Ratings by the Motion Picture Association of America are: (G) for general audiences; (PG) parental guidance urged because of material possibly unsuitable for children; (PG-13) parents are strongly cautioned to give guidance for attendance of children younger than 13; (R) restricted, younger than 17 admitted only with parent or adult guardian; (NC-17) no one 17 and younger admitted.
(Critics' Choices capsule reviews are by Kenneth Turan (K.Tu.), Justin Chang (J.C.) and other reviewers. Openings compiled by Kevin Crust.)
OPENING IN HOLLYWOOD THIS WEEK
"D'Inked: A Tattoo Removal" – Documentary. Indie Rights
"Dance Baby Dance" – Drama. Indie Rights
"Delirium" – Horror. Gravitas Ventures
"Den of Thieves" – Action with Gerard Butler. STX Entertainment
"Django" – Biographical drama. Under the Milky Way
"The Final Year" – Political documentary. Magnolia Pictures
"Forever My Girl" – Country music drama with Alex Roe, Jessica Rothe. Roadside Attractions
"Freak Show" – Comedy-drama with Alex Lawther, Bette Midler. Directed by Trudie Styler. IFC Films
"Humor Me" – Comedy with Jemaine Clement, Elliott Gould. Shout! Studios
"Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story" – Documentary. Abramorama
"Mary and the Witch's Flower" – Animated fantasy directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. GKids
"The Midnight Man" – Horror with Robert Englund, Lin Shaye. Directed by Travis Zariwny. IFC Midnight
"Mom and Dad" – Horror comedy with Nicolas Cage. Momentum Pictures
"My Art" – Drama starring and directed by Laurie Simmons. Film Movement
"The Revival" – Religious drama. Breaking Glass Pictures
"The Road Movie" – Russian documentary directed by Dmitrii Kalashnikov. Oscilloscope Laboratories
"Showdown in Manila" – Action with Alexander Nevsky. ITN Distribution / Hollywood Storm
"Small Town Crime" – Crime thriller with John Hawkes. Saban Films/Lionsgate
"Step Sisters" – Competitive dance drama. Directed by Charles Stone III. Netflix
"This Giant Papier-Mache Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy" – Comedy sci-fi. Parade Deck Films
"12 Strong" – War drama with Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon. Warner Bros.
CRITICS' CHOICE
"Call Me By Your Name" – Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer give superb performances as two young men falling in love in the northern Italian countryside in this rapturously beautiful collaboration between director Luca Guadagnino and screenwriter James Ivory. (J.C.) R.
"The Disaster Artist" – James Franco's shrewd, affectionate and frequently hilarious comedy re-creates and deconstructs the making of Tommy Wiseau's cult landmark "The Room," with Franco giving a fully committed, even haunted performance as Wiseau. (J.C.) R
"The Florida Project" – Absorbing us in the day-to-day rhythms of life at a dumpy Florida motel complex, home to a wildly spirited 6-year-old girl named Moonee (the startling Brooklynn Prince), Sean Baker ("Tangerine") goes to a place few of us know and emerges with a masterpiece of empathy and imagination. (J.C.) R.
"Happy End" – Another guilty-as-sin bourgeois family is at the heart of Austrian writer-director Michael Haneke's diabolically playful new movie, which borrows narrative and thematic elements from his earlier films ("Cache," "Amour") and pulls them in a thoughtful, blisteringly funny new direction. (J.C.) R.
"Hostiles" – Written and directed by Scott Cooper and powered by a dynamic trio of interwoven performances by Christian Bale, Wes Studi and Rosamund Pike, this latest example of the Western revival grabs you by the throat and holds on for the duration. (K.Tu.) R.
"Lady Bird" – As warm as it is smart, and it is very smart, this portrait of a high school senior year marks actor-screenwriter Greta Gerwig's superb debut as a solo director and yet another astonishing performance by star Saoirse Ronan. (K.Tu.) R.
"The Post" – Director Steven Spielberg and stars Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks combine for a thriller cum civics lesson showing the value of newspapers hanging together and holding government accountable for deception. (K.Tu.) PG-13.
"The Shape of Water" – Magical, thrilling and romantic to the core, a sensual and fantastical "Beauty and the Beast" tale with moral overtones, Guillermo del Toro's film plays by all the rules and none of them, going its own way with fierce abandon. (K.Tu.) R.
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" – Building and improving on "The Force Awakens," writer-director Rian Johnson's grand space opera is the first flat-out terrific "Star Wars" movie since "The Empire Strikes Back," full of dramatic echoes of George Lucas' original trilogy but also rich in surprise and imagination. (J.C.) PG-13.
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" – Uncommon writer-director Martin McDonagh and a splendid cast top-lined by Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell present a savage film, even a dangerous one, the blackest take-no-prisoners farce in quite some time. (K.Tu.) R.