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NEW THIS WEEK
Letter grades are listed only when a review is available.
(A-) GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO Set in fascist Italy, the fantasy master’s stop-motion take on the classic tale is faintly indulgent but never dull. Vivid, lavish and weird, this is a rare piece of children’s entertainment that isn’t afraid to perplex kids as much as it enchants them. Featuring the voices of Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Tilda Swinton, Finn Wolfhard and Christoph Waltz. PG (for peril, dark thematic material, brief smoking, some rude humor and violence). 117 mins. In wide release.
(B+) THE MENU In this black comedy-thriller, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult play a couple who travel to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant presided over by a chef (Ralph Fiennes) who puts more than food on the menu. It’s at once a Michelin-star version of Saw and a tasty satire of foodie culture. R (for strong/disturbing violent content, language throughout and some sexual references). 106 mins. In wide release.
(B-) SALVATORE: SHOEMAKER OF DREAMS This documentary examines the life of Italian shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo, who outfitted Hollywood stars during the silent film era of the early 20th century before returning to Italy to found his namesake luxury brand. It’s an often fascinating, unabashedly adoring and somewhat overstuffed study of the designer. PG (for smoking and a suggestive reference). 120 mins. In Italian, English and French, with subtitles. At the Dallas and Plano Angelikas.
(B) SHE SAID Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star as Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, the New York Times journalists whose reporting helped expose Harvey Weinstein’s abuse. The drama is tense, fraught and compelling, though with less of a payoff than you’d like. R (for language and descriptions of sexual assault). 128 mins. In wide release.
(B+) YOU RESEMBLE ME This absorbing French drama tells the real-life story of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, who was falsely accused of being Europe’s first female suicide bomber. It’s a gripping and painful story of dislocation and belonging. Not rated. 90 mins. In French and Arabic, with subtitles. At the Dallas and Plano Angelikas.
COMING NEXT WEEK
DEVOTION Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell star as celebrated wingmen flying for the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. PG-13 (for strong language, some war action/violence and smoking). 138 mins.
THE FABELMANS Said to be one of Steven Spielberg’s most personal films, this coming-of-age drama is a semi-autobiographical tale about a boy growing up in post-World War II Arizona and discovering cinema. Starring Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord and Seth Rogen. PG-13 (for thematic elements, brief violence, some strong language and drug use). 151 mins.
GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY Daniel Craig plays a detective taking on a new murder case in this sequel to the 2019 hit. Also starring Ed Norton, Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn and Leslie Odom Jr. PG-13 (for strong language, drug content, some violence and sexual material). 139 mins.
THE INSPECTION Rejected by his family and facing a bleak future, a gay Black man (Jeremy Pope) joins the Marines and finds camaraderie and a sense of belonging. R (for language throughout, sexual content, some nudity and violence). 95 mins.
STRANGE WORLD This Walt Disney Animation Studios sci-fi original is about a family of space explorers. Featuring the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Gabrielle Union, Dennis Quaid, Lucy Liu, Alan Tudyk and Jaboukie Young-White. PG (for action/peril and some thematic elements). 102 mins.
CURRENT RELEASES
(B+) ARMAGEDDON TIME In this coming-of-age story, filmmaker James Gray draws from his early influences in 1980s Queens, N.Y., with the kind of uncommonly sensitive and keen perception that he has employed throughout his body of work. R (for language and some drug use involving minors). 115 mins.
(A) THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN A man (Brendan Gleeson) abruptly puts an end to a lifelong friendship with a fellow Irishman (Colin Farrell), leading to alarming consequences for both of them. Playwright Martin McDonagh and a small group of wonderful actors have sculpted an aching reverie about friendship and fulfillment that is one of the very best films of the year. R (for language throughout, some violent content and brief graphic nudity). 109 mins.
BARBARIAN In this horror thriller, a young woman (Georgina Campbell) arrives late at night at a rental home and finds that it’s double-booked, with a strange man already staying there. Also starring Bill Skarsgård and Justin Long. R (for some strong violence and gore, disturbing material, nudity, and language throughout). 102 mins.
(C+) BARDO: FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS An acclaimed journalist-turned-documentarian (Daniel Giménez Cacho) returns to his homeland of Mexico in this often tiresome comedy-drama from Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Full of freewheeling surrealism, it’s Iñárritu’s most ambitious and indulgent film yet. R (for language throughout, strong sexual content and graphic nudity). 159 mins. In Spanish with subtitles.
(C+) BLACK ADAM This superhero flick isn’t bad; it’s just predictable, stealing from other films like an intellectual property supervillain. But Dwayne Johnson is a natural in the title role, mixing might with humor. PG-13 (for sequences of strong violence, intense action and some language). 124 mins.
(B) BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER After the 2020 death of star Chadwick Boseman, director and co-writer Ryan Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole went back to the drawing board for this sequal, writing a script that focuses on his sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), stepping into power as she grapples with grief and loss. Wright steps up to the plate and proves her chops and gravitas as an actor, carrying the emotional weight of this film, which is as much a bittersweet sendoff for Boseman as it is for his character, T’Challa. PG-13 (for sequences of strong violence, action and some language).161 mins.
(B+) GOOD NIGHT OPPY This heartwarming documentary chronicles a rover that was sent to Mars on a 90-day mission and ended up lasting for 15 years. A lively celebration of unabashed nerdiness and enthusiastic problem-solving, it’s a glossy advertisement for NASA that nevertheless comes by its waves of emotion honestly. PG (for some mild language). 105 mins.
(C) HALLOWEEN ENDS The Halloween franchise does end, not with a scream but with a whimper, as Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) goes up against deranged killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney). The film has the feeling of dour obligation, and it’s clear that no one’s heart is really in this anymore. R (for bloody horror violence and gore, language throughout and some sexual references). 111 mins.
(C) LYLE, LYLE, CROCODILE Josh Gordon and Will Speck directed this choppy live-action/animation hybrid film adaptation of Bernard Waber’s 1965 children’s book of the same name about a singing crocodile (voiced by Shawn Mendes) who lives in New York City. The film is a strange beast that can’t decide whether it wants to be a warm and whimsical family adventure comedy or an ironic hallucinatory fever dream geared toward adult viewers. Also starring Javier Bardem, Constance Wu and Scoot McNairy. PG (for mild peril and thematic elements). 106 mins.
(B-) MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU The fifth entry in the animated Despicable Me franchise offers a slight but satisfying origin story for 12-year-old Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) as he seeks to become the world’s greatest supervillain. This is a perfectly painless romp that should enthrall kids, entertain adults and keep Minions cosplayers employed for many a birthday party to come. PG (for some action/violence and rude humor). 87 mins.
ONE PIECE FILM: RED In this Japanese anime film — the 15th in the One Piece series — a mysterious pop singer decides to reveal herself to the world at a live show. PG-13 (for violence, suggestive material and language). 115 mins. In Japanese with subtitles.
PREY FOR THE DEVIL A nun (Jacqueline Byers) sets out to perform an exorcism to save the soul of a young girl (Posy Taylor) and comes up against a demonic force with ties to her past. PG-13 (for violent and disturbing content, terror, thematic elements and brief language). 93 mins.
SMILE After witnessing a traumatic incident that results in a patient’s death, a doctor (Sosie Bacon) starts to experience frightening and unexplainable occurrences. R (for strong violent content and grisly images, and language). 115 mins.
SPIRITED Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds star in this musical version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol that tells the story from the perspective of the ghosts of past, present and future. Also starring Octavia Spencer. PG-13 (for language, thematic elements and some suggestive material). 127 mins.
(A) TÁR Cate Blanchett stars as a groundbreaking German orchestra conductor whose reputation is shattered by revelations about her personal life in this seductive deep dive into a woman’s unraveling psyche. It’s a film about exploitation and self-loathing and compulsion, but with an extravagant eye for beauty and surface polish that makes it deeply pleasurable to watch. R (for some language and brief nudity). 158 mins.
TERRIFIER 2 In this horror sequel, a resurrected Art the Clown targets a pair of siblings on Halloween night. Not rated. 138 mins.
(B-) TICKET TO PARADISE George Clooney and Julia Roberts look like they had a grand time making this Bali-set comedy, starring as a bitterly divorced set of parents whose daughter (Kaitlyn Dever) is fresh out of law school. The familiar beats get played with sincerity, though there’s not nearly as much to laugh at here as you might expect. PG-13 (for some strong language and brief suggestive material). 104 mins.
(A) TILL Danielle Deadwyler delivers a powerful, career-making performance as the mother of 14-year-old lynching victim Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall). Director Chinonye Chukwu shows the brutality of Till’s slaying only obliquely and focuses instead on the aftermath, as the mother fights for justice and finds her voice as a civil rights activist. PG-13 (for thematic content involving racism, strong disturbing images and racial slurs). 130 mins.
(A) THE WOMAN KING Energetic performances and technical precision come together to glorious effect in director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s rousing historical epic, with Viola Davis starring as the general of an all-female warrior army that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century. It’s a lush, crowd-pleasing piece of entertainment. Also starring John Boyega. PG-13 (for sequences of strong violence, some disturbing material, thematic content, brief language and partial nudity). 126 mins.
Compiled from staff and wire reports
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