This weekend’s lineup includes a big-screen video game adaptation, an Anne Hathaway sci-fi adventure you can rent at home and a college dance comedy on Netflix. Here’s our quick guide to what’s worth your time, depending on how you want to watch.
In theaters
Resident Evil: After Weapons, Zach Cregger tackles the famous survival-horror games. Austin Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier caught in one terrible night as an outbreak spreads around him. It runs a lean 90 minutes, and early reviews, including Yahoo Entertainment’s, say it’s best seen with a loud, packed crowd. You don’t need to know the games, though fans will spot plenty of nods to them.
The Weight: A lean, old-fashioned Western thriller. Ethan Hawke stars as Samuel, a prisoner whom a warden (Russell Crowe) offers his freedom if he can move stolen gold out of a remote mine with a dangerous crew. Critics have compared its tense set pieces to The Wages of Fear and Sorcerer.
Also opening: Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, a Halloween-themed Aardman stop-motion movie for all ages, and The History of Concrete, the first feature from How To with John Wilson creator John Wilson.
New to rent or buy
The End of Oak Street: David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) directs Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor as parents whose suburban street is suddenly transported to an unknown world. It’s a family-in-crisis story told as an Amblin-style adventure, and it’s one of the most talked-about films of the season.
Tony: Matt Johnson (BlackBerry) directs a coming-of-age take on Anthony Bourdain’s early years. It follows a 19-year-old Bourdain through the Provincetown summer in a restaurant kitchen that set his course, loosely based on Kitchen Confidential.
The Rivals of Amziah King: A hard-to-categorize indie starring Matthew McConaughey that critics have praised as one of the year’s most original films.
Streaming now
Best of the Best (Netflix): Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia play lifelong best friends Maya and Anjali, whose friendship is tested after they join their college’s competitive Bollywood dance team. It’s a warm, familiar coming-of-age comedy with a cultural angle you rarely see in campus movies.
Our pick
For a night out, go see Resident Evil with a crowd. For a night in, The End of Oak Street is worth the rental, and Best of the Best is the easy choice if you’re streaming with friends.
