1:44, PG, family
Though not quite up to its predecessors, “How to Train Your Dragon” trilogy writer-director Dean DeBlois lands the sequel very nicely, on a warm and gratifying resolution to the tale of Hiccup, the improbable Viking leader, and Toothless, the inky-black dragon who has been his friend, protector and fetching machine since the first “Dragon” movie in 2010. There’s a new quest: Hiccup and his reluctant cohorts set out to find the hidden world where the dragons can live on their own, away from deadly human intervention. Jay Baruchel’s Hiccup, America Ferrera’s Astrid and Kristen Wiig’s amusingly aggravating Ruffnut lead a busy ensemble. “Dragon 3” starts and ends with a strong, simple emotional bond between humans and dragons.
PG-13, 1:42, comedy
"A Madea Family Funeral" is the eleventh Tyler Perry film to showcase Perry in the role of the fire-breathing battle-ax-in-flowered-print-dresses inner-city drag matriarch Madea. Since Perry has said that it will be the last, it seems reasonable to assume that the funeral the movie pivots around might be Madea's own. Is there anyone left for her to terrorize? Have no fear, though: Madea is alive and well. An extended clan of upscale relatives gather for the anniversary of Vianne (Jen Harper) and Anthony (Derek Morgan), who are like family royalty — only to discover, in the most naked way possible, that the celebration is a sham. "A Madea Family Funeral" is raw pulp, but pulp made with conviction.
PG-13, 2:02, fantasy
Director Robert Rodriguez makes his return in a big way with the over-the-top manga adaptation “Alita: Battle Angel.” Actress Rosa Salazar’s eyes have been digitally enlarged to mimic the look of the 1990 cyberpunk manga “Battle Angel Alita.” But the character’s entire face exists in a digital uncanny valley. It signifies she’s not like the rest of the citizens in the post-apocalyptic Iron City — she’s a cyborg, scooped up from the trash heap by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz), who implants her core into a robotic body. Character motivations are sloppy, storylines dropped, details muddy.
PG, 1:46
Emmet, the chipper construction worker, is again voiced by Chris Pratt. Emmet’s sense of self-worth is tested, severely, in “Lego Movie 2.” The innocent-looking Lego Duplo characters introduced at the end of the first movie turn into invading space aliens in the sequel. Under siege, the town has morphed into “Apocalypseburg,” two roads down and to the right of “Mad Max: Thunder Road.” In this exceptionally well-cast ensemble, Pratt also voices a second character, Rex Dangervest, conceived as a mixture of every action hit Pratt himself has starred in lately.
PG-13, 2:10, drama/comedy
Can two New Yorkers share a turquoise Cadillac on a tour of the Deep South without driving each other crazy? That’s the pertinent question in “Green Book,” a different (yet familiar) odd-couple heartwarmer directed by Peter Farrelly. The movie may not be accurate history. It may not even be particularly interested in one of its two main characters, for various reasons. But with actors as wily as Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, the quality of the material matters less than usual. In 1962, the African-American pianist Don Shirley embarked on a concert tour of the Midwest and the South, chauffeured by Italian-American Tony Vallelonga. In many towns the performer was legally barred from staying in hotels wide open to whites. “Green Book” relies almost entirely on the interplay between Mortensen and Ali. It’s a car-based journey of discovery, begun on a note of mutual wariness, ending on an affirmative flourish of true friendship.
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