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Movies: New and Noteworthy

COMING THIS WEEK By Gary Thompson The Mummy. Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe do battle with the spirit of a cursed and ancient Egyptian princess (Sofia Boutella) when she gets loose in London and New York. With Jake Johnson, Courtney Vance, and Annabelle Wallis. PG-13

"Slack Bay": (from left) Juliette Binoche, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, and Fabrice Luchini are members of a wealthy family whose mansion overlooks the Channel Coast.
"Slack Bay": (from left) Juliette Binoche, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, and Fabrice Luchini are members of a wealthy family whose mansion overlooks the Channel Coast.Read moreKino Lorber

COMING THIS WEEK

By Gary Thompson

The Mummy. Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe do battle with the spirit of a cursed and ancient Egyptian princess (Sofia Boutella) when she gets loose in London and New York. With Jake Johnson, Courtney Vance, and Annabelle Wallis. PG-13

Megan Leavey. A troubled young woman (Kate Mara) turns her life around when she joins the Marine Corps and becomes part of an elite bomb-detection canine unit. With Common, Edie Falco, Bradley Whitford, and Tom Felton. PG-13

My Cousin Rachel. A näive English heir (Sam Claflin) falls under the influence of his cousin's mysterious widow (Rachel Weisz), who may have designs on his fortune. With Iain Glen, Holliday Grainger. PG-13

Also Opening This Week

It Comes at Night

While the outside world is wrecked by an unnatural force, a family maintains order within their home, until unexpected guests arrive.

Past Life Two Israeli sisters - an introverted classical musician and a combative scandal-sheet journalist - delve into the dark mystery of their father's life in Poland during World War II.

Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan Prima ballerina Wendy Whelan prepares to leave the New York City Ballet after a record-setting three decades with the company.

Slack Bay In 1901, a pair of bumbling police detectives investigate the disappearances of several tourists at Slack Bay along the Channel Coast. In French with subtitles.

Very Good (***1/2)

Reviewed by critics Tirdad Derakhshani (T.D.), Dan DeLuca (D.D.), Ellen Dunkel (E.D.), Molly Eichel (M.E.), and Gary Thompson (G.T.). W.S. denotes a wire-service review.

A Quiet Passion This tribute to the genius of poet Emily Dickinson (Cynthia Nixon) - who spent most of her days holed up inside her childhood home - is by turns funny, tragic, and thrilling. Its stilted formality works, especially in the context of a story about how suffocating customs can be for a woman who plans to avoid marriage and stay with her immediate family, where she feels safe. 2 hr. 6 PG-13 (images of war casualties, brief suggestive material) - W.S.

Their Finest Funny and moving period drama about a woman (Gemma Arterton) in wartime London who stumbles into a job as a screenwriter on a propaganda movie. Witty, borderline screwball feminist comedy, wrapped in an emotionally powerful look at the uses of art. With Sam Claflin. 1 hr. 57 PG-13 (violence) - G.T.

Also on screens

Alien: Covenant **

Katherine Waterston and Billy Crudup head up the latest

Alien

spacecraft to run into an invasive creature that wreaks havoc on their journey. Same-old, same-old. Too much backstory. Enough already. 2 hr. 2

R

(violence, gore)

- G.T.

Baywatch **1/2 Crude, comic remake of the original TV show, which was funny enough without trying for laughs. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the boss lifeguard who makes fun of Zac Efron while beautiful women run around in bathing suits. Priyanka Chopra (Quantico) is the villain. 1 56 R (language throughout, crude sexual content, graphic nudity) - G.T.

Beauty and the Beast *** Live-action version of the 1991 animated classic, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens in the title roles. Competently staged by Bill Condon, but does not improve on the 2D Disney original. With Luke Evans and Josh Gad. 2 hrs. 9 PG (action violence, peril) - G.T.

The Boss Baby *** Who needs a movie about a tyrannical infant - or an infantile tyrant? You might be surprised to learn that you do. Although advertisements seem to promise little more than an animated comedy about a bratty baby in a business suit (voiced by Alec Baldwin), this is a sweet adventure tale about sibling rivalry that becomes a tribute to family and brotherhood. 1 hr. 37 PG (potty humor) - W.S.

Buena Vista Social Club: Adios **1/2 Documentary offers a fresh look at the surviving original members of the Cuban music group that became a worldwide sensation nearly 20 years ago. 1 hr. 50 PG (historical smoking throughout, thematic elements, brief suggestive material) - D.D.

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie *** The funniest movie of the year . . . if you're 5. Kevin Hart is one of the voices. 1 hr. 29 PG (mild rude humor throughout) - W.S.

Chuck *** Funny, poignant, and true story of heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner (Liev Schreiber), whose 15-round bout with Muhammad Ali became the inspiration for Sylvester Stallone's Rocky. With Jim Gaffigan, Naomi Watts, and Elisabeth Moss. 1 hr. 41 R (language) - G.T.

Churchill ** Brian Cox stars as the former British prime minister in a too-theatrical retelling of Churchill's response to the Allied invasion of Normandy. 1 hr. 38 PG (thematic elements, brief war images, historical smoking throughout, and some language) - G.T.

The Circle ** Technological thriller starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks about a young woman coming to terms with privacy, ethics, and humanity while working at a Facebook-like company that develops a spherical camera that can be planted anywhere to capture anything and anyone at any time grows more overworked and plotty and less convincing as the story plays out. 1 hr. 50 PG-13 (sexual situation, brief strong language, some mature thematic elements) - W.S.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul * The "Wimpy Kid" gang is back for a third go-round that is by far the worst of the bunch. 1 hr. 33 PG (some rude humor) - W.S.

The Dinner * A gubernatorial candidate (Richard Gere) and his wife (Rebecca Hall) have a fraught dinner in a posh restaurant with his troubled younger brother (Steve Coogan) and the brother's wife (Laura Linney) to discuss a terrible crime committed by their teenage sons. The movie has plenty of dramatic potential, but the dish is all but inedible. Based on the Herman Koch novel. 2 hrs. R (strong language, violence, and projectile self-righteousness) - W.S.

Everything, Everything *1/2 Eighteen-year-old Maddy suffers from a severe immune system disorder and lives in a hermetically sealed mansion. She and the boy next door begin flirting by text and FaceTime. Nothing can vaccinate viewers against the plot development in this far-fetched story. 1 hr. 36 PG-13 (mature thematic material, brief sensuality, and brief coarse language) - W.S.

The Fate of the Furious **1/2 In this stunt-filled sequel, a hacker (Charlize Theron) blackmails Gino (Vin Diesel) while his buddies (Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne Johnson) try to extricate and exonerate him. Also starring Tyrese, Ludacris, Helen Mirren, and Jason Statham. 2 hr 15 PG-13 (violence) - G.T.

Ghost in the Shell *** A live-action remake of the Japanese anime classic stars Scarlett Johansson as an antiterror cyborg with escalating questions about her latest mission and her own identity. Conventional action and story, but some interesting and sometimes dazzling visual ideas. With Juliette Binoche, Michael Pitt. 1 hr. 44 PG-13 (violence) - G.T.

Gifted **1/2 A custody drama featuring Chris Evans as a bachelor assigned to raise his late sister's math genius daughter (McKenna Grace). A nice performance by Evans, who elevates the so-so material. With Octavia Spencer, Jenny Slate. 1 hr. 41 PG-13 (language) - G.T.

Going in Style ** Three retired steelworkers (Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin) plot to rob the bank complicit in getting rid of their pensions. Good-natured slapstick, but almost infallibly unfunny. With Ann-Margret. Directed by Zach Braff. 1 hr. 37 PG-13 (drug use, language) - G.T.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. **1/2 The gang's all here in this somewhat bloated, self-serious sequel, but the irreverent energy of the original is in short supply. 2 hrs. 17 min. PG-13 - G.T.

The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki *** A Finnish boxing movie based on a true story about a fighter who didn't care that much about fighting or winning, but who still enjoyed a shot at a title. The anti-Rocky. 1 hr. 32 No MPAA rating - G.T.

I, Daniel Blake *** The winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year. An unemployed craftsman in Britain desperately trying to return to a life of dignity and productivity helps a young single mother. 1 hr. 40 R (language) - W.S.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword ** Guy Ritchie attempts a radically modernized and uptempo version of the classic story, though ultimately he manages to strip the characters of the mythic stature while offering the small consolation of wisecracks and video game visuals. With Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, and Djimon Hounsou. 2 hrs. 3 PG-13 (violence) - G.T.

The Lovers *** Debra Winger beds a young lover (Aidan Gillen) and her old husband (Tracy Letts), who's also having an affair, in this offbeat romantic comedy. 1 hr. 34 R (sexual situations, adult themes) - G.T.

Norman *** Richard Gere gives the most annoying performance of his career - by design - in this offbeat movie about a New York nebbish swept up in big-time finance and Israeli politics. Saves its narrative surprises for the very end. 1 hr. 58 R (language) - G.T.

Obit *** Documentary about the obituary writers at the New York Times, where some of the liveliest prose is about the recently deceased. 1 hr. 33 No MPAA rating (adult themes) - G.T.

Paris Can Wait **1/2 While her filmmaker husband (Alec Baldwin) works, Diane Lane takes a tour of France with his friend (Arnaud Viard), who takes her to great restaurants and hits on her. 1 hr. 32 PG (thematic elements, smoking, some language) - G.T.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales ** Johnny Depp returns as Capt. Jack Sparrow in a new version of the same movie we've seen numerous times already. 2 hr. 9 PG-13 (sequences of adventure violence, some suggestive content) - W.S.

Smurfs: The Lost Village *1/2 The third theatrical feature centering on a tiny blue humanoid forest has enough bright colors and slapstick humor to enchant its target audience of small children, but anyone much taller than a Smurf may turn blue long before the final credits. 1 hr. 21 PG (Contains mild action, rude humor, a color palette offensive to the eye) - W.S.

Snatched **1/2 Party girl (Amy Schumer) drags her straitlaced mother (Goldie Hawn) on a trip to Ecuador, where they are kidnapped. Decent star chemistry gives way to standard action-comedy material, and gross-out laughs that are more gross than funny. 1 hr. 30. R (Language) - G.T.

Wakefield ** A Manhattan lawyer (Bryan Cranston) decides one night to put his life on hold for a time and secretly goes to live in his attic. The movie feels more like a strange thought experiment than something a reasonable person might actually do. 1 hr. 49 R (language, sensuality, brief nudity) - W.S.

The Wedding Plan (Not previewed) In Israel, an Orthodox Jewish woman (Noa Kooler) jilted by her fiancé decides to proceed with her plans, enlisting the help of matchmakers in hopes of finding a suitable groom who will appear before the wedding day. 1 hr. 50 PG In Hebrew with subtitles. (thematic elements)

Wonder Woman **1/2 Surprisingly fun and energetic DC comic book movie that is welcome relief from recent dour Superman movies. Gal Gadot stars as the Amazon princess who leaves her island with WWI pilot Chris Pine to save the world. 2 hrs. 21 PG-13 (superhero violence) - G.T.