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    7 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week

    Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or an avid buff, our reviewers think these films are worth knowing about even if you’re not planning to see them.Critic’s PickA hot-button movie people are arguing over.Kirsten Dunst plays a war photographer in Alex Garland’s “Civil War.” A24, via Associated Press‘Civil War’Alex Garland’s “Civil War” is set in a near-future when the United States is at war with itself and something called the Western Front, made up of Texas and California, is fighting the federal government.From our review:It’s mourning again in America, and it’s mesmerizingly, horribly gripping. Filled with bullets, consuming fires and terrific actors like Kirsten Dunst running for cover, the movie is a what-if nightmare stoked by memories of Jan. 6. As in what if the visions of some rioters had been realized, what if the nation was again broken by Civil War, what if the democratic experiment called America had come undone? If that sounds harrowing, you’re right.In theaters. Read the full review.Critic’s PickThe rare reboot that gets it right.Donielle Hansley Jr. and Simone Joy Jones in “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.”2024 Fence 2021 Films LLC‘Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead’After the babysitter hired to watch them for the summer keels over, a 17-year-old slacker named Tanya (Simone Joy Jones) is forced to support her even lazier younger siblings.From our review:Don’t tell helicopter parents, but the gleefully transgressive flicks that entertained a generation of latchkey wildlings are coming back in style. Wade Allain-Marcus’s rollicking update of the 1991 cult favorite keeps the plot … and amps up the immoral humor. It’s a snappy, gutsy comedy about how kids are spoiled and ignorant, and yet the adult workplace is only passingly more mature.In theaters. Read the full review.Critic’s PickA deceptive horror film where the good guys aren’t so good.Ramesha Nawal in “In Flames.”Game Theory Films‘In Flames’In Pakistan, 20-something Mariam, her widowed mother, Fariha, and her younger brother are struggling when Uncle Nasir suddenly becomes very interested in the relatives he had been neglecting.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    ‘Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead’ Review: The Laughs Are Alive

    Wade Allain-Marcus has directed a rollicking update of the 1991 cult favorite.Don’t tell helicopter parents, but the gleefully transgressive flicks that entertained a generation of latchkey wildlings are coming back in style. Wade Allain-Marcus’s rollicking update of the 1991 cult favorite keeps the plot — a 17-year-old slacker named Tanya (Simone Joy Jones) is forced to support her even lazier younger siblings (Donielle Hansley Jr., Ayaamii Sledge and Carter Young) — and amps up the immoral humor. It’s a snappy, gutsy comedy about how kids are spoiled and ignorant, and yet the adult workplace is only passingly more mature.A Black single mother (Patricia Williams) has a nervous breakdown and leaves her four children in the care of an aged tyrant (June Squibb) for the summer. Squibb has played plenty of cackling grannies; even so, Ms. Sturak is her most unhinged. “I watch Madea movies! I know how to discipline you!” she screams, pistol in hand. Those sensitive to slurs will be relieved when she keels over. So are the kids, who ignominiously dispose of the corpse and then realize they need money for food.The rapid-fire script by Chuck Hayward squeezes a joke into every sentence and an economic dig into almost every scene. Tanya is aghast that a rideshare driving shift barely covers a restaurant bill; later, her new boss (Nicole Richie) at a fast-fashion brand shrugs off a rash of factory employee suicides. Even condensing the story, there’s no fixing the ridiculous ending by which point the film is out of gas. But despite being affixed to the guardrails of a reboot, this naughty thrill boasts some boisterous jolts and a charming romance between Tanya and a more emotionally developed boy (Miles Fowler) who inspires her to grow up.Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s DeadRated R for teen drug use, language and some sexual references. Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes. In theaters. More