‘The Little Stranger’ and other movie picks for Aug. 31

Movie recommendations from critics Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan.

Ant-Man and the Wasp A bright, cheery distraction from darker, heavier Marvel Studios outings, this Peyton Reed-directed sequel to 2015’s “Ant-Man” reunites Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly in a superhero caper of deliberately low stakes and enormous charm. (Justin Chang) PG-13

The Cakemaker A provocative, unexpected and very moving German-Israeli coproduction that is as unusual a love story as you are likely to find. (Kenneth Turan) NR

Eighth Grade Starring a superb Elsie Fisher as a girl about to graduate from the eighth grade, writer-director Bo Burnham’s debut feature paints a beautifully, painfully honest portrait of adolescent girlhood. (Justin Chang) R

Incredibles 2 There is good news in the world tonight: Writer-director Brad Bird has brought everyone’s favorite superhero family back to the big screen, and we are all better off for it. (Kenneth Turan) PG

Juliet, Naked A charming film of an engaging, adult nature about two very different people trying to press reset in their lives, it is impressively directed by Jesse Peretz and acted with verve, passion and great skill by Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O’Dowd. (Kenneth Turan) R

The Little Stranger Domhnall Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling and a superb Ruth Wilson star in this intelligent, pleasurably moody English gothic from director Lenny Abrahamson (“Room”), adapted from Sarah Waters’ novel. (Justin Chang)

Madeline’s Madeline A dazzling hall of meta-mirrors, Josephine Decker’s gorgeous third feature turns the story of a 16-year-old aspiring actress named Madeline (astonishing newcomer Helena Howard) into an explosively creative rumination on art, acting, identity and the awesomeness of cats. (Justin Chang) NR

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Led by a vivacious star turn from Lily James, Ol Parker’s sequel to “Mamma Mia!” is a thoroughly unexpected delight, an ABBA jukebox musical that improves on its dreadful 2008 predecessor in every respect. (Justin Chang) PG-13

Puzzle Kelly Macdonald, one of the best actors out there and a perennial costar (“Trainspotting,” “No Country for Old Men”), steps out and shows us what she can do on a bigger stage. Working with Indian star Irrfan Khan, she is a knockout as a suburban housewife who discovers herself through an unexpected mastery of jigsaw puzzles. (Kenneth Turan) R

Searching A Bay Area dad (John Cho) looks for his missing daughter in this compelling and formally innovative thriller from first-time director Aneesh Chaganty, which unfolds entirely on the characters’ computer and phone screens. (Justin Chang) PG-13

Skate Kitchen A Long Island teenager (Rachelle Vinberg) falls in with an all-female skateboarding collective in this lyrical, visceral and exhilarating ode to female friendship from director Crystal Moselle. (“The Wolfpack”). (Justin Chang) R

Sorry to Bother You Rapper-activist Boots Riley’s joyous dystopian cackle of a directing debut stars a superb Lakeith Stanfield as an Oakland telemarketer who stumbles into that arrestingly surreal zone where racial identity, class rage and corporate malfeasance intersect. (Justin Chang) R

Support the Girls Regina Hall gives a marvelous lead turn as the manager of a crummy sub-Hooters “breastaurant,” with strong backup from Shayna McHayle and Haley Lu Richardson, in Andrew Bujalski’s wise and wonderfully loose-limbed workplace comedy. (Justin Chang) R

Three Identical Strangers A scientific and philosophical inquiry by way of a detective story, Tim Wardle’s intensely compelling documentary tells the twistier-by-the-minute story of identical triplet boys who found each other 19 years after being separated at birth. (Justin Chang) PG-13

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? The goal of this exemplary documentary is not to tell the story of TV host Fred Rogers’ life but to show the way of someone whose formidable task was, in his own words, “to make goodness attractive” and made it happen. (Kenneth Turan) PG-13

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