The Birthday Cake
NYT Critic’s Pick | RCrime, Thriller | Directed by Jimmy Giannopoulos
This mob drama folds family secrets and fading power into a story of operatic vengeance.

Shiloh Fernandez in “The Birthday Cake.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Documentary | Directed by Mariem Pérez Riera
This paean to the trailblazing Puerto Rican actress is also a case study in the highs and lows of showbiz for a woman of color.

Rita Moreno, as seen in the documentary “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Luca
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | Directed by Enrico Casarosa
Pixar takes a trip to the Italian coast in this breezy, charming sea-monster story.

Alberto (left, voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer) and Luca (Jacob Tremblay) are sea monsters who seek adventures on dry land in “Luca,” the new Pixar movie.
By A.O. SCOTT

The Sparks Brothers
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Documentary, Music | Directed by Edgar Wright
Edgar Wright knows Sparks and you will too, once you see his documentary about this singular cultural phenomenon.

The brothers Russell and Ron Mael, from left, in “The Sparks Brothers,” a documentary film | | Directed by Edgar Wright.
By GLENN KENNY

— Of Possible Interest —

Summer of 85
Drama | Directed by François Ozon
A gay teenagers’s fleeting romance goes off the rails in this coming-of-age story from the French director François Ozon.

Félix Lefebvre and Benjamin Voisin in “Summer of 85.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA