THE BFG. 3 stars. Steven Spielberg's supersized dream of a movie, adpated from the Roald Dahl children's book about a little orphan girl and the Big Friendly Giant who takes her away. Newcomer Ruby Barnhill and Oscar-winner Mark Rylance star, and even if the story takes some silly turns, there is magic here _ on a very large scale. PG (scary images) _ Steven Rea
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE. 2.5 stars. Kevin Hart follows up the dreadful "Ride Along 2" with yet another buddy action comedy about a mismatched duo who vanquish evildoers. But this one is actually funny. Hart plays an accountant who is recruited by a rogue CIA officer. Played brilliantly by Dwayne Johnson, the spy was once an obese, geeky, lonely boy victimized by bullies. 1 hr. 54 PG-13 (crude and suggestive humor, some nudity, action violence and some profanity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
THE CONJURING 2. 3 stars. James Wan's sequel to his critically successful 2013 demonic shocker tries to pack every idea and horror film trick in the book to achieve something like epic status. Featuring strong turns by returning stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Wilson, the sequel is about the infamous Enfield Haunting in London which saw a single mum (Frances O'Connor) and her four small kids terrorized by an evil spirit. 2 hrs. 13 R (violence, gore, terror) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
DE PALMA. 3.5 stars. Must-see documentary about maestro of mayhem Brian De Palma, whose movies ("Blow Out," "Carrie," "Dressed to Kill," "Scarface," "The Untouchables") owe a huge debt to Hitchcock. De Palma offers a bracingly candid commentary on his career. The clips are killer, in more ways than one. 1 hr. 47 R (violence, sex, nudity, profanity, adult themes) _ Steven Rea
EAT THAT QUESTION: FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS. 3 stars. In this documentary that has three of his four kids' blessing (Dweezil is not on board) Frank Zappa talks and talks some more - to talk show hosts, a game-show audience, even a Pennsylvania state trooper. German director Thorsten Schutte uses the musician's own words to build a picture of the man, minus the usual behind-the-music memes. 1 hr. 33 R (language, some sexual references, brief nudity) _ Dan DeLuca
FINDING DORY. 3 stars. The cheery, royal blue, yellow-finned sidekick of 2003's Pixarsmash "Finding Nemo" gets a movie of her own, in which Dory _ who suffers from short-term memory loss _ finds herself separated from her family, trying desperately to remember where they might be. Aquatic adventures ensue, along with life lessons and swell moral messages, but there's a slightly disturbing, dreamlike thread running through the computer animated feature, too. 1 hr. 37 PG (adult themes) _ Steven Rea
THE FITS. 4 stars. Young boxer Toni (Royalty Hightower) is intrigued by the dance troupe that practices at her rec center in Anna Rose Holmer's stunning debut film. But as soon as Toni joins, members of the troupe start to come down with unexplained spasms. "The Fits" is gorgeous, singular, and worth going to see. 1 hr. 12 No MPAA rating _ Molly Eichel
FREE STATE OF JONES. 2.5 stars. Matthew McConaughey plays little known Southern abolitionist Newton Knight in Oscar-nominated "Seabiscuit" writer-director Gary Ross' exhausting, over-long biopic about a Confederate Army deserter who forms an army of his own to fight injustice in Mississippi during the Civil War. 2 hrs. 19 R (brutal battle scenes and disturbing graphic images) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
GENIUS. 2.5 stars. A literary movie that's actually about writing, this uneven biopic looks at Thomas Wolfe's work with his legendary editor Maxwell Perkins. Fans of Wolfe will love the inclusion of his writing. But many viewers will dislike Jude Law's hyperbolic turn as Wolfe. 1 hr. 44 PG-13 (some thematic elements and suggestive content) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE. 4 stars. As near a perfect film as I've ever since, this lushly-photographed kiwi comedy from Taika Waititi ("What We Do in the Shadows") features a star turn by teen actor Julian Dennison as a maladjusted orphan who bonds with a gruff widower (Sam Neill) during a months-long trek through the bush. 1 hr. 41 PG-13 (thematic elements including violent content, and for some profanity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
THE LEGEND OF TARZAN. 2 stars. After spending time in London, Tarzan returns to the jungle. Alexander Skarsg�rd and Margot Robbie star. 1 hr. 49 PG-13 (violence, sexual situations, profanity) _ Molly Eichel
THE LOBSTER. 4 stars. Oscar-nominated director Yorgos Lanthimos' English-language debut stars Colin Farrell as a mild-mannered widower sent to a hotel where he is encouraged _ nay, required _ to find a new partner. A surreal, comic, sad, strange, beautiful fable. 1 hr. 58. R (violence, sex, nudity, adult themes) _ Steven Rea
LOVE & FRIENDSHIP. 3 stars. Whit Stillman adapts a lesser-known, posthumously published Jane Austen novella about a widow of devilish charms _ as frank, fearless, and flirtatious a character as Austen ever imagined. Kate Beckinsale brings Lady Susan to life with glee, and a stalwart cast _ including Xavier Samuel, Chloe Sevigny and a scene-stealing Tom Bennett _ moves this comedy of manners, of manors, and of sexual politics briskly along. 1 hr. 33 PG (adult themes) _ Steven Rea
MAGGIE'S PLAN. 3.5 stars. Rebecca Miller's smart, shambling screwball romance about a single woman (Greta Gerwig), who falls into an affair with a self-absorbed writer and anthropologist (Ethan Hawke), who happens to be married (with kids) to a frosty Danish scholar (Julianne Moore). Complications, and conspiracy, ensue. 1 hr. 38. R (profanity, sex, adult themes) _ Steven Rea
THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY. 2.5 stars. Enjoyable if sentimental period drama that will appeal to "Downton Abbey" fans, this true story features a terrific turn by Dev Patel ("Slumdog Millionaire") as Srinivasa Ramanujan, a poor, uneducated Indian genius who became one of the world's foremost mathematicians before his death in 1920 at the age of 32. 1 hr. 48 PG-13 (some thematic content, smoking) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
ME BEFORE YOU. 2.5 stars. Shameless in every way, this adaptation of Jojo Moyes' tearjerker of a bestseller stars "Game of Thrones'" Emilia Clarke and "The Hunger Games'" Sam Claflin. She's an unstoppably sunny young woman hired to take care of an accident victim, a handsome and now seriously downcast quadriplegic. Can her botanically themed wardobe choices make him want to live again? Will she throw over her clownish beau and fall in love with her care-givee? Do bees make honey? Do caterpillars turn into butterflies? Does Hollywood love sap? 1 hr. 50 PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) _ Steven Rea
MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES. 2.5 stars. Zac Efron and Adam DeVine play brothers in search of women to take to their sister's wedding so they won't ruin yet another family affair. Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick play two debaucherous ladies who mostly see a free vacation. It feels like a series of loosely linked scenes instead of a full-fledged movie; it's not nearly as memorable, smart, or sweet as "Wedding Crashers." 1 hr. 38 R (crude sexual content, language, drug use, some graphic nudity) _ Molly Eichel
THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS. 3 stars. Candid and picturesque HBO-produced documentary tells the story of cello legend Yo-Yo Ma and his cross-cultural Silk Road Ensemble. It's musically rich, and you'll love the musicians profiled _ including an exiled Iranian kamancheh player who maintains his marriage via Skype. 1 hr. 36 PG-13 (brief strong language) _ David Patrick Stearns
NOW YOU SEE ME 2. 2 stars. The Four Horsemen return from 2013's hit magician-thieves caper (well, three of them _ Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, and Woody Harrelson _ joined by newcomer Lizzy Caplan) for another whooshing display of trickery and misdirection. 2 hrs. 9 PG-13 (adult themes) _ Steven Rea
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR. 2.5 stars. Ewan McGregor is likeable as a Hitchockian everyman in this adaptation. He is sucked into a dangerous spy game when a Russian mobster (a hulking, over-the-top Stellan Skarsgard) hands him evidence against his bosses to pass on to British intelligence; Damian Lewis strains credulity as their case officer. 1 hr. 47 R (violence, profanity throughout, some sexuality, nudity, brief drug use) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR. 2 stars. There aren't any big surprises in the third entry in the popular, ultra-violent franchise about the near future where once a year, for 12 hours, Americans are allowed to commit murder. Frank Grillo returns as a former cop who saves people on Purge night. This time around, he's been hired to protect a presidential candidate (Elizabeth Mitchell) who wants to repeal the Purge. 1 hr. 45 R (disturbing bloody violence, profanity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS. 3 stars. Directed by the "Dispicable Me" franchise's Chris Renaud, a pet lovers' loving salute to the domesticated animals we rely on to bring us comfort, companionship, and triple-digit veterinary bills. Louis C.K. gives voice to a needy Jack Russell, and Kevin Hart is a white bunny named Snowball (talk about color-blind casting!). An extremely animated animated romp. 1 hr. 30 PG (some scares for little kids) � Steven Rea
SWISS ARMY MAN. 3 stars. Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe star in a big existential fart joke of a movie _ good news if you like fart jokes, not so good otherwise. In truth, this fearless oddity of an indie, written and directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, is propelled by more than mere flatulence. It's about the safe haven of imagination, about loneliness, despair, resilience, obsession and, um, stalking. 1 hr. 35 R (profanity, adult themes) _ Steven Rea
TICKLED. 3 stars. A reporter fascinated by an online video about the new sport of "competitive tickling" looks into the company that hosts contests in Los Angeles only to learn it's a front for a global producer of softcore fetish vids. What the doc lacks in journalistic rigor it makes up for by its sheer oddness. 1 hr. 32 R (profanity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
WARCRAFT. 1.5 stars. The first in a planned series of pics inspired by the video games, this incoherent, violent and intensely loud 3-D spectacle is a technical marvel with great CGI effects and fun turns by Travis Fimmel, Ben Foster and Paula Patton. Yet despite its pretentions to be the next "Lord of the Rings," it's a soulless mess. 2 hrs. 03 PG-13 (extended sequences of intense fantasy violence) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
WEINER. 2.5 stars. A fascinating if disappointing portrait of New York politician Anthony Weiner, who resigned his congressional seat in 2011 amid a sexting scandal. The film picks up his story two years later, when he runs for mayor of New York and proceeds to self-destruct a second time. 1 hr. 36. R (profanity, sexuality) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
X-MEN: APOCALYPSE 2.5 stars. Too serious and too long, the Bryan Singer-directed prequel/sequel (and overall ninth entry in the X-Men franchise) finds an evil Egyptian super-mutant from 3600 BC raining terror on a 1980s world. With James McAvoy as the young Professor X, sad-eyed but sanguine, safe in the knowledge that he will grow old to look more and more like Patrick Stewart. Rose Byrne, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac and Tye Sheridan jostle for time in the extremely crowded cast. 2 hrs. 24 PG-13 (violence, adult themes) _ Steven Rea
