Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Documentary, Music | Directed by Questlove
Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, Mavis Staples and others shine in a documentary about the Harlem Cultural Festival from Questlove.

The Fifth Dimension performing at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, in the documentary “Summer of Soul” from Ahmir Thompson, better known as Questlove.
By WESLEY MORRIS

I Carry You with Me
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Heidi Ewing
The documentary filmmaker Heidi Ewing dramatizes a gay immigrant love story in this empathetic portrait.

Armando Espitia, left, and Christian Vázquez in “I Carry You With Me.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

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

In the Heights
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13Drama, Music, Musical, Romance | Directed by Jon M. Chu
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical comes to the screen as an exuberant and heartfelt party, directed by Jon M. Chu and starring Anthony Ramos.

Anthony Ramos and Melissa Barrera in “In the Heights,” directed by Jon M. Chu.
By A.O. SCOTT

— Of Possible Interest —

Queen Bees
PG-13 | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Directed by Michael Lembeck
Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine and Ann-Margret rule their senior community in this conventional comedy-drama that doesn’t waste its cast.

Ann-Margret and Loretta Devine rule the cafeteria and card room in “Queen Bees.”
By GLENN KENNY

The Ancient Woods
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Mindaugas Survila
This entrancing nature film shot in Lithuania understands the wonder and the eeriness of a forest, enveloping us in its sights and sounds.

A scene from the documentary “The Ancient Woods.”
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

Undine
NYT Critic’s Pick | Unrated | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance | Directed by Christian Petzold
Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, who made an impression in 2019’s “Transit,” are reunited by the director Christian Petzold for this adaptation of a European myth.

Paula Beer in “Undine.”
By GLENN KENNY

Slow Machine
NYT Critic’s Pick | Thriller | Directed by Joe Denardo, Paul Felten
Joe DeNardo and Paul Felten craft a mysterious New York thriller with mumblecore sensibilities.

Stephanie Hayes in “Slow Machine.”
By KRISTEN YOONSOO KIM

Ain’t none.

— Of Possible Interest —

The Paper Tigers
PG-13 | Action, Comedy | Directed by Quoc Bao Tran
A trio of aging martial artists reunite in this fresh, if uneven, debut by the director Tran Quoc Bao.

Alain Uy as Danny, a washed-up kung-fu fighter, in “The Paper Tigers.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Marighella
NYT Critic’s Pick | Action, Drama, History, Thriller | Directed by Wagner Moura
Wagner Moura’s provocative feature debut chronicles the armed struggle led by Carlos Marighella against Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 1960s.

Seu Jorge in “Marighella.”
By DEVIKA GIRISH

The Mitchells vs. the Machines
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | Directed by Michael Rianda, Jeff Rowe
A family of lovable kooks are the last hope against a robot apocalypse in this hilarious animated Netflix film.

Abbi Jacobson voices Katie Mitchell in “The Mitchells vs. the Machines.”
By MAYA PHILLIPS

About Endlessness
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama, Fantasy | Directed by Roy Andersson
Roy Andersson’s latest feature is a somber, exhilarating collection of self-defeating human specimens.

Martin Serner carrying a cross in “About Endlessness.”
By A.O. SCOTT

Limbo
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Ben Sharrock
A Syrian refugee deposited on a remote Scottish isle seeks meaning in his isolated surroundings, with wryly funny results.

By GLENN KENNY

Best Summer Ever
NYT Critic’s Pick | Musical | Directed by Michael Parks Randa, Lauren Smitelli
A largely disabled cast leads this charming teen musical.

Rickey Wilson Jr. & Shannon DeVido in “Best Summer Ever.”
By CALUM MARSH

— Of Possible Interest —

Cliff Walkers
Thriller | Directed by Yimou Zhang
Zhang Yimou turns his hand to a fast-paced spy thriller set during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria.

Liu Haocun in “Cliff Walkers.”
By GLENN KENNY

Four Good Days
R | Drama | Directed by Rodrigo García
In this drama, Mila Kunis plays a heroin addict and Glenn Close the mother trying to help her get clean.

Mila Kunis and Glenn Close in “Four Good Days.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Berlin Alexanderplatz
Drama | Directed by Burhan Qurbani
Burhan Qurbani’s film reinterprets a classic German novel into the story of a 21st-century immigrant from Guinea-Bissau surviving under the thumb of a brutal drug dealer.

Albrecht Schuch and Welket Bungué in “Berlin Alexanderplatz.”
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

Things Heard & Seen
TV-MA | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | Directed by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Amanda Seyfried and James Norton move into a haunted house in this busy, creaky Netflix thriller.

Amanda Seyfried in “Things Heard & Seen,” set in a Hudson Valley college town.
By A.O. SCOTT

Paris Calligrammes
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Ulrike Ottinger
The German artist and filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger takes us on an unhurried journey through her past.

Fritz Picard, who ran the Paris bookstore Calligrammes, which served German expatriates, in the documentary “Paris Calligrammes.”
By GLENN KENNY

Together Together
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy | Directed by Nikole Beckwith
A man and his surrogate navigate a bumpy road to fatherhood in this endearing dramatic comedy.

Ed Helms and Patti Harrison in “Together Together.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Red Moon Tide
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Lois Patiño
Subjects stand frozen against majestic landscapes in Lois Patiño’s meditation on how Galician mythology intersects with a village’s search for souls lost at sea.

A scene from “Red Moon Tide.”
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

— Of Possible Interest —

Mortal Kombat
R | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Simon McQuoid
The latest screen adaptation of the video game shows again that trying to construct a coherent plot around these characters is a fatal trap.

Lewis Tan in “Mortal Kombat.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
PG | Documentary, History | Directed by Marilyn Agrelo
Even nostalgia-resistant viewers can learn something from this documentary version of a book on the making of the show.

Carroll Spinney, right, with Oscar the Grouch in the documentary “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Tu me manques
Drama | Directed by Rodrigo Bellott
A conservative father who could not accept his son’s sexuality is led on a contemplative tour of queer life in New York in this Bolivian film.

Benjamin Lukovski, left, and Fernando Barbosa play lovers in “Tu Me Manques.”
By TEO BUGBEE

Stowaway
Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Joe Penna
This Netflix film pushes a crew of space explorers to moral and physical extremes when an unexpected passenger accidentally compromises their oxygen supply.

Daniel Dae Kim in “Stowaway.”
By LENA WILSON

Arlo the Alligator Boy
TV-PG | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Musical | Directed by Ryan Crego
This hyperactive animated Netflix musical for kids, with messages of empowerment and references to “Midnight Cowboy,” has a lot on its plate.

Michael J. Woodard voices the character Arlo in the animated film “Arlo the Alligator Boy.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Jeffrey Wolf
Blues, silhouettes, two-dimensional figures at play. This artist created mystical experiences from whatever scraps he could find.

The artist Bill Traylor as seen in “Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts,” a documentary by Jeffrey Wolf.
By GLENN KENNY

Hope
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama, Romance | Directed by Maria Sødahl
In this raw Norwegian drama, a cancer diagnosis forces a longstanding couple to face the fissures in their relationship.

Andrea Braein Hovig and Stellan Skarsgard in “Hope.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Shiva Baby
NYT Critic’s Pick | Comedy | Directed by Emma Seligman
The potential land mines of a young woman’s life are set to explode simultaneously in this tense comedy from Emma Seligman.

Rachel Sennott in “Shiva Baby.”
By JASON BAILEY

— Of Possible Interest —

Voyagers
PG-13 | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Neil Burger
Emotional anarchy derails a space mission in this insipid sci-fi drama.

Tye Sheridan in “Voyagers.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

The Tunnel
Drama, Thriller | Directed by Pål Øie
Painfully cliché but sufficiently diverting, this is the latest in a string of disaster movies from Norway.

Ylva Fuglerud and Thorbjorn Harr in “The Tunnel.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Moffie
Drama, Romance, War | Directed by Oliver Hermanus
This grueling film about the South African military going to war with Angola is replete with vicious, stark depictions of racism and homophobia.

Kai Luke Brummer, center, in “Moffie.”
By GLENN KENNY