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

“The Conjuring 2”— James Wan directs an effective but conventional sequel to his 2013 supernatural hit. After tangling with the Amityville horror, married demonologists (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) investigate a malevolent force menacing a London house with a single mom and her four children. Well-done claptrap. (R) V. 133 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.???

“The Infiltrator”— Bryan Cranston’s excellent, immersive performance highlights this flawed, fact-based crime tale about the undercover drug agent who toppled a worldwide money laundering operation for Pablo Escobar. With John Leguizamo and Diane Kruger. (R) D, L, S. 100 minutes.?? ?

“Hunt for the Wilderpeople”— Joyously humanistic, delightfully sweet and absurdly unlikely buddy road comedy about a preteen city orphan (Julian Dennison) and his crusty foster-dad (Sam Neill) surviving in the New Zealand bush while cops, hunters and social service workers give chase. From “What We Do in the Shadows” director Taika Waititi. (PG-13) L, V. 101 minutes.???½

“The Legend of Tarzan”— An updated take on the King of the Jungle character now played by Alexander Skarsgard as a British lord summoned back to the Congo where a villainous envoy (Christoph Waltz) plots to turn him over to an old enemy. With Margot Robbie as an Americanized Jane. (PG-13) L, V. 109 minutes.???½

“Lights Out”— Tidy little supernatural thriller about an at-risk family menaced by a malevolent entity named Diana, who only exists in the dark. Clever innovations mash with genre conventions in David Sandberg’s spook fest. (PG-13) D, V. 81 minutes.?? ?

“Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates”— Episodic, gross and periodically hilarious comedy based on the true story of two brothers (here Zac Efron and Adam Devine) who advertise on Craigslist for dates for their sister’s Hawaiian wedding. Two opportunistic women (Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza) get the jobs. Breakout performance by Canadian performer Sugar Lyn Beard as the sister. (R) D, L, N, S. 98 minutes.???

“The Purge: Election Year”— A scarifying political horror tale about a presidential candidate (Elizabeth Mitchell) trying to evade assassins in the streets of Washington the night of the Purge, when all American citizens can commit crimes without penalties. With Frank Grillo as the agent who tries to protect her. (R) L, V. 105 minutes.???

Passables

“The BFG”— Steven Spielberg directs a tepid but serviceable kid’s fantasy about a young London girl kidnapped by a Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance) and whisked off to Giant Country. Based on the book by Roald Dahl. (PG) 117 minutes.??½

“Captain Fantastic”— A nonconformist dad (Viggo Mortensen) raises his six kids in the wilderness, training them to be physically and intellectually at their full potential in Matt Ross’ intriguing but distanced domestic drama. At the Evanston Century 12, the River East 21 and ArcLight in Chicago. (R) L, N. 119 minutes.??½

“Cafe Society”— Honeyed, hyper-ethnic nostalgia from Woody Allen, who directs, writes and narrates a bittersweet romantic triangle between a New York transplant (Jesse Eisenberg), his Hollywood agent uncle (Steve Carell) and his idealistic young secretary (Kristen Stewart). Superb lensing by Vittorio Storaro paired with Allen for the first time. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday. (PG-13) D, S, V. 96 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

“Equals”— Lethargically paced, well-acted science-fiction drama about two co-workers (Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart) who violate the anti-intimacy culture of their vaguely authoritarian government by developing feelings for each other. At Schaumburg’s Streets of Woodfield, the Woodridge 18 and the Vic Theater Brew & View in Chicago. (PG-13) N, S. 101 minutes.??

“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.??

“Independence Day: Resurgence”— Alien invaders once again target planet Earth in this effects-laden sequel to the 20-year-old action film. Will Smith is gone, but Liam Hemsworth joins returning stars Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum in the kind of mindless summer flick film fans have been waiting for. Reviewed by Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press. (PG-13) L, V. 119 minutes.??

“Love & Friendship”— Whit Stillman directs a romance adapted from Jane Austen’s unfinished novella “Lady Susan.” It’s a talky tale centered on the manipulative ways of an attractive young widow played by Kate Beckinsale. Chloë Sevigny and Tom Bennett star. Reviewed by Sandy Cohen, Associated Press. (PG) 93 minutes.??½

“Me Before You”— A wealthy, handsome paralyzed Londoner (Sam Claflin) wants to end his life. Then his mother hires a spunky small-town English woman (Emilia Clarke) to lift his spirits. Can she persuade him to take a more positive view of life? Adapted from the best-selling novel by Jojo Moyes. Reviewed by Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press. (PG-13) S. 110 minutes.??

“Now You See Me 2”— Preposterously ridiculous, digitally enhanced “tricks” and too many hypnotists propel this sequel about the Four Horsemen magicians who jump down an escape hatch in Las Vegas and wind up in China. What? (Repeat this many times.) Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson and Lizzy Caplan (replacing Isla Fisher) star. (PG-13) L, V. 115 minutes.??

“The Shallows”— Blake Lively stars as a surfer trapped 200 yards off shore by a great white shark that would like to make her Blake Lifeless. Reviewed by Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post. (PG-13) V, L. 87 minutes.??½

“Star Trek Beyond”— 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

Pits

“Beta Test”— A brilliant sci-fi premise compromised by a weak screenplay and silly, improbable details. A video game wiz (Larenz Tate) tests a new first-person shooter game, unaware that his controls manipulate the actions of a man (Manu Bennett) with a computer chip in his neck. (NR) 88 minutes.?½

“Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”— After giving us the 2014 hit “Obama’s America,” Dinesh D’Souza delves into the unsavory history of the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s political mechanizations in a journalistically unsound doc undermined by cheesy dramatic recreations of historical events. (PG-13) V. 105 minutes.One-half star.

“Ice Age: Collision Course”— Lazy, scattershot and excruciatingly unfunny fifth installment in the prehistoric animated comedy series. This one has an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Kids might come away with the impression that movies don’t get any better than this. With Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Jennifer Lopez. Reviewed by Stephanie Merry, Washington Post. (PG) 100 minutes.?

“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

Unpreviewed

“Sultan”— A drama about a wrestling champion with dreams of representing India at the Olympics. In Hindi with subtitles. (NR) 143 minutes.