‘Moonlight,’ ‘Certain Women’ and more critics’ picks, Oct. 21-27

Movie recommendations from critics Kenneth Turan, Justin Chang and other reviewers. Click title for full review.

The Age of Shadows Kim Jee-woon (mildly) tones down the ultra-violence of “I Saw the Devil” with this thrillingly taut and intricate 1920s spy yarn, which will represent South Korea in the Oscar race for best foreign-language film. (Justin Chang) NR.

American Honey This wild, unruly and astonishingly beautiful fourth feature from “Fish Tank” director Andrea Arnold earns its 162-minute running time as it follows a teenager (startling newcomer Sasha Lane) who embraces the thrill and adventure of the open road. (Justin Chang) R.

Aquarius A career-crowning performance by Sonia Braga is the highlight of this lovely, ruminative drama from the Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, about a woman refusing to leave her home despite growing local pressure. (Justin Chang) NR.

Certain Women Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart and a revelatory Lily Gladstone star in writer-director Kelly Reichardt’s beautifully understated triptych about four women making their way through life in small-town Montana. (Justin Chang) R.

Creepy Japanese art-horror master Kiyoshi Kurosawa makes his long-awaited return to the genre with an aptly titled, slow-burning mystery that gets darker by the minute, before reaching a lurid, queasy finale. (Noel Murray) NR.

It Had to Be You A memorable romantic comedy from writer-director Sasha Gordon, it is as funny, endearing and enjoyably off-kilter as its adorable star, Cristin Milioti. (Gary Goldstein, Oct. 21) (1:25) R.

Kubo and the Two Strings In this 3-D wonderment steeped in ancient Japanese folklore and brought to life by the stop-motion innovators at Laika Entertainment, magic is both an eye-popping phenomenon and an everyday reality. (Justin Chang) PG.

Moonlight Superb filmmaking and an exceptional level of emotional honesty universalizes a very specific coming-of-age experience, that of a gay black man growing from child to adult starting in 1980s Miami’s crack cocaine epidemic years. (Kenneth Turan) R.

Sand Storm Winner of six Israeli Oscars, including best picture, this urgent family drama, as tense as any thriller, is set not in familiar territory but inside that country’s insular Bedouin community. (Kenneth Turan) NR.

Voyage of Time: The Imax Experience Elaborating on the creation sequence from “The Tree of Life,” Terrence Malick delivers a glorious cosmic reverie, full of visually stunning ideas of what the origins of the universe and life on Earth may have looked like. (Justin Chang, Oct. 7) (:45) G.

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