Austin Butler takes a beating.
‘Caught Stealing’
Set in the East Village in the 1990s, the latest from Darren Aronofsky stars Austin Butler as Hank, a regular-guy bartender inadvertently caught up in a dangerous scheme.
From our review:
Aronofsky has a talent for getting under his characters’ skin and deep into their heads, as he’s shown in the expressionistic passages in his better, more successful movies, like “Black Swan” and “Noah.” … For whatever reason here, Aronofsky always remains at a frustrating remove from Hank, which flattens the emotional and psychological stakes that Butler works so hard to raise.
In theaters. Read the full review.
A ‘Roses’ remake without the thorns.
‘The Roses’
Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman play a couple whose relationship turns disastrous in this remake of “The War of the Roses” directed by Jay Roach.
From our review:
While some of the same motifs appear by the end that are in the novel and the earlier movie, they take forever to arrive. It’s all flattened out, without the same tense and mean ramp-up — a flatness that, by the end, the characters themselves seem to recognize.
In theaters. Read the full review.
A beautiful nightmare.
‘Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass’
This surreal feature directed by Stephen and Timothy Quay combines animation and live action, and centers on a young man visiting his father at a remote sanitarium.
From our review:
The Quays feel almost maddeningly attached to obscurity here, visually and otherwise, as if they are truly feeling their way through the sensory qualities of sleep and dream fragments.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Self-assured silliness.
‘The Toxic Avenger’
Peter Dinklage stars in this remake directed by Macon Blair about a social outcast who transforms after falling into toxic waste.
From our review:
The new revival of the same name has a far more assured hold on its sensibility, offering a modernized gonzo spoof that is a bit bloodier, a bit funnier and far more confident in its silliness.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Critic’s Pick
A teenage diva with an old soul.
‘Griffin in Summer’
A young boy with Broadway ambitions and distracted parents embarks on a journey of self-discovery while producing his play in this drama directed by Nicholas Colia.
From our review:
A winking ode to queer youth who still dream — too fiercely, too soon — amid self-discovery and family disruption, “Griffin in Summer” gives aching shape to a child’s need for order in a world that defies their understanding.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Critic’s Pick
Fantastic filmic foreplay.
‘Motel Destino’
At a seedy motel near the Brazilian coast, a dangerous love triangle develops with a young Mafia crony at the center in this lurid drama directed by Karim Aïnouz.
From our review:
The payoff feels somewhat slight, but the foreplay — the will-they-or-won’t-they and the will-he-find-out — builds up with energy and flare. Maybe climaxes are overrated, anyway.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Only murders in the retirement home.
‘The Thursday Murder Club’
Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley and Pierce Brosnan star as residents of a retirement home who solve cold cases for fun.
From our review:
The proceedings are marshaled with affection by the director Chris Columbus (“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” and “Home Alone”). Columbus bathes the sets in golden light, which can grate a bit, but otherwise he’s on point.
Watch on Netflix. Read the full review.
An affair to forget.
‘A Little Prayer’
Set in North Carolina, this family drama directed by Angus Maclachlan follows a Vietnam veteran trying to shield his daughter-in-law from her husband’s affair.
From our review:
Maclachlan’s principal cast embody their ordinary-people roles with drawling accents and sporadic histrionics, and the film only occasionally achieves the feeling of an authentic regional representation.
In theaters. Read the full review.
A city drama stuck on surface streets.
‘Love, Brooklyn’
This drama directed by Rachael Abigail Holder follows a writer navigating a changing city, a looming deadline, a friendship with his ex and a newly developing romance.
From our review:
It is curious that the script (by Paul Zimmerman) seems allergic to doing the deeper tissue work on the aches it brings up. Oh, it has its moments. … And it’s awfully lovely to look at (cinematography by Martim Vian). But, like its characters, it’s a little too comfortable with being betwixt and between.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Seeing everything but missing the point.
‘Stranger Eyes’
After a young girl disappears, her parents’ search, aided by the prevalence of surveillance in Singapore, grows obsessive in this thriller directed by Yeo Siew Hua.
From our review:
Always intriguing, “Stranger Eyes” proves stronger on concept than coherence. Perhaps the loose ends are Yeo’s way of suggesting that a film director, too, lacks omniscience.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Compiled by Kellina Moore.
The post 10 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week appeared first on New York Times.
