Matthew Modine in Retribution Credit: Courtesy of Stephen Rabold

new in theaters

GOLDA: Helen Mirren plays Golda Meir, former prime minister of Israel, in this drama about the Yom Kippur War. Guy Nattiv directed. (100 min, PG-13. Palace)

GRAN TURISMO: A teen (Archie Madekwe) transfers his video game prowess to professional car racing in this fact-inspired action drama from Neill Blomkamp, with David Harbour and Orlando Bloom. (135 min, PG-13. Essex, Majestic, Palace, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden)

THE HILL: Rickey Hill (Colin Ford), a young baseball player with a disability, aims for the major leagues in this biographical sports drama directed by Jeff Celentano. (126 min, PG. Essex, Majestic)

RETRIBUTION: Liam Neeson plays a bank exec who gets a bomb threat while driving his kids to school, and you can guess the rest. Nimród Antal directed the action flick. (91 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Palace, Star)

currently playing

BARBIE ★★★★ Margot Robbie plays the Mattel toy as she experiences her first-ever existential crisis. (114 min, PG-13. Bethel, Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Paramount, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden; reviewed 7/26)

BIRTH/REBIRTH ★★★★ In this horror thriller from director Laura Moss, a mother will go to any lengths to keep her reanimated daughter alive. Marin Ireland and Judy Reyes star. (98 min, R. Roxy)

BLUE BEETLE ★★★ An alien scarab transforms a teenager (Xolo Maridueña) into a superhero in this action adventure. Angel Manuel Soto directed. (127 min, PG-13. Big Picture, Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Paramount, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden)

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. Bethel, Bijou, Essex, Majestic, 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, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Roxy, Stowe; reviewed 8/2)

PASSAGES ★★★★ A man cheats on his husband with a young woman in this drama from director Ira Sachs (Love Is Strange), starring Franz Rogowski and Ben Whishaw. (91 min, NR. 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)

STRAYS ★★1/2 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 directed. (93 min, R. Essex, Majestic, Palace, Roxy, Sunset)

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. (94 min, R. Majestic, 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. Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Welden)

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

older films and special screenings

AMERICAN GRAFFITI 50TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Sun & Wed 30 only)

CORALINE (Essex, Mon only)

GKIDS PRESENTS STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2023: THE WIND RISES 10TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Wed 23 only)

JURASSIC PARK 30TH ANNIVERSARY 3D (Essex, Majestic)

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (Sunset)

THE LITTLE MERMAID: SING-ALONG (Essex, Majestic)

MIDDLEBURY NEW FILMMAKERS FESTIVAL (Marquis, see review for more info)

OLDBOY (2003) (Roxy)

RENEE FLEMING’S CITIES THAT SING: PARIS (Essex, Sat only)

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (Majestic)

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 23-29, 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...