★★★½ “Ailey” (PG-13; 90 minutes): He was, Cicely Tyson’s warm voice told the audience at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1988, “a Pied Piper of modern dance.” Choreographer Alvin Ailey, who founded Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958, spent his relatively short life bringing dance to the world. Jamila Wignot’s revealing documentary focuses on his life and career. Full review here. Crest. — Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times movie critic
★★★ “Hunting Bigfoot” (not rated, for mature audiences; 86 minutes): Meet John Green. He’s obsessed, single-mindedly driven to trek the mountainous terrain in search of Sasquatch. Seattle-based filmmaker Taylor Guterson (“Old Goats”) intrepidly followed Green, camera in hand, from the spring of 2016 through the winter of 2020. Full review here. Admiral (and then Aug. 27 at the Varsity). — Soren Andersen, Special to The Seattle Times
★★★ “The Night House” (R; 107 minutes): Director David Bruckner’s carefully calibrated hybrid horror story (one that teeters, mostly tantalizingly, between the psychological and the supernatural) focuses on the experiences of a woman whose husband has just killed himself. Beth (an excellent Rebecca Hall) starts seeing and hearing things, but her perceptions may be distorted by sleeplessness, grief and alcohol. Later, as “The Night House” shifts its focus, evolving from a metaphor for the sleeping brain to something more literal, and ultimately less satisfying, it nevertheless leaves you with other, darker thoughts. Thoughts that linger and disturb your rest. Full review here. Multiple theaters. — Michael O’Sullivan, The Washington Post
★★½ “Reminiscence” (PG-13; 116 minutes): In our current movie landscape, it’s notable (and laudable) when a new release takes a big, bold and, yes, original swing. Lisa Joy’s “Reminiscence” is one such big swing. Joy, one of the brains behind “Westworld,” makes her feature directorial debut with this dystopian detective story in which a private investigator (Hugh Jackman) gumshoes his way through memory to solve a mystery involving a femme fatale (Rebecca Ferguson). Like “Westworld,” “Reminiscence” is a daring and futuristic sci-fi story driven by familiar human emotions: love, loss, betrayal, regret. The dystopian elements are also all too real, from climate change to class warfare. Joy is merely relaying the writing on the wall, looking at our own history, diving into our own collective memories, to imagine our future. Full review here. Multiple theaters and on HBO Max. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service
“PAW Patrol: The Movie”(G; 88 minutes): To very young kids who like cartoon dogs driving shiny vehicles, this film may be awesome. To grown-ups, it may be an aggressively underwritten, 88-minute toy commercial. The first feature bounding from the Canadian animated TV show (broadcast in the U.S. on Nickelodeon) finds the helpful hounds moving from Adventure Bay to new, tricked-out digs in Adventure City. There, an incompetent mayor (voiced by Ron Pardo) has terrible ideas about how to impress citizens without doing any good; the pooches must save the city from disastrous vanity projects. Not-too-frightening perils ensue. Full review here. (No star rating provided.) Multiple theaters and on Paramount+. — Michael Ordona, Los Angeles Times
“The Protégé” (R; 109 minutes): Maggie Q plays a contract killer who vows revenge when the man who was like a father to her is killed. Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Keaton co-star. The film did not screen for review. Multiple theaters.
The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.