Sophie Wilde in Talk to Me Credit: Courtesy of A24 Films

new in theaters

HAUNTED MANSION: 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. With LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson and Tiffany Haddish. Justin Simien (Dear White People) directed. (122 min, PG-13. Bethel, Essex, Marquis, Palace, Roxy, Star)

TALK TO ME: A group of friends learns that using an embalmed hand to conjure spirits is a very bad idea in this horror thriller from Australia, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. With Ari McCarthy and Hamish Phillips. Danny and Michael Philippou directed. (94 min, R. Palace, Roxy)

currently playing

ASTEROID CITY ★★★★ The latest from Wes Anderson is a story within a story about a small desert town during a stargazer convention in 1955. Jason Schwartzman and Scarlett Johansson star. (104 min, PG-13. Roxy; reviewed 6/28)

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. Big Picture, Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Palace, Paramount, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Sunset, Welden; reviewed 7/26)

ELEMENTAL ★★★ Pixar’s latest family animation takes place in a city where people embody different elements — and fire and water meet cute on the subway. (103 min, PG. Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Sunset)

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY ★★★ The intrepid archaeologist (Harrison Ford) battles Nazis in both 1944 and 1969 in the fifth installment of the adventure series. James Mangold directed. (154 min, PG-13. Bethel, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Roxy, Star, Sunset)

INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR ★★ The long-lived horror series returns to the saga of the haunted Lambert family, with star Patrick Wilson also directing this time around. With Rose Byrne and Ty Simpkins. (107 min, PG-13. Majestic)

THE LITTLE MERMAID ★★★ Halle Bailey is the sea princess who longs to walk the earth in Disney’s latest live-action version of its own animated property. (135 min, PG. Majestic)

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. Big Picture, Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Playhouse, Roxy, Stowe, Sunset, Welden)

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. Majestic, Sunset)

OPPENHEIMER ★★★★1/2 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. Bijou, Essex, Majestic, Palace, Paramount, Roxy, Stowe, Sunset, Welden)

PAST LIVES ★★★★ Former childhood sweethearts (Greta Lee and Teo Yoo) are drawn to reconnect across international borders in this acclaimed indie drama from writer-director Celine Song. (105 min, PG-13. Roxy; reviewed 7/5)

RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN ★★1/2 An awkward high schooler (voice of Lana Condor) learns that the depths of the ocean could be her true home in this animated adventure. (90 min, PG. Majestic)

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. Essex, Palace, Star)

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE ★★★★1/2 In this animated sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, young superhero Miles Morales (voice of Shameik Moore) explores a multiverse full of Spider-People like himself. (140 min, PG. Majestic; reviewed 6/7)

TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS ★★ The toy-driven action series takes a jaunt back to the ’90s to meet an Autobot ally faction called the Maximals. With Michelle Yeoh and Pete Davidson. (127 min, PG-13. Majestic, Sunset)

older films and special screenings

COCAINE BEAR (Sunset)

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 Jul 26 – Aug 1, 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...