R, 1:45, drama
In “Fifty Shades Freed,” Seattle book editor Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) has managed to pin down her dom daddy Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) — in holy matrimony. The plot involves Anastasia’s former boss, Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson), seeking revenge on the recently married couple. He was fired after attempting to sexually assault Ana, but it turns out he’s got a much longer history with the Grey family than they thought. The dom-sub thing extends too far, as Christian controls every aspect of Ana’s everyday life. She exchanges her freedom for this fantasy life of preposterous wealth.
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PG, 1:33, comedy
In the new “Peter Rabbit” adaptation, the animation technology is top-notch, but the spirit of Beatrix Potter’s books is subsumed into mayhem. It’s the story of rabbit Peter (James Corden), who can’t help but snack from Mr. McGregor’s garden. This version ups the ante in the Garden Wars, especially when Mr. McGregor (Sam Neill) dies, and his nephew Thomas (Domhnall Gleeson) comes to Windermere. Thomas, hoping to sell off his uncle’s property, finds the “vermin” have moved in. Peter takes the feud too far, and “Peter Rabbit” descends into violence, as poor Gleeson is pounded at the paws of the brutal bunnies.
PG-13, 1:34, action
Clint Eastwood’s “The 15:17 to Paris” may be the first film from Eastwood that lacks a sense of direction. The docudrama follows three young Americans, friends since childhood, who thwarted a 2015 terrorist attack on a train bound for Paris. They encounter a terrorist, Ayoub El Khazzani, an apparent ISIS loyalist. It’s the last thing he wanted, I’m sure, but Eastwood’s latest ends up feeling like a stunt. We love stories of real-life heroics and grace under lethal pressure. But we need them to be more than the sum of their intentions. —
PG-13, 1:59, comedy
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” is a very sweet and generally entertaining body swap lark with some nice messages about being, and believing in, yourself. The conceit here is that when you’re transported into the game, you are suddenly a character in the game, in body, voice and skill set but with your earthbound personality pretty much intact. This is how mismatched teens sharing the same detention transform into avatars played by Dwayne Johnson (Spencer), Kevin Hart (Fridge), Jack Black (Bethany) and Karen Gillan (Martha). —
PG, 1:45, musical
This musical biopic of circus impresario P.T. Barnum is a profoundly confused and muddled film, with a story that’s at once too thin and too busy, a period piece making a halfhearted gesture toward modern-day values, with everything pasted into place using a mixture of frantic pop music and Hugh Jackman’s flop sweat. The story follows the rise of Barnum (Jackman), a dreamer always trying to improve his station in life. He risks it all on a show, turning his museum of oddities into a live freak show with animals, acrobatics, song and dance.
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