Film Previews

‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’

PG-13 | 115 minutes
Director: Adam Wingard
Writers: Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, Jeremy Slater
Stars: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens

The epic battle continues. Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up on the explosive showdown of “Godzilla vs. Kong” with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence — and our own. The Skar King almost represents an upscaled version of the worst parts of humanity, just as Kong represents some of the best parts. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.

‘Monkey Man’

R | 121 minutes
Director: Dev Patel
Writers: Paul Angunawela, John Collee, Dev Patel
Stars: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash

Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, “Monkey Man” stars Dev Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. Packed with thrilling and spectacular fight and chase scenes, “Monkey Man,” directed by Dev Patel, achieves an astonishing, tour-de-force directing debut with an action thriller about one man’s quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless.

‘Civil War’

R | 109 minutes
Director/Writer: Alex Garland
Stars: Nick Offerman, Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura

An adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razor’s edge, “Civil War” introduces the four journalists audiences will be following covering a clash in New York City between what appear to be police forces from the official government and violent members of the opposition. Kirsten Dunst plays Lee, a legendary white female photojournalist in the mold of her namesake, Lee Miller. She’s partnered with a South American-born reporter named Joel (Wagner Moura). Both work for Reuters news agency and are fond of Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), an older journalist who writes for “what’s left of the New York Times,” as Joel puts it. He walks slowly on a cane, definitely a liability when covering protests and battles. The group gains a fourth member, Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), a kind of junior version of Lee who idolizes her. “Civil War” presents itself as a road movie with a dark twist, focusing on the lengths to which journalists will go to uncover and document the horrors of war. ♦