“THE DARK KNIGHT RISES”

Christopher Nolan has made a completely satisfying movie, one steeped enough in self-contained mythology to reward hard-core fans while giving less invested viewers a rousing, adroitly executed piece of popcorn entertainment. The film starts off with a nervy piece of midair showmanship in which the movie’s villain, a terrorist thug named Bane, hijacks a CIA plane. Bane makes almost immediately for Gotham City, where Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has been living in wounded seclusion for the past eight years, since he took the rap for killing a city hero. Of course, there’s a buried truth glancingly referred to in a weary speech delivered by police commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), who is attending a charity event on the grounds of Wayne Manor. Also in attendance: a mysterious brunette named Selina Kyle, who is played by Anne Hathaway and who proves to be the breakout star. “The Dark Knight Rises” ends on a self-important note that would be insufferable if Nolan and Bale hadn’t so clearly earned it.

“HOPE SPRINGS”

Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) have been married for 31 years and now, in their 60s, they sleep in separate bedrooms. In an effort to recharge the marriage, Kay arranges a visit to a famous therapist named Dr. Feld (Steve Carell). “Hope Springs” is funny mostly thanks to Jones, who plays Arnold with a pitch-perfect dose of bemusement, discomfort and long-simmering rage. But if Jones provides most of the comedy, he also embodies its most wrenching core. Streep is just as alert, although it’s possible to wish that her sweet, naive character had just one more layer. Carell delivers the most sensitive performance of his career, a blessedly un-mugging turn. If a quibble is to be had, it would be that it finds resolution in a too-swift, too-pat third act, which seems entirely out of keeping with its ethos of communicating honestly, no matter how difficult. Then again, this is a movie fully aware that just showing up is often more important than even the most cathartic conversation.

OUT THIS WEEK

“The Odd Life of Timothy Green”; “Beasts of the Southern Wild”; “Butter,” “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry,” “Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXV,” “The Adventures of Mark Twain Collector’s Edition,” “Unforgivable” (2011, France), “Brazil” (1985, Criterion Collection), “Purple Noon” (1960, Criterion Collection); “The Simpsons Season 15.”