Movies Update: ‘Tenet,’ the Best Scary Movies and More

Plus, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter party on with Bill and Ted.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story August 21, 2020 By Mekado Murphy Movies Editor Hey, movie fans! So, it may still be awhile before you can see “Tenet,” but somebody did! Jessica Kiang offers a review of the time-bending drama that has had a circuitous route to the big screen in these pandemic times. She calls it “undeniably enjoyable.” (It’s opening in select theaters around the world on Aug. 26 and in the U.S. on Sept. 3.) As theater chains like AMC have begun to reopen, some movies are making their way to indoor theaters this weekend. They include the road-rage thriller “Unhinged,” featuring Russell Crowe, the RZA-directed crime drama “Cut Throat City” and the South Korean zombie movie “Peninsula.” There’s still plenty to watch at home, though. Disney+ has a new kid-friendly offering, “The One and Only Ivan,” Netflix has the youngsters adventure movie “The Sleepover,” or a more adult-minded Spanish drama “The Crimes That Bind.” And Amazon Prime has a teen romance, “Chemical Hearts.” This summer has also meant the emergence of a number of strong scary movies on streaming and VOD. We survey some of the best, and let you know which streaming services may offer more to keep you in chills on a warm summer night. Enjoy yourself at the movies, wherever you watch them. Melinda Sue Gordon/Warner Bros.   Critic’s Pick ‘Tenet’ Review: Christopher Nolan’s Time-Bending Take on James Bond John David Washington stars as an unnamed, uncreased C.I.A. agent in a spectacle full of scenes running backward and forward. By Jessica Kiang The Criterion Collection   Why Are There So Few Black Directors in the Criterion Collection? The prestigious line is coveted by cinephiles and taught in film schools. The company’s president blames his “blind spots” for largely shutting out Black Americans. By Kyle Buchanan and Reggie Ugwu Jackson Finter/IFC Midnight   Scary Movies for When the World Is a Fright This summer, horror movies are booming. Here’s a guide to the top new scares of the season. By Erik Piepenburg Magdalena Wosinska for The New York Times   Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter Party On With Bill and Ted Dude, the actors are friends in real life and did have excellent adventures on the first two films in the series. Now they’re back onscreen together in the long-awaited follow-up. By Dave Itzkoff Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS IFC Midnight   The Best Places to Stream for the Best Screams A survey of the horror offerings on the top streaming platforms. By Elisabeth Vincentelli Photographs via Criterion Collection   Gateway Movies Does It Matter if a Documentary Is Staged? These Two Films Hold Answers Nonfiction doesn’t mean completely real. But that’s a debate as old as cinema. “Man of Aran” and “F for Fake” explore the issues in their own ways. By Ben Kenigsberg Icarus Films   Rewind On the Road, Again: ‘Route One/USA’ Revisits 1980s America Robert Kramer’s documentary, a “fascinating portrait of late-1980s attitudes toward religion, race and history,” is available for streaming. By J. Hoberman HBO Max   Weekend Roundup 7 Things to Do This Weekend How can you get your cultural fix when many arts institutions remain closed? Our writers offer suggestions for what to listen to, read and watch. MOVIE REVIEWS Walt Disney Studios   ‘The One and Only Ivan’ Review: A Gorilla With Heart The Disney+ movie brings a fair amount of heart to a generic story line. By Ben Kenigsberg Well Go USA   ‘Peninsula’ Review: The First Rule of Zombie Club Is Run! In this follow-up to “Train to Busan,” a soldier turned survivor returns to a ruined country teeming with zombies and worse. By Manohla Dargis Greenwich Entertainment   ‘Desert One’ Review: The Iranian Hostage Rescue That Wasn’t Barbara Kopple’s documentary details the failed mission to free the Americans held in Iran in 1980. By Devika Girish Cara Howe/IFC Films   ‘Tesla’ Review: Lightning Strikes, but Quietly Ethan Hawke plays the melancholy visionary Nikola Tesla in Michael Almereyda’s meditative anti-biopic. By A.O. Scott Solstice Studios   ‘Unhinged’ Review: Car Shark Russell Crowe bulks up and hunkers down to play a murderous misogynist in Derrick Borte’s road-rage thriller. By Jeannette Catsoulis Claire Folger/Netflix   ‘The Sleepover’ Review: My Mother, the Jewel Thief In this Netflix movie, kids on an adventure to rescue their mother discover more about her past. By Kyle Turner Cara Howe/Amazon Studios   ‘Chemical Hearts’ Review: Trauma Catalyzes a Teen Romance An angsty high schooler tries to solve the puzzle of his crush’s grief in this romantic drama that locks viewers in its protagonist’s myopic point of view. By Natalia Winkelman Vertical Entertainment   ‘The 24th’ Review: The Story Behind a Mutiny An African-American regiment revolts against a racist police force in Kevin Willmott’s World War I drama. By Jeannette Catsoulis Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NEWS & FEATURES Aimee Spinks/Netflix   Critic’s Notebook Black Women Are the Superheroes the World Needs In different ways and to varying degrees of success, “Watchmen” and “The Old Guard” know that these characters have a much more nuanced understanding of justice. By Maya Phillips Mark Lennihan/Associated Press   Cuba Gooding Jr. Accused of Rape in Civil Suit as He Awaits Groping Trial A woman says Mr. Gooding raped her twice after coaxing her to his hotel room in New York in 2013. His lawyer says the accusations are false. By Julia Jacobs CRITICS’ PICKS Well Go USA   Critic’s Pick ‘Cut Throat City’ Review: Desperate Straits in Post-Katrina New Orleans With his third feature as director, RZA, who first rose to fame with Wu-Tang Clan, comes into his own as a filmmaker. By Glenn Kenny Arbelos Films   Critic’s Pick ‘Son of the White Mare’ Review: Vibrant Myths From Hungary The film nods to earlier notables of animation: the hallucinatory palette of “Yellow Submarine” and the rich visual storytelling of “Fantasia.” By Maya Phillips How are we doing? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to moviesupdate@nytimes.com. Like this email? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. 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