‘Argo’ and more new movies

 
The Post critics dub Ben Affleck’s “Argo” the must-see film of this weekend. (Claire Folger) In this week’s new movies, Ben Affleck directs and stars in “Argo,” a political thriller about the Iranian Hostage Crisis that Post critic Ann Hornaday calls “an ingeniously written and executed drama.” Here’s what the Post critics thought about the rest of this week’s new releases:

“Argo” (R) “This captivating, expertly machined political thriller jumps through every hoop the naysayer can set up: It’s serious and substantive, an ingeniously written and executed drama fashioned from a fascinating, little-known chapter of recent history.” — Ann Hornaday

“Wuthering Heights” (Unrated) “[Director Andrea Arnold’s] approach to the material is fresh, considering her focus on the messy, muddy landscape as a metaphor for the story’s unbridled relationships. But with so much attention paid to mood and imagery, emotions seem to get lost in the wind.” — Stephanie Merry

“Seven Psychopaths” (R) “Sam Rockwell delivers a soaring, scene-stealing performance as a verbose criminal low-life in ‘Seven Psychopaths,’ a toxic little bauble of Hollywood gestures, cliches and tropes.” — Ann Hornaday

“Sinister” (R) “. . . The hero of ‘Sinister’ is almost unaccountably dumb. So, unfortunately, is the movie.” — Michael O’Sullivan

“Atlas Shrugged: Part II” (PG-13) “Rather than refresh the cast with new actors, the producers would have done better to just digitally reanimate Patricia Neal and Gary Cooper, the stars of the 1949 adaptation of Rand’s ‘The Fountainhead.’” — Mark Jenkins

“How to Survive a Plague” (Unrated) “But the film’s limitations turn out to be appropriate to its gritty, often confrontational subject matter: Rather than a record of unexpected beauty, ‘How to Survive a Plague’ is as direct as the men and women who used rage and militancy to fight for a treatment for a disease that was decimating their community.” — Ann Hornaday

“Middle of Nowhere” (R) “The setup is predictable, if fraught with a couple of narrative speed bumps, but [Emayatzy] Corinealdi and [David] Oyelowo are appealing enough to make the journey to the inevitable conclusion an enjoyable one.” — Michael O’Sullivan

“Here Comes the Boom” (PG) “If only more people had seen Gavin O’Connor’s ‘Warrior,’ then maybe we could’ve been spared ‘Here Comes the Boom.’”— Sean O’Connell

“The House I Live In” (Unrated) “Technically, ‘The House I Live In’ isn’t season six of ‘The Wire.’ But Eugene Jarecki’s investigative documentary probing our nation’s futile war on drugs is so similar in tone and intent to HBO’s acclaimed series that fans of the defunct television program will want to take a look.” — Sean O’Connell

“Somewhere Between” (Unrated) “Linda Goldstein Knowlton’s documentary ‘Somewhere Between’ demonstrates the additional stress for teenage girls who were adopted from China and brought to the United States.” — Stephanie Merry

“Special Forces” (R) “There’s nothing terribly surprising about ‘Special Forces,’ a moderately gripping action flick about a group of commandos on a mission to rescue a pretty blonde who has been abducted by the Taliban. Nothing, that is, except that it’s French.” — Michael O’Sullivan

“Least Among Saints” (R) “The film just keeps ladling on the sauce when the dish is savory enough.” — Michael O’Sullivan

By Jess Righthand  |  07:00 AM ET, 10/12/2012