American Pastoral, The Handmaiden, Christine, Moonlight, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, In a Valley of Violence

American Pastoral

The Handmaiden

Christine

Moonlight

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

In a Valley of Violence

Quick capsules on a largely terrific week of movies:

Ride Along 2, The Benefactor, Theeb, The Treasure

Ride Along 2

The Benefactor

Theeb

The Treasure

Yup, it’s January.

Woman in Gold, Effie Gray

Woman in Gold

Effie Gray





Even as a critical filmgoer perceives the flaws in Simon Curtis’ “Woman in Gold,” about the late Maria Altmann’s efforts to recover Gustav Klimt’s iconic portrait of her aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, which painting had been seized by the Nazis, he cannot deny its effectiveness or pretend to be surprised by the warm ovation it garners.

The Motel Life

Brothers Alan and Gabe Polsky make their directorial debut with an adaptation of the fraternally themed Willy Vlautin novel "The Motel Life," about the peripatetic Flanagan boys, Frank (Emile Hirsch) and Jerry Lee (Stephen Dorff).