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Movies: New and Noteworthy

COMING THIS WEEK By Gary Thompson Wind River Writer Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water) debuts as a director in this gritty story of an FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) investigating a murder at an Indian reservation. Jeremy Renner costars. R

"Step": Lethal Ladies of BLYSW perform in the documentary about a school's step-dance team. Fox Searchlight
"Step": Lethal Ladies of BLYSW perform in the documentary about a school's step-dance team. Fox SearchlightRead more

COMING THIS WEEK

By Gary Thompson

Wind River Writer Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water) debuts as a director in this gritty story of an FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) investigating a murder at an Indian reservation. Jeremy Renner costars. R

Glass Castle Brie Larson stars in this adaptation of Jeannette Walls' best-selling memoir of growing up with her sometimes dangerously unconventional parents (Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts). PG-13

Brigsby Bear Fantasy and cosplay become a means of helping a young man (Kyle Mooney) raised by cult members adjust to life in the real world. With Clare Danes, Greg Kinnear. PG-13

Also Opening This Week

Annabelle: Creation

A possessed doll terrifies a nun and a group of orphans.

68 Kill Chip's simple life turns complicated when his girlfriend suggests ripping off her wealthy sugar daddy.

Step This documentary looks at a group of Baltimore high school seniors who perform for their school's step-dance team.

Very Good (***1/2)

Reviewed by critics Tirdad Derakhshani (T.D.), Dan DeLuca (D.D.), and Gary Thompson (G.T.). W.S. denotes a wire-service review.

The Big Sick Based on comedian Kumail Nanjiani's life, a funny, touching comedy of a Pakistani American caught between his religious family and the American woman (Zoe Kazan) he loves. With Holly Hunter, Ray Romano. 1 hr. 59. R (sexual references) - G.T.

Dunkirk Christopher Nolan's visually sweeping, stirring account of the way ordinary citizens, in the early days of World War II, effected the massive evacuation of stranded British troops from a French port surrounded by Germans. With Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, and Harry Styles. 1 hr. 47 PG-13 (violence) - G.T.

Also on Screens

Armed Response

(Not Previewed)

Wesley Snipes leads a band of special forces soldiers into a heavily guarded high-tech facility where another team of commandos has disappeared. With Anne Heche. 1 hr. 33

R

Atomic Blonde **1/2 Charlize Theron is a rampaging British agent in Berlin as the wall comes down in 1989, teaming with another agent (James McAvoy) to help a defector and find a traitor. Works well as actioner, not so well as espionage thriller. 1 hr. 55 R (violence, nudity) - G.T.

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie *** The funniest movie of the year . . . if you're 5. Kevin Hart is one of the voices. 1 hr. 29 PG (mild rude humor throughout) - W.S.

Cars 3 **1/2 So-so Pixar outing has racer Lightning McQueen contending with younger rivals, helping another racer learn the ropes. Featuring the voices of Armie Hammer and Bonnie Hunt. Preceded by a top-notch animated short called "Lou." 1 hr. 47 G - G.T.

Chuck *** Funny, poignant, and true story of heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner (Liev Schreiber), whose 15-round bout with Muhammad Ali became the inspiration for Sylvester Stallone's Rocky. With Jim Gaffigan, Naomi Watts, and Elisabeth Moss. 1 hr. 41 R (language) - G.T.

Despicable Me 3 **1/2 Gru meets his lost brother, Dru, and they team up for a heist, much to the delight of the bored Minions. Featuring the voices of Steve Carell and Kristin Wiig. 1 hr. 33 PG (action and rude humor) - G.T.

The Emoji Movie * Animated feature focusing on the phone of an awkward high school freshman who is stressed out about what to text the girl he has a crush on. The movie's not terrible or offensive or outright bad; it's just meh. 1 hr. 26 PG (rude humor) - W.S.

Endless Poetry *** The latest film written and directed by Chilean-born cine-shaman Alejandro Jodorowsky is a dynamically staged and ravishingly shot (by cinematographer Christopher Doyle) giddy tableaux of social and sexual transgressions coalescing around the tale of a young man breaking free of his family's shackles and embracing his calling as a poet. In Spanish with subtitles. 2 hr. 8 No MPAA rating (frontal nudity, simulated sexual activities) - W.S.

Fun Mom Dinner (Not Previewed) Four women (Molly Shannon, Toni Collette, Bridgette Everett, Katie Aselton) decide to hoist a few after their kids' preschool class, and things get out of hand. With Paul Rudd. 1 hr. 29 R.

Girls Trip *** Malcolm Lee's vulgar but good-natured comedy about four women (Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish) reuniting for a wild weekend in New Orleans. Lots of star cameos, including Kevin Hart for a split second. 2 hr. 2 R (nudity, obscene language) - G.T.

Kidnap ***1/2 In this surprisingly effective thriller, Halle Berry plays a single mother who creates havoc driving her minivan to rescue her 6-year-old son, abducted from a playground by a stranger driving a green 1980s-vintage Ford Mustang GT. 1 hr. 21 R (violence, child in jeopardy, vehicular mayhem) - W.S.

Lady Macbeth *** Newcomer Florence Pugh makes a startling debut in this story, very loosely inspired by Shakespeare, about a young woman (Pugh) in 1865 England who rebels violently when she's forced to marry an older man. With Cosmo Jarvis. 1 hr. 28 R (violence) - G.T.

The Little Hours *** After three profane and abusive nuns run off the convent handyman, a young man in need of a place to hide pretends to be deaf and unable to speak to take his place. Talking is about the only thing Massetto doesn't do with the nuns. Warning: Anyone expecting this movie to show any respect toward the church will likely be shocked. 1 hr. 30 R (graphic nudity, language, sexual content, drug use) - W.S.

Maudie *** Sally Hawkins plays Canadian artist Maud Lewis, who turned a loveless life into a career as a beloved painter of happiness and color. 1 hr. 55 PG-13 (adult themes) - G.T.

The Midwife *** Catherine Frot plays a serious-minded midwife, and Catherine Deneuve is the extravagant and frivolous mistress of her now-deceased father who surfaces, suffering from a brain tumor, after disappearing 30 years before. The film jolts to life whenever its two great Catherines are sharing the screen, whether driving each other crazy or collapsing in tears. In French with subtitles. 1 hr. 57 No MPAA rating - W.S.

Person to Person (Not Previewed) The lives of various New Yorkers interconnect in this ensemble piece starring Abbi Jacobson, Michael Cera, Isiah Whitlock Jr. ,and Michaela Watkins, from writer-director Dustin Guy Defa. 1 hr. 24 R.

Spider-Man: Homecoming *** Actor Tom Holland heads this upbeat, uptempo reboot, awkwardly trying to fight crime (Michael Keaton is the Vulture) and date the beautiful captain of the debate team. With Robert Downey Jr. and Zendaya. 2 hrs. 13 PG-13 (some violence) - G.T.

Transformers: The Last Knight ** The usual noisy Michael Bay mess, starring Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Hopkins as guys who protect good transformers from pesky governments and bad transformers. More ludicrous than usual, if that's possible. 2 hr. 37 PG-13 (violence) - G.T.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets ** Luc Besson's $200 million f/x space dud about interstellar agents (Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne) on a mission to save a floating space station. Special effects can't mask wretched script. With Clive Owen. 2 hr. 17 PG-13 (sci-fi violence) - G.T.

The War for the Planet of the Apes *** Top-notch special effects highlight this adventure story about a contingent of apes (motion-captured Andy Serkis, Steve Zahn) attempting to free captured apes from a labor camp run by a demented Army officer (Woody Harrelson). Unusually inventive and effective score by Michael Giacchino. 2 hrs. 20 mins. PG-13 (violence) - G.T.

Wonder Woman **1/2 Surprisingly fun and energetic DC comic book movie that is welcome relief from recent dour Superman movies. Gal Gadot stars as the Amazon princess who leaves her island with WWI pilot Chris Pine to save the world. 2 hrs. 21 PG-13 (superhero violence) - G.T.