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Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, directed by Edward Zwick
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, directed by Edward Zwick

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back,

directed by Edward Zwick

(PG-13, 118 minutes)

A formulaic action-adventure sequel to 2012's Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise reprising his role as author Lee Child's seemingly invincible and ill-tempered ex-military character. This time our diminutive (unlike towering Reacher in the novel) hero finds himself accused of murder while pondering the idea that he might be the father of a child he has never met.

The film, full of frantic action like its predecessors, nevertheless sags under the weight of director Zwick's penchant for intermittent sentimentality. Somehow it doesn't manage to convey any suspense, let alone personality -- except when Cruise sneaks in a smile, which, considering Reacher's gruff character, is rarely.

With Patrick Heusinger, Cobie Smulders, Robert Knepper, Danica Yarosh.

Queen of Katwe (PG, 124 minutes) A colorful, rhythmic and realistic drama about Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga), just shy of her teens, who sells corn in hard-living rural Uganda and, with the help of teacher Robert Katende (David Oyelowo), learns to play chess on a homemade board. With the support of her family and community, she decides to overcome the challenges of poverty and lack of education to pursue a dream of becoming an international chess champion. With Lupita Nyong'o, Martin Kabanza; directed by Mira Nair.

Masterminds (PG-13, 90 minutes) A long-shelved comedy that should have stayed there, Masterminds wastes a talented cast on a worn-out premise: David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis), who leads a dull life driving an armored vehicle in North Carolina, falls for seductive Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig), who soon lures him into the scheme of a lifetime. Naturally, it's highly illegal. With Owen Wilson, Ken Marino, Jason Sudeikis; directed by Jared Hess.

The Lair of the White Worm (R, 93 minutes) Ken Russell's wacky, gory 1988 horror comedy, now available on Blu-ray, concerns Scottish archaeology student Angus Flint (Peter Capaldi) who, while staying at the ancestral home of sisters Mary (Sammi Davis) and Eve Trent (Catherine Oxenberg), discovers a mysterious skull which, with the help of the nobleman next door (Hugh Grant), he deduces might be linked to a sinister cult that worships a giant, ever-hungry white worm. With Amanda Donohoe, Stratford Johns.

Lilo & Stitch (PG, 85 minutes) A clever, endearing and spirited animated adventure set in Hawaii features one of Disney's most adorable characters, a blue six-legged doggish creature (with lots of teeth) who's actually a notorious, fiendish and well-armed fugitive from extra-terrestrial law. Adopted as a pet by needy motherless troublemaker Lilo, Stitch becomes devoted to her and her overwhelmed caretaker sister Nani, but must spend a lot of time evading capture by alien Agent Pleakley (voice of Kevin McDonald) and living up to the expectations of social worker Cobra Bubbles (voice of Ving Rhames). With the voices of Daveigh Chase, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers; directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders.

MovieStyle on 02/03/2017

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