OPENING
Bha Bha Ba (NR) This Malayalam-language action-comedy stars Dileep, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Balu Varghese, Redin Kingsley, Salim Kumar, and Mohanlal. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
David (PG) This animated film dramatizes the Biblical story of David. Voices by Phil Wickham, Brandon Engman, Asim Chaudhry, Ashley Boettcher, Mark Whitten, Katie Bernstein, Mick Wingert, Brian Stivale, Lauren Daigle, Adam Michael Gold, and Kamran Nikhad. (Opens Friday)
The Secret Agent (R) Kleber Mendonça Filho’s thriller stars Wagner Moura as a Brazilian research scientist in 1977 who’s hunted down by government agents for free speech. Also with Maria Fernanda Cândido, Robson Andrade, Rubens Santos, Marcelo Valle, Licínio Januário, Fabiana Pirro, Hermila Guedes, Buda Lira, Alice Carvalho, Luciano Chirolli, Thomás Aquino, Enzo Nunes, and the late Udo Kier. (Opens Friday in Dallas)
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (PG) Our square yellow hero (voiced by Tom Kenny) journeys to the ocean’s depths to encounter the Flying Dutchman (voiced by Mark Hamill). Additional voices by Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Carolyn Lawrence, George Lopez, Sherry Cola, Ice Spice, and Regina Hall. (Opens Friday)
NOW PLAYING
Akhanda 2: Thaandavam (NR) The sequel to the 2021 hit stars Nandamuri Balakrishna as the warrior who battles to restore peace to the natural world. Also with Samyuktha, Aadhi Pinisetty, Harshaali Malhotra, Kabir Duhan Singh, Saswata Chatterjee, and Ronson Vincent.
Dhurandhar (NR) Ranveer Singh stars in this crime thriller as a secret agent who infiltrates India’s underworld. Also with Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Krystle D’Souza.
Dust Bunny (R) TV show creator Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) makes a truly strange debut as a film director with this fantasy film about an 8-year-old girl (Sophie Sloan) who thinks the monster under her bed has eaten her parents and hires the neighbor across the hall (Mads Mikkelsen) to kill it. There are some remarkable bits in here, like a dialogue-free stretch when the girl sneaks out of her apartment alone at night and follows the man to Chinatown where she sees him slay a monster. However, the tone is all over the place and the movie can’t decide whether it’s a literal monster movie or a gangster film where the little girl interprets the killers as monsters. This story needed a bit of thinking through. Also with Sigourney Weaver, Rebecca Henderson, Sheila Atim, Caspar Phillipson, Line Kruse, Nóra Trokán, and David Dastmalchian.
Ella McCay (PG-13) James L. Brooks’ comedies are so determined not to offend that they inevitably make me really, really angry. That’s what happens in this political comedy about a 34-year-old woman (Emma Mackey) who inherits the governorship of her state. The pacing is geriatric because every character here has one last thing to say, and the jokes aren’t funny. If Mackey has some special quality that inspires the character with a similar name, we don’t see it, and everybody else in this high-powered cast sinks into the muck with the exception of Jack Lowden as Ella’s pizzeria-owning husband who can’t stand his wife being more successful than him. This might have been the political comedy we needed if the filmmakers didn’t insist on Ella being so gosh-darned adorable. Also with Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rebecca Hall, Spike Fearn, Ayo Edebiri, Julie Kavner, and Albert Brooks.
Eternity (PG-13) Diverting. An octogenarian couple (Barry Primus and Betty Buckley) pass on in the same week and are reincarnated as their younger selves (Miles Teller and Elizabeth Olsen) in the next world, only for her to discover that her first husband (Callum Turner) has spent the last 67 years waiting for her. Irish filmmaker David Freyne (The Cured) scores a bunch of good laughs depicting the afterlife as a mid-grade convention center and hotel where people have one week to decide where they want to spend the rest of eternity, and he almost pulls this off because Teller and especially Olsen play the reality of the conceit for all it’s worth. Unfortunately, the movie unravels in its last third when the wife has to make her choice. It’s clearly the work of a talented filmmaker who will go on to make something better. Also with Da’Vine Joy Randolph, John Early, Danny Mac, Christie Burke, and Olga Merediz.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (PG-13) Did they throw this together at the last minute? It sure feels that way, and not in a good way. The sequel to the 2023 horror hit has Abby (PIper Rubio) enabling the animatronic animals to leave Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza and wreak havoc on the surrounding town, partly because both her dad (Josh Hutcherson) and his girlfriend (Elizabeth Lail) are too damaged to divulge key pieces of information. At one point there are three sets of the animals wandering about, and still Emma Tammi can’t make any of them scary. The actors give slapdash performances, which is only one reason why the story clanks even louder than the robots do. Also with Mckenna Grace, Wayne Knight, Han Soto, Teo Briones, Freddy Carter, Skeet Ulrich, and Matthew Lillard.
Hamnet (R) Beautifully crafted, occasionally crushing, and based on Maggie O’Farrell’s work of speculative fiction, Chloé Zhao’s film is about William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) dealing with the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe) from the bubonic plague. The film is quite different from O’Farrell’s novel; instead of adopting different characters’ viewpoints and jumping around in time, the movie proceeds in a linear fashion and sticks with Agnes as she raises the children in Stratford while Will goes off to London and catches on with a theater company. Much like Shakespeare in Love, this movie truly takes flight during a production of a Shakespeare play, when Agnes travels to London and sees her husband’s Hamlet as an expression of his grief over their lost son. Great performances by both leads bring this Hamlet to tragic life no matter how many Hamlets you’ve seen. Also with Joe Alwyn, Freya Hannan-Mills, David Wilmot, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Olivia Lynes, Noah Jupe, and Emily Watson.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution (R) I’m getting weary of these anime adaptations that assume that everyone who walks in the door is intimately familiar with the bits of the saga that have gone before. This film recaps Season 2 of the TV series and then includes the first two episodes of Season 3, as Satoru Gojo (voiced by Yūichi Nakamura in the Japanese-language version and Kaiji Tang in the English dub) tries to save civilians from an evil veil that descends on the Shibuya district over Halloween. Don’t bother ponying up for tickets if you haven’t seen the first two seasons, or else all these striking images will just wash over you without leaving an impact. Additional voices by Asami Seto, Anne Yatco, Yuma Uchida, Robbie Daymond, Jun’ichi Suwabe, Jun’ya Enoki, Adam McArthur, Daisuke Namikawa, Ray Chase, Megumi Ogata, and Kayleigh McKee.
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (R) Quentin Tarantino said he broke the original saga into two films because a 4½-hour revenge thriller was too self-indulgent. You can judge whether he was right for yourself. Uma Thurman gives the performance of her career as the blood-spattered bride who aims to kill all the crime bosses (Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, and the late Michael Madsen) who wronged her. Fight choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping (The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and the performers make every fight sequence here into a highlight, and nothing tops the Bride’s fight in the Japanese nightclub against the Crazy 88. The latter sequence is shown entirely in color, which is among a few minor changes from the original films. Also with Sonny Chiba, Chiaki Kuriyama, Gordon Liu, Julie Dreyfus, Michael Parks, James Parks, Michael Bowen, Jonathan Loughran, Jun Kunimura, Sid Haig, and Perla Haney-Jardine.
Not Without Hope (R) Watchable, if not much else. Based on Jeré Longman’s nonfiction account of a 2009 boating accident, Joe Carnahan’s thriller is about four friends (including two NFL players) who went on a deep-sea fishing trip off the coast of Florida only to be shipwrecked and stranded at sea for some 40 hours. As the group’s sole survivor, Zachary Levi turns in a performance suggesting that he’s good for more than just the edgeless Christian dramas that he’s been exiled to. Nevertheless, it’s Carnahan’s direction of the scenes on the capsized boat that keeps your attention on this disaster film. Also with Josh Duhamel, Quentin Plair, Terrence Terrell, Marshall Cook, Floriana Lima, Jessica Blackmore, James Martin Kelly, and JoBeth Williams.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (PG-13) Entertaining if you don’t think about it too much. The magicians from the original (Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, and Woody Harrelson) come out of retirement and reunite to mentor three younger illusionists (Ariana Greenblatt, Dominic Sessa, and Justice Smith) who are targeting a South African diamond mogul and money launderer (Rosamund Pike). The younger cast are personable enough to inject some new energy into the series, and director Ruben Fleischer keeps things moving so that you don’t notice the holes in the plot. If they want to hand off this series to the younger generation, that would be just fine. Also with Lizzy Caplan, Andrew Santino, Thabang Molaba, Morgan Freeman, and an uncredited Mark Ruffalo.
Predator: Badlands (PG-13) Not as strong as Dan Trachtenberg’s last two movies in the Predator series, but the first one that’s available in multiplexes is worth seeing on the big screen. The movie is told from the Predator’s point of view, as an outcast from his clan (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) travels to an incredibly dangerous planet and teams up with a dismembered droid (Elle Fanning) to hunt a legendary beast that hasn’t been killed. The movie gives us all manner of fanciful animal and plant life without all the fanfare of the Avatar or Fantastic Beasts movies, and Fanning is gleefully annoying as the sidekick who knows more about the planet than the Predator does. Maybe the film could use some more world-building and character work, but Trachtenberg has done yeoman work to revive a franchise that had been effectively dead since the 1990s. Also with Michael Homik, Reuben de Jong, and Cameron Brown.
The Running Man (R) Better than One Battle After Another? I don’t know, but this science-fiction thriller adapted from Stephen King’s novel is certainly funnier. Glen Powell portrays a blacklisted worker who’s persuaded to compete on a game show where he’ll receive a huge cash prize if he can survive being hunted to the death by everyone in America. Director Edgar Wright (Baby Driver) has a taste for mischief and cleverness that acts as a leavening agent for this movie, but he can’t quite square its “fight the power” message with offering up creative violence for mass entertainment just the way the game show does. Then again, the humor, story, and characters in this make it a great time, and Powell does a nuanced turn as someone who becomes radicalized by the people he meets. Also with Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Michael Cera, Jayme Lawson, Lee Pace, Sean Hayes, Emilia Jones, Katy O’Brian, Karl Glusman, Martin Herlihy, and William H. Macy.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (R) Daniel Craig’s third outing as Benoit Blanc finds a fascinating religious angle. The great detective investigates the murder of a fire-breathing Catholic monsignor (Josh Brolin) that appears to be physically impossible, and in clearing the name of the priest who’s the main suspect (Josh O’Connor), he gains a newfound appreciation for religious faith and what it can do. O’Connor is unfortunately not up to portraying a man whose violent past may not be in the past, but writer-director Rian Johnson devotes a great deal to his daily struggle to do good and keep his Christian faith. We can overlook the somewhat labored ending in light of the cast of supporting characters that Johnson dreams up and the tasty satire of right-wing social-media influencers. Also with Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Mila Kunis, Thomas Haden Church, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Annie Hamilton, Noah Segan, and Jeffrey Wright.
Wicked: For Good (PG) Not so good as a stand-alone movie, but aces as a conclusion to the two-part saga. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) becomes a fugitive from Oz’ flying monkeys while Glinda (Ariana Grande) finds her popularity being used to prop up the corrupt regime. The whole movie is a case study in good intentions gone awry, as various characters’ attempts to prove themselves backfire disastrously. This back half spotlights Grande as much as the first half did for Erivo, and the pop singer comes through whether she’s betraying her best friend or wresting control of Oz from its rulers. All the show’s best songs were in the first film, and the ones newly written for this movie aren’t up to scratch, but the story of the popular girl learning how to be good is deeply moving. Musical fans now have their own multi-part fantasy series to cherish. Also with Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, and Bronwyn James. Voices by Peter Dinklage and Colman Domingo.
Zootopia 2 (PG) Not as good as the first one, I’m afraid. Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman) have to deal with a new case involving the family of snakes who founded the city and were screwed out of their inheritance by the mammals. Some of the jokes do land like they should, but the metaphors are not as resonant, and the new supporting characters aren’t as well drawn as they were in the original. The fraying partnership between our two cops doesn’t throw up anything new, either. There is a funny subplot with a TV actor stallion (voiced by Patrick Warburton) becoming Zootopia’s new mayor, but it’s not enough to recommend the film. Additional voices by Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Quinta Brunson, Danny Trejo, Nate Torrence, Don Lake, Bonnie Hunt, CM Punk, Stephanie Beatriz, Alan Tudyk, Macaulay Culkin, Brenda Song, Tiny Lister Jr., John Leguizamo, Tommy Chong, Auli’i Cravalho, Tig Notaro, Ed Sheeran, Cecily Strong, June Squibb, Michael J. Fox, Josh Gad, Idris Elba, and Jenny Slate.
Dallas Exclusives
Goodbye June (R) Kate Winslet co-stars in her directing debut about a group of estranged siblings who reunite when their mother (Helen Mirren) becomes gravely ill. Also with Toni Collette, Andrea Riseborough, Johnny Flynn, Stephen Merchant, Jeremy Swift, Raza Jaffrey, and Timothy Spall.
Lone Samurai (R) This Japanese film stars Shogen as a 13th-century warrior who’s shipwrecked on an island populated by cannibals. Also with Yayan Ruhian, Rama Ramadhan, Fatih Unru, Faisal Rachman, and Sumire Ashina.
Sirāt (NR) Sergi López stars in this drama as a Spanish man who travels to the Moroccan desert to search for his missing teenage daughter. Also with Bruno Núñez Arjona, Stefania Gadda, Joshua Liam Henderson, Richard “Bigui” Bellamy, and Jade Oukid.
Thieves Highway (NR) Aarn Eckhart stars in this Western as a rural lawman who has to stop a group of cattle rustlers. Also with Lochlyn Munro, Brooke Langton, Lucy Martin, Darin Cooper, Ronnie Gene Blevins, and Devon Sawa.
Turbulence (R) This thriller stars Jeremy Irvine and Hera Hilmar as a married couple whose trip in a hot-air balloon turns lethal. Also with Olga Kurylenko and Kelsey Grammer.
