Screen

Short takes: This week’s movie listings and reviews

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Jason Bourne
Josh Bell, Mike D'Angelo, Jeffrey M. Anderson

Special screenings

Barbie Star Light Adventure

7/30, animated movie plus bonus content, 10 a.m., $10.50-$12.50. Theaters: COL, SP, ST. Info: fathomevents.com.

Cinemark Classic Series

Sun, 2 p.m.; Wed, 2 & 7 p.m., $7-$10. 7/31, 8/3, Gone With the Wind. Theaters: ORL, ST, SF, SP, SC

Dive-In Movies

Mon, 7:30 p.m., $5, free for hotel guests. 8/1, Clueless. Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan, 702-698-7000.

Family-Friendly Summer Matinee

Wed, 11 a.m., free. 8/3, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive, 702-507-3863.

Las Vegas Classic Movies Theater

Classic, indie and arthouse films, Thu-Fri 8 p.m., Sat-Sun 6 & 8 p.m., $5 per screening. 7/28, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. 7/29, Charade. 7/30, Night of the Living Dead. 7/31, Tarzan’s Revenge, Lady of Burlesque. The Corner Gallery, 107 E. Charleston Blvd., 702-501-9219, lasvegascornergallery.com.

Lincoln Center at the Movies

8/2, Ballet Hispánico performance, 7 p.m., $12.50-$15. Theaters: CAN. Info: fathomevents.com.

Movie Night

Thu, sundown, free. 7/28, Ant-Man. 8/4, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Downtown Container Park, 707 Fremont St., downtowncontainerpark.com.

Saturday Movie Matinee

7/30, 1 p.m., free. Spring Valley Library, 4280 S. Jones Blvd., 702-507-3821.

Sci Fi Center

Mon, Cinemondays, 8 p.m., free. 7/30, A Bay of Blood, 8 p.m., $1. 5077 Arville St., 855-501-4335, thescificenter.com.

Sharknado: The 4th Awakens Premiere

7/31, movie screening plus party with stars, 8 p.m., $15. Elation Pool at the Stratosphere, stratospherehotel.com.

Summer Movie Series

Fri, 6:45 p.m., free with museum admission. 7/29, Hoffa. Mob Museum, 300 Stewart Ave., 702-229-2734.

Summer Screen Series

Thu, dusk, free. 7/28, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. 8/4, Rio. Park Centre Drive, Downtown Summerlin, downtownsummerlin.com.

The Track

7/30, local feature film, 8 p.m., free, donations accepted for the Embracing Project. The Beat, 520 Fremont St. Info: theembracingproject.org.

Tuesday Afternoon at the Bijou

Tue, 1 p.m., free. 8/2, Twentieth Century. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, 702-507-3400.

New this week

Bad Moms Two stars

Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn. Directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. 101 minutes. Rated R. This disappointingly tame comedy is really just about one mom (Kunis), who finds herself questioning her priorities after she catches her husband cheating on her. The plot is aimless and disjointed, and the humor is mild and clichéd. —JB

Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, COL, DI, FH, GVL, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS

Café Society Two and a half stars

Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell. Directed by Woody Allen. 96 minutes. Rated PG-13. Allen’s six millionth film, set in 1930s Hollywood and New York City, is his most impressively ambitious in years. That doesn’t mean it’s especially good, however. Eisenberg, Carell and Stewart are among the actors struggling to put a fresh spin on stale one-liners. —MD

Theaters: COL, SC, SP, ST, TS, VS

Captain Fantastic Two and a half stars

Viggo Mortensen, George McKay, Samantha Isler. Directed by Matt Ross. 118 minutes. Rated R. Mortensen’s Ben rejects modern society and raises his six kids in the wilderness in this uneven drama, which doesn’t know when to let its story of an unconventional family end. It both celebrates and criticizes Ben’s choices, but eventually loses control of both its narrative and its unique perspective. —JB

Theaters: COL, SP, ST, TS, VS

Dishoom (Not reviewed)

John Abraham, Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandez. Directed by Rohit Dhawan. 124 minutes. Not rated. In Hindi with English subtitles. A pair of mismatched cops team up to find India's top cricket player, who's gone missing in the Middle East.

Theaters: VS

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words Two and a half stars

Directed by Thorsten Schütte. 93 minutes. Rated R. True to its subtitle, this documentary is made up almost exclusively of interview clips from throughout Zappa’s career. Fans of the influential oddball musician may find some of it interesting, but the lack of context and the minimal musical performances make it ineffective at reaching out beyond a core audience. —JB

Theaters: SC

Jason Bourne Three stars

Matt Damon, Alicia Vikander, Tommy Lee Jones. Directed by Paul Greengrass. 123 minutes. Rated PG-13. Damon and Greengrass return to their signature super-spy character after nine years away, but they haven’t quite brought the same creative inspiration with them. Greengrass delivers several excellent action sequences, but the script fails to come up with a compelling reason to bring Bourne out of his well-earned retirement. —JB

Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, DI, DTS, FH, GVL, GVR, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS

League of Gods (Not reviewed)

Jet Li, Tony Leung Ka-fei, Louis Koo. Directed by Koan Hui and Vernie Yeung. 109 minutes. Rated PG-13. In Mandarin with English subtitles. In 16th-century China, warring factions use supernatural forces in a struggle for power.

Theaters: TS

Nerve Two stars

Emma Roberts, Dave Franco, Emily Meade. Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. 96 minutes. Rated PG-13. Roberts plays a teenager who gets caught up in an all-encompassing online game of increasingly dangerous dares. While Joost and Schulman do their best to add some of-the-moment visual flair, the dull story ends up saying very little about the perils of trolling for likes on social media. —JB

Theaters: AL, BS, CH, COL, DI, FH, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS

Now playing

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie Two stars

Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha. Directed by Mandie Fletcher. 90 minutes. Rated R. This feature film based on the ’90s British sitcom feels like a sad relic of a past era, with its dated, often regressive humor, its endless parade of celebrity cameos and its aimless, bloated plot, which never feels like it should be stretched beyond the length of a single sitcom episode. —JB

Theaters: GVR, ST, TS, VS

Alice Through the Looking Glass Two and a half stars

Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen. Directed by James Bobin. 113 minutes. Rated PG. This sequel to Tim Burton’s 2010 Alice in Wonderland has much of the same design, strange makeup effects and funny performances, but it doesn’t have Burton, and it lacks the element of surprise. The effects-driven storytelling can’t overcome a general sense that no one cares. —JMA

Theaters: TC

The Angry Birds Movie Two stars

Voices of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride. Directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly. 97 minutes. Rated PG. The movie version of the mega-popular mobile game (about birds being flung at pigs via slingshot) attempts to create a story around a series of basic, repetitive actions. The explanations are both boring and largely nonsensical, and expanding the game into a cohesive, family-friendly movie proves too difficult a task. —JB

Theaters: TC

The BFG Two and a half stars

Ruby Barnhill, Mark Rylance, Jemaine Clement. Directed by Steven Spielberg. 117 minutes. Rated PG. Oscar-winner Rylance enchants as the title character (BFG stands for Big Friendly Giant), but Spielberg’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book predictably downplays its cruelty—no kiddies get eaten onscreen here—in favor of aggressive, cumulatively exhausting whimsy and pluckiness. —MD

Theaters: COL, ST, VS

Central Intelligence Two stars

Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Amy Ryan. Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. 114 minutes. Rated PG-13. Hart is in familiar territory as a put-upon accountant very reluctantly recruited by his former high school classmate (Johnson) to join a CIA mission. Johnson ends up as the comedic highlight of the film, and the character work is stronger than the inconsistent jokes and especially the lackluster action sequences. —JB

Theaters: DTS, GVR, ST, TX, VS

The Conjuring 2 Two and a half stars

Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O’Connor. Directed by James Wan. 134 minutes. Rated R. Once again based loosely on one of the actual cases investigated by real-life ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren (Wilson and Farmiga), this sequel features a handful of effectively scary moments spread out over 134 minutes of a fairly dull haunted-house story. —JB

Theaters: TC

Finding Dory Three and a half stars

Voices of Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Hayden Rolence. Directed by Andrew Stanton. 103 minutes. Rated PG. Forgetful fish Dory decides to track down her long-lost parents in this animated sequel to Pixar’s Finding Nemo. While Dory is thoroughly charming and enjoyable, with funny supporting characters and often gorgeous animation, it’s also a bit formulaic and repetitive, especially during the drawn-out third act. —JB

Theaters: AL, COL, RR, SS, TS, TX

Ghostbusters Three stars

Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones. Directed by Paul Feig. 116 minutes. Rated PG-13. This remake of the 1984 movie about a group of misfits fighting a supernatural infestation in New York City features strong comedy with an impressively talented cast, but eventually ends up overwhelmed by the demands of its large-scale action storyline. —JB

Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, DI, DTS, FH, GVL, GVR, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, TS, TX

Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party (Not reviewed)

Directed by Dinesh D’Souza. 107 minutes. Rated PG-13. Conservative political documentary exploring the policies of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party.

Theaters: AL, CH, FH, ORL, RR, SP, ST, TX, VS

Ice Age: Collision Course One and a half stars

Voices of Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo. Directed by Mike Thurmeier. 94 minutes. Rated PG. The fifth installment in the animated series is easily the worst, a lazy, unfocused, cluttered mess, with no reason for existing other than perpetuating the absurdly successful franchise. What was once the simple story of three prehistoric mammal friends has ballooned into a never-ending family saga featuring more than a dozen characters. —JB

Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, COL, DI, FH, GVL, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS

Imagine You & Me (Not reviewed)

Alden Richards, Maine Mendoza, Jasmine Curtis. Directed by Michael Tuviera. 120 minutes. Not rated. In Filipino with English subtitles. A Filipino woman falls in love while working as a caregiver in Italy.

Theaters: ORL

Independence Day: Resurgence Two stars

Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Maika Monroe. Directed by Roland Emmerich. 120 minutes. Rated PG-13. Twenty years after fighting off an alien invasion in 1996’s cheesy but rousing Independence Day, Earth is attacked again, and humanity must band together to save the planet. This sequel is just another noisy, cluttered, CGI-filled monstrosity, with a convoluted plot that’s ultimately just a prelude to another movie somewhere down the road. —JB

Theaters: COL, TX

The Infiltrator Two and a half stars

Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger. Directed by Brad Furman. 127 minutes. Rated R. The story of a U.S. Customs agent (Cranston) going undercover as a money launderer in order to bring down associates of notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in the mid-1980s may be inspired by true events, but it’s still a generic crime drama, with bland, expository dialogue and stock underworld figures. —JB

Theaters: AL, BS, COL, FH, PAL, RR, SC, SP

The Jungle Book Two and a half stars

Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley. Directed by Jon Favreau. 105 minutes. Rated PG. The latest Disney live-action remake of an animated classic is a fairly faithful retelling of its source material, about a young boy raised in the jungle. The tone is an awkward mix of savage jungle naturalism and cuddly animal antics, and there’s a sort of prefab blandness to the amazing photo-realistic CGI. —JB

Theaters: TC

Kabali (Not reviewed)

Rajinikanth, Winston Chao, Radhika Apte. Directed by Pa. Ranjith. 152 minutes. Not rated. In Tamil with English subtitles. An underworld leader fights to protect his community.

Theaters: VS

The Legend of Tarzan Two stars

Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz. Directed by David Yates. 109 minutes. Rated PG-13. The latest movie featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs’ English nobleman raised by African apes pits Tarzan (Skarsgård) and his wife Jane (Robbie) against a power-hungry Belgian government official (Waltz) who plans to exploit the natives of the Congo. Legend is mostly dull, with mediocre special effects, forgettable action and a slow-moving plot. —JB

Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, COL, PAL, RR, SC, SF, SP, SS, TS, TX

Lights Out Two and a half stars

Teresa Palmer, Maria Bello, Gabriel Bateman. Directed by David F. Sandberg. 81 minutes. Rated PG-13. Director Sandberg has a tough time expanding his dialogue-free, ultra-short horror film (about a malevolent entity that only appears when lights are turned off) into a feature. Still, Sandberg proves that he’s decent at creating scares, and audiences just looking for a handful of jump moments may find Lights Out satisfactory. —JB

Theaters: AL, CAN, CH, COL, DI, FH, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS

Me Before You Two and a half stars

Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer. Directed by Thea Sharrock. 110 minutes. Rated PG-13. Clarke tries way too hard as Louisa, a working-class young woman who falls in love with Will (Claflin), the wealthy quadriplegic and former playboy she’s hired to take care of. The romance takes far too long to get going, and Clarke’s overstated performance is more exhausting than endearing. —JB

Theaters: TC

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates Two and a half stars

Zac Efron, Adam DeVine, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza. Directed by Jake Szymanski. 98 minutes. Rated R. Rowdy brothers Mike (DeVine) and Dave (Efron) are told to bring dates to their sister’s wedding, and end up with a pair of degenerates (Kendrick, Plaza) pretending to be nice girls. What ensues is a mix of tiresome gross-out jokes and slapstick and some surprisingly sensitive character development. —JB

Theaters: AL, DI, DTS, FH, GVR, PAL, SC, SF, SP, SS, ST, TS, VS

The Purge: Election Year Two and a half stars

Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell, Mykelti Williamson. Directed by James DeMonaco. 105 minutes. Rated R. The third movie in the Purge series centers on an anti-Purge presidential candidate (Mitchell) who is targeted for elimination during the Purge itself. While the movie more effectively explores the world of the Purge, it still mostly features characters running through dark alleys or hiding out in dingy rooms. —JB

Theaters: DI, PAL, ST, TX

The Secret Life of Pets Three stars

Voices of Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate. Directed by Chris Renaud. 90 minutes. Rated PG. The hyperactive animated story, with loyal dog Max (C.K.) and his dog frenemy Duke (Stonestreet) lost in New York City, isn’t nearly as sophisticated as something from Pixar or even DreamWorks Animation, but it’s good for a few laughs and is entirely kid-friendly, with plenty of cute characters and madcap set pieces. —JB

Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, COL, DI, FH, GVL, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS

The Shallows (Not reviewed)

Blake Lively, Óscar Jaenada, Brett Cullen. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. 87 minutes. Rated PG-13. A surfer is trapped just offshore by a shark.

Theaters: ST

Star Trek Beyond Three and a half stars

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban. Directed by Justin Lin. 120 minutes. Rated PG-13. The third movie in the rebooted sci-fi series has a comparatively smaller-scale plot than its predecessors, returning Trek a bit closer to its episodic TV origins—in only the best way. It works well as a rousing adventure story that celebrates the power of capable, dedicated people working together. —JB

Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, DI, DTS, FH, GVL, GVR, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS

Sultan (Not reviewed)

Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma, Randeep Hooda. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar. 170 minutes. Not rated. In Hindi with English subtitles. An Indian wrestler achieves international success.

Theaters: VS

Three Wise Cousins (Not reviewed)

Neil Amituanai, Gloria Ofa Blake, Fesuiai Viliamu. Directed by Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa. 89 minutes. Rated PG-13. A New Zealand-born Samoan man asks his island-based cousins to help him impress a Samoan woman.

Theaters: COL

Warcraft One and a half stars

Travis Fimmel, Paul Patton, Ben Foster. Directed by Duncan Jones. 123 minutes. Rated PG-13. At once ponderous and extravagantly goofy, this adaptation of the Warcraft video-game franchise, depicting a battle royale between orcs and humans, is no cynical cash grab (it was co-written and directed by Duncan Jones, who previously made Moon and Source Code), but that only makes its failure all the more painful. —MD

Theaters: TC

X-Men: Apocalypse Two and a half stars

Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Oscar Isaac. Directed by Bryan Singer. 144 minutes. Rated PG-13. The latest adventure of the mutant superheroes reintroduces familiar characters in slightly new forms, and spends far too much time on set-up. World-ending villain Apocalypse (Isaac) is ridiculous and ineffective, and the overstuffed cast pushes too many new and/or reimagined characters to the margins. Even the big action climax is underwhelming. —JB

Theaters: TC

JMA Jeffrey M. Anderson; JB Josh Bell; MD Mike D’Angelo

Theaters

(AL) Regal Aliante

7300 Aliante Parkway, North Las Vegas, 844-462-7342 ext. 4011

(BS) Regal Boulder Station

4111 Boulder Highway, 844-462-7342 ext. 269

(PAL) Brenden Theatres at the Palms

4321 W. Flamingo Road, 702-507-4849

(CAN) Galaxy Cannery

2121 E. Craig Road, North Las Vegas, 702-639-9779

(CH) Cinedome Henderson

851 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson, 702-566-1570

(COL) Regal Colonnade

8880 S. Eastern Ave., 844-462-7342 ext. 270

(DI) Las Vegas Drive-In

4150 W. Carey Ave., North Las Vegas, 702-646-3565

(DTS) Regal Downtown Summerlin

2070 Park Center Drive, 844-462-7342 ext. 4063

(FH) Regal Fiesta Henderson

777 W. Lake Mead Parkway, Henderson, 844-462-7342 ext. 1772

(GVR) Regal Green Valley Ranch

2300 Paseo Verde Parkway, Henderson, 844-462-7342 ext. 267

(GVL) Galaxy Green Valley Luxury+

4500 E. Sunset Road, Henderson, 702-442-0244

(ORL) Century Orleans

4500 W. Tropicana Ave., 702-889-1220

(RP) AMC Rainbow Promenade

2321 N. Rainbow Blvd., 888-262-4386

(RR) Regal Red Rock

11011 W. Charleston Blvd., 844-462-7342 ext. 1756

(ST) Century Sam’s Town

5111 Boulder Highway, 702-547-1732

(SF) Century Santa Fe Station

4949 N. Rancho Drive, 702-655-8178

(SHO) United Artists Showcase

3769 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 844-462-7342 ext. 522

(SP) Century South Point

9777 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-260-4061

(SC) Century Suncoast

9090 Alta Drive, 702-869-1880

(SS) Regal Sunset Station

1301-A W. Sunset Road, Henderson, 844-462-7342 ext. 268

(TX) Regal Texas Station

2101 Texas Star Lane, North Las Vegas, 844-462-7342 ext. 271

(TS) AMC Town Square

6587 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-362-7283

(TC) Regency Tropicana Cinemas

3330 E. Tropicana Ave., 702-438-3456

(VS) Regal Village Square

9400 W. Sahara Ave., 844-462-7342 ext. 272

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