★★★★ (out of four) “Dune” (PG-13; 155 minutes): They made the book. That’s great news for fans of Frank Herbert’s epic 1965 sci-fi masterpiece. It’s startling, and gratifying, to see one’s mind’s-eye images from the novel up there on the big screen courtesy of director Denis Villeneuve. He made the picture not only for fellow fans, but for people who have never read the book. And now they won’t have to. The movie has captured the book with amazing fidelity. Full review here. Multiple theaters and on HBO Max. — Soren Andersen, Special to The Seattle Times
★★★★ “Mass” (PG-13; 111 minutes): In a sparsely appointed meeting room of an Episcopal church somewhere out West, two couples (Martha Plimpton, Jason Isaacs, Ann Dowd and Reed Birney) gather to discuss a school shooting that transpired six years earlier. Each couple lost a son in the tragedy, and all are being haunted, in some way, by denial, guilt, rage and unresolved grief. What makes “Mass” such an absorbing film is the way writer/director Fran Kranz constantly goes deeper, his spare, unadorned visual language allowing words and behavior — channeled through four extraordinarily brave performances — to do their revelatory work. Full review here. Crest, Seattle 10. — Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
★★★½ “The French Dispatch” (R; 148 minutes): Essentially, Wes Anderson’s latest is a mid-20th-century edition of The New Yorker magazine, if it were published in a small French town and everyone involved was picturesquely eccentric. Bill Murray, 23 years after his exquisite turn in Anderson’s “Rushmore,” here delivers another quiet gem, as a nonshowy editor in an office full of preening writers drawn in various shades of diva. The film is an elegant ode to good writing, and to those who quietly stand behind the words. Full review here. Multiple theaters. — Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times movie critic
★★★ “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain” (PG-13; 111 minutes): Should you be anticipating a lighthearted Victorian romp featuring lots of cute appearances by cats, approach with caution. The cats are certainly there, but the mood of this movie definitely falls on the side of wistful, and often heartbreakingly sad. It’s helped immensely by Claire Foy and Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the title character, a British artist who found his specialty in drawing pictures of cats. Full review here. Crest. — Moira Macdonald
★★★ “Ron’s Gone Wrong” (PG; 107 minutes): The debut feature from British studio Locksmith Animation has plenty of slapstick and potty humor for kids. But adults will also be intrigued by its frequently scathing critique of consumerism. Barney (voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer) is the only kid in his middle school who doesn’t have a B-bot, a personalized digital device that’s a combination smartphone and best friend. One fateful birthday, he gets an outdated version of one from his grandmother (Olivia Colman). Naturally, there’s a catch. Ron (Zach Galifianakis), as Barney calls his B-bot, isn’t fully programmed: It can’t even connect to the internet. Then Ron really goes wrong. Full review here. Multiple theaters. — Pat Padua, The Washington Post
The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.