THE BYE BYE MAN. (Not Previewed) Stacy Title ("The Last Supper") directs Douglas Smith, Lucien Laviscount, Faye Dunaway, and Carrie-Anne Moss in a horror pic about a mysterious figure who seems to inspire people to commit the vilest of sins. 1 hr. 36 PG-13 (terror, horror violence, bloody images, sexual content, thematic elements, partial nudity, some profanity, and teen drinking).
ELLE. 3.5 stars. Paul Verhoeven's most daring exploration of sexual politics features a stunning performance by Isabelle Huppert as a successful business executive and single mother who is violently raped by a masked assailant. Refusing to become a victim or to seek revenge, she tries to understand the dynamics of rape, going as far as to befriend and seduce her attacker. 2 hrs. 10 R (violence involving sexual assault, disturbing sexual content, some grisly images, brief graphic nudity, and profanity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
FENCES. 3.5 stars. August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, about a working-class African American family in the 1950s, is transformed into a compelling, searing film in the hands of producer, director, and star Denzel Washington. He plays a charismatic, funny, energetic, but equally embittered Pittsburgh garbage collector who derides anyone, including his wife, Rose (Viola Davis), and his best friend (Stephen Henderson), who suggest life has improved for African Americans since the Civil War. Once a star baseball player forced by segregation to play in the Negro Leagues, the aging patriarch is harshest on his sons (Russell Hornsby, Jovan Adepo), whose optimism disturb him deeply. 2 hrs. 18 PG-13 (thematic elements, profanity, and some suggestive references) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
THE FOUNDER. 3 stars. Michael Keaton is brilliant as Ray Kroc, the man who created the McDonald's fast food empire in this revelatory biopic that starts off as a sunny story about an underdog who makes it big but shifts halfway into a cautionary tale about corporate greed. The film's oddball shifts and turns may turn off some viewers, but the cast is superb throughout including Laura Dern and Linda Cardellini as Keaton's love interests and John Carroll Lynch and Nick Offerman as the McDonald brothers whom Kroc pushed out of the business after franchising the restaurant they created. 1 hr. 55 PG-13 (strong brief profanity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
GOLD. 2.5 stars. Matthew McConaughey is intense, almost feral in this strange business movie that's half epic adventure story, half Wall Street satire. He plays Kenny Wells, a gold prospector near bankruptcy who finds the biggest gold deposit in history in the Indonesian jungle. Edgar Ramirez is terrific, and far more subtle as Wells' partner while Bryce Dallas Howard is wonderfully bodacious as Kenny's good hearted lover. Despite an exciting first part set in the jungle, the film is far too predictable. 2 hrs. 1 R (profanity throughout and some sexuality/nudity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
HACKSAW RIDGE. 3.5 stars. One of Mel Gibson's greatest achievements as director, this incredibly violent, gory WWII epic tells the true story of U.S. Amy medic Desmond Doss (a remarkable Andrew Garfield), who became one of the most decorated soldiers of the Pacific Theater without firing a single shot. A conscientious objector, he single-handedly saved more than 75 wounded men during the Battle of Okinawa. The first-rate ensemble cast includes Hugo Weaving, Sam Worthington, Rachel Griffiths and Teresa Palmer. 2 hrs. 11 R (intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence including grisly bloody images) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
HIDDEN FIGURES. 3 stars. Taraji P. Henson, Octavio Spencer, and Janelle Monae are terrific in this feel-good family movie about a group of black female mathematicians who worked at NASA during the 1960s. The true story is about overqualified scientists who could only get jobs crunching numbers for their white male bosses, but who overcame prejudice to make their own mark on the space program. Where it lacks as serious history, the film makes up for with an empowering social message. The ensemble cast includes Kevin Costner, Glen Powell, Mahershala Ali, and Aldis Hodge. 2 hr. 7 PG (thematic elements and some profanity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
JACKIE. 3 stars. Natalie Portman, intense, focused, transfiguring, stars as Jacqueline Kennedy in a daring fever dream of a biopic, wheeling around the events before, during, and after the assassination of JFK. Not every element of Chilean director Pablo Larrain's film works, but its star is unforgettable, and the images _ historic and imagined _ imbue this psychological portrait with a haunting resonance. 1 hr. 40 R (brief strong language and some violence) _ Steven Rea
LA LA LAND. 4 stars. Some kind of transcendent magic happens in Damien Chazelle's starry-eyed musical, with one foot (in tap shoes) firmly planted in the past, and the other (in taps, too, of course) planted in a me-first, modern-day world. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are the struggling Los Angelinos who fall in love despite a mutual wariness, walking and talking, singing and dancing, amid a swirl of classic Hollywood references. Not quite perfect, but its imperfections, and its embrace of passion over cynicism, are part of the charm. 2 hrs. 8 PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) _ Steven Rea
LION. 3 stars. Australian TV director Garth Davis ("Top of the Lake") makes his feature debut with this heart-breaking, if sometimes maudlin, true story told in two parts. In the first, a 5-year-old boy in India becomes separated from his impoverished family and ends up being adopted by an Australian couple (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham). In the second part, the boy has grown up to be a young man (Dev Patel of "Slumdog Millionaire") who goes back in search of his lost family. 1 hr. 48 PG-13 (thematic material and some sensuality) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
LIVE BY NIGHT. 2 stars. Director Ben Affleck's stylish Depression-era crime thriller is a rambling, over-long, overly-complicated and fragmentary period piece about a bootleg booze smuggler (played by Affleck) who rises to the top of Tampa's organized crime scene despite his distaste for violence and for the mob. Featuring a great cast, including Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Brendan Gleeson, Elle Fanning and Chris Cooper, the film is gorgeous to look at but it lacks any real cohesion or direction. 2 hrs. 8 R (strong violence, profanity throughout, and some sexuality/nudity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani.
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA. 3.5 stars. Kenneth Lonergan ("You Can Count on Me," "Margaret") proves once again he's one of America's finest dramatists with this working class drama about loss, grief and family obligations. Casey Affleck is sensational in an Oscar-worthy performance as a self-hating, melancholic who has lived a miserable life as a janitor since he lost both his children in an accident. When his older brother (Kyle Chandler) dies, he's forced to return to his tiny hometown and assume responsibility for his teenage nephew (Lucas Hedges). Costars Michelle Williams, Matthew Broderick and Gretchen Mol. 2 hrs. 17 R (profanity throughout and some sexual content) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
MOANA. 3.5 stars. This delightful, lyrical and deeply moving 3-D computer animated family picture is a semi-comic adventure story featuring the first truly feminist heroine to grace Walt Disney's animated features. Based in part on Polynesian myths, it's about a teenage princess (15-year-old Hawaii-born singer Auli'i Cravalho) who goes on an arduous journey to restore the creative powers of the fecund earth mother who created the world. Co-starring Dwayne Johnson as a macho demi-god, the film is fueled by a wondrous, ecofeminist point of view. 1 hr. 53 PG (peril, some scary images and brief thematic elements) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
MOONLIGHT. 4 stars. A true American masterpiece, the sophomore feature from Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy") is a heady mix of brutal social realism and poetry as it tells the coming age story of a young black gay man from the Miami ghetto. Divided into three parts, it tells the story of Chiron as a 10-year-old, a high school student and a 20-something professional as he wrestles with external forces he can't control including poverty and drug crime and internal desires he cannot ignore. Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes give memorable performances as Chiron. With Andre Holland, Janelle Monae, Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali. 1 hr. 50 R (some sexuality, drug use, brief violence, and profanity throughout) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
PASSENGERS. 2.5 stars. Norwegian director Morten Tyldum follows up his brilliant features "Headhunter" and "The Imitation Game" with a disappointing entry that tries to graft a solid love story on top of a weak, badly conceived sci-fi adventure. Jennifer Lawrence and Christ Pratt have great chemistry as two passengers on a 120-year intergalactic flight whose hypersleep pods malfunction. The only two people awake on a ship of 5,000, they embark on a troubled romance that gets all wonky when they have to save the ship from blowing up. 1 hr. 56 PG-13 (sexuality, nudity, and action/peril) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
PATERSON. 4 stars. One of Jim Jarmusch's most accomplished films, this extraordinary visual poem is a wry , gently comic celebration of the creative spirit as it manifests itself in everyday life. Inspired b the works of American modernist William Carlos Williams, Jarmusch's film follows seven days in the life of a Paterson bus driver named Paterson who spends his free time writing poetry. (Composed for the film by Ron Padgett). Adam Driver ("Star Wars: The Force Awakens") is revelatory in the title role as the mild-mannered driver-poet while Golshifteh Farahani is radiant as his madly eccentric wife, a would-be country singer. 1 hr. 58 R (profanity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
PATRIOTS DAY. 2.5 stars. Director Peter Berg and star-producer Mark Wahlberg who collaborated on "Lone Survivor" and "Deepwater Horizon," reunite for yet another epic, fact-based film about a recent American disaster with a beautifully-realized, meticulously-detailed chronicle of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the days-long manhunt for the terrorists that followed. Despite its realist detail, this is anything but realism: The filmmakers refuse to explore the context of the events they portray, filtering the whole thing through drippy sentimentality. Costars John Goodman, JK Simmons, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin Bacon. 2 hrs. 13 R (violence, realistically graphic injury images, profanity throughout and some drug use) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER (Not Previewed) Evil zombies afoot? Whom do you call? Why, Milla Jovovich, of course. Rez Evil auteur Paul W. S. Anderson is back for this, the sixth _ and final _ film about killer zombies created by the weapons division of super-evil Umbrella Corp. Humanity is on its last legs. Will Milla prevail? Iain Glen, Ali Larter and Shawn Roberts costar. 1 hr. 46 R (sequences of violence throughout).
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY. 2 stars. Director Gareth Edwards ("Monsters") delivers a passable minor prequel to 1977's "Star Wars" featuring Felicity Jones as a reluctant rebel hero who takes on the Empire to save her scientist dad (Mads Mikkelsen), who happens to be the guy who built the Death Star from the 1977 masterpiece. Costarring Forest Whitaker, Diego Luna and Donnie Yen, this would have been a fun, effective diversion were it not for its absurd sense of self-importance _ nowhere more apparent than in composer Michael Giacchino's bombastic, over-the-top John Williamsesque score that swells and crescendos in every scene. 2 hrs. 13 PG-13 (extended sequences of sci-fi violence and action) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
SILENCE. 3 stars. Martin Scorsese's third film about religion after "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Kundun" is a magnificently beautiful if uneven and overlong adaptation of Japanese Catholic author Shusaku Endo's 1966 masterpiece. Andrew Garfield delivers a feverish turn as a young Jesuit missionary who arrives in Japan in 1670 when Christianity had been outlawed and witnesses the brutal repression of Japanese converts. Liam Neeson is good as an older Jesuit who tries to guide him while Issey Ogata is both hilarious and terrifying as the dreaded inquisitor in charge of stamping out the religion in Japan. 2 hrs. 41 R (some disturbing violent content) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
SLEEPLESS (Not Previewed). A remake of the bleak French thriller "Sleepless Nights," this crime thriller stars Jamie Foxx and rapper T.I. as a pair of dirty Las Vegas cops caught stealing drugs from a vicious kingpin. Costars Gabrielle Union and Michelle Monaghan. 1 hr. 35 R (strong violence and profanity throughout).
SPLIT. 3 stars. M. Night Shyamalan who made something of a comeback with the small budget found footage horror pic "The Visit," continues the trend with this intensely creepy, engaging and entertaining psychological thriller featuring a virtuoso performance by James McAvoy ("The Last King of Scotland," the "X-Men" series) as deranged killer with 23 distinct personalities who abducts three teenage girls he plans to feed to a demonic beast he believes is emerging as his 24th personality. Anya Taylor-Joy (Morgan) is terrific as one of the hostages, the strong-willed, disturbed outcast Casey. 1 hr. 57 PG-13 (disturbing thematic content and behavior, violence and some profanity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
THINGS TO COME. 3.5 stars. A beautifully-realized film by French writer-director Mia Hansen-Love ("Goodbye First Love," "Eden") that reminds me of Eric Rohmer's best work, this satirical drama explores the life of a Paris philosophy professor (Oscar nominee Isabelle Huppert) who undergoes a crisis of conscience after her mother dies, her husband (Andre Marcon) leaves her for a younger woman and her protege (Roman Kolinka) accuses her of not living up to her own ideals. A deeply moving, intelligent film of ideas. In French with English subtitles. 1 hr. 42 PG-13 (some profanity and drug use) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
TONI ERDMAN. 4 stars. Writer-director Maren Ade's stun-gun of a comedy-drama is a bizarre, brilliant and madly original story about an aging German hippie man-child (Peter Simonischek) and amateur comedian who pulls every book in and his book to reconnect with his estranged yuppie daughter (Sandra Huller). She works in Romania as a corporate consultant who is hired by struggling companies to lay off workers by the hundreds. He's retired and lonely so he pops up in her life unannounced _ and in disguise as a life coach to CEOs. Their encounter takes them on a bizarre tour of Bucharest. The comedy is out of this world, the emotional journey deeply authentic and affecting. In German and Romanian with English subtitles. 2 hrs. 42 R (strong sexual content, graphic nudity, profanity and brief drug use) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS. (Not Previewed) Kate Beckinsale returns as the leather-and-latex- clad vampire Death Dealer Selene in the fifth installment of the vamps-vs.-wolves saga. But gone is Scott Speedman, who played her lover in the first four films, the wolf-vamp hybrid Michael. The story? Selene continues her crusade against the wolves and the corrupt vamp faction that betrayed her. 1 hr. 31 R (strong bloody violence and some sexuality).
WHY HIM? 2.5 stars. James Franco burns up the screen with surreal weirdness in a madcap take on "Meet the Parents" co-starring Zoey Deutch as his younger lover and Brian Cranston and Megan Mullally as her straight-laced Midwestern parents. Franco plays Laird, an eccentric, four-letter-word-loving, heavily tattooed Silicon Valley gazillionaire with a heart of gold who hosts his gal's family at his gorgeous mansion for a weekend filled with wordplay, sight gags, crazy stunts, and a bit of sex. Keegan-Michael Key is brilliant as Laird's friend, employee, and martial arts teacher. Franco lays it on heavy and dominates every scene, so those allergic to the actor may want to keep away. His fans will lap it up. 1 hr. 51 R (strong profanity and sexual material) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
XXX: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE. 0.5 stars. The third entry in Vin Diesel's popular series about an extreme sports enthusiast turned secret agent is an empty-brained, soulless and loud collection of fight scenes, CGI explosions and flat jokes interspersed with equally soulless scenes of beautiful men and women standing around half naked or in designer duds. Covered from start to finish with a wall of loud, up-tempo music, this sad waste of money and talent costars Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa and Deepika Padukone. 1 hr. 47 PG-13 (extended sequences of violent action, and for sexual material and profanity) _ Tirdad Derakhshani
