Movie guide: 'Life Itself,' 'Fahrenheit 11/9,' 'Lizzie' opening this weekend
Movies in theaters the week of Sept. 21
Four stars: superior. Three stars: good. Two stars: average. One star: poor. D (drug use), L (language), N (nudity), S (sexual situations, references), V (violence). Ratings by Film Critic Dann Gire, unless otherwise noted.
Opening this week
“Assassination Nation” — After a malicious data hack exposes the secrets of a small town in America, chaos descends and four teens must fight to survive against and armed mob. (R) 110 minutes.
“Fahrenheit 11/9” — The latest documentary from agent provocateur Michael Moore attempts nothing short of a magic act: turning despair into hope. He starts off with the question asking how Trump got elected, then moves on to the Flint water crisis, and then to grass-roots activists (David Hogg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) who are impatient for change. Reviewed by Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post. (R) L. 125 minutes. ½
“The House With a Clock in Its Walls” — As far as kid-centric comic horror goes, Eli Roth's film has everything going for it, outside of originality and cleverness. A young orphan aids his magical uncle (Jack Black) in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world. Cate Blanchett is superb as the stylish sorceress Mrs. Zimmerman. (PG) 104 minutes. ½
“I Think We're Alone Now” — The apocalypse proves a blessing in disguise for a recluse (Peter Dinklage) — until a second survivor (Elle Fanning) arrives with the threat of companionship. (R) 93 minutes.
“Life Itself” — Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas and Samuel L. Jackson star in Dan Fogelman's series of five intertwined, overlapping chapters, each brandishing a Hallmark card message of hope and light through the darkest times of sadness and suffering. (R) D, L, S, V. 117 minutes.
“Lizzie” — The new indie thriller starring Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Stewart presents a quasi-feminist take on the infamous true story of Lizzie Borden, who may or may not have axed her father and stepmother to death in 1892. Was it a sordid relationship that led to the killings? Reviewed by Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post. (R) V, N, S, L. 106 minutes.
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“Ant-Man and the Wasp” — Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) agrees to help Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), aka The Wasp, and Dr. Hank Pym (a hilariously curmudgeonly Michael Douglas) rescue his wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) from the Quantum Realm in the nuttiest, most ridiculous and best-executed superhero comedy in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (PG-13) V. 118 minutes. ½
“BlacKkKlansman” — Spike Lee's spot-on, politically prescient serio-comedy stars an affable but edgeless John David Washington as a real-life black Colorado Springs cop who infiltrates the local Ku Klux Klan, with the help of a Jewish cop played by Adam Driver. The result is Lee's most accessible, impassioned and go-for-broke work since “Do the Right Thing.” (R) L, S, V. 88 minutes.
“Christopher Robin” — Ewan McGregor stars as the title character in a beautifully composed but unsurprisingly conventional fantasy in which Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore and the rest of the Hundred Acre Wood gang set out to save their now grown-up human friend from a bad case of acute adulthood. (PG) 104 minutes.
“Crazy Rich Asians” — An economics professor from China (Henry Golding) brings his girlfriend (Constance Wu) to Singapore for a friend's wedding and to meet his parents. She's shocked to find out they're multimillionaires. The hotly anticipated rom-com, featuring an all-Asian cast, does not disappoint. Reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post. (PG-13) L. 121 minutes.
“Incredibles 2” — Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and their kids face discrimination, role reversals and a menacing new villain in Brad Bird's action-packed animated sequel. It's smart, witty and engaging — if not as sleek as the original. (PG) 112 minutes.
“Juliet, Naked” — A reclusive musician (Ethan Hawke) connects with the girlfriend (Rose Bryne) of an obsessive fan (Chris O'Dowd) in a sweet, smart rom-com about human connection and the capacity for hope. Reviewed by Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post. (R) L. 98 minutes.
“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” — The incandescent Lily James plays a younger Donna (Meryl Streep) during an eventful summer where she meets (and sleeps with) the three men who could be the father of her daughter (Amanda Seyfried). It's a ridiculous yet fun romp soundtracked by ABBA. Reviewed by Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press. (PG-13) S. 114 minutes.
“Mission: Impossible — Fallout” — Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the Impossible Missions Force must recover three stolen plutonium cores that an arms dealer and a terrorist group intend to use to target the world's holiest of places. Cruise blows way past James Bond for sheer athleticism and astonishing stunts in this tightly wound thriller. (PG-13) L, V. 147 minutes. ½
“The Nun” — This fifth installment of “The Conjuring” series tells the origin story of demon nun Valek. This time, our protagonist is Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), a novitiate who is dispatched by the Vatican, along with Father Burke (Demian Bichir), to a remote Romanian abbey where a young nun has just hung herself. Reviewed by Jake Coyle, Associated Press. (R) V. 96 minutes.
“Searching” — John Cho stars as a desperate father who uses his daughter's computer to search for the missing teen, discovering along the way how little he knew her. Aneesh Chaganty's timely thriller unfolds largely through a single computer screen and depicts how cruel people can be on the web. (PG-13) D, L, S. 102 minutes.
“The Wife” — Bjorn Runge's sublimely wrought drama captures the complex and contradictory nuances that accompany long-term marriages. Glenn Close stars as the wife of a celebrated author, creating a subtle, astonishing performance worthy of an Oscar nomination. (R) L, S. 100 minutes. ½
Passables
“Alpha” — Sheer spectacle dominates Albert Hughes' ambitious and flawed prehistoric adventure about the pivotal moment when a man first domesticates a wolf, paving the way for lupines to earn their canine status and work toward the coveted title “Man's Best Friend.” With Kodi Smit-McPhee. (PG-13) V. 97 minutes. ½
“The Meg” — Jason Statham stars as a tough-guy deep sea diver in Jon Turteltaub's formula but commercially attractive creature feature about a prehistoric giant shark that turns everything in the ocean into appetizers. (PG-13) L, V. 114 minutes. ½
“Operation Finale” — Ben Kingsley paints a chilling portrait of Adolf Eichmann in Chris Weitz's post-WWII wannabe thriller about Israeli agents abducting the former Nazi administrator and forcing him to stand trial for his war crimes during the Holocaust. With Oscar Isaac and Nick Kroll. (PG-13) L, V. 109 minutes. ½
“Peppermint” — Jennifer Garner stars as a mom who learns how to dispatch bad guys in all sorts of gruesome and psychotically theatrical ways to avenge the murders of her husband and daughter by agents of a powerful drug boss in Pierre Morel's cliched, bloody revenge tale. Reviewed by Lindsey Bahr. (R) L, V. 102 minutes.
“The Predator” — A mercenary (Boyd Holbrook) teams up with an evolutionary biologist (Olivia Munn) and others to battle aliens, but plot and character become collateral damage in a free-for-all of goofy jokes, blood-splattering violence, cluttered visual effects and preposterous stunts. (R) L, S, V. 107 minutes. ½
“A Simple Favor” — A fashion publicist (Blake Lively) disappears after leaving her son with a friend, a widowed parenting vlogger (Anna Kendrick), in Paul Feig's hybrid of twisty mystery and absurdist comedy. The film, however, makes a better comedy than thriller. Reviewed by Sonia Rao, Washington Post. (R) D, L, N, S, V. 116 minutes. ½
“White Boy Rick” — A 14-year-old (newcomer Richie Merritt) turns FBI informant to avoid prosecution for selling guns to drug dealers with his father (Matthew McConaughey) in an interesting — and depressing — fact-based crime drama. When he's cut loose, Rick puts his new skills to use as a real drug dealer. Reviewed by Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post. (R) D, L, N, S, V. 110 minutes. ½
Pits
“Mile 22” — Mark Wahlberg stars as a CIA operative who must cross 22 dangerous miles to deliver an important foreign intelligence agent in this ultimately confusing and utterly disorienting film. Reviewed by Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press. (R) L, V. 90 minutes. ½
Unpreviewed
“Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” — The animated monsters set sail on a cruise ship, where Dracula falls for a mysterious captain. (PG) 97 minutes.
“Slender Man” — In a small Massachusetts town, a group of friends attempt to prove that Slender Man, of internet lore fame, doesn't exist … until one of them goes missing. (PG-13) L, S. 93 minutes.
“Three Identical Strangers” — A coincidence reunites identical triplets, separated at birth. But, as this documentary shows, the reunion unveiled a terrible secret. (PG-13) for thematic material. 96 minutes.
“Unbroken: Path to Redemption” — The sequel picks up the true story of Olympian and World War II hero Louis Zamperini as he marries, wrestles with despair and finds faith. (PG-13) V. 98 minutes.
Foreign language
“Batti Gul Meter Chalu” — In Hindi.
“C/o Kancharapalem” — In Telugu.
“Eres Mi Pasion” — In Spanish.
“Manmarziyaan” — In Hindi.
“Sailaja Reddy Alludu” — In Telugu.
“Seema Raja” — In Tamil.
“Stree” — In Hindi.
“U Turn” — In Telugu.
“Ya Veremos” — In Spanish.
“Yo Soy Pepito” — In Spanish.