Jean-Luc Godard (right) as seen in “Two in the Wave.’’
(Lorber Films)
Newest releases
The American George Clooney mopes through Italy as an assassin with a butterfly tattoo. Given the paucity of serious adult moviemaking that makes it into American megaplexes, it’s almost ungrateful to turn up your nose when one arrives. But this isn’t that serious a movie. Every time Clooney shares a scene with a female, it’s not the prospect of intercourse or gunfights you fear. It’s photo shoots. (107 min., R) (Wesley Morris)
Going the Distance Drew Barrymore and Justin Long try to keep a relationship alive from different coasts. The movie earns its R rating, often by daring to say what goes frequently unsaid by women in raunchy comedies. The entire second half is a sitcom. But unlike many movies like it, this one isn’t cynical. Plus, a foul-mouthed Barrymore might be the best Barrymore of all. (109 min., R) (Wesley Morris)
Kimjongilia North Korean defectors tell their stories in this frank, shocking documentary. The accounts, which are mixed with a historical overview of how Kim Jong-il turned it into a morass of concentration camps and famine, provide vital insight into one of the most closed-off, horrifying countries on the planet. (75 min., unrated) (Jesse Singal)
Machete Robert Rodriguez expands his fake “Grindhouse’’ trailer into a hugely entertaining fake-’70s feature about a badass Federale (Danny Trejo). An unexpected end-of-summer tonic: a trash guilty pleasure with a healthy sense of social outrage. The game cast includes Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert De Niro, Steven Seagal, Jeff Fahey, Lindsay Lohan, and “introducing Don Johnson.’’ (94 min., R) (Ty Burr)
Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 The second installment in Jean-François Richet’s two-part gangster epic on the life of French criminal Jacques Mesrine (1936-79). It’s a visually busier movie than “Killer Instinct,’’ as high on Mesrine’s crimes as he is, and star Vincent Cassel exchanges the stolid tension of Part 1 for a manic theatricality. In French, with subtitles. (133 min., R) (Ty Burr)
Nobody’s Perfect This documentary gives a fresh airing to the disastrous side effects for children born to mothers who were prescribed Thalidomide in the late ’50s and early ’60s. German director Niko von Glasow attempts to get 11 of his fellow “Thalidomides’’ to pose naked for a calendar and photography exhibit. The idea is a jumping-off point for this darkly funny and moving examination of body image, sexuality, and self-esteem. (84 min., unrated) (Loren King)
Suck Rocker-filmmaker Rob Stefaniuk’s indie isn’t to be confused with “Vampires Suck’’ — but that doesn’t mean it’s an altogether sharper comedy, either. Stefaniuk heads a band that rockets toward the big time when its bassist becomes a vampire. Creative at points, but bit players like Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop sure aren’t movie stars. (111 min., R) (Tom Russo)
The Tillman Story Amir Bar-Lev’s fine new documentary peels back the public layers of Pat Tillman — pro footballer, Iraq war soldier, hero-martyr, disgracefully used propaganda chip — to arrive at a modern mystery: a born star who turned his back on fame and became his own man even after death. (94 min., R) (Ty Burr)
Two in the Wave Emmanuel Laurent’s illuminating documentary could easily have been called “Le Divorce.’’ The film provides a history of the eventually soured friendship between Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, the most famous filmmakers of the French New Wave. The shock of the film is how much le divorce turned poor Jean-Pierre Léaud into the object of a custody battle. (93 min., unrated) (Wesley Morris)
An archive of movie reviews can be found at www.boston.com/movies. Theaters are subject to change. 
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