Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Credit: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

new in theaters

BLUE BEETLE: An alien scarab transforms a teenager (Xolo Maridueña) into a superhero in this action adventure with a comic-book history that goes back to 1939. With Bruna Marquezine and Susan Sarandon. Angel Manuel Soto directed. (127 min, PG-13. Big Picture, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Paramount, Star, Sunset, Welden)

OMG 2: A simple man takes on the educational system after his son is thrown out of school in this Hindi comedy-drama from director Amit Rai. (156 min, NR. Majestic)

STRAYS: Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx voice candid canines in this not-for-kids comedy about a dog who seeks vengeance on the owner who abandoned him. Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar) directed. (93 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Palace, Sunset)

currently playing

BARBIE ★★★★ Margot Robbie plays the Mattel toy as she experiences her first-ever existential crisis. With Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera. Greta Gerwig directed. (114 min, PG-13. Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Palace, Paramount, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden; reviewed 7/26)

HAUNTED MANSION ★★1/2 In Disney’s horror-comedy based on its theme park ride, a single mom (Rosario Dawson) assembles a motley team of specialists to help her exorcise her new home. Justin Simien directed. (122 min, PG-13. Majestic)

JULES ★★★ E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for a different generation? Ben Kingsley plays a man who befriends an alien he finds in his backyard in this drama from Marc Turtletaub. With Harriet Sansom Harris and Jane Curtin. (90 min, PG-13. Palace)

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER ★★1/2 Remember the unlucky ship the title character sailed on in Bram Stoker’s Dracula? This horror flick tells its story. With Corey Hawkins and Aisling Franciosi. (188 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Palace)

MEG 2: THE TRENCH ★★ Erstwhile experimentalist Ben Wheatley directed this sequel to the summer hit in which Jason Statham aids deep-sea researchers as they battle various menaces, including prehistoric sharks. (116 min, PG-13. Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Sunset)

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — DEAD RECKONING PART ONE ★★★★ Tom Cruise returns as secret agent Ethan Hunt in the seventh installment of the action franchise. (163 min, PG-13. Palace)

NO HARD FEELINGS ★★★ A down-on-her-luck woman (Jennifer Lawrence) is hired by a 19-year-old’s parents to bring him out of his shell before college in this comedy. (103 min, R. Sunset)

OPPENHEIMER ★★★★★ Director Christopher Nolan tells the story of the man (Cillian Murphy) who played a key role in creating the atomic bomb. With Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr. (180 min, R. Big Picture, Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Palace, Playhouse, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden; reviewed 8/2)

SHORTCOMINGS ★★★1/2 A young filmmaker in the Bay Area struggles to figure out what he wants from a relationship in this comedy directed by Randall Park and written by cartoonist Adrian Tomine. (92 min, R. Roxy)

SOUND OF FREEDOM ★★1/2 Jim Caviezel stars in this action thriller based on the life of Tim Ballard, a former federal agent who founded an organization to fight human trafficking. (135 min, PG-13. Palace)

TALK TO ME ★★★1/2 A group of friends learns that using an embalmed hand to conjure spirits is a very bad idea in this horror thriller from Australia. Danny and Michael Philippou directed. (94 min, R. Majestic, Roxy, Sunset; reviewed 8/8)

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM ★★★1/2 Cowriter Seth Rogen and directors Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears reboot the comic-based series about four crime-fighting brothers raised in the New York sewers for this animated adventure. (99 min, PG. Bethel, Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Paramount, Roxy, Sunset, Welden)

THEATER CAMP ★★★1/2 A staff of thespians must make an unusual alliance to save their beloved summer retreat in this comedy directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, starring Ben Platt. (92 min, PG-13. Roxy)

older films and special screenings

ASTEROID CITY (Bethel)

THE FARM BOY (Playhouse, Sun only)

FATHOM’S BIG SCREEN CLASSICS: ENTER THE DRAGON 50TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Wed 16 only)

GKIDS PRESENTS STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2023: PORCO ROSSO (Essex, Sun & Tue only); THE WIND RISES 10TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Mon & Wed 23 only)

RIFFTRAX LIVE: RAD (Essex, Thu only)

THE SUMMER OF WALTER HACKS (Playhouse, Mon only)

open theaters

The Capitol Showplace, Catamount Arts and Savoy Theater are currently closed until further notice. (* = upcoming schedule for theater was not available at press time)

Note: These capsule descriptions are not intended as reviews. Star ratings come from Metacritic unless we reviewed the film (noted at the end of the description). Find reviews written by Seven Days critic Margot Harrison at sevendaysvt.com/onscreen-reviews.

This article appears in Aug 16-22, 2023.

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Margot Harrison is a consulting editor and film critic at Seven Days. Her film reviews appear every week in the paper and online. In 2024, she won the Jim Ridley Award for arts criticism from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. Her book reviews...