Movies Update: T.G.I.F.F.
“Freakier Friday” and “Weapons” storm theaters near you.
Movies Update
August 8, 2025

Hey, movie fans!

If you’re looking to have a freaky Friday in theaters, check out “Freakier Friday,” the Lindsay Lohan-Jamie Lee Curtis body swap sequel to their 2003 comedy. But if you’re looking for an even freakier Friday consider “Weapons,” the twisty new horror film from the writer-director of “Barbarian,” Zach Cregger.

In her review of “Freakier Friday,” Alissa Wilkinson appreciated elements of the movie for nostalgia’s sake, and thinks fans of the previous film will, too. But, she wrote, by this movie’s midpoint, the narrative “begins to stutter, set piece after set piece, caper after caper, loping toward the inevitable moment of collision and resolution, without always maintaining the narrative tension to keep things interesting.” (You can read a round table interview with the body-swapping cast here, plus a chat with one of the film’s heartthrobs, Chad Michael Murray, here.)

And in her review of “Weapons,” Manohla Dargis wrote that the director “winds you up, keeps you on edge, calms you down only to wind you up again.” But, she also wrote, “narrative delay is central to suspense, though it can be frustrating when you feel like you’re being strung along (and along) and your anticipation isn’t satisfyingly rewarded.”

Enjoy your Friday, and enjoy the movies!

CRITICS’ PICKS

In an animated image, a giant hot dog sculpture sits atop a small red-and-white checkered hot-dog stand with a sign that says labeled “World’s Largest Hot Dog.” Ketchup and mustard bottle-shaped restrooms are nearby, and two cars are parked on the street near the stand. Electrical wires and a pink sky are in the background.

Glanderco

Critic’s Pick

‘Boys Go to Jupiter’ Review: A Florida Project

In the artist Julian Glander’s curiously creative animated comedy, a teenage food delivery courier traverses a Floridian suburb that suggests a Richard Scarry town on acid.

By Natalia Winkelman

ANATOMY OF A SCENE

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Warner Bros. Pictures

Anatomy of a Scene

Watch Julia Garner Visit a Creepy Home in ‘Weapons’

The writer-director, Zach Cregger, narrates a sequence from his twisty horror film.

By Mekado Murphy

MOVIE REVIEWS

A newspaper boy holds a copy of L’Aurore that reads “J’Accuse …!”

Film Forum

‘An Officer and a Spy’ Review: The Dreyfus Affair as an Allegory

Six years after its French release, the movie is screening in New York. It’s the first Roman Polanski movie to open in the U.S. since 2014.

By Manohla Dargis

Two screaming men hold the steering wheel of a cargo van.

Amazon MGM Studios

‘The Pickup’ Review: Endless Car Chases to Nowhere

In this Amazon Prime Video action-comedy, Keke Palmer hijacks an armored truck driven by Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson.

By Glenn Kenny

A woman in an orange-red head scarf and a flag painted on her cheek looks joyful amid a crowd.

Watermelon Pictures

Documentary Lens

‘Sudan, Remember Us’: An Intimate Portrait of Activists in an Uprising

Hind Meddeb followed young people in Khartoum, focusing on their hopes and fears to create a kind of living record of history.

By Alissa Wilkinson

Four children standing on a school bus, looking off camera.

Angel Studios

‘Sketch’ Review: Creative Doldrums

The disturbing drawings of a grieving child come to life in this so-so children’s horror movie.

By Ben Kenigsberg

A person wearing a large, eerie mask with distorted features and a black hood leans toward the camera. In the background is a bed with pink bedding and string lights on the headboard.

Saban Films

‘Strange Harvest’ Review: Staged Blood

A serial killer named Mr. Shiny gets the true-crime treatment in Stuart Ortiz’s disturbing faux documentary.

By Erik Piepenburg

Two men stand face to face against a plain background; one has curly dark hair, a mustache, sunglasses and a red robe, while the other has shaggy brown hair and wears a patterned shirt. Light flares at the bottom of the image.

Marten Tedin/Drafthouse Films

‘Ebony & Ivory’ Review: Imperfect Harmony

This anti-comedy from the writer-director Jim Hosking is a singularly annoying and abrasive experience.

By Calum Marsh

Three blonde women sit at a dinner table, looking offscreen.

Vertical

‘My Mother’s Wedding’ Review: Daddy Issues

In this directorial debut by Kristin Scott Thomas, three sisters reunite to celebrate their mother’s third marriage.

By Beatrice Loayza

A black-and-white image of Jeff Buckley and his mother, Mary Guibert, who is wearing a flower in her hair.

Magnolia Pictures

‘It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley’ Review: A Singer’s Soul

This largely by-the-book documentary about the musician Jeff Buckley is most memorable for highlighting the earnest, sensitive soul behind the music.

By Brandon Yu

NEWS & FEATURES

Two women stand close together against a black background. The younger woman with long red hair wears a short black dress, while the older woman with gray hair in a red dress rests her head affectionately on the other's shoulder.

Q&A

Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis Make It an Even ‘Freakier Friday’

The two are joined by the actors Sophia Hammons and Julia Butters to talk about their sequel to the 2003 mother-daughter body swap comedy.

By Nadine Zylberberg and Ryan Pfluger

A man with blond hair in a light pink suit lounges casually in a bright blue armchair, holding a white rose up to his nose.

Q&A

Chad Michael Murray Is Trying to Make Good Choices

The former teen heartthrob is revisiting a formative role in “Freakier Friday,” but a lot has changed in 22 years, on- and offscreen.

By Ashley Spencer and Caroline Tompkins

Stanley Tucci, in a tuxedo and a long scarf, and Meryl Streep, in a red ball gown, stand on blue-carpeted steps and are surrounded by throngs wielding cameras.

TheStewartofNY/GC Images, via Getty Images

Critic’s Notebook

Will Watching ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Be as Enjoyable as Watching the Filming?

Shooting on the streets of New York has meant a very public experience of a movie that won’t be out for months. It has also set up a clash with anti-spoiler culture.

By Esther Zuckerman

In a film scene, a man in a suit bends over a man in a hospital bed. Around them hospital equipment and supplies can be seen.

Paramount Pictures

How to Craft a Dumb Joke That’s Actually Funny

The makers of the new “Naked Gun” said that four crucial steps were needed to land one complicated sight gag.

By Esther Zuckerman

Dennis Lim sits in a darkened, nearly empty movie theater.

Vincent Alban/The New York Times

Culture Diary

A Film Curator Keeps His Eyes on Screens, Then ‘Resets’ With Art

Over seven days, Dennis Lim, the artistic director of the New York Film Festival, balanced hours of movie watching with a MoMA visit and a trip to Italy.

By Elisabeth Vincentelli

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Photograph by Craig McDean. Styled by Imruh Asha