Justin Chang

Tom Cruise returns as secret agent Ethan Hunt in "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1," the seventh movie in the long-running spy series and the first half of a two-parter that will conclude next year. In the movie, which Cruise also produced, Hunt and his fellow agents battle a mysterious new global threat. Our film critic Justin Chang has this review.

The new film "Joy Ride" is an R-rated road trip comedy about four Asian Americans traveling together in China. It's the first movie directed by Adele Lim, a co-writer on "Crazy Rich Asians," and the ensemble cast includes Stephanie Hsu, a recent supporting actress Oscar nominee for "Everything Everywhere All at Once."

If Asteroid City leaves us with anything, it's the idea that scientists and artists may have more in common than they appear. The desire to create a work of art, or to unlock the mysteries of the universe, spring from the same creative impulse.