Movie Listings for Aug. 30-Sept. Ratings and running times are in parentheses; foreign films have English subtitles. Full reviews of all current releases: nytimes.com/movies. ★ "The Act of Killing" (No rating, 1:55) In Joshua Oppenheimer's intensely disturbing documentary, veterans of Indonesian death squads active during the anti-communist slaughter of the mid-60s, re-enact their crimes with costumes, makeup and a shocking lack of remorse. A. O. Scott "Ain't Them Bodies Saints" (No rating, 1:45) A Texas outlaw (Casey Affleck), the mother of his child (Rooney Mara) and a kindly sheriff's deputy (Ben Foster) are the main players in David Lowery's meticulous, atmospheric Western noir, which subordinates the nasty, pulpy implications of the material in a hushed, solemn and unconvincing atmosphere. Scott "Austenland" (PG-13, 1:30) Opting for crass over clever and slapstick over satire, this juvenile comedy from Jerusha Hess follows a mousy Jane Austen obsessive (Keri Russell) to an English theme park without once pausing to wonder why a 21st-century woman would yearn for the unyielding strictures of 19th-century love. Jeannette Catsoulis ★ "Before Midnight" (R, 1:48) Eighteen years after their encounter on a Vienna-bound train in "Before Sunrise," Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) are vacationing in Greece, nearly a decade into a relationship that has produced twin daughters and a few simmering conflicts. In the course of an afternoon and evening, they talk, eat, argue and explore, once again, the mysteries of time and the paradoxes of love. This episode, the third of Richard Linklater's films about Jesse and Celine, is darker and rougher than its predecessors, and also piercing, funny and close to perfect. ★ "Blackfish" (PG-13, 1:23) Through the rueful voices of former trainers, Gabriela Cowperthwaite's delicately lacerating documentary uses the tragic tale of a single whale and his human victims as the backbone of a hypercritical investigation into the marine-park giant, SeaWorld Entertainment. Catsoulis ★ "Blue Jasmine" (PG-13, 1:38) A brilliant, shattering Cate Blanchett plays a wealthy woman brought devastatingly low - think of Ruth Madoff by way of Blanche DuBois - in Woody Allen's most sustained and satisfying film since "Match Point." The excellent, characteristically Allen-eclectic cast includes Alec Baldwin, Sally Hawkins, Louis C.K., Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Dice Clay, Peter Sarsgaard and Michael Stuhlbarg. Manohla Dargis "The Canyons" (No rating, 1:39) Directed by Paul Schrader, written by Bret Easton Ellis and starring Lindsay Lohan, this dispiriting, unpleasurable drama about some very bad people scheming, sleeping around and sometimes making movies in Los Angeles isn't remotely good by conventional cinematic standards. Yet while Mr. Schrader isn't always in control of his material or performers, his seriousness helps give the movie a crude integrity. Dargis "Chennai Express" (No rating, 2:21, in Hindi) Rohit Shetty's Bollywood adventure-comedy has lush, imaginative visuals and two big stars - Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone - but too-thin characters and too little story. The movie picks up in its final minutes, as sentiment takes over from clowning. "Closed Circuit" (R, 1:36) This slick, tasty slice of nonsense from Britain, directed by John Crowley from a script by Steve Knight, comes soaked in gunmetal blue and paranoia. Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall play former lovers and London-area lawyers who have been charged with defending an accused terrorist amid reams of paperwork, courtroom dates and escalating genre complications. It's not John le Carré but it keeps you watching. ★ "The Conjuring" (R, 1:52) This fantastically effective haunted-house movie directed by James Wan purports to tell a true 1970s story about a family whose pastoral dream became a nightmare soon after they moved into a farmhouse. Think Amityville, but in Rhode Island. The very good cast includes Lili Taylor, Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga and Ron Livingston. "Cutie and the Boxer" (R, 1:22) Zachary Heinzerling's documentary examines the work and marriage of Ushio and Noriko Shinohara, Japanese artists who have lived together in New York for 40 years. The couple's relationship comes alive in all its dimensions of tenderness, rivalry and resentment. "Despicable Me 2" (PG, 1:38) "Despicable Me 2" tries so hard to double your pleasure that it emerges from the test kitchen slightly burned. Like the jams and jellies that its reformed main character, Gru, is making in his new line of work, it combines too many flavors along with extra sugar. Once again, the lesson, rarely learned by blockbuster sequels - that more is not necessarily better - is forgotten. Stephen Holden "Disney's Planes" (PG, 1:31) This animated tale about a crop duster that competes in a race against much sleeker, more powerful airplanes is in the "Cars" lineage, but it tries to duplicate the success of those movies through imitation more than innovation. Even youngsters might feel as if they've seen this story before.