ANNIHILATION 3 stars. A group of scientists (Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson) enters a mysterious zone of new life comprised of mutating alien DNA. Trippy, downbeat sci-fi from director Alex Garland (Ex Machina) mixes old and new special effects, old and new sci-fi ideas. 1 hr. 55 R (violence) _ Gary Thompson
BLACK PANTHER. 3.5 stars. Thoughtful, rousing new Marvel adventure from writer-director Ryan Coogler, who delivers the boilerplate blockbuster action components with a provocative story about a modern-day African king (Chadwick Boseman) dealing with threats (in the person of villain Michael B. Jordan) to his nation and his throne _ a story that resonates in the real world. Strong roles for Lupita Nyong'o, Letitia Wright, and Danai Gurira. 2 hrs. 20 PG-13 (violence) _ Gary Thompson
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME. 3 stars. Handsome production set in 1983 Italy, where a professor (Michael Stuhlbarg) is hosting a handsome student (Armie Hammer) who becomes involved with the professor's son (Timothee Chalamet). Sensitively told coming-of-age story that is well-acted by Chalamet and Hammer. Written by James Ivory, it recalls some of the quintessential Merchant Ivory movies of the 1990s, though it's directed by Luca Guadagnino. 2 hrs. 11 R (sex) _ Gary Thompson
THE CURED. 2 stars. After a virus hits Ireland and turns people into zombies, an antidote cures most of them, but there are problems as the once-infected are returned to society. Some interesting that manage to refresh the played-out zombie genre, but the actors (including Ellen Page) get stuck in one-note roles. With Sam Keeley. 1 hr. 35 R (violence) _ Gary Thompson
DARKEST HOUR. 3 stars. Gary Oldman has great fun as Winston Churchill, and it's great fun to watch him play Britain's wartime prime minister, contending with political opposition while rallying his people and his king (Ben Mendelsohn) to the cause of opposing Germany in the face of the dire events at Dunkirk. Joe Wright's showboating direction is a match for the heightened pitch of the performances. 2 hrs. 5 PG-13 (language) _ Gary Thompson
DEATH WISH. 2 stars. Clumsy remake of the 1974 Charles Bronson original. This one stars Bruce Willis as a wealthy Chicago physician who becomes a gun-toting vigilante after thugs attack his wife (Elizabeth Shue) and daughter (Camilla Morrone). Willis' character is meant to be grappling with rage and fury, but he's curiously subdued in the role, and the movie registers as wishy-washy exploitation. 1 hr. 47 R (violence) _ Gary Thompson
15:17 TO PARIS. 2 stars. Clint Eastwood uses the real-life heroes involved to tell the stories of three American men who stopped an armed terrorist from committing mass murder on a Paris-bound train. Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos. 1 hr. 34 PG-13 (violence) _ G.T.
FIFTY SHADES FREED. 1.5 stars. Painful conclusion to S&M soap opera about a woman (Dakota Johnson) involved with a wealthy man (Jamie Dornan) who's into kinky bedroom behavior. With Marcia Gay Harden. 1 hr. 45 R (sex) _ Gary Thompson
GAME NIGHT. 3 stars. Forgettable but often funny and efficient comedy about a competitive couple (Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams) whose game night gets out of control when a fake crime-solving exercise goes haywire. Jesse Plemons has a funny supporting role, and Kyle Chandler co-stars. 1 hr. 33 R (language) _ Gary Thompson
I, TONYA. 3 stars. Margot Robbie produces and stars in this biography, told with elements of black comedy, of notorious figure skater Tonya Harding (Robbie), implicated in the conspiracy to injure competitive rival Nancy Kerrigan. Allison Janney and Sebastian Stan are Harding's abusive mother and husband, Bobby Canavale a cynical tabloid TV reporter. 1 hr. 59 R (violence) _ Gary Thompson
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE. 3 stars. A complete reboot of the 1995 original. The magical board game is now a magical video game, where archetypal teens (jock, nerd, popular girl) find themselves inhabiting in-game avatars that are the opposite of their real-world personalities. Co-starring Karen Gillen and Nick Jonas. Directed by Jake Kasdan. 2 hrs. 2 PG-13 (language) _ G.T.
LADY BIRD. 4 stars. Funny, touching coming-of-age story about a Sacramento high school senior (Saoirse Ronan) who quarrels with her mother (Laurie Metcalf) about her determination to leave California for a more sophisticated life at an Eastern college. Written and directed with great affection, wisdom, and skill by Greta Gerwig. With Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Beanie Feldstein. 1 hr. 33 R (language, sexuality) _ Gary Thompson
LOVELESS. 3 stars Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan) with another downbeat but involving story thank links the disintegration of a family to larger issues in Russian culture. Here a couple split up and fight to see who does not custody of their child, leading to a missing persons drama that becomes a portrait of bureaucratic and community indifference. In Russian, with subtitles. 2 hrs. 7 R (sex) _ Gary Thompson
THE PARTY. 3 stars. Caustic comedy (the title has a double meaning) from Sally Potter about a U.K. back bencher (Kristen Scott Thomas) celebrating a political victory with a dinner party that quickly goes horribly wrong. Shot in black and white, not quite as funny as you want it to be, but helped by an ace cast, including Timothy Spall, Cillian Murphy, Patricia Clarkson, Cherry Jones and Emily Mortimer. 1 hr. 11 R (language) _ Gary Thompson
THE POST. 3 stars. The story of the Washington Post (and the New York Times) challenging a Nixon administration attempt in 1971 to block publication of the top-secret Pentagon Papers, which revealed America's political leaders were pouring men and money into a Vietnam War they viewed as unwinnable. With Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. 1 hr. 55 PG-13 (profanity, brief war violence) _ Gary Thompson
RED SPARROW. 2 stars. Lays an egg. Jennifer Lawrence is a Russian woman who washes out as a ballerina and so is trained as a spy/seductress. Her training involves sexual abuse and other forms of brutalization, taking the edge off the movie's claim to female empowerment. Joel Edgerton is the CIA man she's assigned to manipulate. Co-starring Jeremy Irons, Ciaran Hinds and Matthias Schoenaerts. 2 hrs. 19 R (violence) _ Gary Thompson
THE SHAPE OF WATER. 3 stars. Adult fable from Guillermo del Toro, set in Cold War Baltimore in 1962, about a lonely woman (Sally Hawkins) working on the cleaning staff in a government lab who falls in love with the amphibious creature (Doug Jones) brought there for study. Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer have charming roles as the woman's friends and co-conspirator in a plot to save the creature. Michael Shannon _ surprise _ is the heavy. Full of strange ideas and twists, unified by first-rate visual presentation that maintains the movie's tone of enchantment. 2 hrs. 5 R (nudity) _ Gary Thompson
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI. 3.5 stars. From writer-director Martin McDonagh, a timely if scabrous story about a small-town woman (Frances McDormand) taunting the cops (Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell) who have failed to solve her daughter's murder. Contains the brutal violence, savage humor, and surprising moments of warmth that comprise McDonagh's unique voice and good performances as well from McDormand and Rockwell in complex roles, playing complex people. With Peter Dinklage, Lucas Hedges, and John Hawkes. 1 hr. 55 R (violence, language) _ Gary Thompson
