Film Shorts

Beasts of No Nation (R) Cary Joji Fukunaga (TV’s True Detective) adapts Uzodinma Iweala’s novel about a 14-year-old boy (Abraham Attah) who’s drafted into a civil war in an unnamed African country. Also with Idris Elba, Emmanuel Affadzi, Bernard Quaye, Zabon Gibson, and Annointed Wesseh. (Opens Friday in Dallas)

Bruce Lee (NR) Ram Charan stars in this Indian film about the romantic misadventures of a movie stuntman. Also with Rakul Preet Singh, Kriti Kharbanda, Arun Vijay, Tisca Chopra, and Chiranjeevi. (Opens Friday at Cinemark North East Mall)

Crimson Peak (R) Guillermo Del Toro’s horror film stars Mia Wasikowska as a Victorian woman who discovers that her new husband (Tom Hiddleston) lives in an estate filled with ghosts. Also with Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam, Burn Gorman, Leslie Hope, Jonathan Hyde, and Doug Jones. (Opens Friday)

Freeheld (PG-13) There’s a lot of reasons to root for this gay civil-rights drama based on real events, not least of which is that Ellen Page has been trying to get it made since well before she came out of the closet. But, man, it isn’t good. She plays a New Jersey auto mechanic who sues her county in 2005 after she’s found ineligible to receive death benefits from her terminally ill partner, who’s a police officer (Julianne Moore). The script is one-note, Peter Sollett’s direction is listless, Moore and Page don’t click as a couple, and Steve Carell somehow manages to screw up the comic-relief part of a grandstanding gay activist. Michael Shannon alone manages to shake free as Moore’s cop partner. When a straight guy has the most interesting part in a lesbian drama, something has gone wrong. Also with Luke Grimes, Dennis Boutsikaris, Skipp Sudduth, and Josh Charles. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)

Goosebumps (PG) Based on R.L. Stine’s series of horror books for children, this movie stars Jack Black as the author, who has to work with a teenager next door (Dylan Minnette) after the monsters in his books come to life. Also with Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee, Jillian Bell, Ken Marino, Halston Sage, Amy Ryan, and R.L. Stine. (Opens Friday)

Steve Jobs (R) Director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) collaborate on this biopic of the Apple co-founder, starring Michael Fassbender. Also with Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sarah Snook, Perla Haney-Jardine, and Katherine Waterston. (Opens Friday in Dallas)

Tales of Halloween (R) This anthology horror film is made up of 10 segments about a town overrun by evil spirits. Starring Grace Phipps, Barry Bostwick, Booboo Stewart, Lin Shaye, Cerina Vincent, Greg Grunberg, Lisa Marie, Keir Gilchrist, Clare Kramer, Noah Segan, Adrienne Barbeau, Joe Dante, and John Landis. (Opens Friday in Dallas)

Woodlawn (PG) Caleb Castille stars in this Christian drama as a football player who tries to keep his faith while racial strife threatens to tear his community apart. Also with Sean Astin, C. Thomas Howell, Brando Eaton, Nick Bishop, Virginia Williams, Sherri Shepherd, and Jon Voight. (Opens Friday)

Black Mass (R) Deeply ordinary, though it tries so hard to be very serious and important. Johnny Depp plays notorious Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger, who bands together with his politician brother (Benedict Cumberbatch) and their childhood friend-turned-FBI agent (Joel Edgerton) to make Whitey a bureau informant. Depp is a sleek, vampiric killer here, but the rest of the high-powered cast has little to do besides try on their Boston accents. Director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) directs this thing tediously, cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi seems allergic to anything that looks good, and composer Junkie XL scores this like a Wagner opera. This thing aims for epic tragedy, yet its hero comes off looking like a deluded ninny for trusting in this group of gangsters. Also with Peter Sarsgaard, Kevin Bacon, Dakota Johnson, Jesse Plemons, Rory Cochrane, Julianne Nicholson, David Harbour, Corey Stoll, W. Earl Brown, Bill Camp, Juno Temple, and Adam Scott.

Etiquette for Mistresses (NR) Are all the Filipino movies as soapy as the ones AMC Grapevine Mills is getting in? I sure hope not. This drama based on a self-help book written by a self-proclaimed mistress to powerful men stars Kim Chiu as a girl fresh from the countryside (and fooling around with the future president’s husband) who falls in with a group of mistresses in Manila and tries to follow their advice on how to conduct herself as a kept woman. Everything looks as nice as a Nancy Meyers comedy, but the movie too often devolves into brain-rotting discussion of relationships. As for the comedy, let’s be charitable and say it’s too specific to its culture. If Filipino cinema is to be taken seriously, there must be progress. Also with Zoren Legaspi, Tirso Cruz III, Eddie Gutierrez, Cherry Pie Picache, and Helen Gamboa.

Everest (R) Not worth the IMAX upcharge, or even the regular admission price. This movie tells the story of the 1996 climbing disaster that killed six climbers on Mt. Everest, with Jason Clarke and Jake Gyllenhaal playing the heads of competing climbing parties that team up to get to the top. Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur made his bones with smaller action thrillers (2 Guns), but the larger canvas for this movie defeats him. The climbers look too similar to one another bundled into their parkas, and the director gives no sense of the unique dangers of Everest. Meanwhile, the relationships between climbers and wives back home (Robin Wright and Keira Knightley getting thankless roles) are straight soap opera. For a movie about the world’s biggest mountain, this feels small. Also with Josh Brolin, Sam Worthington, John Hawkes, Martin Henderson, Michael Kelly, Naoko Mori, and Emily Watson.

He Named Me Malala (PG-13) Davis Guggenheim profiles another Nobel Peace Prize winner with this documentary about Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating that girls go to school. Now from the safety of Birmingham, England, she runs an organization that builds schools for girls around the developing world. Guggenheim is neither a distinctive visual stylist nor a hard-hitting investigative journalist, so he’s fortunate that Malala and her family are engaging subjects. Her father Ziauddin is a remarkable story himself (a fiery anti-Taliban speaker despite a speech impediment), and Malala herself seems not to have let her celebrity go to her head. At a time when people are making war on any learning that conflicts with their fundamentalism, this movie is a ringing endorsement of the value of education and the threat it poses to people who are ruled by prejudice.

Hotel Transylvania 2 (PG) Adam Sandler and crew return for this animated sequel, and the novelty has largely worn off. He voices Dracula, who frets over whether his mixed-blood grandson will turn out a vampire before he turns 5 and tries to ensure that this happens while his daughter and son-in-law (voiced by Selena Gomez and Andy Samberg) are in California. The animators come up with a few gags that raise a laugh, but the thing overall is dispensable. I shudder to think how tired this setup will be when Hotel Transylvania 3 rolls around. Additional voices by Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Molly Shannon, Fran Drescher, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Dana Carvey, Chris Kattan, Jon Lovitz, and Mel Brooks.

The Intern (PG-13) This instantly forgettable comedy returns to the land of Nancy Meyers, where the punchlines never land as smartly as they should, no one under 30 knows anything worth knowing, and everyone does everything in attractive rooms that give no sign of ever having been inhabited by people before. Robert De Niro plays a 70-year-old retiree who takes an entry-level job working for the founder of a thriving online fashion startup (Anne Hathaway) and winds up teaching her how to relax once in a while and be okay with her success. De Niro does fine understated work here, but Meyers’ material doesn’t repay his efforts onscreen or your efforts watching it. Also with Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, Andrew Rannells, Nat Wolff, Christine Scherer, Linda Lavin, and Rene Russo.

Ladrones (PG-13) Fernando Colunga reprises his role as a Colombian master thief in this sequel to the heist comedy Ladrón que roba a ladrón, here teaming up with a Mexican pal (Eduardo Yáñez) and a mostly new crew of thieves to keep a bunch of poor South Texas families from having their family farms seized by an opera-singing land baron (Jessica Lindsey). The movie has its odd bits of inspiration like its reference to the Texas Rangers, but overall, the inspiration level doesn’t match the 2007 original either in the comedy or in the execution of the robbery. Too bad; the premise of Latin thieves working in America could have supported a better sequel. Also with Oscar Torre, Frank Perozo, Nashla Bogaert, Evelyna Rodriguez, Cristina Rodlo, Carmen Beato, Jon Molerio, and Miguel Varoni.

The Martian (PG-13) Very solid. Matt Damon stars in this science-fiction crowd-pleaser as an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars alone after his fellow crew members think he’s dead. While much of this movie (adapted from a novel by Andy Weir) focuses on his solitary efforts to keep himself alive and contact NASA, just as much is focused on the people back on Earth working to bring him home, which allows for many heroes instead of one. The weak character development largely wastes the talents of a deluxe supporting cast, but Damon is convincing as both a brilliant scientist and a guy who cracks jokes to deal with his predicament, and the movie has enough comic relief so that its 140 minutes pass smoothly. For director Ridley Scott, this is a badly needed jolt back to life and a heartening late-career triumph. Also with Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Aksel Hennie, Sebastian Stan, Sean Bean, Benedict Wong, Donald Glover, Mackenzie Davis, Eddy Ko, Chen Shu, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (PG-13) James Dashner’s dystopian YA novel would have been better if it had been adapted into a video game instead of a movie. If you were controlling the hero, you’d probably make smarter decisions than him, and a pixelated version of him would show more personality than the relentlessly uninteresting Dylan O’Brien. This sequel to last year’s hit continues the adventures of the teens who survived the maze. Director Wes Ball engineers a nice sequence when O’Brien and Rosa Salazar (a ghostly new presence here) flee the zombies up a half-toppled skyscraper, but this still comes off as a half-assed Hunger Games rip-off. Also with Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Alexander Flores, Jacob Lofland, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen, Barry Pepper, Lili Taylor, and Patricia Clarkson.

Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation (PG-13) In its fifth installment, the spy series is as implausible and as gripping as ever. Tom Cruise returns as superagent Ethan Hunt, who discovers the existence of a rival spy agency just as IMF is being dismantled. Director Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher) is the latest to take over the series, and he engineers terrific action sequences involving a backstage assassination plot at an opera performance and a motorcycle chase down the highways of Morocco. As a British agent who has an in with the rival agency, Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson is a blazing addition to the series as well. It’s a fine piece of summer escapism. Also with Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Sean Harris, Tom Hollander, Jens Hultén, Simon McBurney, and Alec Baldwin.

99 Homes (R) Ramin Bahrani made his reputation with terrific micro-budget movies about immigrants in America, but then Hollywood stars started wanting to be in his movies, and it’s just not the same. Andrew Garfield stars in this overwrought drama as a Florida construction worker who goes to work for the real estate agent (Michael Shannon) who evicted his family from their home. Amid the histrionics and contrivances, Shannon strikes the sole note of authenticity as a villain who firmly grasps how screwed up the system is that gives him so much incentive to prey on the poor and unlucky. This tall, scowling actor brings off the bad guy’s humanity with ease. If only the filmmakers had been so adroit. Also with Laura Dern, Noah Lomax, Tim Guinee, J.D. Evermore, and Clancy Brown.

Pan (PG) The story of Peter Pan defeats yet another filmmaker, and this prequel is loud and cheesy enough to make Steven Spielberg’s Hook look good by comparison. Levi Miller stars as a 12-year-old war orphan who’s whisked away to a magical world where Blackbeard the pirate (Hugh Jackman) rules as a dictator and James Hook (Garrett Hedlund) is Peter’s friend who still has both his hands. Director Joe Wright (Hanna, Atonement) huffs and puffs, but this Peter Pan remains stubbornly earthbound and unimaginative, apart from the appalling missteps like Blackbeard’s followers serenading him with “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and no, I’m not making that up. Also with Rooney Mara, Adeel Akhtar, Nonso Anozie, Cara Delevingne, and Amanda Seyfried.

The Perfect Guy (PG-13) Michael Ealy is well-cast in this thriller as a charming heartthrob who’s actually a murderous psychopath in disguise. Other than that, there’s little to recommend this buppie Fatal Attraction knockoff that stars Sanaa Lathan as a woman who ditches her commitment-phobic boyfriend (Morris Chestnut) for Ealy’s more assertive but crazy-ass lover. The movie sets the villain up as a security expert and hacker extraordinaire before letting that point go to waste. Lugubriously directed by David M. Rosenthal, this is about as disturbing as a yogurt that’s one day past its expiration date. Also with John Getz, Tess Harper, Kathryn Morris, Rutina Wesley, Holt McCallany, L. Scott Caldwell, and Charles S. Dutton.

Sicario (R) This sweaty, intense action thriller stars Emily Blunt as an FBI agent who volunteers for a task force to take down a Mexican drug cartel, only to find things getting murky real fast. The script’s cynicism about the War on Drugs is cheap and the periodic cutaways to a Mexican cop (Maximiliano Hernández) caught up in the carnage fail to humanize the collateral damage. Still, this is a better movie about the border relations than most, with French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve conjuring up hard-hitting action sequences and Blunt layering her toughness with amusement and gathering outrage at the moral compromises involved. The uneasy thrills here are the movie’s proudest achievement. Also with Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, Daniel Kaluuya, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Donovan, and Julio Cedillo.

Veteran (NR) Hwang Jung-min stars in this Korean crime thriller as a seasoned Seoul police detective who tries to bring down a business conglomerate princeling (Yoo Ah-in) who preys on poor people and is, unfortunately, very good in a fight. Director Ryoo Seung-wan (The Berlin File) isn’t as famous as some of his compatriots, but he knows his way around thrillers like these, cutting the action sequences with effective slapstick comedy. Hwang negotiates the action and comedy equally well, and the brutal fistfight in a crowded Gangnam district is a satisfying end to this piece of entertainment. Also with Yoo Hae-jin, Jeong Man-shik, Jeong Woong-in, Jang Yoon-ju, and Oh Dal-su.

The Visit (PG-13) The best movie M. Night Shyamalan has made in years, and maybe his (intentionally) funniest one ever. Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould play siblings whose weeklong visit to stay with their estranged grandparents (Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie) at their Pennsylvania farm turns more and more disturbing each night. The found-footage approach gives a peppier rhythm to Shyamalan’s stately filmmaking, enough of the gags land to sustain you during the non-scary parts, and even the trademark Shyamalan plot twist pays off satisfyingly. Hope for Shyamalan’s career lives again. Also with Kathryn Hahn and Celia Keenan-Bolger.

The Walk (PG) Never quite as mythical as it thinks it is. Robert Zemeckis’ film dramatizes Philippe Petit’s 1974 stunt when he strung a cable across the roofs of the World Trade Center towers and walked across it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt portrays Petit, and while he shows off his acrobatic skills and his French, he never quite finds a way into the drive that made the wirewalker attempt such a dangerous trick. The visuals are nice and the movie pays tribute to the Twin Towers without turning mushy, but it’s too boilerplate to achieve the blinding power and beauty that it seeks. Also with Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, Steve Valentine, and Ben Kingsley.

War Room (PG) If your husband abuses you, lock yourself in a room and pray until God makes him stop. That’s the advice that this movie gives out, and it is so jaw-droppingly awful that I almost admire it. Priscilla C. Shirer plays a realtor who’s counseled by an all-wise elderly seller (Karen Abercrombie) about dealing with her cheating, possessive, wealthy husband (T.C. Stallings). Director/co-writer Alex Kendrick tells women in the audience to be good little submissive wives in such a patronizing way that he makes Tyler Perry look enlightened by comparison. For all its blather about God, this movie writes domestic abusers a blank check. I can’t think of anything worse that any recent movie has done. Also with Beth Moore, Alena Pitts, Tenae Dowling, Michael Jr., and Jadin Harris.

The Final Girls (PG-13) Taissa Farmiga stars in this horror-comedy as a woman who reunites with her deceased actress mother (Malin Akerman) when she’s magically pulled into a slasher movie that her mother starred in. Also with Nina Dobrev, Alexander Ludwig, Adam DeVine, Thomas Middleditch, and Alia Shawkat.

Goodnight Mommy (R) This Austrian horror film stars Elias and Lukas Schwarz as twin brothers who no longer recognize their mother (Susanne Wuest) after she gets cosmetic surgery. Also with Hans Escher.

In My Father’s House (R) This documentary by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg (Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work) follows rapper Che “Rhymefest” Smith as he reunites with his estranged homeless father and tries to rebuild the family home with him.

Knock Knock (R) Keanu Reeves stars in Eli Roth’s horror film as a married man who finds his life in danger after trying to assist two women (Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas) in need of help. Also with Colleen Camp.

Meet the Patels (PG) Ravi Patel stars in his own documentary about his family’s efforts to arrange a traditional Indian marriage for him.