OPENING
Acharya (NR) Nikhil Upreti directs and stars in this Nepalese thriller as an ex-soldier sent to rescue a compatriot from captivity in Mumbai. Also with Sanchita Luitel, Pramod Agrahari, Deepraj Rana, and Purnika Sijapati. (Opens Friday)
Anbil Avan (NR) Ashok Selvan and Preity Mukhundhan star in this Indian thriller as a married couple dealing with a home invasion at their new house. Also with Revathi, Sabumon Abdusamad, Mahadevan Ganesh, and Kadirbalu. (Opens Friday)
Appofeniacs (R) This science-fiction film stars Aaron Holliday as a hacker who sets off a chain of violence by releasing his deepfake videos into the world. Also with Sean Gunn, Jermaine Fowler, Paige Searcy, Michael Abbott Jr., Simran Jehani, Scarlett DeMeo, and Will Brandt. (Opens Friday in Dallas)
April X (NR) Connor Storrie (TV’s Heated Rivalry) stars in this science-fiction thriller as a man searching for his missing twin sister (Lilly Krug). Also with Tudor Chirila, Serban Pavlu, Marius Chivu, Tourialay Akbari, Iulian Postelnicu, Lavinia Postolache, and Lottie Moss. (Opens Friday)
Beware Boiúna (R) Mike P. Nelson’s horror film is about a group of doctors on a humanitarian mission in the Amazon who are stalked by a mythical Brazilian serpent goddess. Starring Jessica Rothe, Kiana Madeira, Logan Marshall-Green, Jackson Bews, Will Close, Juan Pablo Shuk, Vicente Peña, and Mateo Moreno. (Opens Friday)
Camp Duval (NR) Lil Duval stars in this comedy as a man who takes over a neglected summer camp and oversees its first batch of campers. Also with Dorzell Burton, Jay Ski, Eric Weston Davis, and Just Brittany. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
Don’t Trouble the Trouble (NR) This Telugu-language fantasy film stars Fahadh Faasil as a street magician who encounters a genie (Ssara Palekar). Also with Saurabh Sachdeva, Subbaraju, and Mahesh Manjrekar. (Opens Friday)
Drishyam: The Conclusion (NR) Not a remake of the Malayalam-language thriller, this Hindi-language film and final installment in a trilogy stars Ajay Devgn as the patriarch of a family trying to hide its past. Also with Shriya Saran, Tabu, Jaideep Ahlawat, Rajat Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla, Ishita Dutta, and Prakash Raj. (Opens Friday)
Ernie & Emma (R) Bruce Campbell writes, directs, and stars in this romantic comedy who travels to spread the ashes of his recently deceased wife (voiced by Robin McAlpine). Also with Cerina Vincent, Ted Raimi, Brian Gunter, and William Earl Ray. (Opens Friday in Dallas)
For the Love of a Woman (NR) This drama stars Mili Avital as an American Jew who travels to Israel in the 1970s to piece together her family history. Also with Ana Ularu, Ori Pfeffer, Alban Ukaj, Marc Rissmann, and Anastasia Doaga. (Opens Friday in Dallas)
Ghost in the Cell (NR) This Indonesian horror film is about an invisible demon killing the inmates at a prison. Starring Endy Arfian, Abimana Aryasatya, Yoga Pratama, Danang Suryonegoro, Mike Lucock, Lukman Sardi, Kiki Narendra, Bront Palarae, and Marissa Anita. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
The History of Concrete (NR) John Wilson (TV’s How to With John Wilson) stars in his documentary about his own attempts to film a history of building material as if it were a Hallmark TV movie. Also with Michael Imperioli and Tim Robinson. (Opens Friday)
The Incomer (R) Domhnall Gleeson stars in this British comedy as a government official sent to evict two siblings (Gayle Rankin and Grant O’Rourke) from a remote island off the Scottish coast. Also with Michelle Gomez, Emun Elliott, Adam McNamara, Paddy Kondracki, and John Hannah. (Opens Friday at AMC Parks at Arlington)
The Influencer Project (R) Mike Nybroe’s found-footage horror film stars Chiara King as an influencer being hunted by a violent stalker in Copenhagen. (Opens Friday)
Jhingedaau 2 (NR) The sequel to the 2022 Nepalese comedy is about two brothers searching the country for their missing mother. Starring Keki Adhikari, Basundhara Bhusal, Kushal Bista, Saroj Khanal, Aanchal Sharma, and Mahesh Tripathi. (Opens Friday at Cinemark North East Mall)
Last Shot (NR) This sports drama stars Wyatt Parker as a 12-year-old basketball prodigy who must deal with personal tragedy and family upheaval. Also with Jaime Pressly, Michael Rapaport, Laraine Newman, Baron Davis, and Johnny Simmons. (Opens Friday in Dallas)
Prem Keetanu (NR) This Hindi-language comedy concerns a group of incoming freshmen at a university. Starring Veer Pahariya, Aafiya Sayed, Aparshakti Khurana, Rakesh Bedi, and Nikhail Vijay. (Opens Friday)
Rolling Loud: The Movie (R) Owen Wilson stars in this comedy as a father who loses track of his teenage son (Christian Convery) during the hip-hop music festival in Miami. Also with Travis Scott, Jolene Blalock, Olivia Luccardi, Christine Ko, Paul Elia, Matt Rife, Sexyy Red, Ski Mask the Slump God, and Ty Dolla $ign. (Opens Friday)
NOW PLAYING
Avengers: Endgame (PG-13) Pays off in spades. Following the events of Avengers: Infinity War, our heroes travel through time to try to avert the mass death that occurred when Thanos (Josh Brolin) snapped his fingers. The time-travel gambit is cleverly done, filling in backstory and making some of Marvel’s less essential previous films more important in retrospect. The film hits home emotionally, too, when you least expect it, as Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) carry more emotional weight here than in other installments. Even if the massive climactic battle sequence is calculated to make you cheer when various superheroes enter the fray, it also brings an uncommon unity to the 21 movies that preceded it. Given what a heavy task the movie had to accomplish, it succeeds better than it had any right to. Also with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Brie Larson, Tessa Thompson, Danai Gurira, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zoe Saldaña, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Rene Russo, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Wong, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Winston Duke, Letitia Wright, Cobie Smulders, Linda Cardellini, Ty Simpkins, Ken Jeong, Frank Grillo, Maximiliano Hernández, Jon Favreau, Hayley Atwell, John Slattery, Tilda Swinton, Marisa Tomei, Angela Bassett, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, William Hurt, Natalie Portman, Robert Redford, and Samuel L. Jackson. Voices by Kerry Condon, Taika Waititi, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper.
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.
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.
Dorothy (NR) Keerthy Suresh stars in this Indian drama as a woman who mysteriously appears in a village riven by caste violence in the 1990s. Also with Sananth, Rishikanth, and Muthkumar.
Forgotten Island (PG) The mere fact that this animated film warrants comparison with KPop Demon Hunters should tell you everything. On the eve of their separation for college, two teenage Filipino best friends (voiced by H.E.R. and Liza Soberano) are transported to an enchanted island filled with magical creatures from Filipino folklore. The creatures are a big reason why the movie works so well, as they are unfamiliar to Western audiences and the animators clearly have a grand time depicting their wonderful and terrifying aspects. On top of that, the animation style shifts between 3D and the hand-drawn look of 1990s Japanese anime, and the background of the picture is full of references to the highly distinctive culture of the Asian islands with Spanish and American influences. It’s enough to make you want to hit the nearest Jollibee. Additional voices by Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Dolly de Leon, Manny Jacinto, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, Kevin McCann, Eric Bauza, Harvey Guillém, Wagner Moura, and Lea Salonga.
Heart of the Beast (R) Watchable, though no more than that. Brad Pitt stars in this survival drama as a Special Forces veteran and bush pilot who suffers a heart attack in mid-flight and crashes his plane in the Alaskan wilderness. With the help of his dog (like him, a PTSD-suffering veteran of the Iraq war), he has to make his way to civilization. The simple story and lack of dialogue helps protect writer-director David Ayer (Suicide Squad) from the worst of his melodramatic excesses. The new Shaun the Sheep movie is better at depicting our bonds with dogs, but the wild backdrop is imposing on the big screen, and the way the soldier passes on his combat-trained dog to a new owner is moving in the end. Also with Anna Lambe and J.K. Simmons.
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.
If I Go Will They Miss Me (NR) This low-budget Black domestic drama is a jewel waiting to be unearthed. Bodhi Dell portrays a 12-year-old boy growing up in the Watts neighborhood of L.A. and trying to re-connect with his father (J. Alphonse Nicholson) after the latter has just been released from a 10-year prison term. Writer-director Walter Thompson-Hernández generates some strikingly beautiful visuals with children’s drawings coming to life and flashbacks depicting the past, while Danielle Brooks gives a terrific performance as the mother who raises the children while the husband is on the inside. This film deserves more hype than many of the Hollywood movies that it’s currently competing with. Also with Zaria Kelley, Mark Lane III, Myles Bullock, and Bre-Z.
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.
The Paradise (NR) Quite loud, even by the standards of Indian movies. Nani stars in this Telugu-language epic as a man in 1980s Secunderabad fighting for official government recognition for his small tribe. Where so many Indian movies revere motherhood, it’s interesting that the hero of this one hates his mother (Sonali Kulkami) because she was a sex worker. Eventually, though, they team up to take down the mob boss (Mohan Babu) who has enslaved the tribe and his worthless son (Raghav Juyal). Other than that, there isn’t much to write home about, nor is there anything in the way of subtlety. Also with Kayadu Lohar, Easwari Rao, Sampoornesh Babu, Priyadarshi Pulikonda, Tanikella Bharani, Sathyaraj, and Keerthy Suresh.
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.
Primetime (R) Robert Pattinson portrays NBC journalist Chris Hansen as a preening, stuck-up actor whose every gesture and line reading is overrehearsed and overdone. As a result, he has never been better. The film follows the To Catch a Predator host in the fall of 2006, who works with an aspiring Hollywood actor (Skyler Gisondo) who’s on the show to impersonate 13-year-old boys and lure pedophiles into various trap houses before Chris swoops in. The movie looks like crap because it’s shot on cameras available in the mid-2000s, a deliberate choice by director Lance Oppenheim, who emphasizes the artificial nature of the Dateline NBC segment at every turn. Playing a ten-cent narcissist who preys on even smaller men for ratings numbers, Pattinson manages to be even creepier than the pedophiles. Also with Merritt Wever, Matthew Maher, Phoebe Bridgers, Bokeem Woodbine, Tony Revolori, Bob Ari, Jonathan Lipnicki, Sean Bridgers, Jessica Hecht, Bill Heck, Creed Bratton, Alex Winter, and Anna Faris.
Resident Evil (R) The eighth movie in the series is the one that the video games deserved the whole time. Austin Abrams portrays an organ courier making a delivery to the hospital in Raccoon City on the day that the zombie pandemic breaks out. Director/co-writer Zach Cregger (Weapons) replicates the feel of the games in all the right ways, structuring scenes as puzzles that the main character has to solve and realizing every setting as thoroughly as if it were designed for a game. This may be a paycheck job for him, but he doesn’t treat it like one. Instead, he brings much of his skill to bear so that you don’t feel cheapened for enjoying the zombie shenanigans, and Abrams is a capable lead playing a man who’s not trained for his situation. Also with Paul Walter Hauser, Kali Reis, Will Merrick, Griffin Newman, Johnno Wilson, and Zach Cherry. Voice by Sara Paxton.
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (PG) The lovable sheep’s third film is a Halloween adventure that’s perfect for the kids who aren’t ready for Resident Evil. Shaun’s attempt to supercharge the growth of his pumpkin patch for Halloween becomes entangled with the balding farmer’s attempt to re-grow his hair, resulting in the farmer being mistaken for a hairy monster when he runs into town. The middle section of the film is the best, as his appearance leads to some exquisitely orchestrated chaos. The farce turns more labored in the final third, but this movie is a nice pairing with last spring’s The Sheep Detectives and a good way to prime your kids for trick-or-treating season.
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.
Dallas Exclusives
The Deputy (R) This Western stars Duke Nicholson as a young sheriff’s deputy who has a dead body vanish from a crime scene that he’s watching. Also with William H. Macy, Stephen Dorff, Billie Lourd, Colleen Camp, and Tiffany Haddish.
Last Train to Fortune (PG-13) This Western stars Malcolm McDowell as a schoolteacher who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a criminal (James Paxton) during a long trip. Also with Mary Steenburgen, Laura Marano, Marshall Bell, M.C. Gainey, and Bernadette Peters.
You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (in a Canadian Kind of Way) (NR) Nick Davis’ documentary is about a 1972 musical theater production that spawned numerous show business careers. Starring Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, Victor Garber, Janeane Garofalo, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, Heidi Gardner, Paul Shaffer, Stephen Schwartz, James Austin Johnson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
