Movies: New and Noteworthy

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail

Documentary about Abacus Federal Savings of New York City's Chinatown, which was the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

All Eyez on Me Demetrius Shipp Jr. stars as the late rapper Tupac Shakur in this biopic.

Band Aid A couple who can't stop arguing with each other decide to turn all their fights into song and start a band.

Beatriz at Dinner Salma Hayek stars as a practitioner of holistic medicine who attends the dinner party of a wealthy client.

The Book of Henry A single mother (Naomi Watts) supports her son's efforts to uncover a disturbing secret in the house next door.

Cars 3 An aging race car sets out to prove it is still No. 1 in this animated family feature.

Dean Kevin Kline and Demetri Martin are a father and son coming to terms with love and loss after the death of the wife and mother.

47 Meters Down Two sisters vacationing in Mexico become trapped in a shark cage with dwindling oxygen and great whites circling.

Manifesto Cate Blanchett plays 13 different roles that span the gamut of humanity.

Rough Night College friends reunite for a wild weekend in Miami and find unwanted adventure. Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer, and Zoë Kravitz star.

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.

Megan Leavey True story of a Marine (Kate Mara) serving as a bomb-detection specialist who is wounded along with the dog she tries to rescue when her tour is over. With Edie Falco, Bradley Whitford. 1 hr. 56 PG-13 (violence) - G.T.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Hunter's Prayer (Not previewed) A hit man (Sam Worthington) spares a teenage girl (Odeya Rush), then joins forces with her to take revenge on the people who murdered her family. 1 hr. 31 R (violence)

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.

It Comes at Night *** Effective horror movie about a barricaded family (Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo) living warily with another (Christopher Abbott, Riley Keough) after a plague. 1 hr. 31 R (violence) - G.T.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword ** Guy Ritchie attempts a radically modernized and up-tempo version of the classic story, though ultimately he manages to strip the characters of their 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.

The Mummy ** Sputtering attempt to start a new multicharacter franchise has Tom Cruise working with Dr. Jekyll (Russell Crowe) in London to contend with a cursed mummy (Sofia Boutella). OK for a while, but it unravels. 1 hr. 50 PG-13 (brief violence) - G.T.

My Cousin Rachel **1/2 Faithful, handsome adaptation of Daphne du Maurier novel about an English heir (Sam Claflin) romantically intrigued by the widow (Rachel Weisz) of the relative who raised him. Ends up feeling dated. 1 hr. 46 PG-13 (brief nudity) - 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.

Past Life (Not previewed) In 1977, two Israeli sisters delve into the dark mystery of their father's life in Poland during World War II. 1 hr. 49 No MPAA rating.

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.

Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan (Not previewed) A documentary look at prima ballerina Whelan as she prepares to leave the New York City Ballet after three decades with the company. 1 hr. 30 No MPAA rating

Slack Bay (Not previewed) Black comedy from France about a family (led by Juliette Binoche) on a seaside vacation in a community where tourists are going missing. 2 hrs. 2 No MPAA rating.

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.