OPENING
Apnas (NR) This British crime thriller stars Aqib Khan as a young man pulled into his uncle’s criminal underworld in Manchester. Also with Nitin Ganatra, Mollie Winnard, Ash Tandon, Ahmed Elmusrati, Ijaz Rana, Rehan Sheikh, and Nick Pearse. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
Chronovisor (NR) Anne Laure Sellier stars in this one-woman film as an academic obsessed with tracking down a device that can take photographs of the past. (Opens Friday in Dallas)
Don’t Look Back in Anger (R) Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern’s concert docudrama follows Oasis during the band’s 2025 reunion tour. (Opens Friday)
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. (Opens Friday)
Epic: The First Semester (NR) This Indian drama stars Sivaji as a university student adjusting to life in Britain. Also with Anand Deverakonda, Vaishnavi Chaitanya, and Vasuki. (Opens Friday)
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. (Opens Friday)
Haiwaan (NR) Saif Ali Khan stars in this Indian crime thriller as a blind martial artist protecting a girl from a crime syndicate. Also with Akshay Kumar, Boman Irani, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Saiyami Kher, Rajpal Yadav, Mohanlal, and the late Asrani. (Opens Friday)
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. (Opens Friday)
Honeyjoon (NR) This comedy stars Ayden Mayeri and Amira Casar as an Iranian-British mother and daughter who travel to the Azores after a family tragedy. Also with José Condessa, Antônio Maria, Teresa Faria, and Tiago Sarmento. (Opens Friday at Look Cinemas Bedford)
The Last Critic (NR) Matty Wishnow’s documentary profiles rock critic Robert Christgau. Also with Greil Marcus, Colson Whitehead, Boots Riley, and Randy Newman. (Opens Friday in Dallas)
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. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
Mighty Mary (NR) Mary Mazzio’s documentary chronicles the story of the first all-women’s sailing team in the America’s Cup. Narrated by Elizabeth Banks. (Opens Friday)
Parvati (NR) Nita Dhungana writes, directs, and stars in this Nepalese family drama. Also with Deepa Shree Niraula, Ashok Darji, Siru Bista, Radhika Kandel, and Rajendra Nepali. (Opens Friday at Cinemark North East Mall)
The Passion of the Christ (R) In retrospect, maybe we should have seen Mel Gibson’s career-destroying drunken anti-Semitic rant coming. Then again, some of us kind of did when we saw this sadistic take on the torture and execution of Jesus Christ (Jim Caviezel). The 2004 Latin-language Christian epic is an improvement on sanitized versions of the Christ story that Hollywood made in the middle of the 20th century, but its violence is mind-numbing and its hallucination sequences too often land on stupid rather than mystical. This is reportedly being re-released as a prelude to a two-part sequel coming in 2027. Also with Maia Morgenstern, Francesco de Vito, Christo Jivkov, Mattia Sbragia, Toni Bertorelli, Luca Lionello, Hristo Naumov Shopov, Monica Bellucci, and Sabrina Impacciatore. (Re-opens Friday)
Practical Magic 2 (PG-13) Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprise their roles from the 1998 original as witches passing their knowledge on to the next generation. Also with Joey King, Maisie Williams, Lee Pace, Xolo Maridueña, Solly McLeod, Stockard Channing, and Dianne Wiest. (Opens Friday)
Runner (PG-13) This action-thriller stars Alan Ritchson as a man tasked with driving an organ courier (Owen Wilson) to a hospital for a life-saving transplant. Also with Rodrigo Santoro, Leila George, Sullivan Stapleton, Peta Sergeant, Geraldine Hakewill, and Adriana Barraza. (Opens Friday)
Saanvi (NR) Kesav Binoy Kiron stars in this thriller as an IT worker whose gambling addiction propels him into a life of crime. Also with Manasvi Sharma, Mohana Banerjee, Harsh Vardhan, Ryan Manuel, and Cynthia Santiago. (Opens Friday at Look Cinemas Bedford)
Sardar 2 (NR) The sequel to the 2022 Indian spy thriller shows the origin of Sardar (Karthi) while his son (also Karthi) investigates a case in the present day. Also with S.J. Suryah, Malavika Mohanan, Ashika Ranganath, Rajisha Vijayan, and Yogi Babu. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
Singh vs. Kaur 2 (NR) The sequel to the 2013 romantic comedy stars Gippy Grewal, Shehnaaz Gill, Raaf Chaudhary, Prince Kanwaljit Singh, and Gurpreet Bhangu. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
The Uprising (R) Paul Greengrass (Jason Bourne) writes and directs this historical thriller about a 14th-century farmer (Andrew Garfield) who leads a revolt against the British crown. Also with Thomasin McKenzie, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Katherine Waterston, Sky Yang, Cosmo Jarvis, Jonny Lee Miller, and Woody Norman. (Opens Friday)
NOW PLAYING
Akira (R) Might be worth taking a gander at this highly influential 1988 Japanese anime classic that has been re-released with remastered picture and sound. Katsuhiro Ôtomo adapts his own manga comic about a young gangster (voiced by Mitsuo Iwata in the original Japanese and Johnny Yong Bosch in the English-dubbed version) who is caught up in a resistance movement against a corrupt government in a future Tokyo rebuilt after a world war. The science-fiction elements create a potent stew of ideas about secret experiments on human subjects and psychic powers holding great creative and destructive abilities. There’s no denying the convulsive power of Ôtomo’s visuals, either. This classic holds much more than historic value. Additional voices by Nozomu Sasaki, Joshua Seth, Mami Koyama, Wendee Lee, Taro Ishida, Jamieson Price, Mizuho Suzuki, Simon Prescott, Takeshi Kusao, and Anthony Pulcini.
Bethlehem Kudumba Unit (NR) This Malayalam-language romantic comedy stars Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju as a couple with a significant age difference. Also with Sangeeth Prathap, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Roshan Shanavas, Vinay Forrt, and Suresh Krishna.
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.
Colony (NR) Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) aims to cement his status as the Korean George A. Romero with this zombie movie, which is even set at a shopping mall like Dawn of the Dead. Gianna Jun stars as a biotech professor who is caught up when a scientist with a grudge (Koo Kyo-hwan) unleashes a zombie pandemic inside a convention and mall. Yeon introduces a new wrinkle in that the villain is controlling the zombies with his mind and the undead learn quickly through chemical communication. The thing moves along reasonably well until the climax, which is too drawn out. He’s still as good as any Western filmmaker when it comes to zombies. Also with Ji Chang-wook, Kim Shin-rok, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Hyung-mook, and Go Soo.
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.
The Dog Stars (R) Ridley Scott’s postapocalyptic Western starts off well before losing its way. Based on Peter Heller’s novel, the film is set in the year 2035, some time after a global pandemic decimates the world’s population. Jacob Elordi plays a surviving airplane pilot who leaves the safety of his Colorado compound to investigate a faint radio signal coming from possible survivors in Grand Junction. The film survives for a while on the performances of the principal cast and the vistas of Denver being overgrown. However, Scott can’t strike the right balance between the action set pieces and the character bits, and the scene when our hero discovers the true nature of the people living in Grand Junction isn’t nearly as horrifying as it should be. Despite a stacked cast, the overall impact is mid. Also with Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, Guy Pearce, Benedict Wong, Ewen Bremner, James Craze, Sam Spruell, Sai Bennett, and Allison Janney.
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.
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.
The Magic Faraway Tree (PG) Based on Enid Blyton’s novel, this fantasy film stars Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy as parents whose children discover a magical land after they move to the countryside. Also with Nicola Coughlan, Nonso Anozie, Phoenix Laroche, Billie Gadsdon, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Simon Farnaby, Claire Keelan, Jessica Gunning, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Lenny Henry, Simon Russell Beale, Michael Palin, Jennifer Saunders, and Rebecca Ferguson. Voice by Judi Dench.
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.
Onslaught (R) Disappointingly ordinary. Adria Arjona stars in this thriller as a trailer park manager and Iraq veteran combat sniper who has to protect her daughter (Blake Kennedy) when three supersoldiers break free of their testing lab and start killing everyone in their path. Director Adam Wingard has made good movies in this vein before (You’re Next, The Guest), but this one has anemic characterization and a weak backstory, and the director’s visual flourishes don’t make any sense. All this would matter less if the action sequences were at least memorable, but the movie falls short in this department as well. For a movie with this title, it’s awfully easy to shrug off. Also with Dan Stevens, Alex Pereira, Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson, Drew Starkey, Maurice Greene, Jacob Scipio, Michael Biehn, and Rebecca Hall.
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.
Spa Weekend (R) The cinematic equivalent of a champagne mimosa left out in the sun for four hours. Michelle Buteau, Anna Faris, and Leslie Mann play overworked and overstressed mothers and childhood best friends who book a weekend getaway at a beach resort, only for their chaotic long-lost Australian friend (Isla Fisher, particularly charmless) to crash the proceedings. Writer-directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore come from the Bad Moms movies, but here their comic hijinks are simply loud, annoying, and unfunny. It’s as if the filmmakers assembled these four actresses who have all been better elsewhere and expected something hilarious to happen. It didn’t. Also with Tim Ross, Robert Coleby, Felix Williamson, Dominic Ona-Ariki, Diana Glenn, Ali Basoka, and Erika Heynatz.
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.
Tony (R) There are better movies about a smart young man who needs to learn how not to be a bastard, but this one is engaging enough. Dominic Sessa portrays 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain in the summer of 1975 whose dreams of becoming a great novelist are thwarted and instead takes a job washing dishes at a seafood restaurant in Provincetown, Mass. Sessa’s sharp features and piercing gaze make him suited for this role whether he’s observing the workings of the kitchen or being angry at the world for failing to recognize his genius. Tony’s redemption comes a bit too easily, but director/co-writer Matt Johnson (BlackBerry) is a dead solid writer, and his depiction of a clambake on the beach that Tony organizes is a nice note to end things. Also with Emilia Jones, Leo Woodall, Stavros Halkias, Michael Jibrin, Monica Raymund, Dagmara Dominczyk, Rich Sommer, and Antonio Banderas.
Toy Story 5 (PG) The latest installment in the series is all about Jessie the Cowgirl (voiced by Joan Cusack), which helps make it one of the best. With Bonnie (voiced by Scarlett Spears) getting a new tablet (voiced by Greta Lee) as a gift, the toys see a future of neglect, and their attempts to get rid of it end up calling Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) out of retirement and transporting both Jessie and Bullseye back to her old home, now occupied by a new girl and another set of toys. Conan O’Brien injects a ton of energy and poop jokes as an outdated device designed to potty-train toddlers, but the movie’s success hangs on Jessie discovering the impact she made on her previous owner and coming to terms with the fact that kids will always outgrow their toys. Additional voices by Tim Allen, Bonnie Hunt, Annie Potts, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Ernie Hudson, Matty Matheson, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Kristen Schaal, Tony Hale, Melissa Villaseñor, Alan Cumming, Keanu Reeves, and Bad Bunny.
La última oportunidad (NR) Oscar Becerra’s drama is about a family pulling together in the midst of hardship. Starring Jimmy Dux, Roberto Escobar, and Anais Salazar.
Dallas Exclusives
American Doctor (NR) Poh Si Teng’s documentary follows Palestinian, Israeli, and American doctors who travel to Gaza to treat wounded people.
Dreams in Nightmares (NR) Shatara Michelle Ford’s film is about a group of LGBT Black women taking a road trip across the Midwest to locate a friend who has disappeared. Starring Denée Benton, Mars Storm Rucker, Dezi Bing, Sasha Compère, Molly Bernard, Charlie Barnett, Robert Wisdom, Regina Taylor, and Jasmin Savoy Brown.
The Girl in the River (NR) This crime thriller stars Maggie Grace and Tiffany Haddish as investigators in a small town looking into the death of one woman and the disappearance of her twin sister. Also with Devon Sawa, Andrew Stevens, Sarah Murphree, Angelena Swords, Sam Brooks, and Ralph Macchio.
