OPENING
Behuli (NR) This Nepalese film stars Paras Bam Thakuri, Divya Rayamajhi, Sushant Karki, Padam Tamang, Santosh Baniya, and Sarita Giri. (Opens Friday)
Daayra (NR) Kareena Kapoor stars in this crime thriller as a cop caught up in a case involving a young girl’s death. Also with Prithviraj Sukumaran, Kanwaljit Singh, Achint Kaur, Anuja Sathe, and Jitendra Joshi. (Opens Friday)
Daniel and the Fiery Furnace (PG-13) This Biblical drama stars Mena Massoud as the prophet trying to stay alive under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar (Elijah Alexander). Also with Zaki Ali, Sophie DeCaro, Jazz Lintott, Roberto Zenca, Mahir Pandhi, and Zachary Coffin. (Opens Friday)
Happy Journey (NR) This Telugu-language film stars Ishani Ghosh as a tech worker rescued from a fit of depression. Also with Hariharan Kone, Anand Bharathi, Sanjay Raichura, Krishna Teja, and Duvvasi Mohan. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
If I Go They Will Miss Me (NR) Walter Thompson-Hernandez’ drama is about a 12-year-old boy (Bodhi Deli) experiencing strange visions while growing up in L.A. Also with Danielle Brooks, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Zaria Kelley, Mark Lane III, and Myles Bullock. (Opens Friday)
The Musical (NR) Will Brill stars in this comedy as a disgruntled middle-school drama teacher who decides to sabotage his school’s chances of winning an award by staging an original musical play. Also with Gillian Jacobs, Michael Strassner, Chyler Emery Stern, Lili Alice, Cayden Romero, and Rob Lowe. (Opens Friday)
Tiny Fugitives (R) Michael Lewen’s comedy is about a group of 12-year-olds coping with a deranged counselor (Johnny Knoxville) at summer camp. Also with Benjamin Pajak, Aaron Harris, Isa Bernal Steiner, Jai Soundar, Arrian Kenneth Wu, Alyssa Gervasi, Rob Yang, and Jay Baruchel. (Opens Friday)
Vibe (NR) Kunal Khemu and Sparsh Shrivastava star in this Hindi-language action-comedy as two friends who happen upon a terrorist plot. Also with Preity Zinta, Vanshika Dhir, Yashpal Sharma, Dinesh Lal Yadav, and Sharmila Tagore. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
The Weight (R) Ethan Hawke stars in this modestly pleasing Western as a Depression-era convict who cuts a deal with the prison warden (Russell Crowe) to transport $100,000 worth of gold ingots through the Oregon wilderness with a group of fellow inmates escorted by two guards. The plot takes too long to get going, but the dense forest makes for a nice backdrop (the film was actually shot in Germany). If the betrayals along the way are more or less predictable, the way the survivors squeeze out of it with the help of a Native runaway (Julia Jones) who joins the crew is fairly satisfying. If the film requires some patience, it does pay off. Also with Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynggaad Tønnesen, George Burgess, Cameron Brady, Avy Berry, Alec Newman, and Sam Hazeldine. (Opens Friday)
Without Blood (R) Salma Hayek stars in Angelina Jolie’s drama about a woman seeking revenge for long-ago wartime injuries. Also with Demián Bichir, Luis Alberti, Juan Minujín, Mario Zaragoza, and Maite Gil. (Opens Friday)
NOW PLAYING
Buddy (R) For everyone who ever hated Barney the purple dinosaur. Cristin Milioti stars in this horror movie as a mother who becomes convinced that she has a missing child who’s trapped in a 1990s kids’ TV show hosted by a murderous orange unicorn (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key). The creator of TV’s Too Many Cooks, Casper Kelly makes an impressive debut as a film director, shooting much of this like a bygone TV show, and he’s given great help by his songwriters and the performances of Milioti and Delaney Quinn as one of the kids on the show who realizes that something is very wrong. The joke in the overall conception never quite comes together, but this extremely strange film is destined for cult status, and well deserves it. Also with Topher Grace, Tristan Broders, Madison Skyy Polan, Caleb Williams, Brooke Bloom, Phuong Kubacki, Bennie Taylor, and Clint Howard. Additional voices by Patton Oswalt, Eric Bauza, Jimmica Collins, and Michael Shannon.
By Any Means (R) A prosthetics-wearing Mark Wahlberg can’t inject any life into this turgid historical drama. He plays a New York mob hitman who teams up with an FBI agent (Yahya Abdul Mateen II) to take down the Ku Klux Klansmen who are murdering Black voters in Mississippi in the 1960s. Director Elegance Bratton showed some talent in his autobiographical debut feature The Inspection, but none of it is in evidence as this film follows our two protagonists while they crack white racists’ heads and murder local cops in the name of justice. If you’re going to advocate vigilantism, you could at least do it with some energy or creativity or anything else that would make it watchable. Also with Nicole Beharie, Josh Lucas, Giancarlo Esposito, LisaGay Hamilton, Ethan Embry, LaChanze, Will Brittain, and David Strathairn.
Coyote vs. Acme (PG) The best use of the Looney Tunes characters since Who Framed Roger Rabbit? This partially animated film has Wile E. Coyote filing a massive lawsuit against the Acme Corporation for manufacturing defective products. It’s an inspired idea to pair him up with a burned-out lawyer (Will Forte) who has given up on his job and makes a living filing nuisance suits that Acme is happy to settle. The movie plays all the legal stuff surprisingly straight, with Bugs Bunny (voiced by Eric Bauza) calling the lawyer with anonymous tips and Tweety Bird (also voiced by Bauza) throwing a bomb through the law office’s window. The movie somehow captures the tiresome nature of fighting against massive corporations with greater resources while firing enough gags to keep you and the kids laughing. Additional voices by Candi Milo and Jim Cummings. Also with Lana Condor, John Cena, P.J. Byrne, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, Kenneth Choi, and Luis Guzmán.
Don’t Look Back in Anger (R) Even if you’re not a fan of Oasis, it’s good to see Liam and Noel Gallagher finally make peace. Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern’s concert docudrama follows the British band during its 2025 reunion tour, with the brothers finally back on speaking terms after 15 years of estrangement. Better yet, the band sounds pretty much as good as ever as they play gigs in South Korea, Brazil, Ireland, and their native Manchester. This is a better 1990s nostalgia act than the Practical Magic sequel.
Don’t Move (NR) Based on James Murray’s novel, this horror film is about a group of campers hunted by an awakened prehistoric spider. Starring Lyndsy Fonseca, Tom Cavanagh, Hunter King, Rob Riggle, and James Murray.
The End of Oak Street (PG-13) A better dinosaur movie than any of the Jurassic World films, though it could have been better still. Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway star as Detroit parents in 1982 whose suburb is mysteriously zapped back in time 200 million years, forcing them to barricade themselves inside their house to avoid being eaten. Writer-director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) contributes more than a few pleasing formal elements, from the slow reveal of the neighborhood’s fate to a one-take shot of the parents running crossways to get an allosaurus away from their kids. It’s a shame that Mitchell consistently cheaps out when it comes to the family issues here. In making too many compromises for the popcorn crowd, he makes this like one of Steven Spielberg or J.J. Abrams’ lesser efforts. Also with Maisy Stella, Christian Convery, Jordan Alexa Davis, Emily Kuroda, Anne Gee Byrd, and P.J. Byrne.
Fall 2: Deadpoint (PG-13) The sequel to the 2022 mountain-climbing thriller stars Harriet Slater and Arsema Thomas as friends of the dead climber who scale a treacherous peak in Thailand. Also with Tom Brittney, Grace Caroline Curry, and Einar Haraldsson.
The Fix (R) Liam Neeson stars in this thriller as an ex-CIA operative planning a daring theft in Tehran. Also with Zachary Levi, Annet Mahendru, Grant Harvey, Wes Chatham, Augusto Aguilera, and Elnaaz Norouzi.
Hanuman Ansh (NR) This Indian biopic stars Shobhinaw Satyaa as the holy man Neem Karoli Baba in his search for the almighty. Also with Chandan K. Anand, Anil Rastogi, Nikhil Dubey, Bhagvandas Patel, Neha Paranjpe, Udaysinh Rajput, and Gulshan Pandey.
Hope (R) This Korean alien invasion movie is somehow even crazier than it appears. Hwang Jung-min stars as the police chief of a quiet coastal town who one day discovers a 10-foot-tall alien tearing apart buildings, people, and bears in his village. The alien is kept offscreen for as long as possible, allowing writer-director Na Hong-jin to show off his Spielberg-like talent for suspense and building up tension. The creatures look fantastic when they’re standing still in close-up, less so when they’re in long shot and running after our heroes. This movie begs for comparison to Bong Joon-ho’s The Host, and if the script doesn’t have that kind of depth, it does match the earlier film for dark humor. Na’s flair for action puts this across. Well-known Hollywood actors portray the aliens, and they’re honestly overqualified for what they’re given to do. Also with Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Eum Moon-suk, Im Hyun-sik, Lee Sang-hee, Cameron Britton, Taylor Russell, Michael Fassbender, and Alicia Vikander.
Insidious: Out of the Further (PG-13) Somebody pull the plug on this franchise. This installment of the series stars Amelia Eve as a dental hygienist and single mother whose visions indicate an ability to bring objects and even entire demons back from the next world. It takes more than an hour for anything to actually happen in this movie, as new director Jacob Chase cycles through one tedious jump scare after another. If you are afraid of being in a dentist’s chair, this movie might possibly have some real scares in store for you. Then again, maybe not. The glut of innovative original horror movies we’ve seen this summer only make this look hopelessly passé. Also with Lin Shaye, Sam Spruell, Brandon Perea, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Island Austin, and Joseph Lopez.
Mandaadi (NR) This Tamil-language sports film stars Soori as a champion rower who returns to his village after a self-imposed exile. Also with Suhas, Mahima Nambiar, Sathyaraj, Krish Hassan, Mithun Jai Sankar, Ravindra Vijay, and Bala Saravanan.
Mirzapur (NR) This is a spinoff of the TV series by the same name, and unfortunately too much of the TV show seems to have made it in here. Pankaj Tripathi stars as the political and criminal head of the fictional Rajasthan city called Mirzapur. The movie follows the byzantine alliances and betrayals that happen when a drug lord (Ravi Kishan) lines up with both the political boss and his enemies while planning to backstab everyone and take power for himself. This unfortunately translates into too many scenes of hushed conversations in nice rooms and not enough action sequences to unleash all the energies in the story. The romantic plots and musical numbers (with the exception of a dance number at a religious festival) add too little. The bones of the story suggest that the TV show might be worth checking out, but the movie fails to stand up on its own. Also with Ali Fazal, Divyenndu, Jitendra Kumar, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Harshita Gaur, Mohit Malik, Sheeba Chaddha, Abhishek Banerjee, Rasika Dugal, Sushant Singh, and Kulbhushan Kharbanda.
Mutiny (R) Pretty bad. The latest Jason Statham thriller has him as a corporate security guy in Thailand who’s framed for his boss’ murder and stows away on a cargo ship that turns out to be smuggling human beings. The pacing is slack, the plot is full of holes, and Statham himself looks disengaged from what’s happening. This is director Jean-François Richet’s follow-up to Plane, and it doesn’t have anything like that movie’s energy or attention to character. The only thing distinguishing this from all the other movies where Statham shoots a bunch of people is that this is worse. Also with Annabelle Wallis, Roland Møller, Ramon Tikaram, Chaneil Kular, Arnas Fedaravičius, Lee Charles, Simon Kluth, Jason Wong, and Adrian Lester.
The Odyssey (R) Not free of flaws, but a cogent modern interpretation of Homer’s epic poem. As you might guess, this epic needs the biggest screen you can find so that you can properly appreciate its natural vistas and visual set pieces like the boat steering between Scylla and Charybdis. Writer-director Christopher Nolan is too scrupulous when it comes to the violence in the epic poem; more blood would have brought home the movie’s point that Odysseus (Matt Damon) won the Trojan War by violating sacred values and is trying to restore them. Some of the actors in this cast laden with A-list stars do get lost, but Anne Hathaway finds the rage beneath Penelope’s regal exterior and Lupita Nyong’o pulls off an impressive double role as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. Instead of a turgid homework assignment, this earns its epic status thanks to Nolan’s contemporary angle on the story. Also with Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Elliot Page, Samantha Morton, James Remar, Mia Goth, Corey Hawkins, Bill Irwin, Benny Safdie, Jovan Adepo, Logan Marshall-Green, Will Yun Lee, Ryan Hurst, Shiloh Fernandez, Rafi Gavron, and Travis Scott.
Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie (PG) Our adorable pups carry out more rescue missions while the mayor (voiced by Ron Pardo) gets out of prison and hatches more evil schemes with his cat minions. Lather, rinse, repeat. The new installment does take place on an undiscovered island populated by dinosaurs and one dog (voiced by Hayden Chamberlain) who has learned to tame the big reptiles. It isn’t enough to engage newcomers to the series or viewers over the age of 8. Anyone older than that will probably be happier with The End of Oak Street for their dinosaur fix. Additional voices by Carter Young, Rain Janjua, Mckenna Grace, Fortune Feimster, Jameela Jamil, Terry Crews, Bill Nye, Meredith MacNeill, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, and Jennifer Hudson.
Practical Magic 2 (PG-13) A tired nostalgia act. Everything that was charming about the 1998 original film is gone from this sequel, in which the Owens sisters (Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman) travel to London to prevent Sally’s youngest daughter (Joey King) from being entrapped as she tries to end the family’s love curse, The change of scenery doesn’t help, and despite the energy brought by both the leads and the younger generation of Owens witches, the film remains curiously inert as everybody works through their issues. Director Susanne Bier was an Oscar-winning director back in Denmark, and her qualities are very little in evidence. The talent showed up for this follow-up, but the material didn’t. Also with Maisie Williams, Lee Pace, Xolo Maridueña, Solly McLeod, Katy Wix, Stockard Channing, and Dianne Wiest.
Runner (PG-13) If you can ignore the cheap melodrama and plot contrivances, this isn’t too bad. Alan Ritchson portrays a recovering alcoholic ex-Navy SEAL in Brisbane who’s tasked with driving an organ courier (Owen Wilson) to a hospital when they’re jacked by a Colombian drug cartel that wants the organ because it belongs to an extremely rare blood type. Director Scott Waugh (Act of Valor, Expend4bles) keeps things moving at a reasonable clip, but he can’t do much about the baldly unbelievable developments that keep the plot in motion. Wilson’s nonstop banter definitively crosses over from “funny” to “annoying” here, and placing him alongside a taciturn ex-soldier accomplishes little. Also with Rodrigo Santoro, Leila George, Sullivan Stapleton, Peta Sergeant, Goran D. Kleut, Geraldine Hakewill, and Adriana Barraza.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (PG-13) Peter Parker (Tom Holland) endures some growing pains in this flawed movie that nevertheless will cure your Marvel fatigue. In a new reality where everyone has forgotten his identity, Peter has to deal with the fritzing of his superpowers, a new villain who can take control of people’s minds, and trying to re-connect with his former friends MJ and Ned (Zendaya and Jacob Batalon). Peter’s team-up with the Punisher (Jon Bernthal) is a terrific one, as Peter finds himself trying not to become Frank Castle while turning Jean Grey (Sadie Sink) away from the dark side. The shape of the movie defeats director Destin Daniel Cretton, but the story elements get Peter out of a holding pattern and set up the future Avengers movie quite nicely, as Peter realizes that continuing his crime-fighting by himself will lead to him becoming angry and lonely. Also with Mark Ruffalo, Florence Pugh, Liza Colón-Zayas, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, Olivia Booth-Ford, Marvin Jones III, Billy Clements, and Marisa Tomei. Voices by Keith David and Naomi Watts.
The Uprising (R) The Robin Hood story gets tacked on to this watchable movie about Wat Tyler’s rebellion, perhaps because the filmmakers know that a movie about Tyler alone will be too hard a sell. Andrew Garfield portrays a nameless 14th-century British farmer who follows Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis) in protesting the crown’s overly high taxes. Your tolerance for writer-director Paul Greengrass’ shakycam will probably vary, but he does manage to distill a potentially thorny episode of history into an easily digestible tale about the complications of working people rising up against the overprivileged. Also with Thomasin McKenzie, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Katherine Waterston, Sky Yang, Jonny Lee Miller, and Woody Norman.
Dallas Exclusives
The Last Critic (NR) Matty Wishnow’s documentary profiles rock critic Robert Christgau. Also with Greil Marcus, Colson Whitehead, Boots Riley, and Randy Newman.
