Now Playing: THE INFINITE HUSK, PILLION, JIMPA, More

Here is a quick recap of our reviews of films that are opening this week in movie theaters.

The Infinite Husk
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Chroma.

Official synopsis: "The Infinite Husk is a gritty, sci-fi thriller that interrogates the human experience through the exiled alien consciousness, Vel. Forced to occupy the human body of a young Black woman on Earth, she is sent on a treacherous mission to spy on one of her own kind to uncover the potential threat of a new and dangerous type of science."

Our review by Shelagh Rowan-Legg: "The Infinite Husk is taking a big concept and whittling it down to its essence, which works most of the time, and offering a mainly analog sci fi story about the nature of the universe, time, and existence feel both scientific and poetic."

Pillion
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via A24 Films.

Official synopsis: "A timid man is swept off his feet when an enigmatic, impossibly handsome biker takes him on as his submissive."

Our review by Olga Artemyeva: "Serving both as a romance and a coming-of-age story of sorts, Pillion ends up being quite familiar and unique, all at the same time. After all, it's not every day one gets to report that one of the most nuanced bits in the film, as well as its emotional climax, is a scene of group sex taking place at a picnic."

Jimpa
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Kino Lorber.

Official synopsis: "Filmmaker Hannah (Olivia Colman) takes her trans nonbinary teenager Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) to Amsterdam to visit their gay grandfather, lovingly known as 'Jimpa' (John Lithgow). When Frances expresses a desire to stay with Jimpa for a year abroad, Hannah is forced to reconsider her parenting beliefs and the stories she has long told about her family. As Jimpa faces the difficulties of aging as a gay man in a generation that never expected to grow old and Frances grapples with the disappointment of heroes falling short of their ideals, Hannah learns to navigate the differing perspectives of her father and her child.

"Inspired by her own experiences as part of a queer family, this intimate, authentic film from acclaimed filmmaker Sophie Hyde (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande) is her most personal story yet. Told with empathy, humor, compassion, and joy, Jimpa celebrates the unique loves and challenges of a modern queer family across three generations."

Our review by Mel Valentin: "Jimpa succeeds both as a showcase for its central performances, Lithgow chief among them, and, at least initially, as a compellingly insightful exploration of intergenerational drama, singular in its examination of three, not-so-liked minded generations, their differing worldviews and politics, and ultimately, on the universal experiences every family, no matter how connected or disconnected by time, space, or history, must face together."

The Strangers: Chapter 3
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Lionsgate.

Official synopsis: "See how it ends."

Our review by Olga Artemyeva: "The good news is it's finally over, but even that is up for debate (and the box office results). As we know, no one really dies for good in modern movies, except Uncle Ben, and that sadly includes unnecessary horror franchises."

And last, but not necessarily least, a new version of an old tale.

Dracula
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Vertical Entertainment.

Official synopsis: "When a 15th-century prince's wife is brutally murdered, he renounces God and damns heaven itself. Cursed with eternal life, he is reborn as Dracula - an immortal warlord who defies fate in a blood-soaked crusade to wrench his lost love back from death."

Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz, and Zoë Bleu star in a new version, directed by Luc Besson.

Now Playing celebrates the theatrical experience.