Our critics recommend...

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane Seven years after its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Jonathan Levine's grindhouse-inspired high school stalker movie, with Amber Heard in the title role, finally gets a U.S. theatrical release. R

Machete Kills Speaking of Heard and grindhouse, the actress plays a beauty queen with a hidden agenda in Robert Rodriguez's neo-exploitation bloodfest, a Mexican shoot 'em up with Danny Trujo as the detective-turned- superspy Machete Cortez, Charlie Sheen as president of the United States, and Mel Gibson as a maniacal bad guy bent on taking over the world, or destroying it, or something. R

Romeo and Juliet With a script that tosses most of the Bard's verse, with True Grit's Hailee Steinfeld as young Juliet and Douglas Booth, the Brit best known for the Boy George biopic, as young Romeo Montague. Damian Lewis, Brody in Homeland, is Ms. Capulet's disapproving dad. (Does she get to say "Dad? Dad?" like Dana does in Homeland?) PG-13

 Captain Phillips Tom Hanks stars as a merchant captain who finds himself in a tense standoff against Somali pirates who have hijacked an American cargo ship. Based on a true story.

Gambit A London art dealer (Colin Firth) attempts to scam a buyer into purchasing a fake Monet. Cameron Diaz also stars.

 Muscle Shoals This documentary looks at Rick Hall and the influential music studio he founded in Alabama. Includes interviews with Mick Jagger, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and many more.

 The Summit Disaster strikes climbers on K2, the world's second-highest, but most dangerous mountain, in this documentary.

We Are What We Are In this remake of a Mexican horror film, a family must adjust their normal roles when the mother and "meat" provider unexpectedly passes away.

Reviewed by critics Steven Rea (S.R.) and David Hiltbrand (D.H.). W.S. denotes a wire-service review.

Enough Said Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini (in his final leading role) are divorced parents, each with a college-bound daughter, who meet, date, and take a real liking to each other. And then the trouble begins. A smart, funny movie for grown-ups from the hugely talented writer director Nicole Holofcener. 1 hr. 33 R (sex, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Gravity A wildly suspenseful zero-g tale of survival, with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as orbiting astronauts caught in a debris storm, quite literally at the end of their tether. A technological marvel, and an emotional - and physical - voyage of stratospheric suspense. 1 hr. 30 PG-13 (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Inequality for All A must-see documentary about America's widening income gap and shrinking middle class. If a movie crammed front-to-back with bad news, woeful statistics, and glaring injustices can be considered inspiring, well, then, this one - starring the diminuitive but indefatigable economist and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich - is that movie. PG (adult themes) - S.R.

The Trials of Muhammad Ali With splendid detail and focus, this documentary examines the momentous forces that led Ali, then heavyweight champion of the world, to refuse service in the Army during the war in Vietnam. 1 hr. 30 No MPAA rating - D.H.

Rush Ron Howard's epic and exhilarating race-car miovie, about the legendary rivalry between 1970s Formula One champions James Hunt, a swaggering Brit, and Niki Lauda, a rigorously fussy Austrian. It's a ride. 2 hrs. 03 R (sex, nudity, violence, profanity, intense medical scenes, adult themes) - S.R.

Short Term 12 A low-key, high-emotion indie set in a foster-care facility for at-risk teens, with a career-defining performance from Brie Larson as the supervisor who hides her own hurt with an outsized empathy. Full of heart and heartbreak, it's also funny and inspired. 1 hr. 36 R (profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Wadjda A charming first feature from female Saudi director Haifaa al-Mansour, about a rascally 10-year-old who covets a bicycle, even though girls are not supposed to ride bicycles - it's undignified, inappropriate, in conservative Islamic culture, which is the culture all around her. PG (adult themes) - S.R.

Baggage Claim ** A flight attendant (Paula Patton) who fears being the only one in her family to remain single goes to great lengths to find a man who will marry her before her youngest sister ties the knot. 1 hr. 38 PG-13 (sexual content and some language) - T.D.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 *** Intrepid and irrepressible young inventor Flint Lockwood has more problems with food in this charming animated sequel. With the voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, and Will Forte. 1 hr. 35 PG - D.H.

Don Jon *** Joseph Gordon-Levitt writes, directs, and stars in this tale of a North Jersey Lothario who has his whole life under control - including his addiction to porn. Enter Scarlett Johansson. If there's a problem, it's that just about everybody - Jon included - gets this close to caricature. R (sex, nudity, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Parkland * 1/2 A reconstruction of the assassination of John F. Kennedy and its aftermath, from the hospital where the President was rushed to, to the Dallas offices of the FBI where agents bungled and obfuscated. There are no heroes here, and no inspiration to be found. It's history as existential despair. 1 hr. 33 PG-13 (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

The Prisoners *** In this grim and unsettling film, a father (Hugh Jackman) becomes convinced that a detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) isn't doing enough to solve his daughter's abduction. Powerful but not for the faint of heart. 2 hrs. 26 R (disturbing violence, profanity) - D.H.

Runner Runner * 1/2 Justin Timberlake is a grad student with a talent for algorithms, Ben Affleck is a broad-shouldered baddie who runs an Internet gambling operation out of Costa Rica. Stupefying generic crime stuff ensues. 1 hr. 31 PG-13 (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Reviewed by Wendy Rosenfield (W.R.), Jim Rutter (J.R.), David Patrick Stearns (D.P.S.), and Toby Zinman (T.Z.) .

4000 Miles (Philadelphia Theatre Company) A directionless young man and his reclusive grandmother help each other out in Amy Herzog's Obie-winning play. Previews Thursday-Oct. 15, opens Oct. 16.

Blink (Inis Nua) Two shy young people create a voyeuristic relationship in this darkly comic love story by Phil Porter. Previews Wednesday and Thursday, opens Friday.

The Convert (Wilma Theater) A girl in 1895 Southern Africa finds Christianity, then confusion, in this drama by Danai Gurira. Previews Wednesday-Oct. 15, opens Oct. 16.

Elephant Room (FringeArts) It's magic, allegedly! Opens Thursday at the new FringeArts building.

Romeo and Juliet (Curio Theatre) Juliet's a lovely girl. So is Romeo. In previews, opens Friday.

Skinny Bitch: NOT a Stand-Up Comedy Show (Kimmel Center's Innovation Studio) Insult comic Lisa Lampinelli gets real. Thursday through next Sunday.

The Brothers Size (Simpatico Theater Project) Yoruba storytelling meets bayou rhythms in the first play of Tarell Alvin McCraney's "Brothers/Sisters Trilogy." Through Nov. 3.

Bunny Bunny (1812 Productions) Ex-Saturday Night Live writer Alan Zweibel's story of his 14-year friendship with laughable, lovable Gilda Radner. Through Oct. 27.

Didn't Your Father Have This Talk With You? (Act II Playhouse) Tony Braithwaite recalls teaching sex-ed at the Prep. This being Braithwaite, it is, not surprisingly, very funny. Ends Sunday. - J.R.

Emma (Lantern Theater Company) Jane Austen's fetching little busybody just doesn't know when to stop. Through Oct. 27.

Evil Dead (Prince Music Theater) The refurbished venue opens its new season with this terrific horror thriller, which bills itself as "the only musical with a "splatter zone." Don't miss it. Through Oct. 20. - J.R.

In the Heights (Walnut Street Theatre) West Philly's Quiara Alegria Hudes wrote the book for this vibrant musical set in a tough, changing New York neighborhood. Great music and a winning cast. Through Oct. 20. - D.P.S.

My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish, and I'm Still in Therapy (Bristol Riverside Theatre) ". . . My wife and I stayed together for the kids . . . neither of us wanted custody!" Ends Sunday.

Parade (Arden Theatre) A powerful musical drama about prejudice and injustice. Through Nov. 3.

The Rainmaker (People's Light and Theatre) A con artist enchants a spinster during a dry, dry summer. Through Oct. 18.

Spamalot (Media Theatre) This Monty Python hommage won the best-musical Tony. Through Nov. 3.

You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up (Penn's Landing Playhouse) A cantankerous married twosome's tale opens this new venue at Independence Seaport Museum. Through Nov. 24.