Author: Ann Hornaday

Starring Lily Franky, Sakura Andô, Mayu Matsuoka; directed by Hirokazu Koreeda; 121 minutes in Japanese subtitles; R for some sexuality and nudity. In “Shoplifters,” we meet two of the main characters as they ply the family trade in a Tokyo food market: Dad Osamu (Lily Franky) gives young son Shota (Kairi Jyo) the high sign,…

If 2018 will be remembered for anything, it will be for well-executed blockbusters: From “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians” to “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” and “Halloween,” audiences were treated to exceptionally smart, technically proficient, visually rich exercises in action, romance, horror and other genres whose mass appeal usually makes them immune to questions of…

Starring Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Jack Lowden; directed by Josie Rourke; 123 minutes; R for some violence and sexuality. Did you find “The Favourite” too weird, too raunchy, too … too? Perhaps “Mary Queen of Scots” will be more your cup. The story of the titular Titian-haired monarch — who returned to her native Scotland…

Starring Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Olivia Colman; directed by Yorgos Lanthimos; 121 minutes; R for strong sexual elements, nudity and coarse language. Grade: A- In “The Favourite,” a deliciously diabolical comedy of ill manners and outré palace intrigue, Olivia Colman plays Queen Anne, who in the 18th century ruled Great Britain while suffering through 17…

In “The Favourite,” Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone play Queen Anne, Sarah Churchill and Abigail Hill, three women sparring, seducing and strategizing their way through the corridors of power in 17th-century England. More cynical than the bleakest “House of Cards” episode with twice as many deliciously nasty zingers, “The Favourite” is just the…

Starring Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J.K. Simmons; directed by Jason Reitman; 113 minutes; R for coarse language, including some sexual references. “The Front Runner” chronicles 21 tumultuous days in 1987 when the worlds of politics, journalism and entertainment tilted on their respective axes, a seismic shift in priorities and protocol that converged on one man.…

Starring Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Jane Curtin, Dolly Wells; directed by Marielle Heller; 106 minutes; R for coarse language, including some sexual references, and brief drug use. As sharp-tongued, alcoholic misanthropes go, Lee Israel deserves her place in cinema’s most un-hateable pantheon. Israel, a freelance journalist, made a name for herself in the 1970s…

Starring Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney; directed by Felix Van Groeningen; 112 minutes; R for drug use throughout, crude language and brief sexual material. Let no one accuse “Beautiful Boy” of false advertising. The protagonist, Nic Sheff, more than lives up to the title, a bright, charismatic young man who, as brought to life…

Starring Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover; directed by David Lowery; 93 minutes; PG-13 for brief strong language. After announcing that “The Old Man and the Gun” would be his final acting role, Robert Redford has backtracked, and watching the film makes one grateful for the change of heart. As Forrest Tucker, an…

No, “Free Solo” isn’t the latest “Star Wars” installment. Upon reflection, however, fans of that franchise should make sure to see this riveting film, if only to experience action and derring-do at its most high-stakes, awe-inspiring and jaw-droppingly true. This often breathtaking real-life man-against-nature adventure is the second film co-directed by Jimmy Chin, who in…