Movies: New and Noteworthy

COMING THIS WEEK

By Steven Rea

Jimmy's Hall Ken Loach's loving look back at the life and times of James "Jimmy" Graltoncq, an idealistic Irishman whose membership in the Communist Party in the 1930s led ultimately to his deportation - the only native Irelander ever to be exiled from his own country. Barry Ward stars in a film full of soapbox socialism and staggering scenery. PG-13

Mr. Holmes Ian McKellen reunites with Gods and Monsters director Bill Condon, playing an aging, rueful Sherlock Holmes determined to set right a few misunderstandings - and mysteries - from his years as Baker Street's famous consulting detective. PG

Trainwreck Amy Schumer gets her own movie, about a monogamy-challenged New Yorker who falls for a sports doctor (Bill Hader), forcing her to reconsider her whole take on relationships and romance. From a Schumer script, under the direction of Judd Apatow, with a cast that includes Brie Larson, Tilda Swinton, Daniel Radcliffe, Marisa Tomei, and LeBron James. R

Ant-Man This latest superhero shrinks in size while gaining increased strength. But will he use his ability for good or ill?

Boulevard The late Robin Williams stars in this drama about a husband who harbors a secret he is forced to confront.

Do I Sound Gay? This documentary looks at the way the "gay voice" is stereotyped.

Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor An aspiring doctor's dream is grounded by reality when he treats his first patients. French with subtitles.

Lila & Eve Jennifer Lopez and Viola Davis star as two grieving mothers who seek justice any way they can get it after their children are gunned down.

Safelight A teen boy and girl grow close as they travel along the West Coast photographing lighthouses.

The Tribe A deaf teen struggles to adjust to boarding school.

Reviewed by critics Steven Rea (S.R.), Tirdad Derakhshani (T.D.), Dan DeLuca (D.D.), Molly Eichel (M.E.), and Gary Thompson (G.T.). W.S. denotes a wire-service review.

Amy An extraordinary documentary about Amy Winehouse, the British singer who died in 2011, at age 27, a victim of too much drink, too many drugs and too much fame. Soul-stirring, heartbreaking, the film uses a trove of archival film, much of it it shot on smart phones by friends, lovers, bandmates, roadies, record execs and fans, to trace the life and blazing career of the singer and songwriter with the trademark beehive, the tats and the fearsome talent. 2 hrs. 08 R (drugs, profanity, adfult themes) - S.R.

Ex Machina Alex Garland's forward-looking, brilliantly unsettling sci-fi thriller stars Oscar Isaac as the billionaire inventor of a sentient robot, Domhnall Gleeson as the whiz-kid programmer invited to run the 'bot through a series of tests, and Alicia Vikander as Ava, the cyber-creature in question. Is she true A.I.? And if she is, what does that mean for humankind? 1 hr. 48 R (violence, profanity, nudity, adult themes) - S.R.

Inside Out The central characters in Pixar's propulsively inventive animated adventure aren't talking toys or cars. They're emotions: Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness, jockeying for control in the mind of a preteen girl. The first psychological thriller that's fun for the whole family. Really psychological. And really fun. From the director of Up, with the voice talents of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, and Bill Hader. 1 hr. 34 PG (scary corners of the mind, adult themes) - S.R.

Eden Paul (Félix de Givry) is so caught up in the French music scene that he neglects to notice that the world is moving on without him in Mia Hansen- Løve's loose film.2 hr. 11 R (drug use, language, and some sexuality/nudity) - M.E.

The Farewell Party Gadget guy Yehezkel (Ze'ev Revach) gets a gang together to help his cancer-stricken friend go out on his own terms. This hit Israeli dramedy is honest, graceful, and funny as it explores with deep compassion its characters' familial and romantic relationships. 1 hr. 35 No MPAA rating (adult themes, some profanity) - T.D.

Love & Mercy Breathtaking psychological biopic of Brian Wilson, the songwriting savant behind the Beach Boys, toggling back and forth between the mid-'60s and the band's landmark Pet Sounds album and the '80s, when Brian, wrongly diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, was under the despotic care of psychologist Eugene Landy. Paul Dano is brilliant as the young Brian; John Cusack brings the middle-age and broken Brian to life. Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti co-star. 1 hr. 52 PG-13 (drugs, violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl The title characters are high school boys who make impish movie shorts that riff on the film classics they watch during lunch so they don't have to hang out with other kids (some of their masterworks: Eyes Wide Butt, Senior Citizen Kane). They are forced to befriend a girl dying of leukemia in this gut-punch of a film that avoids cliche. 1 hr. 44 PG-13 (sexual content, drug material, profanity, and some thematic elements) - G.T.

Spy The unabashed and unapologetic Melissa McCarthy stars as a desk-bound CIA officer unexpectedly sent into the field - Paris, Rome, Budapest - in this lunatic cloak-and-dagger farce directed by Bridesmaids' Paul Feig. Allison Janney, Miranda Hart, Jude Law, and a very funny Jason Statham also star, with Rose Byrne and her piles of hair as the villain of the tale. 2 hrs. R (profanity, raunch, violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Testament of Youth This moving, mournful film, based on the memoir of Vera Brittain, features lush visuals seeking to find some of the poetry inspired by war. Brought to life with improbable power by James Kent, it features Alicia Vikander as Brittain. 2 hrs. 09 PG-13 (adult themes) - G.T.

Avengers: Age of Ultron **1/2 The action in the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe installment is just what you'd expect: giant-screen CG-driven thwacking, thumping, throwing SUVs into the air, the A.I. bad guy looking invincible - until he doesn't. It's state-of-the-art. It's video-game-like. It's sort of cool. It's also sort of boring. It's the between-the-mayhem moments that work best, when the gang of avenging superheroes are just sitting around, jawing, joshing. 2 hrs. 01 PG-13 (violence, intense action, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Batkid Begins **1/2 This documentary about a large Make-A-Wish event transforming a part of San Francisco into Gotham City to fulfill the I-want-to-be-Batman wish of 6-year-old leukemia survivor Miles is full of good feelings. But the story of the corporate sponsors stands in strong contrast to the unnamed volunteers who help the boy's father, a small-town farmer, harvest crops, rotate the irrigation pipes, and keep him on schedule and above water. 1 hr. 27 PG - G.T.

Cartel Land *** A boots-on-the-ground documentary about violence and vigilantism on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border and the powerful drug cartels whose billion-dollar trade has led to corruption, chaos - and crisis. 1 hr. 38 R (graphic violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Closer to God **1/2 Midnight indie about a scientist who clones the first human - and who has a few skeletons in his closet. One of them still has some flesh on it. 1 hr. 21 No MPAA rating (horror, icky clinical stuff, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Dope *** The comic story of a bright kid named Malcolm (Shameik Moore) whose eclectic interests (punk, vintage hip-hop, academics, Harvard) make him

a protruding nail in a neighborhood full of eager hammers. He ends up with a bag of drugs, and, knowing the cops aren't an option, starts a scheme to unload it. The story is a mess - but the themes of a misfit kid trying to carve out his own space in a world that wants to limit his options are on point. 1 hr. 55 R (language) - G.T.

Fresh Dressed *** Ego Trip founder Sacha Jenkins explores the history of fashion and hip-hop in this entertaining documentary, featuring interviews from the likes of Nas, Kanye West, and P. Diddy. 1 hr. 30 No MPAA rating (language) - M.E.

The Gallows 1/2* This addition to the growing refuse pile of dreadful found-footage horror pics labors under the delusion that shaking, bumping, dropping, sliding, throwing, pitching, and kicking handheld cameras and minicams while 20-something actors run around on an ill-lit sound stage amounts to an experience of terror. It does not. 1 hr. 21 R (violence, profanity) - T.D.

Heaven Knows What ** Joshua and Ben Safdie's vérité film based loosely on the life of star Arielle Holmes, who plays Harley, a woman drifting through life constantly in search of her next smack fix. 1 hr. 33 R (drug use, language, disturbing and violent images, sexuality, graphic nudity) - G.T.

Infinitely Polar Bear *** Deeply personal and filled with love, Maya Forbes' directing debut is drawn from her experiences growing up with a father diagnosed with manic depression. The film throws a memoir-ish lasso around late-1970s, Cambridge, Mass., with Mark Ruffalo as the careening dad, Zoe Saldana as the mom trying to pursue a career and Imogene Wolodarsky (Forbes' real-life daughter) and Ashley Aufderheide as the young girls caught in the throes. A movie seen through a child's viewfinder and the filter of memory; as adults, obseving from a distance, the landscape of mental illness looks more troubling. 1 hr. 28 R (profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Jurassic World *** The genetically spliced mega-beast that runs amok in the third Jurassic Park sequel is trumpeted by its theme-park creators as "bigger, scarier, cooler." The movie is bigger and it is pretty scary. But it's not cooler, or smarter, than the original. Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt lead a cast whose main job is to run for their lives. A lot of them don't make it. 2 hrs. 04 PG-13 (intense action, dino violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Mad Max: Fury Road *** Never mind Furious 7, really. George Miller's mega-reboot of his '80s franchise plays like Fast and Furious - The Thermonuclear Edition, a turbocharged chase across a toxic wasteland with Vin Diesel and pals replaced by Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, who are certainly not pals at all. Post-apocalyptic heavy metal mayhem. 2 hrs. R (extreme violence, intense action, adult themes) - S.R.

Manglehorn ** Clutching a fluffy white cat and the memories of the woman he loved and lost, Al Pacino furrows his brow in hambone rue in the title role of David Gordon Green's thick-as-sap character study. With Holly Hunter, Harmony Korine and Chris Messina. 1 hr. 37 R (profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Max ** A dog returns from war to the family of the deceased soldier who used to care for him. Family-style sentimentality ensues between hero dog Max and troubled Justin (Josh Wiggins). Max goes off the rails when he goes from canine to James Bond-style foiler of crimes. 1 hr. 51 PG (action violence, peril, brief language)

- M.E.

Minions *** A spinoff of, and prequel to, the Despicable Me movies, starring a trio of yellow, pill-shaped pipsqueaks who speak in an undecipherable tongue and find themselves in the merry employ of a supervillain bent on usurping the British throne. It's 1968 (when else?) and mayhem rules the day. A hyperanimated animated farce with shades of Silent Era slapstick, Three Stooges slapfests, and the jaw-slappping wackiness of a stoner comedy. 1 hr. 31 PG (cartoon mayhem, adult themes) - S.R.

The Suicide Theory *** A truly wicked sense of humor and wonderful neo-noir touches help tell the story of two lost souls mired in despair. Percival hires Steven to kill him, and the latter tries very hard to fulfill the contract in a series of hilarious and bloody attempts - which draws the men closer in a strange kind of intimacy. 1 hr. 38 R (violence, profanity, sexuality) - T.D.

The Overnight **1/2 Alex and Emily get in over their heads when their attempt to make friends with another couple (Jason Schwartzman and Judith Godrèche) leads to copious drinking, weed-smoking, skinny dipping, and other dalliances. 1 hr. 30 R (strong sexuality, graphic nudity, language, and drug use) - G.T.

Pitch Perfect 2 *** The Barden Bellas are underdogs once more in the sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit. After a humiliating incident in front of the president, the all-female a cappella powerhouses attempt to make their way to the world championships. It's pretty much the same movie as the first, but that's not a bad thing. PG-13 (innuendo and language). - M.E.

San Andreas *** Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is an LAFD helicopter pilot who has a lot of searching and rescuing to do when the Big One rocks not only SoCal, but the entire state, including San Francisco, which just happens to be where his daughter is trapped beneath the rubble. Quite literally the blockbuster of the year, an awesomely fun disaster pic. 1 hr. 54 PG-13 (action, carnage, rubble, adult themes) - S.R.

Self/less ** Ben Kingsley is a dying kabillionaire who undergoes a radical, and radically expensive, experimental procedure, having his consciousness transplanted into the brain and body of a strapping thirtysomething played by Ryan Reynolds. Suddenly, Gandhi looks like Green Lantern. Disturbing. 1 hr. 56 PG-13 (violence, sex, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Ted 2 **1/2 Seth MacFarlane's talking bear returns to smoke a lot of weed, hang on the couch with his buddy John (Mark Wahlberg), and fight the power by reimagining the Dred Scott decision so that his wife can have a baby. 1 hr. 55 R (language) - G.T.

Tomorrowland **1/2 Disney's retro-futuristic, time-toggling adventure aspires to Back to the Future thrills and Wizard of Oz magic but doesn't quite make the grade. Britt Robertson, as the brainy daughter of a NASA scientist, teams with George Clooney, playing a disgruntled inventor, while flashbacks to the kid version of the Clooney character - at the 1964 World's Fair - try to make sense of it all. 2 hrs. 10 PG (action, violence, adult themes) - S.R.

When Marnie Was There *** The final film from Studio Ghibli is a minor ghost story that cannot compare to some of the Japanese animation house's finer works (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away). But, like other Ghibli films, it is lovely to look at and filled with magic. When Marnie Was There will be shown with both the English-language dub and in the original Japanese with subtitles. 1 hr. 43 PG (thematic elements and smoking) - M.E.

The Wolfpack *** Six teens isolated from society in their Lower East Side apartment by their allegedly abusive father learn about the world through movies they meticulously re-create in Crystal Moselle's stranger-than-fiction documentary. 1 hr. 20 R (profanity) - G.T.