Movies: New and Noteworthy

The Magnificent Seven

In this remake of the classic western, seven gunslingers team up to save a town from bandits. Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington star.

Queen of Katwe Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo star in Disney's inspirational based-on-true story of a poor Ugandan girl who goes on to win international accolades as a chess prodigy. The Oscar buzz has begun.

Storks A mistaken order for a baby leads to an adventure for a delivery stork in this animated family feature.

Reviewed by staff critics Steven Rea (S.R.) and Tirdad Derakhshani (T.D.). W.S. denotes a wire-service review.

Hell or High Water Jeff Bridges is a soon-to-retire Texas Ranger teamed with his American Indian partner (Gil Birmingham) as they crisscross West Texas on the trail of two desperate bank-robbing brothers (Ben Foster, Chris Pine). A contemporary western that goes way beyond being simply satisfying genre fare. Written by Taylor Sheridan, directed by David Mackenzie, a soulful, jolting, sharp-eyed affair. 1 hr. 42 R (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Dheepan

Jacques Audiard's 2015 Cannes Film Festival winner follows a pretend family - a man, woman, and child, refugees of the Sri Lankan civil war - as they try to make a new life in a grim, graffitied housing complex on the outskirts of Paris. It's tough, sobering stuff, with a heartbreaking performance by Antonythasan Jesuthasan, himself a veteran of the Sri Lankan conflict. 1 hr. 50

R

(violence, profanity, adult themes) -

S.R.

Don't Think Twice A love letter to the art of improv comedy from writer, director, and actor Mike Birbiglia (Sleepwalk with Me). Featuring a superb cast of comics - including Key & Peele's Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs (Netflix's Love), Inside Amy Schumer writer Tami Sagher, and Garfunkel and Oates' Kate Micucci - the showbiz satire is about an improv group torn apart when one of the members wins a big TV role. 1 hr. 32 R (profanity and some drug use) - T.D.

Florence Foster Jenkins

Meryl Streep is achingly good in director Stephen Frears' latest piece de resistance as Florence Foster Jenkins, a Wilkes Barre-born heiress and amateur vocalist who was dubbed the world's worst singer. Simon Helberg all but steals the show as her pianist, and Hugh Grant is lovely as her husband. Set in the 1940s, when Florence was in her mid-70s, the film follows her preparations to hold her first performance at Carnegie Hall. 1 hr. 50 PG-13 (brief suggestive material) - T.D.

In Order of Disappearance The fourth collaboration between writer-director Hans Petter Moland and fellow Scandinavian and master thesp Stellan Skarsgård, this brilliant, violent, and absurdist black comedy features Skarsgård as a bereaved snowplow driver who avenges his son's murder with a bloody campaign to wipe out Norway's entire underworld, one corpse at a time - using the tools of his trade as his weapons. 1 hr. 56 R (bloody violence and profanity throughout) - T.D.

Indignation This adaptation of a Philip Roth coming-of-age novel - a Jewish student from New Jersey accepts a scholarship to a college in small-town Ohio instead of going to war in Korea in 1951 - is beautifully acted, with Logan Lerman as the inexperienced boy and Sarah Gadon as the shiksa goddess. 1 hr. 0 R (sexual content, some language) - W.S.

Kubo and the Two Strings American animator Travis Knight's directorial debut is a gorgeous, memorable 3D animated saga made with a mix of computer animation and stop-motion photography. Set in feudal Japan, it's about a young boy who goes on a quest to avenge his father's death. The great voice cast includes Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, and Matthew McConaughey. 1 hr. 41 PG (thematic elements, scary images, action and peril) - T.D.

Little Men The fast friendship between two New York City 13-year-olds is threatened when their parents start squabbling over a piece of Brooklyn real estate. Ira Sachs' follow-up to Love Is Strange is keenly observed, intimate, and anchored by the performances of newcomers Michael Barbieri and Theo Taplitz. With Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Ehle, and Paulina Garcia. 1 hr. 25 PG (adult themes) - S.R.

Pete's Dragon In one of the most soulful films of the summer, a woman investigates the dragon that an orphaned boy contends he lives with in the woods. 1 hr. 43 PG (action, peril, brief language) - W.S.

Sully Tom Hanks stars as veteran airline pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger in this deftly executed account of the dramatic emergency landing of a US Airways passenger jet in the middle of the Hudson River - the so-called Miracle on the Hudson. A true-life drama about heroism and people working in harmony under exceptional conditions, and a sobering deconstruction of the flight's aftermath: Second-guessing, self-doubt, an administrative body - the National Transportation Safety Board - that appears on the hunt for a scapegoat. Clint Eastwood directs. 1 hr. 35 PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Sunset Song Set in rural Scotland in the years leading up to WWI, Terence Davies' adaptation of the beloved Lewis Grassic Gibbon novel is a lyrical masterwork about the tug-of-war between modernity and tradition as it manifests in a budding intellectual still enmeshed in the farmland where she was born. 2 hrs. 15 R (sexuality, nudity violence, profanity) - T.D.

Bad Moms **1/2

Mila Kunis stars as a stressed-out working mother who teams with two similarly overtaxed women (Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn) rebelling against a hissy PTA prez (Christina Applegate) in a mildly amusing, moderately raunchy, mostly schematic comedy from the writers of

The Hangover

franchise. 1 hr. 41

R

(profanity, sex, nudity, adult themes) -

S.R.

Blair Witch ** Writer Simon Barrett and director Adam Wingard, arguably the best filmmaking team in horror with a body of works that includes You're Next and The Guest, are wasted on this revisitation of the 1999 low-budget marvel The Blair Witch Project. It's 17 years after doc filmmaker Amanda Donahue and her crew of two disappeared in Black Hills forest, victims of a witch. When a vid crops up suggesting she's still alive, her brother and a group of friends grab fancy film and tracking equipment and go after her. Will the witch get 'em, too? 1 hr. 29 R (profanity, terror and some disturbing images) - T.D.

Bridget Jones's Baby *** The hot-mess Brit returns for the third installment with the same love-triangle high jinks that characterized the first film, this time with added morning sickness. After two unprotected hook ups, Jones (Renee Zellwegger) finds out she's pregnant but doesn't know who the father is: a tech billionaire (Patrick Dempsey) or longtime love (and now ex) Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). The film is not as good as the first go-round, but much better than the dreadful second. 2 hr. 2 R (language, sex, nudity) - M.E.

Café Society ** Woody Allen's 47th (!) feature is a burnished '30s period piece, shot by master cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, but shot through with lazy one-liners and characters of only surface interest. Jesse Eisenberg stars as a kid from the Bronx who makes his way west to work for his big-deal Hollywood agent uncle (Steve Carell). Kristen Stewart is the agent's assistant. Familiar Allen themes - infatuation, infidelity, fate, morality, mortality - superficially ensue. 1 hr. 36 PG-13 (violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Demon *** An eerie horror pic and a sharply funny satire at the same time, the last film by Polish director Marcin Wrona is a superb surrealist fable about the legacy of the Holocaust in Poland, which lost virtually its entire Jewish population. Israeli actor Itay Tiran plays a young groom invaded by the spirit of a dead woman on his wedding day. 1 hr. 34 R (Profanity, sexuality, some nudity) - T.D.

Don't Breathe *** Horror director Fede Alvarez follows up his fresh take on Sam Rami's Evil Dead with a lean, mean, twisted home-invasion thriller about three young thieves who break into the house of an aging blind man (Stephen Lang), who turns out to be vengeful, violent, and bloodthirsty. One of the most suspenseful and frightening horror pics of the year, this ingenious thriller is filled with delightful twists. 1 hr. 28 R (terror, violence, disturbing content, and profanity, including sexual references) - T.D.

Equity *** Cocreated by Haverford native Sarah Megan Thomas and fellow actor Alysia Reiner from material they gathered from dozens of interviews with women who work on Wall Street, this intelligent thriller tells the story of three women who must make tough decisions to succeed in their careers. Serious, smart, and honest, it's well-tuned social realism for the post-financial-crisis era. 1 hr. 40 R (profanity) - T.D.

The Hollars ** Actor-director John Krasinski (The Office, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men) delivers an uneven, exasperating mess of a story with his sophomore directorial effort, an endlessly life-affirming dramedy about the love that helps a middle-class Ohio family rise above its many dysfunctions. Stuffed with plot twist after plot twist and enough themes to fill a library, the film founders despite a fine cast that includes Margo Martindale, Richard Jenkins, Sharlto Copley, and Anna Kendrick. 1 hr. 28 PG-13 (brief profanity and some thematic elements) - T.D.

Jason Bourne **1/2 "I remember everything," says the formerly amnesiac spy guy played by Matt Damon in his return - along with director Paul Greengrass - to the Bourne series. His CIA cohort Julia Stiles is back, too. Alicia Vikander signs on to show off her tradecraft, also. The movie spans the globe and has the great action scenes you'd expect, but now that Bourne knows who he is, the existential underpinnings of the great franchise concept are MIA. 2 hrs. 03 PG-13 (violence, action, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Kicks *1/2 Brandon decides his ticket to happiness is a pair of Air Jordan sneakers. The stolen pair he buys is then stolen from him, but in the epic journey through Oakland and the East Bay to steal them back, there's little reason to empathize with the 15-year-old or any of the violent, cruel characters. 1 hr. 20 R (pervasive language, violence, drug use by teens) - W.S.

The Light Between Oceans ** Set in a staggeringly beautiful Down Under at the end of the First World War, a tragic romance by way of Derek Cianfrance, adapted from the M.L. Stedman bestseller. Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander are the star-crossed pair in this epic weepie about fate and forgiveness, guilt and rage, and the timeless allure of handknit woolens. 2 hrs. 12 PG-13 (adult themes) - S.R.

Max Rose **1 Comedian Jerry Lewis is in fine dramatic form as a one-time jazz pianist mourning the death of his wife of 65 years and who must deal with new-found questions of fidelity and loneliness. This intimate, somber drama feels like little more than a modest television movie, but it's a respectable way for Lewis to make what may be his valedictory performance. 1 hr. 23 No MPAA rating (contains nothing objectionable) - W.S.

Morgan **1/2 Ridley Scott's son Luke makes an impressive directorial debut with a clever sci-fi tale that revisits the themes of his father's 1982 masterpiece, Blade Runner. It's totally unlike the earlier film in its look and feel, but its themes are similar. Kate Mara stars as a corporate troubleshooter sent to assess the viability of her company's latest consumer product, a genetically engineered female human named Morgan (The Witch's Anya Taylor-Joy), who has attacked one of the scientists who created her. The film raises fascinating ethical questions. 1 hr. 32 R (brutal violence, and some profanity) - T.D.

Our Kind of Traitor **1/2 Ewan McGregor is likable as a Hitchcockian Everyman in this adaptation of the man who is sucked into a dangerous spy game when a Russian mobster (a hulking, over-the-top Stellan Skarsgård) hands him evidence against his bosses to pass on to British intelligence, and Damian Lewis strains credulity as their case officer. One of the few John le Carré adaptations that doesn't quite hold together. 1 hr. 47 R (violence, profanity throughout, some sexuality, nudity, brief drug use) - T.D.

Sausage Party *** Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg follow up their vicious satire The Interview with an even more extreme, explicit, offensive, and obscenely funny comedy, an animated actioner about the products in a supermarket who rebel against their human consumers. The all-star voice cast includes Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Salma Hayek, Paul Rudd, Edward Norton, Jonah Hill, and Craig Robinson. 1 hr. 39 R (strong crude sexual content, profanity, and drug use) - T.D.

The Secret Life of Pets *** Directed by the Despicable Me franchise's Chris Renaud, a pet lovers' loving salute to the domesticated animals we rely on to bring us comfort, companionship, and triple-digit veterinary bills. Louis C.K. gives voice to a needy Jack Russell, and Kevin Hart is a white bunny named Snowball (talk about color-blind casting!). An extremely animated animated romp. 1 hr. 30 PG (some scares for little kids) - S.R.

Snowden *** Oliver Stone's best political film, this fascinating, exciting biopic about NSA contractor-turned-whistle- blower Edward Snowden is a sober, serious affair that isn't hampered by the histrionics that hobbles earlier Stone efforts such as Platoon and JFK. While it features an amazing, large ensemble cast, including Melissa Leo, Tom Wilkinson, Zachary Quinto, and Shailene Woodley, the film belongs to star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is mesmerizing as Snowden. 2 hrs. 14 R (profanity, sexuality, nudity) - T.D.

Star Trek Beyond ** 1/2 Fast & Furious director Justin Lin takes over from rebooter J.J. Abrams, but although the action is turbocharged, the story line - Enterprise crew stranded on hostile planet ruled by reptilian warlord (Idris Elba) - feels less epic than episodic. With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, and company. 2 hrs. PG-13 (intense sci-fi action, violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Suicide Squad **1/2 Superman is dead. To protect America, a Defense Department guru (Viola Davis) forces a group of condemned metahuman killers to join a special-forces team. Jared Leto and Margot Robbie steal the show as the Joker and his lover. A schizoid tale that's absurdly dark one minute, ridiculously funny the next, the movie also features Will Smith, Common, and Joel Kinnaman. 2 hrs. 03 PG-13 (sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content, and profanity) - T.D.

A Tale of Love and Darkness **1/2 Natalie Portman makes her directing debut, adapting Amoz Oz's autobiographical novel about a family in Jerusalem during the tumult and tragedies of the birth of Israel. Wheeling with flashbacks, dreams, allegorical reenactments, slow-motion shots, and painterly tableaux, Portman's ambitious film strives for a mood of elegiac grace. The striving shows. 1 hr. 38 PG-13 (violence, adult themes) - S.R.

War Dogs **1/2 Jonah Hill and Miles Teller are a couple of clowns from Miami who figure out how to sell guns and ammo to the U.S. military in Todd (The Hangover) Phillips' gonzo take on a true story. Stop the presses: war makes people rich. Stop the movie: these people, who cares? 1 hr. 54 R (violence, profanity, drugs, adult themes) S.R.