A magnitude 3.5 earthquake was reported at 2:33 a.m. Friday 63 miles from Ridgecrest, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake occurred 64 miles from Porterville, 65 miles from Lindsay, 66 miles from Exeter and 70 miles from Farmersville.

In the past 10 days, there have been two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.

An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 6.7 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.

Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the Big One is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit.

This story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.

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Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Friday, Nov. 1, and I’m writing from Los Angeles.

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Fires continue to dominate the California narrative, but life also marches on across the state. Before we get back to the flames, here’s a brief dispatch about a generations-old football rivalry that will be at this center of conversation for many on L.A.’s Eastside this weekend:

Both teams are undefeated in league games, and nothing less than destiny will be riding on the padded shoulders of the Roosevelt Rough Riders and the Garfield Bulldogs come Friday night.

The East L.A. Classic — the “85th annual” battle between Boyle Heights (Roosevelt High School) and East L.A. (Garfield High School) — represents one of the most storied high school football rivalries in the country. The Classic, which serves as the homecoming football game for both schools, attracts generations of alumni to Weingart Stadium.

The event is “the Super Bowl of East L.A.,” as a then-Garfield football player told The Times in 1980.

The room was “a bit tense” Sunday at Stevens Steakhouse in Commerce, where the opposing teams broke bread together at the pregame “Beef Bowl.” That’s according to Boyle Heights Beat reporter Ahiti Juárez, who — full disclosure — is a student at Roosevelt. “Sunday’s annual dinner could only signify the beginning of one thing,” Juárez writes. “Classic Week.”

The intervening days have been dominated by hall decorating, pep rallies, senior events and deep school pride on both campuses.

There are a lot of bragging rights attached to the outcome of this game. Garfield High, which was immortalized in the 1988 movie “Stand and Deliver,” has dominated the rivalry for nearly a decade, winning the last nine Classics. But in the long wash of time, Roosevelt still has the upper hand. The Rough Riders hold a 41-39-6 lead in the series.

The first East L.A. Classic was played in 1925. By 1935, this very paper was already referring to Garfield as Roosevelt’s “ancient enemy of the East Side.” And the rest, as they say, is history. (For those doing the math on 1925 and “85th annual,” you’re correct, it does not add up. The Classic went on a nearly decade-long, World War II-induced hiatus from 1939 to 1948.)

The Dodgers are out and the Lakers are away, noted Roosevelt head coach Aldo Parral at a news conference Wednesday. So, on Friday night, “the focus of the world is going to be on us, two little Mexican schools.”

“At the end of the day, they want to win. We want to win,” Parral said.

The reasons, according to the coach and Roosevelt alum, are very simple: On Friday night after the game, people are going to roll up to King Taco. “Whether you’re wearing blue or red, there’s going to be a lot of smack-talking going on,” he said.

And, after nine long years of Garfield running the show, they want to be the ones doing the smack-talking.

Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. in Weingart Stadium on the East Los Angeles College campus.

And now, here’s what’s happening across California:

CALIFORNIA FIRES

In Northern California, the worst of the Kincade fire appears to be over and PG&E has restored power to the vast majority of customers. As of Thursday night, the Kincade fire was about 65% contained, but more than 90,000 structures still remained under threat. Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle

See also: What does it mean for a fire to be “contained”?

Fierce winds that whipped up early Thursday sparked new fires across Southern California, including a destructive blaze known as the Hillside fire that tore into neighborhoods in north San Bernardino, consuming homes and forcing residents to evacuate before dawn. Los Angeles Times

Crews were also battling the Maria fire, a fast-moving brush fire that erupted Thursday evening in Ventura County. Los Angeles Times

A late-night police pursuit in Jurupa Valley that ended in a crash sparked a fire in a field that quickly spread to 300 acres, damaging several buildings and forcing evacuations. Riverside County officials declared a state of emergency over the 46 fire. Los Angeles Times

See also: 46, Easy, Hillside? This is how wildfires get their names.

The unusually long Santa Ana wind event is expected to ease Thursday evening. And with it, the fire risk will be reduced as well. But there is not much good news on the horizon, with forecasters seeing little chance of rain in the next few weeks. Critical fire weather warnings have also been extended through Friday night for the windiest spots of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, continuing red-flag conditions for an additional 24 hours. Los Angeles Times

The Times is offering fire coverage for free. Please consider a subscription to support our journalism.

L.A. STORIES

Most Getty fire evacuations have been lifted, but some residents still remained under evacuation in Brentwood as firefighters continued to work on containment of the fire, which has burned 12 homes and 745 acres. Los Angeles Times

The California haters are back. And once again, as columnist Steve Lopez observes, they get us all wrong. Los Angeles Times

A mumps outbreak at L.A. Men’s Central Jail has left nearly 400 inmates quarantined. Los Angeles Times

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

Baja California’s new governor was to take office at 1 a.m. Friday, after a Supreme Court justice declined this week to issue an injunction stopping his inauguration. Jaime Bonilla won the election ahead of his nearest opponent by more than 27 percentage points, but his victory is being contested by members of opposing political parties. San Diego Union-Tribune

GitHub is trying to quell employee anger over its ICE contract. It’s not going well. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Dolores Huerta’s son is running for a Kern County supervisor seat. Emilio Huerta, who serves as general counsel for the Bakersfield-based nonprofit organization that bears his mother’s name, will challenge 4th District Kern County Supervisor David Couch next year. Bakersfield Californian

Rudy Giuliani went to a San Francisco Apple store to unlock his iPhone after he forgot the password, despite serving as a cybersecurity advisor to the president. Experts say his actions call his understanding of basic security measures into question. “There’s no way he should be going to a commercial location to ask for that assistance,” said E.J. Hilbert, a former FBI agent for cybercrime and terrorism. NBC News

CRIME AND COURTS

A Missouri theme park is suing a guy in Orange County who built a homemade dark ride in his garage for Halloween over who owns the trademarked name for a theme park attraction. Orange County Register

HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Clean water is a fight for many Californians. Will Gov. Gavin Newsom’s law fix the waiting game? Fresno Bee

Sacramento County saw an alarming rise in STDs. What’s behind the big increase? Sacramento Bee

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Did the number of people trying to dress up as Elizabeth Holmes for Halloween create a black turtleneck shortage in the Bay Area? Quartzy

“Buck Delventhal dies, and San Francisco loses its most capable guide.” The former deputy city attorney helped guide San Francisco’s path for nearly 50 years. Mission Local

Blue Bottle Coffee’s California roasting operation will relocate to Sacramento from its longtime Oakland HQ. The move signals the end of an era for the coffee giant, which up until now has been identified as a homegrown Oakland business. Mercury News

This park is Sacramento’s first to offer free Wi-Fi. The city says more are coming. Sacramento Bee

A Finnish tech entrepreneur-turned-artist wants to convert a former Berkeley school into a 50,000-square-foot home and artist colony. Berkeleyside

How long will it take Steph Curry to return from his hand injury? The Golden State Warriors’ star point guard broke his hand in a game Wednesday night. SF Gate

Pasadena’s architectural heritage will be on full display during the 28th annual Craftsman Weekend, which starts Friday. Pasadena Star-News

Rattlesnakes have had a busy year. Same for the people who catch them for a living. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles: sunny, 83. San Diego: sunny, 75. San Francisco: sunny, 69. San Jose: sunny, 75. Sacramento: sunny, 72. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

–Phil Ochs

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints, ideas and unrelated book recommendations to Julia Wick. Follow her on Twitter @Sherlyholmes.

On Nov. 2, 1927, Los Angeles city and county officials gathered with executives from the Pacific Electric Railway to dedicate a new 1,000-foot viaduct.

An article in the Oct. 24, 1927, Los Angeles Times reported that the new viaduct cost $290,000 and was 1,160 feet long. It “was built to separate the street and railway grades and thus eliminate dangerous crossings.”

For years, this unpublished image remained a mystery. The original glass negative only had a typed label attached. The label stated, “New P.E. Pico street viaduct.” The only date was “circa 1927.”

As with all images in this series, I conducted followup research on the photo.

First stop, the ProQuest Los Angeles Times online archive, available through many public libraries. There I found articles about the Pico Viaduct from Oct. 24, 1927, and Oct. 31, 1927.

The Monday, Oct. 31, 1927, article reported: “Dedication of the new 1000-foot viaduct bridging Pico street and serving to eliminate the grade crossing at this point is scheduled for Wednesday when city and county officials, together with Pacific Electric executives, will join in an inspection of the structure.”

A search of ProQuest turned up no followup articles on the dedication in the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 3, 1927, the day after the ceremony was scheduled.

The photo includes the final clues. First, a man is getting off a middle car, indicating the train is stopped — as shown in this enlarged section of the photo above.

Second, there is a large group of people gathered on the right side of the image. And third, on the viaduct is a large banner stating, “This Grade Separation Sponsored by The Los Angeles County Grade Crossing Committee composed of representatives of the state, county and City of Los Angeles, Railroads and Automobile Club of Southern California. Public support of similar projects assures early construction.”

My conclusion: An unknown Los Angeles Times photographer took this image on Nov. 2, 1927, about the time of the dedication of the Pico Viaduct.

The original glass negative is at the Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive at UCLA. What I love about the 4-by-5 format is the amount of detail possible even after extreme enlargements. It also helps to have a high-quality scan done by the staff at UCLA.

This post originally was published on March 28, 2011.

ORINDA, Calif. — 

Four people were killed and four others wounded in a shooting at a Halloween night party at a large rental home in a wealthy San Francisco Bay Area community, police said Friday.

The shooting in Orinda, a community of about 20,000 just east of Oakland, happened at a party with more than 100 people, police Chief David Cook told the East Bay Times. He said officers responded to a call around 10:45 p.m. Thursday and found four people dead at the scene.

No information on the victims was immediately available, and police were investigating what prompted the violence.

The home where the party was held is in a neighborhood of multimillion-dollar homes.

Video from the scene posted by KGO-TV showed multiple patients being loaded into ambulances as others limped away from the scene.

Residents of the neighborhood were frustrated with noise from the party before the shooting, said neighbor Chris Gade, who estimated that the party drew about 100 people.

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“It was just more of a noise complaint that we were worried about originally,” he told reporters.

Then Gade said he heard gunshots and saw people “screaming and fleeing down the hill.”

“I think everybody in our neighborhood immediately locked our doors and started messaging each other, trying to figure out what was going on,” he said. “This just doesn’t happen in Orinda.”

Jeton Neziraj was only a tween when he witnessed Serbian nationalist Slobodan Milosevic’s campaign of war and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. After Neziraj’s native Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, he rose to become one of the country’s preeminent playwrights, a political voice whose incendiary works have sometimes earned him the enmity of prominent Kosovar officials — and cost him the post of artistic director of the National Theatre of Kosovo.

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Neziraj’s surreal and wildly imaginative “Department of Dreams” is having its world premiere at City Garage in Santa Monica, although considering the cycle of world events recently, you’ll have to decide just how surreal the play actually. The dystopian fable, translated by Alexandra Channer, centers on citizens forced to “deposit” their dreams at a monolithic governmental bureaucracy as part of a campaign of intimidation and terror.

The premiere represents a coup for City Garage’s founders, artistic director Frédérique Michel and producing director Charles A. Duncombe, whose company has been presenting edgy theater for more than 30 years. Michel, who also directs, and Duncombe, whose typically stunning production design is a highlight, do full service to Neziraj’s savagely topical, darkly funny piece.

John Logan plays Dan, the starry-eyed new hire at the Department of Dreams. He is being shown the ropes by a deceptively welcoming Official (David E. Frank). Also deceptive is the apparent kindliness of the Master (Bo Roberts), the department’s top dream interpreter, whose surface avuncularity covers killer instincts.

When Dan witnesses the abject Dreambuilder (Aaron Bray) flagellating himself in order to conjure the hidden dreams of prominent figures, he’s shocked and suggests that the department consider more humane methods. That streak of compassion ultimately proves to be Dan’s downfall, as does his growing love for the mysterious Night (Angela Beyer) — human emotion making him vulnerable to the torture and totalitarianism of a bureaucracy gone mad.

Despite the warnings of his predecessor (Gifford Irvine), an escaped bureaucrat of possibly supernatural origin, Dan hurtles toward his doom. Whether he will be destroyed — or subsumed into a corrupt system — is the question.

Michel’s staging, combined with Duncombe’s animated projections — a sort of Dadaesque Betty Boop — complete Neziraj’s Orwellian portrait of a mad world in which all individuality is suppressed.

This is not an easy play. It’s difficult to understand, at times incomprehensible. But it is important work by a world-class playwright who challenges our complacency at every twist and turn.

Support The Times’ coverage of local theater. Please consider a digital membership.

Andy Greenberg is a senior writer for Wired magazine, and he covered the unfolding stories of both Stuxnet and “Sandworm,” as the alleged Russian cyberwar unit linked to the Ukraine attacks was dubbed.

Greenberg took a book leave from Wired to write “Sandworm,” a comprehensive look at the technical, military and political stories of this new hidden war. The result is an essential guide to help us make sense of what will surely be an increasingly consequential form of military, criminal and insurgent aggression.

This book comes at a crucial juncture in the evolving doctrine and practice of cyberwar, a practice that confounds the intuition of the traditional military and foreign policy establishment.

One of the weirdest conversations I ever had was about this matter. It was a decade ago, and I was on a holiday in the Caribbean and the only other guests at the hotel were a family of “State Department” people. Dad had been with USAID when the Soviet tanks rolled in Hungary, his sons worked for undisclosed agencies within State. Hereditary spooks.

One day, one of these second-gen spooks and I were by the pool and we got to talking about cyberwar, which he was very bullish on. I spent about an hour trying to explain to him that cyberwar and cyberweapon were imperfect analogies, so imperfect as to be terribly misleading. It was clear that he thought a cyberweapon was like a digital bomb: a tool that somehow projected force over an adversary’s digital infrastructure.

But a cyberweapon isn’t that at all. A cyberweapon, is, at root, a secret. Specifically, it’s a secret about a defect in a piece of software, preferably software that is in wide usage. When an agency or private cyberweapons dealer or criminal discovers one of these defects (also known as a “vulnerability” or “vuln”), they make the decision not to divulge its existence to the vendor (who would then update the software to eliminate the defect), and instead they write tools that exploit this defect in order to compromise the system.

A cyberweapon is a defect you discover in a system that your enemy uses, but we don’t have “good guy” software and “bad guy” software. Defects in widely used operating systems like Windows, or the embedded systems inside of the actuators and sensors that control power plants and other critical systems, are used by everyone, all around the world, leaving all of those systems vulnerable to attack by anyone who learns or discovers the secret.

Thus, deliberately choosing secrecy about defects in order to leave your adversary’s infrastructure in a vulnerable state means also leaving your own infrastructure vulnerable. It’s a posture that is purely offensive, so much so that it leaves you defenseless. It’s a terrible idea.

That guy in the hotel pool didn’t get it. Neither did others in the military-industrial complex.

The world is becoming a computer. A voting machine is a computer we put fragile democracies inside of. A power plant is a computer we put flaming coal inside of. A car is a fast-moving computer we put easily damaged people inside of. The computer is the most salient feature of these systems because without the computer, they become inert, useless or even deadly.

Depending on whom you ask, the defects in these systems are either terrifying (because they make you and everyone you love terribly, terribly vulnerable) or terribly exciting (because they make your enemies and everyone they love just as vulnerable).

In “Sandworm,” Greenberg explores and explains this evolving, shadowy world in a work of in-depth, personal investigative journalism. He profiles the U.S., Russian and Ukrainian technologists and generals who are at the center of the tale, using their frustrations, fears and triumphs to humanize the very abstract business of cyberwar.

In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. The back story to this event is complicated, but the annexation was attended by a series of information warfare strikes. These cyberattacks did enormous damage, first locking up critical systems and even rendering the computers that ran them permanently inoperable (by corrupting their low-level BIOS software) and then escalating to attacks on embedded systems in the power grid and elsewhere, literally making key pieces of power plants burst into flames, plunging much of the whole of Ukraine (not just Crimea) into freezing darkness.

Greenberg makes the telling into a whodunit, following private security firms and military/government investigators seeking to conclusively attribute the Sandworm attacks (and other, possibly related, attacks), not just to Russia, but to specific Russian military units. This is more than a formal exercise: Greenberg and his U.S. and Ukrainian contacts are palpably infuriated that both the Obama and Trump administrations chose to treat the attacks on Ukraine as local affairs and did not intervene until very late in the day (the Trump administration did eventually indict a handful of Russian intelligence agents for their alleged role in the attacks).

Greenberg contends that official inaction served to establish a new norm: that this type of cyberwar is fair game, despite the massive toll it takes on civilian populations and people far from the field of battle whose systems happen to be caught in the malware’s unpredictable blast radius.

The author notes that these hacker attacks were seemingly designed to be limited to Ukraine but spread outside of the country, locking up most of the Maersk fleet, paralyzing world shipping and doing billions of dollars in damage all around the world.

“Sandworm” is much more than a true-life techno-thriller. It’s a tour through a realm that is both invisible and critical to the daily lives of every person alive in the 21st century. Understanding cybersecurity isn’t just for those who write the ciphers and configure the firewalls. It’s a civic literacy that equips you to evaluate the actions taken on your behalf by the governments that you elect. As Greenberg so aptly demonstrates, you may not be interested in cybersecurity, but it is certainly
interested in you.

Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin’s Most Dangerous Hackers

By Andy Greenberg

Doubleday: 368 pages; $28.95

Doctorow is the author of “Radicalized,” “Walkaway” and other books. He lives in Burbank.

We’ve compiled a list of films set to premiere this holiday season, from Nov. 6 through Jan. 17. All dates subject to change.

Nov. 6

Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver star in writer-director Noah Baumbach’s exploration of an eroding relationship. With Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta. Netflix

Nov. 8

Acceleration
Action-crime drama with Sean Patrick Flanery, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Liddell, Natalie Burn, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Danny Trejo. Written by Michael Merino. Directed by Merino, Daniel Zirilli. Cinedigm

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The All-Americans
Documentary focuses on four football players competing in the East L.A. Classic between Garfield and Roosevelt high schools. Written and directed by Billy McMillin. Abramorama

American Dharma
Filmmaker Errol Morris interviews Stephen K. Bannon on his background, belief system, feelings on President Trump and how movies shaped his worldview in this documentary. Utopia

Ballet Blanc
Horror with Shelley Starrett, Colter Carlborn-Mann, Brian Woods, Franco Fox, Catherine Lassesen. Written and directed by Anne-Sophie Dutoit. Indican Pictures

Burning Cane
In rural Louisiana, a woman tries to reconcile her faith and the troubled men in her life. With Wendell Pierce, Karen Kaia Livers, Dominique McClellan, Braelyn Kelly, Emyri Crutchfield. Written and directed by Phillip Youmans. Array

Cold Brook
A undercover cop from China finds himself in a prison in the Cambodian jungle where inmates are sold to the rich to be hunted for sport. With Gu Shangwei, Byron Bishop, Vithaya Pansringarm. Written by Jimmy Henderson, Michael Hodgson, Kai Miller. Directed by Henderson. In Mandarin, Thai with English subtitles. Vertical Entertainment

Danger Close
Action with Travis Fimmel, Luke Bracey, Daniel Webber, Alexander England, Aaron Glenane, Nicholas Hamilton, Myles Pollard, Matt Dordan, Anthony Hayes, Richard Roxburgh. Written by Stuart Beattie. Directed by Kriv Stenders. Saban Films

Disco’d
Documentary explores the L.A. homeless crisis through a series of profiles. Directed by Matthew Siretta. SMMS Films

Doctor Sleep

Forty years after the events of “The Shining,” the now grown Danny Torrance joins forces with a similarly gifted teen to battle dark forces. With Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Carl Lumbly, Zahn McClarnon, Emily Alyn Lind, Bruce Greenwood, Jocelin Donahue, Cliff Curtis. Written and directed by Mike Flanagan, based on the book by Stephen King. Warner Bros.

A Fish in the Bathtub
New 2K restoration of 1999 comedy starring Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller. With Doris Roberts, Jane Adams, Mark Ruffalo, Missy Yager, Paul Benedict. Written by John Silverstein, David Chudnovsky, Raphael D. Silver. Directed by Joan Micklin Silver. Cohen Media Group

Gabriel
Boxing drama with Igor Regalla, Ana Marta Ferreira, Angelo Torres, José Condessa, Sérgio Praia and Susana Sá. Written and directed by Nuno Bernardo. Beactive Entertainment

Good Girls Get High
A pair of brainy high school seniors worried about their low social standing decide to get stoned. With Abby Quinn, Stefanie Scott, Lauren Lapkus, Matt Besser, Isabelle Fuhrman, Danny Pudi. Written by Laura Terruso, Jennifer Nashorn Blakenship. Directed by Terruso. DirecTV/Warner Bros.

Honey Boy

Shia LaBeouf wrote and stars in this autobiographical drama about his troubled youth and attempts to reconcile with his father. With Noah Jupe, Lucas Hedges, FKA twigs. Directed by Alma Har’el. Amazon Studios

The Kingmaker
Director Lauren Greenfield profiles Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines, in this documentary. Showtime Documentary Films

Klaus
An Everyman postal worker meets an enigmatic toymaker when he is assigned to bring mail service to a remote northern village. With Jason Schwartzman, Rashida Jones, J.K. Simmons, Joan Cusack, Norm MacDonald, Will Sasso. Written by Zach Lewis, Jim Mahoney, Sergio Pablos. Directed by Pablos. Netflix

Last Christmas
In a holiday romantic comedy inspired by the music of George Michael, a young Londoner meets a guy who seems too good to be true. With Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson. Written by Thompson, Bryony Kimmings, story by Thompson, Greg Wise. Directed by Paul Feig. Universal

Light From Light
A priest asks a paranormal-activity-investigating rental car agent to check on a grieving widower. With Marin Ireland, Jim Gaffigan, Josh Wiggins. Written and directed by Paul Harrill. Grasshopper Film

Love Is Blind
Romantic drama-comedy with Shannon Tarbet, Aidan Turner, Benjamin Walker, Matthew Broderick, Chloë Sevigny. Written by Jennifer Schuur. Directed by Monty Whitebloom. Uncork’d Entertainment

Midway

The story of the critical World War II Pacific Theater battle between the American fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy in June 1942. With Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Etsushi Toyokawa, Tadanobu Asano, Luke Kleintank, Jun Kunimura, Darren Criss, Keean Johnson, Alexander Ludwig, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Woody Harrelson. Written by Wes Tooke. Directed by Roland Emmerich. Lionsgate

Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man
Documentary on plumbing entrepreneur and global sanitation crusader Jack Sim. Written by Tchavdar Georgiev. Directed by Lily Zepeda. Kew Media Group

Playing With Fire
Firefighters find their lives turned upside down when they rescue three siblings but can’t find the kids’ parents. With John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo, Brianna Hildebrand, Dennis Haysbert, Judy Greer. Written by Dan Ewen, Matt Lieberman, story by Ewen. Directed by Andy Fickman. Paramount

Primal
Action-crime thriller with Nicolas Cage, Famke Janssen, Kevin Durand, Michael Imperioli. Written by Richard Leder. Directed by Nick Powell. Lionsgate

Such a Funny Life
Crime drama with Kobi Frumer, Gonzalo Trigueros. Written and directed by Oliver Mann. Artist Rights Distribution

To Be of Service
Military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder experience life-changing results with the help of trained dogs in this documentary. Directed by Josh Aronson. First Run Features

The Tower
An 11-year-old Palestinian girl seeks hope in a Beirut refugee camp in this animated drama. Written and directed by Mats Grorud. Nubbsjangs Pproduksjon

Nov. 15

Atlantics
Though promised to another man, a young Senegalese woman is tormented by the loss of her true love at sea. With Mama Sané, Amadou Mbow, Ibrahima Traoré, Nicole Sougou, Amina Kane, Mariama Gassama, Coumba Dieng, Ibrahima Mbaye, Diankou Sembene. Written by Mati Diop, Olivier Demangel. Directed by Diop. Netflix

Bluebird
Music documentary featuring Taylor Swift, Maren Morris, Connie Britton, Garth Brooks, Faith Hill. Directed by Brian A. Loschiavo. Cleopatra Entertainment

Charlie’s Angels

Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska are the titular trio in writer-director-co-star Elizabeth Banks’ reboot of the action-adventure franchise about highly skilled women working for a private security and investigative agency. With Djimon Hounsou, Noah Centineo, Sam Claflin, Patrick Stewart. Story by Evan Spiliotopoulos, David Auburn. Columbia Pictures

Crown Vic
Crime drama with Thomas Jane, Luke Kleintank, David Krumholtz, Josh Hopkins, Bridget Moynahan, Scottie Thompson, Gregg Bello. Directed by Joel Souza. Screen Media

Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops
Two San Antonio police officers serve on a 10-person mental health unit, putting compassionate policing practices into action. Featuring Ernie Stevens and Joe Smarro. Directed by Jennifer McShane. HBO Documentary Films

Feast of the Seven Fishes
Romantic comedy with Skyler Gisondo, Madison Iseman, Josh Helman, Ray Abruzzo, Lynn Cohen, Joe Pantoliano, Paul Ben-Victor. Written and directed by Robert Tinnell. Shout! Studios

Ford v Ferrari

Matt Damon and Christian Bale star as an American car designer and a British driver, respectively, who challenge eminent Italian Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. With Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone, Ray McKinnon. Written by Jez Butterworth, John Henry Butterworth, Jason Keller. Directed by James Mangold. 20th Century Fox

The Good Liar

Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren square off as an elegant grifter and his not-so-easy mark in this suspense thriller. With Russell Tovey, Jim Carter. Written by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on the novel by Nicholas Searle. Directed by Bill Condon. Warner Bros./New Line Cinema

I Lost My Body
A severed hand makes its way across Paris trying to reunite with a pizza delivery boy. With Hakim Faris, Victoire Du Bois, Patrick Dassumçao. Written by Jérémy Clapin, Guillaume Laurant, based on a novel by Laurant. Directed by Clapin. Netflix

Line of Duty
Action thriller with Aaron Eckhart, Courtney Eaton, Jessica Lu, Dina Meyer, Ben McKenzie, Giancarlo Esposito. Written by Jeremy Drysdale. Directed by Steven C. Miller. Saban Films

Lost in America
Documentary on youth homelessness in the U.S. Featuring Rosario Dawson, Jewel, Tiffany Haddish, Miley Cyrus, Jon Bon Jovi, Halle Berry, Sanaa Lathan, Rebecca Gayheart-Dane, Sen. Patrick Leahy, former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Rep. Karen Bass, Rep. Jim McDermott, Rep. John Yarmuth, Rep. Jackie Speier. Written and directed by Rotimi Rainwater. Indican Pictures

No Safe Spaces
Free-speech documentary featuring Adam Carolla, Dennis Prager, Tim Allen, Van Jones, Jordan Peterson, Alan Dershowitz, Ben Shapiro, Cornel West, Dave Rubin. Directed by Justin Folk. Atlas Distribution

Radioflash
Survival thriller with Brighton Sharbino, Dominic Monaghan, Will Patton, Fionnula Flanagan. Directed by Ben McPherson. IFC Midnight

The Report

Adam Driver stars as real-life investigator Daniel J. Jones, whose Senate inquiry leads to dark truths within the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program. With Annette Bening, Ted Levine, Michael C. Hall, Tim Blake Nelson, Corey Stoll, Maura Tierney, Jon Hamm. Written and directed by Scott Z. Burns. Amazon Studios

Scandalous: The Untold Story of the National Enquirer
Behind the muck at the infamous tabloid, which for 60 years has supplied Americans with news, gossip and truth-bending in this documentary. Directed by Mark Landsman. Magnolia Pictures

The Shed
Horror thriller with Jay Jay Warren, Cody Kostro, Sofia Happonen, Timothy Bottoms, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Frank Whaley. Written and directed by Frank Sabatella. RLJE Films

16 Bars
Four prisoners in a Richmond, Va., jail collaborate with recording artist Todd “Speech” Thomas to create an album based on their experiences in this documentary. Directed by Samuel Bathrick. Lightyear Entertainment

To Kid or Not to Kid
Filmmaker Maxine Trump explores the implications of choosing to not have children. Distributor

The Warrior Queen of Jhansi
Nineteeth century Indian general Rani leads her people in rebellion against the British Empire. With Devika Bhise, Rupert Everett, Nathaniel Parker, Ben Lamb, Jodhi May, Derek Jacobi. Written by Swati Bhise, Devika Bhise, Olivia Emden. Directed by Swati Bhise. Roadside Attractions

Waves

A suburban African American family pulls together in the face of loss. With Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucas Hedges, Taylor Russell, Alexa Demie, Neal Huff, Clifton Collins Jr., Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sterling K. Brown. Written and directed by Trey Edward Shults. A24

White Snake
A young woman loses her memory and must embark on an epic journey and face supernatural forces to learn about her past in this animated prequel to a famous Chinese legend. Directed by Amp Wong, Zhao Ji. GKids

Ximbi Xombix
Grunge band SheepPsyche is mind-controlled to play alternative K-pop reggae in this anti-musical. With Claudia Pak, Tareq Alumalifi, Dr. Israel. Written and directed by Dae H. Kim, a.k.a. Sand O’ Man. Hoffstot Sound & Pictures

Nov. 22

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Tom Hanks slips on the cardigan of Mr. Fred Rogers to dispense lessons in kindness to Matthew Rhys’ jaded journalist. With Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Cooper. Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, inspired by an article by Tom Junod. Directed by Marielle Heller. TriStar Pictures

Citizen K
Writer-director Alex Gibney looks at post-Soviet Russia through the eyes of oligarch-turned-dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky in this documentary. Greenwich Entertainment

Dark Waters

Mark Ruffalo stars as a crusading attorney who uncovers a deadly truth about a large corporation, jeopardizing his career, his family and his life. With Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Camp, Victor Garber, Mare Winningham, William Jackson Harper, Bill Pullman. Written by Matthew Carnahan, Mario Correa. Directed by Todd Haynes. Focus Features

Frozen 2
Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven join Elsa as she searches for the truth behind her powers in this sequel to the 2013 blockbuster. With the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad. Directed by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee. Walt Disney Pictures

Hala
A Chicago-area Pakistani American teen balances her desire for freedom with her strict Muslim upbringing. With Geraldine Viswanathan, Jack Kilmer, Gabriel Luna, Purbi Joshi, Azad Khan, Anna Chlumsky. Director Minhal Baig. Apple TV+

Mickey and the Bear
Living in Montana with her veteran father, a teenager must choose between family and independence. With Camila Morrone, James Badge Dale, Calvin Demba, Ben Rosenfield, Rebecca Henderson. Written and directed by Annabelle Attanasio. Utopia

Saint Cloud Hill
Social issue documentary about a Nashville homeless community rallying to fight gentrification. Directed by Sean Clark, Jace Freeman. Indie Rights

Shooting the Mafia
Documentary on Italian photographer Letizia Battaglia, noted for chronicling the lives of underworld figures. Directed by Kim Longinotto. Cohen Media

3022
Sci-fi with Omar Epps, Kate Walsh, Miranda Cosgrove, Enver Gjokaj, Haaz Sleiman, Angus MacFayden, Jorja Fox. Written by Ryan Binaco. Directed by John Suits. Saban Films

21 Bridges
Chadwick Boseman plays a New York City police detective leading a manhunt for a pair of cop killers. With Sienna Miller, Stephan James, Keith David, Taylor Kitsch, J.K. Simmons. Directed Brian Kirk. STXfilms

When Lambs Become Lions
Documentary about Africa’s plummeting elephant population gets up close and personal with a small-time ivory dealer, a wildlife ranger and others in northern Kenya. Directed by Jon Kasbe. Oscilloscope Laboratories

Nov. 27

The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
Drama with Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Kathleen Hepburn. Written and directed by Tailfeathers. Array

Knives Out

Writer-director Rian Johnson rounds up a stellar group of suspects for this whodunit surrounding the murder of a famous crime novelist. With Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Riki Lindhome, Edi Patterson, Frank Oz, K Callan, Noah Segan, Christopher Plummer. Lionsgate

Queen & Slim

A traffic stop gone tragically wrong turns an African American couple on their first date into fugitives. With Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny, Flea, John Sturgill Simpson, Indya Moore. Written by Lena Waithe, story by James Frey, Waithe. Directed by Melina Matsoukas. Universal

The Two Popes
Rocked by scandal, Pope Benedict summons Argentine Cardinal Bergoglio — his future successor — to Rome to share a devastating secret that threatens the Catholic Church. With Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce, Juan Minujin, Sidney Cole. Written by Anthony McCarten. Directed by Fernando Meirelles. Netflix

Nov. 29

After Parkland
Documentary talks with survivors and the families of the victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in February 2018. Directed by Emily Taguchi, Jake Lefferman. ABC Documentaries

Les Misérables

A drone captures an out-of-control arrest by an anticrime unit amid tensions in the Paris suburb of Montfermeil. With Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djebril Zonga. Written by Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini, Alexis Manenti. Directed by Ly. Amazon Studios

Melody Makers
Music documentary features Barrie Wentzell, Ian Anderson, Eric Burdon, Alan White, Steve Howe, Chris Squire. Directed by Leslie Ann Coles. Cleopatra Entertainment

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project
Documentary on a Philadelphia woman who collected American television programming for more than 30 years, from the Iran hostage crisis to the Sandy Hook massacre. Directed by Matt Wolf. Zeitgeist Films

Dec. 5

Varda by Agnès
The beloved director’s final film, a documentary, looks back on her 60-year career and some of what she loved most in life: Jacques Demy, cats, colors, beaches and heart-shaped potatoes. Janus Films

Dec. 6

The Aeronauts
“The Theory of Everything” stars Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne reunite as a daring balloon pilot and a meterologist who expand human knowledge in 1862 by flying higher than anyone ever had. With Phoebe Fox, Himesh Patel, Rebecca Front, Robert Glenister, Vincent Perez, Anne Reid, Tom Courtenay. Written by Jack Thorne, story by Tom Harper, Thorne. Directed by Harper. Amazon Studios

The Banker

Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson stars as men who challenge the racial limitations of the 1960s with a resourceful business plan to help underserved African American communities. With Nia Long, Nicholas Hoult. Written by Niceole Levy, George Nolfi, David Lewis Smith, Stan Younger; story by Smith, Younger, Brad Caleb Kane. Directed by Nolfi. Apple TV+

Brahms: The Boy II
A child develops a disturbing friendship with a creepy doll on an estate with a horrific history. With Katie Holmes, Christopher Convery, Owain Yeoman, Ralph Ineson. Directed by William Brent Bell. STXfilms

Daniel Isn’t Real
Horror thriller with Patrick Schwarzenegger, Miles Robbins, Sasha Lane, Hannah Marks, Mary Stuart Masterson. Written by Brian DeLeeuw, Adam Egypt Mortimer. Directed by Mortimer. Samuel Goldwyn Films

Good Posture
Comedy with Emily Mortimer, Grace Van Patten, Timm Sharp, John Early, Gary Richardson, Ebon Moss Bachrach, Nat Wolff, Norbert Leo Butz, Condola Rashad. Written and directed by Dolly Wells. Ammo Content

Grand Isle
Action thriller with Nicolas Cage, Kelsey Grammer, Luke Benward, KaDee Strickland. Directed by Stephen S. Campanelli. Screen Media

I See You
Crime thriller with Helen Hunt, Jon Tenney, Judah Lewis, Owen Teague, Libe Barer, Greg Alan Williams, Erika Alexander, Allison King. Written by Devon Graye. Directed by Adam Randall. Saban Films

In Fabric
Horror/dark comedy with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Gwendoline Christie, Sidse Babett Knudsen. Written and directed by Peter Strickland. A24

Knives and Skin
Horror thriller with Marika Engelhardt, Audrey Francis, Tim Hopper. Written and directed by Jennifer Reeder. IFC Midnight

Little Joe
A plant breeder brings home a special flower developed for its healing powers, unaware of its potentially dark nature. With Emily Beecham, Ben Whishaw. Directed by Jessica Hausner. Magnolia Pictures

The Mandela Effect
Sci-fi thriller with Charlie Hofheimer, Aleksa Palladino, Robin Lord Taylor. Written by David Guy Levy, Steffen Schlachtenhaufen. Directed by Levy. Gravitas Ventures

A Million Little Things
Surviving a plane crash forces an addict into rehab. With Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Odessa Young, Giovanni Ribisi, Juliette Lewis, Charlie Hunnam, Dash Mihok, Charles Parnell, Ryan Hurst, David Dastmalchian, Tom Amandes. Written by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Sam Taylor-Johnson, based on the book by James Frey. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. Momentum Pictures

Most Likely to Succeed
Documentary follows four high school seniors over the next decade of their lives. Featuring Peter Hayes, Sarah Kaiser-Cross, Quidrela “Quay” Lewis, Charles “Disco” Rider. Directed by Pamela Littky. Level 33

A New Christmas
Drama with Prashantt Guptha, Preeti Gupta, Grace Wacuka. Written by Travis Hodgkins. Directed by Dani Tenenbaum. Cinedigm

Playmobil: The Movie

A sister and brother join a British secret agent to help stop a global conspiracy in this computer-animated action comedy based on the kids’ toy line. With the voices of Daniel Radcliffe, Anya Taylor Joy, Meghan Trainor, Kenan Thompson, Adam Lambert, Jim Gaffigan, Gabriel Bateman. Written by Blaise Hemingway, Greg Erb, Jason Oremland; story by Lino DiSalvo. Directed by DiSalvo. STXfilms

Portrait of a Lady on Fire
A painter and her subject, an unhappy bride-to-be, fall in love in 18th-century France. With Adèle Haenel, Noémie Merlant. Written and directed by Céline Sciamma. Neon

63 Up
The latest installment of Michael Apted’s “Up” documentary series on a cohort of British schoolchildren starting in 1964, and continuing to check in with them every seven years. BritBox

Trauma Center
Action thriller with Bruce Willis, Nicky Whelan, Steven Guttenberg. Directed by Matt Eskandari. Lionsgate

The Wolf Hour
Dramatic thriller with Naomi Watts, Jennifer Ehle, Emory Cohen, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Jeremy Bobb, Brennan Brown. Written and directed by Alistair Banks Griffin. Brainstorm Media

Dec. 13

Black Christmas
Director Sophia Takal updates the 1974 holiday horror classic as sorority sisters battle a black-masked stalker. With Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O’Grady, Caleb Eberhardt, Simon Mead, Cary Elwes. Written by Takal, April Wolfe. Universal

Bombshell

Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie star as the women who toppled Fox News czar Roger Ailes. With John Lithgow, Allison Janney, Connie Britton, Kate McKinnon. Written by Charles Randolph. Directed by Jay Roach. Lionsgate

Code 8
Sci-fi with Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Greg Bryk, Kari Matchett, Sung Kang. Written by Chris Paré. Directed by Jeff Chan. Vertical Entertainment

Cunningham
Documentary tracks the innovative career of choreographer Merce Cunningham. Directed by Alla Kovgan. Magnolia Pictures

The Death & Life of John F. Donovan
An actor recalls the letters he exchanged with a long-dead American television star. With Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Jacob Tremblay, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Thandie Newton, Ben Schnetzer, Emily Hampshire, Sarah Gadon. Written by Xavier Dolan, Jacob Tierney. Directed by Xavier Dolan. Momentum Pictures

The Disappearance of My Mother
Writer-director Beniamino Barrese profiles his reclusive mother, 1960s-era supermodel turned feminist activist Benedetta Barzini. In English and Italian with English subtitles. Kino Lorber

Don’t Be a Dick About It
Maryland siblings Peter and Matthew learn the trials and tribulations of brotherhood over the course of one summer in this documentary. Directed by Ben Mullinkosson. Oscilloscope Laboratories

Hell on the Border
Action western with David Gyashi, Frank Grillo, Ron Perlman. Directed by Wes Miller. Lionsgate

A Hidden Life

An Austrian farmer refuses to fight for the Nazis during World War II. With August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Maria Simon, Tobias Moretti, Bruno Ganz, Matthias Schoenaerts, Karin Neuhäuser, Ulrich Matthes. Written and directed by Terrence Malick. Fox Searchlight

Jumanji: The Next Level

Danny Glover and Danny DeVito join Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan in this sequel to the 2017 action adventure hit. With Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, Alex Wolff. Written by Jake Kasdan, Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg. Directed by Kasdan. Columbia Pictures

Midnight Family
Documentary on the challenges of a family-run private ambulance service in Mexico City. Directed by Luke Lorentzen. 1091

Mob Town
Crime thriller with David Arquette, Jennifer Esposito, Danny A. Abeckaser, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, PJ Byrne. Written by Jon Carlo and Joe Gilford. Directed by Danny A. Abeckaser. Saban Films

Rabid
Horror thriller with Laura Vandervoort, Benjamin Hollingsworth and Phil Brooks. Written by the Soska Sisters, John Serge. Directed by the Soska Sisters. Shout! Studios

Richard Jewell

Clint Eastwood directs this drama about the man accused of the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Park bombing. With Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Oliva Wilde, Paul Walter Hauser. Written by Billy Ray, based on an article by Marie Brenner. Warner Bros.

Seberg
American actress Jean Seberg is targeted by the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program because of her political and romantic involvement with civil rights activist Hakim Jamal. With Kristen Stewart, Anthony Mackie, Jack O’Connell, Margaret Qualley, Zazie Beetz, Vince Vaughn. Written by Joe Shrapnel, Anna Waterhouse. Directed by Benedict Andrews. Amazon Studios

6 Underground

Ryan Reynolds leads a team of skilled heroes willing to erase their existence to make the world a better place. With Mélanie Laurent, Corey Hawkins, Adria Arjona, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Ben Hardy, Lior Raz, Payman Maadi, Dave Franco. Written by Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese. Directed by Michael Bay. Netflix

Uncut Gems

Adam Sandler stars as a desperate New York City jeweler juggling numerous deals in this crime thriller. With Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, Eric Bogosian, Judd Hirsch. Written by Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, Ronald Bronstein. Directed by the Safdies. A24

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael
Documentary on the longtime firebrand film critic of the New Yorker. Featuring Alec Baldwin, Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell, Francis Ford Coppola; with Sarah Jessica Parker as the voice of Kael. Directed by Rob Garver. Juno Films

Dec. 20

Cats
The long-awaited film version of the 1981 blockbuster musical arrives with an all-star cast of felines singing and dancing in a wide range of styles from ballet to tap and hip-hop. With James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, Francesca Hayward. Written by Lee Hall, Tom Hooper, based on T.S. Eliot’s poetry and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Directed by Hooper. Universal

Invisible Life
Two sisters separated by their father in 1950 Rio de Janeiro seek their dreams and hope to reunite one day. With Fernanda Montenegro, Carol Duarte, Gregório Duvivier. Written by Karim Aïnouz, Murilo Hauser, Inés Bortagaray. Directed by Karim Aïnouz. Amazon Studios

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Forty-two years after “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” first appeared on movie screens, the ninth episode brings the space saga to its conclusion. With Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong’o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams. Written by J.J. Abrams, Chris Terrio. Directed by Abrams. Walt Disney Pictures

Dec. 25

Just Mercy

Michael B. Jordan stars as attorney Bryan Stevenson who fights for justice for the wrongly condemned. With Brie Larson, Jamie Foxx, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Karan Kendrick. Written by Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham, based on the book by Stevenson. Directed by Cretton. Warner Bros.

Little Women
Writer-director Greta Gerwig adapts Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel about the four determined March sisters. With Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Louis Garrel, Tracy Letts, James Norton, Bob Odenkirk. Columbia Pictures

1917

Two young British soldiers must cross enemy lines during World War I to stop an enemy attack. With George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch. Written by Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Directed by Mendes. Universal

The Song of Names
In 1951, a Polish pianist disappears before his London debut; four decades later, his “brother,” whose family took him in during the war, searches for him. With Tim Roth, Clive Owen, Catherine McCormack, Magdalena Cielecka, Eddie Izzard, Saul Rubinek, Marina Hambro. Written by Jeffrey Caine, based on Norman Lebrecht’s novel. Directed by François Girard. Sony Pictures Classics

Spies in Disguise
A secret agent transforms into a pigeon with the help of a nerdy scientist in this animated comedy adventure. With voices of Will Smith, Tom Holland, Rashida Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Reba McEntire, Rachel Brosnahan, Karen Gillan, DJ Khaled, Masi Oka. Based on a short film by Lucas Martell. Directed by Troy Quane, Nick Bruno. 20th Century Fox

Dec. 27

Clemency

A weary prison warden makes a connection with an inmate scheduled for execution. With Alfre Woodard, Aldis Hodge, Wendell Price, Richard Schiff, Danielle Brooks. Written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu. Neon

Jan. 3

The Grudge
Producer Sam Raimi delivers the latest incarnation based on Takashi Shimizu’s 2002 horror staple. With Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye, Jacki Weaver. Written and directed by Nicolas Pesce; story by Pesce and Jeff Buhler. Screen Gems

Three Christs
An empathetic psychiatrist treats three men suffering from schizophrenia in 1959 Michaigan. With Richard Gere, Peter Dinklage, Walton Goggins, Bradley Whitford, Charlotte Hope, Julianna Margulies. Written by Jon Avnet, Eric Nazarian. Directed by Avnet. IFC Films

Jan. 10

Afterward
Jerusalem-born trauma expert Ofra Bloch works toward reconciliation by engaging with damaging historic forces and present-day anti-Semitism and fascism in this documentary. Written and directed by Bloch. 1091

Inherit the Viper
Action thriller with Josh Hartnett, Margarita Levieva, Owen Teague, Valerie Curry, Chandler Riggs, Brad William Henke, Tara Buck, Dash Mihok, Bruce Dern. Written by Andrew Crabtree. Directed by Anthony Jerjen. Lionsgate

Like a Boss
Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne stars as cosmetics entrepreneurs whose financially shaky business is targeted for a buyout by beauty tycoon Salma Hayek. With Billy Porter, Jennifer Coolidge, Ari Graynor, Natasha Rothwell, Jessica St. Clair, Karan Soni. Written by Sam Pitman, Adam Cole-Kelly; story by Pitman. Cole-Kelly, Danielle Sanchez-Witzel. Directed by Miguel Arteta. Paramount

My Spy
Dave Bautista stars as a CIA operative who becomes a reluctant espionage mentor to a 9-year-old girl. With Kristen Schaal, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Chloe Coleman, Ken Jeong. Written by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber. Directed by Peter Segal. STXfilms

Underwater
Subaquatic researchers are terrorized by sea creatures after an earthquake traps them on the ocean floor. With Kristen Stewart, T.J. Miller, Jessica Henwick, Vincent Cassel, John Gallagher Jr., Mamoudou Athie, Gunner Wright. Written by Brian Duffield, Adam Cozad, story by Duffield. Directed by William Eubank. 20th Century Fox

Jan. 17

Bad Boys for Life

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reunite for one last go-round as Miami narcotics detectives. With Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Paola Nunez, Kate Del Castillo, Nicky Jam, Joe Pantoliano. Written by Joe Carnahan and Chris Bremner. Directed by Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah. Columbia Pictures

Disturbing the Peace
Action thriller with Guy Pearce, Devon Sawa, Kelly Greyson, Michael Sirow, Barbie Blank, Jacob Grodnik, Michael Bellisario, Dwayne Cameron, Elle E. Wallace, Jay Willick, Veralyn Venezio, John Lewis. Written by Chuck Hustmyer. Directed by York Alec Shackleton. Momentum Pictures

Dolittle
Robert Downey Jr. headlines as the veterinarian who can talk to animals. With Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Jessie Buckley. Directed by Stephen Gaghan, based on “Doctor Dolittle” by Hugh Lofting. Universal

Intrigo: Death of an Author
Suspense thriller with Ben Kingsley, Benno Furmann, Tuva Novotny. Written by Daniel Alfredson, Birgitta Bongenhielm, based on the novel by Håkan Nesser. Directed by Alfredson. Lionsgate

Weathering With You
After running away to Tokyo and feeling miserable, a teenager meets a girl who literally bring him blue skies in this animated fantasy. Written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. GKids

Happy Halloween. We have a ton of stuff that will soothe you, not scare you. We’ll teach you how to become an Instagram star, tell you where to catch the first L.A. visit of the legendary Polar Express, share some good news about Global Entry and explain why you should pay attention to your intuition in the End paper, which, not surprisingly, comes at the very end.

All of this plus Vegas’ hottest show and a how-to on getting a cab, Uber or Lyft to take you safely home from LAX. Let’s jump on our broomsticks, and… away.

Picture yourself as a great photographer

“I do consider myself an amateur photographer,” L.A. Times staff writer Christopher Reynolds said of his photography, “maybe a ‘pramateur’ on my best days.” After some photo instruction from Javier Barras of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Reynolds created a veritable primer on the town’s photographic possibilities and a compendium of photo tips that offer good advice no matter where you are.

His main takeaway from Barras, Reynolds said, is “so simple that it’s almost embarrassing: Slow down.” Barras recommends using a tripod, not because “it stabilizes the camera (though that is valuable) but [because] it forces a photographer to think harder and more deliberately about what to include and exclude.

“Going forward, I plan on building a few slowing-down techniques into my routine so that whether I’m armed with a tripod or not, I don’t rush too quickly into snapping this and that.”

Viva Lost Vegas

Not Elvis. Tim Burton has staged the show at Vegas’ Neon Museum. The creator of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Corpse Bride” has pieces in this collection that bear his inimitable touch (“Spiral-Eyed Girl” and “Flying Saucers” among them). If you can’t make it for Halloween, the show continues through mid-February, Mary Forgione writes.

Train’s a-comin’!

And not just any train. The Polar Express will visit Southern California for the first time, offering a chance to head to the North Pole of Chris Van Allsburg’s well-loved children’s story. The train will depart from Fillmore and Perris; Mary Forgione provides other details.

LAX Global Entry office reopens

The Global Entry office at 11099 S. La Cienega Blvd. closed suddenly in June when personnel were sent to the border. That left Long Beach as the nearest available place to try to schedule the interview required of first-time applicants and, occasionally, some renewing card holders. Wait times grew longer, and applicants’ patience grew shorter. Now, more than four months later, the LAX Global Entry office has reopened and can schedule interviews.

Cruise ship? Cost savings

Perhaps you’ve always wanted to see Norway’s fjords or Alaska’s glaciers. Or maybe you’ve dreamed of seeing the gin-clear waters of the Caribbean or the sun-drenched Mediterranean. And then you say, “not happening,” not because you don’t love to travel but because all of us have budgets to consider. Rosemary McClure explains how a cruise can open the door to places that might otherwise be outside your budget.

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Uber, Lyft and taxi pickup has a new home at LAX

On Tuesday, LAX initiated its new LAX-it lot near Terminal 1, where you can catch your rideshare or flag a taxi. You can walk if you’re in a nearby terminal, or you can take a shuttle bus. Christopher Reynolds tells you how to navigate the new rules.

Happy high seas holiday

“Star Trek” alum and LGBTQ activist George Takei will be a guest lecturer on a holiday cruise aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. Takei will speak about his internment as a child during World War II — which he recounted in his memoir “They Called Us Enemy” and discussed at a recent Times Book Club event — and about rubbing elbows with a host of celebs.

Mendocino for the magic… and the meals

I’m not vegan, but I notice I feel much better when I eat only plant-based foods. That’s partly what attracted me to Dorothy O’Donnell’s Weekend Escape to a Mendocino resort where the cuisine is gourmet and vegan. Come for the grub, stay for what she describes as a “chill New Age vibe.”

What we’re reading

Nigel Richardson, writing for the Telegraph, poses this question: What is it with tourists who feel they must conquer things? Ricardson cites the rush to climb Uluru / Ayers Rock in Australia before the Oct. 26 deadline that will keep hikers off a place sacred to the Anangu people.

To Christopher Reynolds’ point in his photo tips story mentioned above­, don’t snap a picture without talking to the subject first­. In Kyoto, Japan, the penalty could be a fine of about $100, broadcaster NHK reports. Enough locals in the Gion district have complained of tourists taking geishas’ photos without permission and pulling at their kimonos that they’ve banned photography in its private alleys.

If you love Notre-Dame, you’ll be drawn to Ken Follett’s “Notre-Dame: A Short History of the Meaning of Cathedrals,” published this week. Even if you don’t give a whit about it, you may still be drawn to this short book, full of the kind of writing that has made Follett a best-selling author. His heartbreak as he watched the Notre-Dame burn April 15 is almost palpable; his description of Charles de Gaulle’s victorious march to the cathedral after Paris’ liberation is a study on how power is conferred … upon oneself.

What you’re reading, and maybe writing to

The Los Angeles Times. Thank you for relying on The Times for news about the ongoing wildfires. We hope you’ll subscribe because we report news that matters most to you. You can read more about subscriptions, and the free daily newsletter you can also receive, on the membership page.

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Finally, if there’s something you like or something you don’t about this newsletter (which a friend recently described to me as “chatty,” which I think might be a way of saying “blathering,” but you be the judge), please email [email protected]. We are always looking to learn, and readers are some of our best instructors.

End paper

“I just don’t think I can do this,” I told the fellow who was riding a Harley next to the one I was driving. We were warming up the bikes in preparation for an event at our national convention.

I was right, which isn’t often the case but was this time. Within seconds of saying that, I took a sharp turn and went down. Fortunately, I wasn’t going fast. The bike was fine, which was good because it wasn’t mine. I was mostly fine except for a black eye, ruined glasses, plenty of bruises and some road rash on my face. My pride, however, was in tatters, proving once again that it goeth before the fall.

That lesson about heeding your own voice, inner or outer? It’s a good one, especially for travelers. It’s true that sometimes we need to be braver than we think we are, but this wasn’t one of them. The bike was too big and heavy for me. I’m not quite as strong (or tall) as I was 20 years ago when I started riding. I knew all that. I just didn’t listen. The good news? Flab may be unattractive, but it proved an excellent protective coating.

Next time, deep breath, brain engaged, consequences imagined and weighed. Then decide. And maybe I’ll hit the right mixture of courage and cowardice before I hit the ground.

No matter where you are, travel safely and well, and we’ll be here to welcome you home, preferably in one piece.

If you’re renting a car in Las Vegas any time soon, be warned: The base rate might seem low, but taxes and fees may add a significant amount to your bill.

This warning comes from the rental car comparison site Autoslash.com, which did a state-by-state comparison earlier this year and concluded that Nevada had the highest rental car fees and taxes in the country. (Las Vegas, of course, is the rental car capital of the state.)

The priciest states for rental car fees in the Autoslash list were east of the Rocky Mountains.

But once you start comparing cities and states, it’s quickly clear that anywhere you rent a car, your bill deserves scrutiny.

Throughout the U.S., rental car prices rise and fall dramatically by the season and sometimes by the day.

“It’s important that you recheck the rate,” said Jonathan Weinberg, chief executive of Autoslash. “Just because you have the best rate today doesn’t mean you’ll have the best rate next week or next month.”

Also, no matter where you’re headed, the rental car company is likely to pitch you hard on insurance, toll coverage, prepaid refueling and other cost-boosting options. (That’s another conversation.)

Almost anywhere you go, you can count on a medley of local and state taxes and airport and other fees that many consumers think are levies by some government agency.

Many of those costs are government taxes. Legislators know it’s easier to extract money from visitors (who often rent cars) than from their constituents. And those taxes “are getting higher,” Weinberg said. “It’s basically a money grab by the municipalities.”

Every state, every city and every rental car company has its own way of labeling the dollars it extracts from consumers.

Some states, like Colorado, have sales tax and separate rental-car taxes.

Then there’s Alaska, which charges no sales tax but hits rental-car customers with a 10% surcharge.

Meanwhile, Oregon has neither sales nor rental car taxes. But that doesn’t mean your Portland trip next year will be a bargain bonanza. Multnomah County, which includes Portland, has a 17% rental car tax.

For anyone who wants to see which states have the highest taxes that specifically target rental car customers, the National Conference of State Legislators has been keeping track. Alaska, Nevada, Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Texas and Virginia are at the top of the list, all assessing 10% to 11.5%.

Once those state taxes get combined with city levies and other fees, the results can be daunting. Which brings us back to Nevada.

Autoslash’s tally of Nevada fees includes a 10% rental-car surcharge and a statewide sales tax of at least 6.85%. The study also noted an extra 2% levied by Clark and Washoe counties (which include Las Vegas and Reno, respectively). In Clark County there’s also 1.4% in sales taxes that Autoslash didn’t delve into.

If you rent a car for a base price of $100 in Las Vegas, expect $20.25 or more on your bill.

Among other states with the highest combined taxes and fees:

Minnesota: Taxes and fees add up to more than 18% (9.2% statewide rental car surcharge, 6.875% in state sales tax and local taxes that can add up to 2%).

Arkansas: Taxes and fees amount to 16.5% (6.5% sales tax and 10% rental car surcharge).

District of Columbia: Taxes and fees add up to 16% (5.75% sales tax and 10.25% rental car surcharge).

And then there are those fees

But there’s more to worry about than just government taxes and surcharges. Many rental car companies come up with their own added “fee” categories to defray operational expenses rather than just including those costs in their advertised rates. It makes their base prices look lower. (It’s a cousin of the hotel resort fee, now the subject of lawsuits against Hilton and Marriott.)

For a closer look at how that can work — and how costly and confusing it can be — let’s go to Denver International Airport.

There, the city and state sales taxes add up to 8.31%. When I consulted Avis for a detailed price quote, the website and a reservationist gave me these numbers: 13.25% in taxes, joined by the following array of fees and charges, including an 11.1% concession recovery fee, a vehicle license fee of 38 cents a day, a customer facility charge of $2.15 a day and a Colorado road safety fee of $2 a day.

Autoslash’s Weinberg calls these categories “sleight of hand” by the rental car companies. The concession recovery fee is basically to cover the company’s rent at the airport, he said, adding that when you see an “energy recovery” fee, that’s probably the utility bill.

They add up. If you rent a car in Denver for four days at a base price of $75 a day, your $300 becomes $401.12.

A salve plus savings

There is, however, a sour sort of consolation for Californians renting cars out of state: Every other state has substantially lower gas prices than California, so your service station stops will feel like a bargain.

This is because California assesses more taxes — 56 cents per gallon — and because of supply and demand. On Monday, AAA reported California’s average regular gas price at $4.06 gallon, followed by Hawaii ($3.66) and Nevada ($3.39). The rest of the country was spread between $2.24 (Louisiana) and $3.43 (Washington state).

Here are a few ways to keep your rental car bill down:

• Rent the smallest car you can get away with and don’t let the agent upsell you into a larger vehicle or more insurance than you need.

• Use off-airport companies when you can. That way, you escape airport concession fees.

• Compare rates using a one-stop site such as Autoslash.com, Costcotravel.com, Kayak (a travel aggregator) or Travelocity (an online travel agency).

• Think hard about ride-share, taxi and public transit options, especially if you’re headed to a big city where parking is expensive.

• Book your rental car as part of a package with your airfare or hotel. (I recently did that through Expedia on a Baja California trip and wound up paying a base rate of $8 a day for a Nissan Sentra from Enterprise.)

• Look for coupon codes for rental car companies. (Google “coupon codes” and “rental cars.”)

Have a travel problem, question or dilemma? Write to [email protected]. We regret we cannot answer every inquiry.

Santa Fe, N.M., has many charms: its historic downtown plaza, Native American crafts and jewelry, centuries-old churches, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and the Canyon Road arts district. My husband and I visited those spots but also spent a fair amount of time exploring the Railyard District, Santa Fe’s hippest neighborhood, repurposed and expanded into an invigorating mix of art galleries, restaurants, brewpubs, movie theater and more. The adjacent Railyard Park is an ideal place to picnic, enjoy public art and catch one of many free events offered throughout the year. The tab: We spent $200 for a night at the Santa Fe Motel & Inn and $230 for two nights at the Sage Inn & Suites, about $250 for meals and drinks, and $26 for museum admission.

THE BED

We played a game of musical motels on a three-day weekend. Both were adjacent to the Railyard District. The first night, we splurged at the lovely Santa Fe Motel & Inn. Our Southwestern-style casita was nicely furnished and had a gas fireplace, full kitchen, washer and dryer, front yard and a private patio. To balance the splurge, we said goodbye to our spacious hacienda and hello to a small but nicely decorated room at the Sage Inn & Suites for two nights. It delivered great value; the lobby, bar and breakfast room had been recently renovated, and it offered a free buffet breakfast and free hourly shuttle to downtown Santa Fe.

THE MEAL

Santa Fe has several fine restaurants serving tasty New Mexican cuisine, but we had a hankering for ribs and Cowgirl BBQ was calling. Cowgirl, at the tip of the Railyard District and a short walk from the Santa Fe Motel, serves music nightly along with good and messy barbecue chicken, brisket and ribs with baked beans, potato salad and coleslaw. For purists, the eclectic menu has Southwestern favorites as well. Second Street Brewery at the Railyard, near the Sage Inn, was a great find for a late dinner after a full day of sightseeing. We had refreshing brews (kolsch, pale ale) and split fish and chips and homemade sausages with house-made mustard and sauerkraut from a specials menu. We ate there again, this time for lunch, ordering the Original Alien Burger, a green chile cheeseburger that packed a punch.

THE FIND

The goal: Sample some margaritas using the Margarita Trail list of specialty margaritas around town as a guide. The one that rang the bell for me was the Bell Ringer Margarita (jalapeño tequila) at the Bell Tower, a rooftop bar with city and mountain views at La Fonda on the Plaza hotel. But I thought the simple tequila flights at Cowgirl BBQ were the best way to drink tequila. On the non-drinking trail, there’s a great Saturday farmers market in the Railyard District where you’ll find farm-fresh produce, meat, eggs, honey, bakery goodies, handmade crafts and fresh-cut flowers.

THE LESSON LEARNED

You don’t need to rent a car unless you want to. You can fly into Albuquerque and take the New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter train to Santa Fe, which will drop you off in the heart of the Railyard District.

Santa Fe Motel & Inn, 510 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe; (505) 930-5002, santafemotel.com. Limited wheelchair accessibility.

Sage Inn & Suites, 725 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe; (505) 982-5952, santafesageinn.com. Four wheelchair-accessible rooms.

Cowgirl BBQ, 319 S. Guadalupe St., Santa Fe; (505) 982-2565, cowgirlsantafe.com. Wheelchair accessible from Aztec Street.

Second Street Brewery at the Railyard, 1607 Paseo de Peralta, No. 10, Santa Fe; (505) 989-3278, secondstreetbrewery.com/the-railyard. Wheelchair accessible.

Margarita Trail, margaritatrail.com

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La Fonda on the Plaza, 100 E. San Francisco St., Santa Fe; (505) 982-5511, bit.ly/belltowerbar

Rail Runner Express, riometro.org