Movies: New and Noteworthy

Certain Women Director Kelly Reichardt gathers an impressive cast – her Wendy and Lucy star Michelle Williams, and Laura Dern, and Kristen Stewart – for a set of interconnected portraits of women in modern-day America. R

Inferno Tom Hanks is back as the bold, brainy hero of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code series. Ron Howard directs. Felicity Jones, Oscar-nominated for her role as Stephen Hawking's spouse in The Theory of Everything, is a doctor trying to help the Harvard prof, who has come to Florence and come down with a serious case of amnesia. Maybe they'll run into Jason Bourne? PG-13

Christine Based-on-true story about TV reporter and anchor Christine Chubbuck, who shot herself on a live broadcast in 1974.

Reviewed by Sofiya Ballin (S.B.), Tirdad Derakhshani (T.D.), Molly Eichel (M.E.), and Steven Rea (S.R.). W.S. denotes a wire-service review.

Hell or High Water Jeff Bridges is a soon-to-retire Texas Ranger teamed with his American Indian partner (Gil Birmingham) as they crisscross West Texas on the trail of two desperate bank-robbing brothers (Ben Foster, Chris Pine). A contemporary western that goes way beyond being simply satisfying genre fare. Written by Taylor Sheridan, directed by David Mackenzie, a soulful, jolting, sharp-eyed affair. 1 hr. 42 R (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

American Honey Road movie about a roving young magazine sales crew rolls out a bleak but still somehow hopeful vision of America, depicted with breathtaking honesty and raw beauty. With dreamy visuals, Shia LaBeouf, and a mesmerizing performance by newcomer Sasha Lane. 2 hr. 43 R (strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language throughout, drug and alcohol abuse - all involving teens) - W.S.

The Birth of a Nation Nate Parker's Sundance sensation lives up to the hype: A powerful work of history and myth alike, it depicts Nat Turner's transformation from a preacher who taught his fellow slaves to submit to white ownership into a firebrand and rebel who led a bloody, if short-lived, mutiny in 1831. Parker, who wrote and directed, gives a rousing, controlled performance as Turner, and he's ably backed up by a terrific ensemble featuring Aunjanue Ellis, Aja Naomi King, and Armie Hammer. 2 hrs. R (disturbing, violent content, and some brief nudity) - T.D.

Don't Think Twice A love letter to the art of improv comedy from writer, director, and actor Mike Birbiglia (Sleepwalk with Me). Featuring a superb cast of comics - including Key & Peele's Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs (Netflix's Love), Inside Amy Schumer writer Tami Sagher, and Garfunkel and Oates' Kate Micucci - the showbiz satire is about an improv group torn apart when one of the members wins a big TV role. 1 hr. 32 R (profanity and some drug use) - T.D.

Little Men The fast friendship between two New York City 13-year-olds is threatened when their parents start squabbling over a piece of Brooklyn real estate. Ira Sachs' follow-up to Love Is Strange is keenly observed, intimate, and anchored by the performances of newcomers Michael Barbieri and Theo Taplitz. With Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Ehle, and Paulina Garcia. 1 hr. 25 PG (adult themes) - S.R.

Sully Tom Hanks stars as veteran airline pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger in this deftly executed account of the dramatic emergency landing of a US Airways passenger jet in the middle of the Hudson River - the so-called Miracle on the Hudson. A true-life drama about heroism and people working in harmony under exceptional conditions, and a sobering deconstruction of the flight's aftermath: second-guessing, self-doubt, an administrative body - the National Transportation Safety Board - that appears on the hunt for a scapegoat. Clint Eastwood directs. 1 hr. 35 PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

The Accountant *** Crime thriller specialist Gavin O'Connor (Hope and Glory), delivers a slick, well-paced actioner based on the most ludicrous premise. Ben Affleck stars as an autistic accountant who also happens to be an expert sniper and martial arts master who is targeted by assassins after he finds financial irregularities at a powerful tech firm. Anna Kendrick is terrific as a geeky junior accountant who falls for the heroic CPA. With John Lithgow, J.K. Simmons, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson. 2 hr. 8 R (strong violence and profanity throughout) - T.D.

American Pastoral ** Ewan McGregor directs and stars in adapation of Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a former star athlete, married to a former beauty queen, who goes in search of his daughter after she is accused of a violent act. It's fine, but McGregor joins a long list of directors who don't get what it takes to translate Roth's particular genius to the big screen. With Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Connelly, and Peter Riegert. 2 hr. 6 R (some strong sexual material, obscenity, brief violent images) - W.S.

The Battle of Algiers (Not previewed) This 50-year-old landmark work of political cinema, now digitally restored, tracks the three-year conflagration between French soldiers and North African freedom fighters in the streets of the Algerian capital. The newsreel-style film, nominated for three Oscars, deployed a cast of nonprofessional actors and seethes with energy and authenticity. 1 hr. 27 No MPAA rating (realistic war footage).

Boo! A Madea Halloween **1/2 Tyler Perry is back as Mabel "Madea" Simmons - and brother Joe and nephew Brian, whose daughter slips out of the house to attend a fraternity Halloween party. Madea - along with Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis), Hattie (Patrice Lovely), and Joe - follows, and they crash the party. Laughs galore, of course, and nothing more. 1 hr. 43 PG-13 (drug use and references, suggestive content, language, some horror images, thematic material) - S.B.

Bridget Jones's Baby *** The hot-mess Brit returns for the third installment with the same love-triangle high jinks that characterized the first film, this time with added morning sickness. After two unprotected hookups, Jones (Renee Zellwegger) finds out she's pregnant, but doesn't know who the father is: a tech billionaire (Patrick Dempsey) or longtime love (and now ex) Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). The film is not as good as the first go-round, but much better than the dreadful second. 2 hr. 2 R (language, sex, nudity) - M.E.

Deepwater Horizon *** One of the most effective action directors in the biz, Peter Berg recounts with rare grace and style the April 20, 2010, explosion that engulfed the massive Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Featuring Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Kate Hudson, and Gina Rodriguez, this is a film of great economy and elegance, a no-nonsense re-creation of a tragedy that's thrilling, suspenseful, heart-stopping. Yet one can't help but wonder whether the story would not have been better served with a more thoughtful drama that captured its long-term consequences. 1 hr. 47 PG-13 (prolonged intense disaster sequences and related disturbing images, and some profanity) - T.D.

Demon *** An eerie horror pic and a sharply funny satire at the same time, the last film by Polish director Marcin Wrona is a superb surrealist fable about the legacy of the Holocaust in Poland, which lost virtually its entire Jewish population. Israeli actor Itay Tiran plays a young groom invaded by the spirit of a dead woman on his wedding day. 1 hr. 34 R (Profanity, sexuality, some nudity) - T.D.

Girl Asleep *** Australian coming-of-age comedy has shy kids, mean girls, a groovy '70s vibe, a monster, an ice queen, and a she-warrior who packs a mean punch. Think of it as Michel Gondry meets Wes Anderson, although it avoids quirk for the sake of quirk. 1 hr. 17 No MPAA rating (brief strong language) - W.S.

I'm Not Ashamed (Not previewed) Rachel Scott, the first victim of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, was an intensely committed Christian whose story is told by her parents in the 2000 book Rachel's Tears, partly based on the teen's journals. Masey McLain stars in this adaptation, which portrays Scott's life before the tragedy and recounts the shootings from her point of view. 1 hr. 52 PG-13 (thematic material, teen drinking and smoking, disturbing violent content, some suggestive situations)

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back *** Tom Cruise has found his ideal role in novelist Lee Child's anithero Jack Reacher, the former U.S. Army criminal investigator who travels around helping people who've been exploited by bad guys. This sequel, costarring Cobie Smulders as a current Army cop and Danika Yarosh as a teenage runaway, has Reacher taking on a private military contractor run by an evil former general (Robert Knepper). 1 hr. 58 PG-13 (sequences of violence and action, some bloody images, profanity, thematic elements) - T.D.

Keeping Up With the Joneses ** Zach Galifianakis and Isla Harper find it hard enough to maintain equilibrium with the ultra-attractive and cultivated neighbors - Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot - but when they also turn out to be secret agents, all bets are off. A predictable, disappointingly mediocre big-budget comedy. 1 hr. 41 PG-13 (sexual content, action/violence, brief strong language) - W.S.

Kevin Hart: What Now? **1/2 Kevin Hart comes back home to Philly for his latest concert movie, which was filmed last year over a sold-out two-night stand at Lincoln Financial Field before crowds of 53,000 a night. Hart mocks James Bond pictures in a silly prologue costarring Halle Berry before taking the stage, where he dominates with sharp-edged jokes based on his daily life with his two kids and his fiancée. His surreal routines are less funny when they touch upon sex. 1 hr. 36 R (sexual material, profanity) - T.D.

The Magnificent Seven ** Good turns by Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, and Vincent D'Onofrio can't save Training Day director Antoine Fuqua's star-studded remake of John Sturges' 1960 masterpiece. It's fun, exciting, and diverting enough. It's also entirely forgettable. 2 hrs. 12 PG-13 (extended and intense sequences of western violence, and historical smoking, some profanity, and suggestive material) - T.D.

A Man Called Ove *** Rolf Lassgård (Wallander) is brilliant in this heartwarming dramedy as a suicidal 59-year-old factory worker who finds life unbearable after his wife's death. A pitiless misanthrope who gets a kick out of showing up his neighbors as idiots, he finds his way back to humanity and love when he befriends a young family next door. Flashbacks feature the stunning Ida Engvoll as the young Ove's wife. With Bahar Pars, Tobias Almborg. In Swedish with English subtitles. 1 hr. 56 PG-13 (thematic content, some disturbing images, and profanity) - T.D.

Masterminds **1/2 Zach Galifianakis is wonderfully odd as a bumbling thief in the latest slapstick comedy from Napoleon Dynamite writer-director Jared Hess. Based on a real-life 1997 armored-car-company heist, the admittedly uneven film is filled with goofy turns by a terrific comic cast, including Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, Jason Sudekis, and Kate McKinnon. 1 hr. 34 PG-13 (crude and sexual humor, some profanity and violence) - T.D.

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life **1/2 Rafe (Griffin Gluck) has transferred into his third school of the year, this one with a rule-obsessed principal. Rafe summons a schoolwide rebellion to break every one of those rules. With Lauren Graham as the charming single mother, Rob Riggle as the dirtball would-be stepfather, and Andy Daly as the uptight principal. 1 hr 32 PG (rude humor throughout, language, thematic elements) - W.S.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children **1/2 Tim Burton's tween adventure fantasy tries to replicate the immensely successful mix of art-house cool and blockbuster power that made Alice in Wonderland such a huge hit. The effort backfires. Eva Green stars as the headmistress of a mysterious school for paranormally gifted kids who are hunted down by murderous monsters. Asa Butterfield is the misfit Florida teen who finds himself at the school, and Ella Purnell of Never Let Me Go is the remarkably charming girl he falls for. Samuel L. Jackson, Terence Stamp, and Judi Dench costar. 2 hrs. 07 PG-13 (intense sequences of fantasy action/violence and peril) - T.D.

Ordinary World (Not previewed) Billie Joe Armstrong, front man of the band Green Day, stars in a comedy about a punk rocker celebrating his 40th birthday with a big hotel bash, where his punk past comes up against his grown-up reality. With Selma Blair, Judy Greer, Chris Messina, and Fred Armisen. 1 hr. 27 No MPAA rating.

Ouija: Origin of Evil **1/2 Elizabeth Reaser (The Good Wife) delivers a sympathetic performance as a recently widowed mom who plays at being a spiritual medium to gullible old ladies. Then one day her little girl begins to channel demonic beings. Child actor Lulu Wilson gives a jaw-dropping performance as the increasingly psychotic girl. Too many cartoonish digital effects, but it has style and a few nice scares. 1 hr. 39 PG-13 (disturbing images, terror, and thematic elements) - T.D.

Storks ** The latest 3D, CGI, animated family adventure saga tries to combine the cuteness factor of newborn babies with the edgy humor of a Saturday Night Live skit. Featuring voices by Adam Samberg, Jennifer Aniston, Kelsey Grammer, Keegan-Michael Key, and Jordan Peele, it's about a rebellious stork that accidentally ruins the latest business venture of the world's storks - tired of delivering babies, they now make home deliveries for an online retailer. 1 hr. 29 PG (mild action and some thematic elements) - T.D.

The Whole Truth (Not previewed) Keanu Reeves stars as a lawyer who signs on to defend a teen (Gabriel Basso) accused of killing his wealthy father. Renée Zellweger costars as the teen's mother, who has a previous connection to the lawyer. 1 hr. 33 R (profanity and some violence, including a sexual assault)