day while their owners are out working. If it didn’t condone bullying and violence as effective and efficient ways to solve problems, it would be a much better kids movie. Two canine rivals (Louis C.K. and Eric Stonestreet) must depend on each other to survive New York’s mean streets and animal control officers. Voices by Kevin Hart, Albert Brooks, Dana Carvey. (PG) 90 minutes.?½
“Suicide Squad”— The most anticipated summer movie turns out to be a dud, a muddled variation of “The Dirty Dozen” with thinly drawn supervillains recruited by a ruthless bureaucrat (Viola Davis) to stop an ancient warlock from stealing the ending to “Ghostbusters.” Only Margot Robbie’s sleazy Harley Quinn knows how to spin writer/director David Ayer’s material, extremely disturbing stuff blunted by a restrictive PG-13 rating. L, S, V. 123 minutes.?½
“War Dogs”— Overwritten, underdeveloped and obvious business comedy about two best buds (Jonah Hill and Miles Teller) who become international arms dealers during the Iraq War. Directed by Todd “The Hangover” Phillips. (R) D, L, S. 114 minutes.??
“The Wild Life”— The Robinson Crusoe story gets a kid-friendly animated adaptation with talking animals that completely strips the Daniel Defoe classic of its drama. Reviewed by Stephanie Merry, Washington Post. (PG) 90 minutes.?½
Unpreviewed
“Baar Baar Dekho”— The love life of a math teacher is told with flashbacks and flashforwards. Figures. In Hindi with subtitles. (NR) 140 minutes.
“The Disappointments Room”— The discovery of a secret room in a creepy old Southern mansion spells trouble for a young family (Kate Beckinsale, Mel Raido, Lucas Till). The point: Stay in Brooklyn. Not screened for critics, socaveat emptor.(R) L, S, V. 100 minutes.
“Don’t Think Twice”— Mike Birbiglia directs and writes a comedy about a New York improv group breaking under the pressure of some of its members making it to the top. (R) D, L. 92 minutes.
“Hillsong: Let Hope Rise”— A doc about the Australian music group, billed as “a new motion-picture genre: the theatrical worship experience.” (PG) 103 minutes.
“The Mechanic: Resurrection”— Jason Statham returns as Bishop in this sequel to the 2011 action thriller. Now he must complete an impossible list of assassinations ... or else! With Jessica Alba. Not screened for critics, just so you know. (R) L, V. 99 minutes.
“Nine Lives”— Following a terrible accident, an aloof, caustically unempathetic billionaire businessman (Kevin Spacey) wakes up in the body of his little daughter’s new cat. Can he learn to be a purrfect dad before it’s too late? With Jennifer Garner and Christopher Walken. (PG) 87 minutes.
“No Manches Frida”— A comedy about an ex-con who becomes a substitute teacher to retrieve the loot he buried under the school’s new gym. In Spanish with subtitles. (PG-13) D, L, S. 114 minutes.
“When the Bough Breaks”— Forget postpartum depression. Hot surrogate Anna (Jaz Sinclair) goes off the deep end while carrying a baby for John and Laura (Morris Chestnut and Regina Hall), and then does whatever’s necessary to replace the wife. Not screened for critics, socaveat emptor.(PG-13) L, N, S, V. 93 minutes.
