‘Halloween,’ ‘Thunder Road,’ ‘Wildfire’ and more movie Picks for Oct. 19

Movie recommendations from critics Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan. In general release unless noted.

Colette Well-acted by Keira Knightley and Dominic West, Wash Westmoreland’s witty, spirited English-language biopic follows the great French writer Colette during her early marriage to a literary impresario who nurtured, exploited and ultimately betrayed her talent. (Justin Chang) R

First Man Reteaming with “La La Land” director Damien Chazelle, Ryan Gosling plays Neil Armstrong in a richly idiosyncratic space-race drama that thrills, moves and perplexes in roughly equal measure. (Justin Chang) PG-13

Halloween Jamie Lee Curtis makes a forceful return in David Gordon Green’s scary, propulsive sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 horror landmark that shrewdly pretends the various reboots and follow-ups never existed. (Justin Chang) R

The Kindergarten Teacher Sara Colangelo’s deft and intelligent remake of a 2014 Israeli drama stars a superb Maggie Gyllenhaal as a teacher confronted with the possibility that one of her 5-year-old students may be a literary genius. (Justin Chang) R Netflix

Private Life Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti give superb performances as a middle-aged couple struggling with fertility woes in Tamara Jenkins’ scalpel-sharp yet infinitely tender marital dramedy, which also features expert supporting turns by Kayli Carter and Molly Shannon. (Justin Chang) R Netflix

Searching A Bay Area dad (John Cho) looks for his missing daughter in this compelling and formally innovative thriller from first-time director Aneesh Chaganty, which unfolds entirely on the characters’ computer and phone screens. (Justin Chang) PG-13 Limited

The Sisters Brothers John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Riz Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal make superb company in French director Jacques Audiard’s English-language debut, a funny, sad, brutal western about outlaws and prospectors searching for gold and deliverance in 1850s Oregon. (Justin Chang) R

A Star Is Born No matter how many previous versions of “A Star Is Born” you’ve seen, the Bradley Cooper-Lady Gaga extravaganza about a star on the rise falling for a star on the way down should not be missed. (Kenneth Turan) R

Thunder Road Writer-director-star Jim Cummings is a triple threat in this savage, soulful and often indescribably funny first feature, in which he plays a straight-arrow Texas cop dealing with grief and disappointment. (Justin Chang) NR Limited

Wildlife Superb performances by Ed Oxenbould, Jake Gyllenhaal and a never-better Carey Mulligan power this drama about the disintegration of a marriage in 1960 Montana, directed with intelligence and deliberation by Paul Dano. (Justin Chang) PG-13 Limited

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