Freeze Frame: “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (PG-13), “Nightmare Alley” (R), “Sing 2” (PG), “Swan Song” (R), “The King’s Man” (R), “The Lost Daughter: (R)

In “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” our hero’s identity as Peter Parker is revealed to the world. He recruits Dr. Strange to employ dangerous magic to conceal the truth, inadvertently unleashing villains from alternate universes. Involving, eye-popping and filled with welcome surprises, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is a super superhero entry.

 

Guillermo del Toro’s remake of the 1947 film noir classic “Nightmare Alley” doesn’t improve on the original but is still a triumph of art direction. Bradley Cooper leads a terrific cast in the off-putting story of a cheap carnival barker who lies and schemes his way into big time showbiz only to get in way over his head. “Nightmare Alley” is the movie equivalent of a creepy sideshow attraction.

 

If frenzied animated animals warbling pop tunes is your idea of a good time, then the sequel “Sing 2” was made for you. It’s silly and overwrought but is a tuneful distraction for the kiddies.

 

Two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali stars in “Swan Song,” a tearful sci-fi drama about a dying man who decides to clone himself to save his family from the heartbreak of losing him. “Swan Song” poses some thorny ethical questions but fails to provide any insightful answers.

 

“The King’s Man” is an origins story, the third entry into the over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek “Kingsman” spy series. It’s annoyingly excessive and lacking in humor. Watching “The King’s Man” is like being bludgeoned with a bowler hat.

 

Stellar acting from Olivia Coleman is the main attraction of the dour drama, “The Lost Daughter.” Coleman plays a woman on solo holiday at a Greek seaside resort. She observes and becomes involved with an intimidating family, igniting memories of her regrets in raising her two estranged children. “The Lost Daughter” a sympathetic and sensitive directing debut for actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.


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