OPENING
All Will Be Revealed (NR) This German comedy stars Harald Schrott as a man who returns to his hometown looking for his long-lost love. Also with Hanns Zischler, Daniela Golpashin, Erika Marozsán, and Jeremy Miliker. (Opens Friday at Premiere Cinemas Burleson)
Behuli From Meghauli (NR) This Nepalese comedy stars Bijay Baral as a father looking for a husband for his daughter. Also with Nischal Basnet, Basundhara Bhusal, Siru Bista, Amir Gautam, and Abhishek Khadka. (Opens Friday at Cinepolis Euless)
For the One (NR) Noah Taher’s concert documentary captures a performance by Christian musicians Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham. (Opens Friday at Premiere Cinemas Burleson)
Jwai Saab (NR) This Nepalese film stars Jitu Nepal, Niti Shah, and Buddhi Tamang. (Opens Friday at Cinepolis Euless)
Laggam (NR) Rajendra Prasad and Rohini star in this Indian drama as the parents of a family over a period of years. Also with Sai Ronak, Pragya Nagra, Kaveri, and Raghu Babu. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
Leap of Faith (PG) Nicholas Ma’s documentary interviews Christian leaders during a spiritual retreat in Grand Rapids. (Opens Friday in Dallas)
Let’s Start a Cult (NR) CM Punk stars in this comedy as a cult member who misses his group’s mass suicide and looks to start a new cult. Also with Stavros Halkias, Sarafina Vecchio, and Wes Haney. (Opens Friday at AMC Grapevine Mills)
Magpie (R) Daisy RIdley stars in this thriller as a mother whose marriage starts to disintegrate after her young daughter (Matilda Lutz) is cast in a movie alongside a beautiful star (Pippa Bennett-Warner). Also with Shazad Latif, Alistair Petrie, and Emmet Kirwan. (Opens Friday in Dallas)
The Man You Don’t Know (NR) Christopher Martini’s documentary profiles Donald Trump. Also with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Lara Trump, and Hulk Hogan. (Opens Friday)
1 Million Followers (NR) This thriller stars Shelley Q. as a social media influencer whose invitation to a house party in Thailand takes a sinister turn. Also with Henry Ian Cusick, Evan Williams, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Jade Ma, Skye Ladell, Dylan Poyser, Bjorn Karlqvist, and Constanza Palavecino. (Opens Friday in Dallas)
Pottel (NR) Yuva Chandraa stars in this Indian comedy as a man who returns to his village a celebrity after being driven out by caste discrimination. Also with Ananya Nagalla, Ajay, Priyanka Sharma, Chatrapathi Sekhar, and Noel Sean. (Opens Friday)
Venom: The Last Dance (PG-13) As implied by the subtitle, this looks to be the last installment of the series with Tom Hardy, though a couple of spinoff possibilities present themselves. Now a fugitive from justice, his Eddie Brock tries out a typically half-baked plan to fly across the country to clear his name, only to get sidetracked. As long as he and Venom are on the screen, the film is reasonably entertaining, with Eddie running into an itinerant hippie family and pining for the life they lead, and also stopping in Las Vegas to mess with tourists and play the slots. The rest of the plot is a mess, unfortunately. First-time director Kelly Marcel loses the whole thread of the story in the climax at Area 51, and wastes a rather stacked supporting cast. It really is time for Hardy to get out of this series while he’s ahead. Also with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Alanna Ubach, Cristo Fernández, Hala Finley, Dash McCloud, Peggy Lu, and Stephen Graham. (Opens Friday)
Your Monster (R) Melissa Barrera stars in this romantic comedy-horror film as a famous actress who discovers a monster (Tommy Dewey) in her closet after a scandal ruins her career. Also with Meghann Fahy, Edmund Donovan, Lana Young, Brandon Victor Dixon, Brian McCarthy, and Kayla Foster. (Opens Friday)
NOW PLAYING
The Apprentice (R) Neither the movie that Trump-lovers or Trump-haters will want, this isn’t much of anything at all. Sebastian Stan portrays young Donald Trump in the 1970s through the 1980s as he’s mentored in the way of public relations by cobra-like lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). The central relationship isn’t colored in well enough to shed much light on Trump and his continuing hold on one major political party and millions of voters. Maria Bakalova is inspired casting as Ivana Trump, but she flits in and out of the proceedings with so little logic that it makes little impact when Donald rapes her. Director Ali Abbasi (Border) captures the decadent atmosphere of 1980s New York well enough, but the movie struggles so much to be evenhanded that it winds up with no point of view, only concepts of a plan. Also with Martin Donovan, Catherine McNally, Charlie Carrick, and Mark Rendall.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (PG-13) Oddly comforting. Among many reprising their roles from Tim Burton’s 1988 film, Winona Ryder plays the grown-up Lydia Deetz who’s back in Connecticut to go through her deceased father’s things when her teenage daughter (Jenna Ortega) gets dragged into the afterlife, and Lydia has to enlist Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to get her back. There are even more subplots that cause this movie to run all over the place, although tight plotting was never what we went to Burton’s movies for. None of the actors in this heavyweight cast seem to quite bring their best, either, but the macabre comedy bits hit at an agreeable pace, especially with the waiting room for dead people and a flashback that parodies Mario Bava’s 1960s horror movies. It’s enough to make this return trip to Burton’s old stomping grounds worth taking. Also with Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, Santiago Cabrera, Amy Nuttall, Danny DeVito, and Willem Dafoe.
Deadpool & Wolverine (R) The partnership of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman has been teased for so long, it would have been easy for the thing to disappoint. Fortunately, Jackman’s eternally grumpy Wolverine and Reynolds’ Deadpool with his psychological need to make a joke out of everything is comedy gold. Deadpool has to save his world from annihilation, so he teams up with the worst version of Wolverine and goes to The Void, a funny dystopia where superheroes past are banished because their storylines never got resolved. It may not add up to great art, but it is very funny. Also with Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Karan Soni, Matthew Macfadyen, Leslie Uggams, Brianna Hildebrand, Dafne Keen, Tyler Mane, Ray Park, Aaron Stanford, Henry Cavill, Jon Favreau, Jennifer Garner, Wesley Snipes, Channing Tatum, and Chris Evans. Voices by Stefan Kapicic, Nathan Fillion, Blake Lively, and Matthew McConaughey.
Exhibiting Forgiveness (R) André Holland delivers one of the performances of the year as a successful Black artist who has to reconcile with his abusive father (John Earl Jelks) after the old man resurfaces in his life having stopped using crack and found Jesus Christ. First-time filmmaker Titus Kaphar displays an unfussy but terrific sense of composition to create some memorable visuals, and he also painted the startlingly lifelike canvases of Black urban life that the main character creates. The issues here aren’t the most original ones, but the acting by Holland and Jelks fleshes out the complications and unhealed scars in this relationship. This really isn’t more than a Tyler Perry movie, but the filmmaker is actually good at his job, and that makes all the difference. Also with Andra Day, Ian Foreman, Daniel Michael Barriere, Matthew Elam, Jamie Ray Newman, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
Goodrich (R) Michael Keaton portrays an L.A. art gallery owner who has to turn to his pregnant daughter (Mila Kunis) for help when his much younger wife enters a rehab program and leaves him to take care of their kids. First-time filmmaker Hallie Meyers-Shyer is the daughter of Hollywood directors Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer. She manages the whole think smoothly enough, but she can’t write a funny joke to save her life. Even when the main character winds up as the only man in a lesbian bar, the setup doesn’t produce anything funny. Even Keaton is off his game, and Kunis is the only cast member who brings anything snappy to the proceedings. Also with Carmen Ejogo, Poorna Jagannathan, Michael Urie, Danny Deferrari, Nico Hiraga, Andrew Leeds, Laura Benanti, Kevin Pollak, and Andie MacDowell.
Gracie and Pedro: Pets to the Rescue (NR) This animated film is about a show dog and a stray cat (voiced by Claire Alan and Cory Doran) who must travel across the country after being separated from their family. Additional voices by Bill Nighy, Danny Trejo, Alicia Silverstone, Brooke Shields, Al Franken, and Susan Sarandon.
I, the Executioner (NR) A huge hit in South Korea, this action-comedy by Ryoo Seung-wan (Escape from Mogadishu) stars Hwang Jung-min as a police detective trying to bring down a mob boss protected by a wealthy family. Also with Jung Hae-in, Jang Yoon-ju, Jin Kyung, Jung Man-sik, Shin Seung-hwan, and Oh Dal-su.
Joker: Folie à Deux (R) We don’t appreciate how deeply weird a musical about the Joker is. Joaquin Phoenix returns as Arthur Fleck, who falls in love with a psychotic patient (Lady Gaga) at Arkham while he’s awaiting trial for quintuple homicide. The songs they sing are Broadway and jazz standards, but their performances only rarely carry the emotions in the story, and Lady Gaga’s attempts to turn Harley Quinn into a figure of pathos keep her from being the blazing screen presence from A Star Is Born. Writer-director Todd Phillips stages the numbers competently but without the proper flair or any sense that they’re emanating from two disintegrating minds. The movie demonstrates some glints of awareness as to why people hated the first Joker, but only glints. That’s why it earns a half-measure of redemption, but only a half-measure. Also with Brendan Gleeson, Zazie Beetz, Harry Lawtey, Leigh Gill, Ken Leung, Jacob Lofland, Bill Smitrovich, Connor Storrie, Steve Coogan, and Catherine Keener.
Lubber Pandhu (NR) This Indian sports movie stars Harish Kalyan and Attakathi Dinesh as local cricket stars whose rivalry spans years. Also with Swasika, Sanjana Krishnamoorthy, Kaali Venkat, Bala Saravanan, Devadarshini, Geetha Kailasam, and Jenson Divakar.
My Hero Academia: You’re Next (PG-13) This one’s only for the fans of the anime series, I’m afraid. After All Might (voiced by Kenta Miyake in the Japanese version and Christopher Sabat in the English version) gives away his power, a fascist demagogue calling himself Dark Might (also voiced by Miyake and Sabat) rises up to take his place. He’s the front for a European crime family, so the heroes have to band together to stop him. Newcomers to the series will be lost, and the flashbacks that give backstory to the characters aren’t engaging enough to make the movie stand on its own. Also with Mamoru Miyano, Mauricio Ortiz-Segura, Meru Nukumi, Kaylii Mills, Yȗki Kaji, and Daiki Yamashita.
Piece by Piece (PG) One of the year’s best documentaries chronicles the life and career of Pharrell Williams (who voices himself). Instead of talking heads footage, the movie is rendered in animation that turns Pharrell and all the music stars he has worked with into Lego figures. This not only gives the film a different look, but also lends itself to bits of non-realistic fantasy, such as when Pharrell’s beats are represented by stacks of glowing 1×1 blocks that move along with the rhythm. Director Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom) brings an element of whimsy to this documentary that makes it moving when Pharrell looks back at all the lessons he has learned from his years in music. Additional voices by Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Timbaland, N.O.R.E., Pusha T, Daft Punk, and Jay-Z.
Reagan (PG-13) Weird, very weird. This biography of the movie star-turned-40th president of the United States applies a ton of CGI de-aging to Dennis Quaid and to Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan. That’s not nearly as bizarre as the framing story of a retired KGB agent (Jon Voight) in the present day telling the story of Reagan’s ascent to power. In addition to whitewashing the president’s record on civil rights, AIDS, and propping up dictatorships abroad, the movie also casts hideous studio boss Jack Warner (Kevin Dillon) as a hero of anti-communism. Other than about a thousand dead spots, this movie’s cavalier approach to history is a ton of fun. Also with Mena Suvari, C. Thomas Howell, Justin Chatwin, Amanda Righetti, Xander Berkeley, Lesley-Anne Down, Jennifer O’Neill, Robert Davi, Mark Moses, Nick Searcy, Scott Stapp, and Kevin Sorbo.
Rumours (R) How surreal is it to see one of Guy Maddin’s movies at the multiplex? Unfortunately, this collaboration with Evan and Galen Johnson is one of the Canadian avant-garde master’s weakest efforts. The movie concerns the leaders of the G7 countries (Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Denis Ménochet, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Roy Dupuis, Takehiro Hira, and Rolando Ravello) holding a summit in Germany when suddenly they become transported through a wormhole and have to find their own way through a forest. Dance doesn’t even attempt an American accent as the president of the United States, as a doddering man who falls asleep in mid-sentence. Maddin has never had much interest in geopolitical satire, and his stabs at it here are weak stuff. He’s more at home with surreal stuff like when the world leaders find a giant brain in the middle of the forest, but this doesn’t come to anything. The movie is apparently named after the Fleetwood Mac album, for reasons I can’t discern. Also with Zlatko Burić and Alicia Vikander.
Saturday Night (R) Jason Reitman too often forgets the punchline in this backstage drama about the chaos leading up to the first episode of Saturday Night Live. Gabriel LaBelle portrays Lorne Michaels as he tries to wrangle an unruly cast and crew while convincing TV executives that his idea about a live comedy show is going to work. Unfortunately, Reitman and Gil Kenan’s script cuts off after the first sketch of the first episode, so we don’t get the glorious moments that made the program into such a hit. Instead, the movie darts from one subplot to another without giving us anything to hold on to. Some of the young cast do worthy impressions of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players, but this movie is considerably less illuminating than the myriad oral and written histories about the comedy institution. Also with Rachel Sennott, Willem Dafoe, Cooper Hoffman, Cory Michael Smith, Matt Wood, Dylan O’Brien, Ella Hunt, Lamorne Morris, Emily Fairn, Kim Matula, Jon Batiste, Paul Rust, Nicolas Braun, Andrew Barth Feldman, Nicholas Podany, Tommy Dewey, Matthew Rhys, Tracy Letts, Finn Wolfhard, Kaia Gerber, and J.K. Simmons.
Smile 2 (R) Setting this in the world of pop music does all sorts of good things for the sequel to the 2022 horror hit. Naomi Scott portrays a Grammy-winning music star who witnesses her drug dealer (Lukas Gage) fall victim to the smile curse and then starts experiencing terrifying hallucinations herself. Scott is credible as a pop star, and the setup allows writer-director Parker Finn to film some dance numbers and make a heroine who’s more isolated because of her fame than the one in the original film. For all that, the movie falls apart in the last 20 minutes or so, as basic storytelling logic goes out the window and Finn seems uninterested in the issues that he raises with his setup. This is better than the original movie, but it could have been a great horror film. Also with Rosemarie DeWitt, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Dylan Gelula, Ray Nicholson, Peter Jacobson, Iván Carlo, Raúl Castillo, Kyle Gallner, and Drew Barrymore.
Speak No Evil (R) Fine, as long as you’re not expecting it to stick to the 2022 Danish film that it’s based on. This remake is about an American expat family in London who visit a British family in the countryside only to realize that they’re very wrong. James McAvoy is pretty well the right shade of uncomfortable as the British father who bullies both his guests and his 10-year-old mute son (Dan Hough) — his performance generates the queasy feeling that you get when you see a Karen berating a service employee, when you don’t know if intervening might make the situation worse. Still, more interesting stuff in this remake comes with the treatment of the ineffectual American father (Scoot McNairy), who blows two good chances of killing people threatening his family and is full of repressed anger over his family situation. It all makes for a flawed but effective piece of entertainment. Also with Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Motaz Malhees, and Kris Hitchen.
The Substance (R) The culmination of Demi Moore’s career. She stars as an aging Hollywood star who receives word of a black-market beauty product and uses it to transform into a younger, hotter self (Margaret Qualley). French writer-director Coralie Fargeat (Revenge) keeps both actresses naked for much of the time as a way of illustrating that while our protagonist has a physique that many 60-year-olds would envy, she can’t resist wanting to stay in the younger body. Qualley, who usually plays self-possessed types, comes memorably unhinged as she takes out her rage on her older alter ego, and Moore also seems to be tapping into a deep well of anger as she turns into a reclusive monster full of anger at herself and the culture that leaves her behind. It all plays like David Cronenberg meets The Picture of Dorian Gray from a female perspective, and that’s something we haven’t seen. Also with Dennis Quaid, Oscar Lesage, Hugo Diego Garcia, and Joseph Balderrama.
Terrifier 3 (NR) Not near as good as the last movie, I’m afraid. Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) returns for this Christmas-themed installment to wreak havoc once again on the traumatized heroine (Lauren LaVera). Unlike other horror movie series, this one works better the more the killer is onscreen. Unfortunately, this film spends too much time with the heroine who’s hallucinating about her murdered friends and randomly lashing out at the people around her. Art does kill a department store Santa Claus (Daniel Roebuck), but this movie sorely needed the wit of Terrifier 2. Also with Jason Patric, Elliott Fullam, Antonella Rose, Samantha Scaffidi, Jon Abrahams, and Chris Jericho.
Transformers One (PG) The irreverent tone of this animated origin story is just about right for little kids. Too bad the writing isn’t sharp enough for the grown-ups. The story goes back to when Optimus Prime and Megatron (voiced by Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry) are menial labor robots on Cybertron who acquire the power to transform into vehicles just as they discover that their leader (voiced by Jon Hamm) is a fraud who’s actually working for their sworn enemies. Director Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4) makes sure that the thing doesn’t drag and the whole story bears an uncanny resemblance to Lucifer’s rebellion against God, but the thing just isn’t funny or distinctive enough to stick in the mind. Additional voices by Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, James Remar, Jon Bailey, Steve Buscemi, and Laurence Fishburne.
We Live in Time (R) The acting is phenomenal in this overly complicated British weeper. Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh portray a couple over 10 years of their relationship as they meet, date, get married, have a kid, see her become a Michelin-starred chef, and die of ovarian cancer. The movie intentionally tells its story out of order for reasons that are unclear. It didn’t need to; the best parts of this movie are stand-alone set pieces, like a funny and harrowing scene where she gives birth in a gas-station bathroom, and when she represents Britain in the Bocuse d’Or competition. Still, you should see this film for the acting, as Garfield is excellent and Pugh delivers yet another great performance as someone who jeopardizes her health so her daughter can see her do something tremendous. The leads lift this above the dross of melodramas at the multiplex. Also with Lee Braithwaite, Grace Delaney, Aoife Hinds, Adam James, Niamh Cusack, and Douglas Hodge.
White Bird (PG-13) In this low-energy, Holocaust-themed spinoff of Wonder, the original film’s school bully (Bryce Gheisar) tries to hack it in a new school when his French Jewish grandmother (Helen Mirren) tells him the story of how her younger self (Ariella Glaser) was saved from the Nazis by a polio-crippled boy (Orlando Schwerdt) and his parents on a farm. Despite the talent on display here, the drama is about as washed-out as the movie’s color palette. The filmmakers’ mandate for making this story kid-friendly winds up defanging the genocide. This Holocaust drama doesn’t have the guts to offend, and so it’s indistinguishable from all the others. Also with Gillian Anderson, Olivia Ross, Ishai Golan, and Priya Ghotane.
The Wild Robot (PG) Not as good as the hype, but still good. Chris Sanders’ animated film is about a helper robot (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) that activates on an island devoid of humans and learns to communicate with the animals. The film is adapted from Peter Brown’s illustrated novel, and the animators do well to translate Brown’s simple drawings into a world of riotous colors and a robot that can change shape depending on the situation. The plot here has the robot having to take care of a baby gosling (voiced by Kit Connor), and on a story level, it doesn’t compare with either WALL-E or Big Hero 6 as a movie about a robot becoming more human by interacting with our world. Additional voices by Pedro Pascal, Mark Hamill, Catherine O’Hara, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Stephanie Hsu, and Bill Nighy.
NOW PLAYING IN DALLAS
Allswell in New York (R) This comedy is about three Nuyorican sisters (Liza Colón-Zayas, Elizabeth Rodriguez, and Daphne Rubin-Vega) navigating middle age together. Also with Bobby Cannavale, Felix Solis, Max Casella, and Michael Rispoli.
Bookworm (NR) The latest film by Ant Timpson (Come to Daddy) is about a girl (Nell Fisher) whose estranged father (Elijah Wood) takes her on a camping trip to find a mythical beast. Also with Morgana O’Reilly, Nikki Si’ulepa, Theo Shakes, and Michael Smiley.
Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid (NR) Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary profiles Democratic political strategist James Carville and his marriage to Republican strategist Mary Matalin. Also with George Stephanopoulos, Mandy Grunwald, Paul Begala, Sidney Blumenthal, Donna Brazile, and Al Sharpton.
The Cowboy and the Queen (NR) Andrea Nevins’ documentary profiles horse trainer Monty Roberts and his friendship with Queen Elizabeth II of England over their shared love of horses.
Panda Plan (NR) Jackie Chan stars in this comedy as himself, trying to rescue a panda from kidnappers. Also with Wei Xiang, Shi Ce, Han Yanbo, Andy Friend, Sean Kohnke, and Aleksandra Smirnova.
Rippy (NR) This Australian comedy stars Tess Haubrich as a sheriff who must stop a kangaroo from tearing the people of her town to shreds. Also with Michael Biehn, Aaron Pedersen, Angie Milliken, Nancy Rizk, Don Bridges, and Mungo McKay.
