MOVIES IN BRIEF »

■ The following capsule reviews of recent releases, long runs and revivals come from various wire services, as noted:

RATINGS: G — Suitable for all ages. PG — Parental guidance recommended. PG-13 — Parental guidance strongly suggested. R — Restricted; anyone under 18 must be accompanied by adult. NC-17

— No children under 17.

★★★★ Excellent ★★★ Good

★★ Fair ★ Poor

Alita: Battle Angel

Action. A cyborg combats deadly forces while trying to uncover the truth behind her mysterious past. No one can say the film is not a big swing for director Robert Rodriguez — it truly goes for it, and does so with jaw-dropping vim and vigor. But does it connect? Somewhat. Second question — who is this massive $200 million blockbuster film for? It’s unclear, as the film is incredibly violent, with a main character that espouses a decidedly innocent worldview. As a director, Rodriguez brings a go-forbroke sense of world-building and wildly fantastical style that can be intoxicating, but the film is failed by the weak script co-written by Cameron, Rodriguez and Laeta Kalogridis. Character motivations are sloppy, storylines dropped, details muddy. (PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language) (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service)

Capernaum

Drama. While serving a five-year sentence for a violent crime, a 12-yearold boy sues his parents for neglect. Lebanon’s official Oscar entry for best foreign film. Nadine Labaki’s hectic and heartbreaking new film, borrows its name from an ancient city condemned to hell, according to the Book of Matthew, by Jesus himself. Its crowded streets and makeshift dwellings hold endless desperation, but the movie is too busy, too angry and too absorbing — too exciting, you might say — to succumb to despair. The sources of its remarkable energy are Labaki’s curiosity and the charisma of her young star, Zain al Rafeea. That poverty and cruelty fail to utterly overwhelm kindness and fellow feeling is testament to the strength of Labaki’s humanist convictions and also to her instincts as a storyteller. (R for language and some drug material) (A.O. Scott, New York Times)

Cold Pursuit

Thriller. A snowplow driver (Liam Neeson) seeks revenge against the drug dealers he thinks killed his son. (R for strong violence, drug material, and some language including sexual references)

Cold War

Drama. In the 1950s, a music director falls in love with a singer and tries to persuade her to flee communist Poland for France. Poland’s entry for the best foreign language Oscar, it’s also up for best director and cinematography. Polish actress Joanna Kulig has been waiting for years to show what she can do, and in “Cold War” she gets the chance. She takes the role of a lifetime between her teeth, chomps on it, pounds it into the ground and never lets go for a second. (R for some sexual content, nudity and language) ★★★★ (M.L.)

Glass

Thriller. A security guard uses his supernatural abilities to track a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities, all while another man pulls the strings. (PG13 for violence including some bloody images, thematic elements, and language) Zero stars Lowest rating (M.L.)

Green Book

Drama. A working-class Italian-ameridrama. A working-class Italian-american bouncer (Viggo Mortensen) becomes the driver of an African-american classical pianist (Mahershala Ali) on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South. (PG-13 for thematic content, language including racial epithets, smoking, some violence and suggestive material) ★★★★ (M.L.)

Happy Death Day 2U

Horror. Tree Gelbman discovers that dying over and over was surprisingly easier than the dangers that lie ahead in this sequel. (PG-13 for violence, language, sexual material and thematic elements)

Isn’t It Romantic

Comedy. A young woman (Rebel Wilson) disenchanted with love mysteriously finds herself trapped inside a romantic comedy. Also stars Liam Hemsworth. “Isn’t It Romantic” isn’t romantic, and it isn’t funny. It’s a bad idea stretched to feature length, a gimmick picture that never gets past its gimmick and never grows into something better. Rebel Wilson, who has been fairly hilarious in other movies, has nothing to do but stand there and react. Every other character gets to be funny or to try, while Wilson, the comedienne around whom the entire movie is based, can’t buy a laugh. So it’s just bad. How bad? It’s bad enough that they have no way to end the movie on an uplift, so they resort to having the entire cast sing Madonna’s “Respect Yourself” on the streets of New York. (PG-13 for language, some sexual material, and a brief drug reference) ★ (M.L.)

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

Animated. Five years after everything was awesome, the world is facing a new threat: LEGO DUPLO invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than they can rebuild. “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” has lost the ability to ambush its audience, and that accounts for much of the slight decline in quality. But the filmmakers understand what made the first movie work, and endeavor to give us a lot more of that. The sequel does nothing to elevate the form — and yet it doesn’t disappoint. (PG for some rude humor) ★★★ (P.H.)

On the Basis of Sex

Drama. The story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her struggles for equal rights and what she had to overcome in order to become a U.S. Supreme Court justice. Like Ruth Bader Ginsburg herself, the movie about her life, “On the Basis of Sex,” sneaks up slowly, growing steadily in estimation, until a point is reached, not at the end but well into the proceedings, that it’s all downright inspiring. Even before the finish, it’s goosebumps all around. (PG-13 for some language and suggestive content) ★★★ (M.L.)

Oscar-nominated Shorts

All of the 2018 short films vying for the live action and animated Oscars. Four of the five Oscar-nominated live action short films deal with children and how they bear the sins of the generation who gave them life. The future may look grim in these four shorts, but at least the next generation will have some great actors. All of the children in these shorts are excellent. The most widely seen animated short is Pixar’s “Bao,” Domee Shi’s delightful film of a Chinese-canadian woman who gets a second chance at motherhood when her dumpling comes to life. The eight-minute short, the first in the 32-year history of the studio to be directed by a woman, was attached to the beginning of Pixar’s summer feature “Incredibles 2.” (NR) (G. Allen Johnson, Hearst Newspapers)

The Prodigy

Horror. A mother concerned about her young son’s disturbing behavior thinks something supernatural may be affecting him. (R for violence, disturbing and bloody images, a sexual reference and brief graphic nudity)

Stan & Ollie

Drama. Laurel and Hardy (Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly), the world’s most famous comedy duo, attempt to reignite their film careers as they embark on what becomes their swan song — a grueling theater tour of post-war Britain. “Stan & Ollie” is a gentle movie with a sense of the ephemeral nature of life, the inevitability of regret, and the bittersweetness of looking back on past happiness. (PG for some language, and for smoking) ★★★★ (M.L.)

The Upside

Comedy. A wealthy man (Bryan Cranston) with quadriplegia forms a relationshiop with an unemployed man (Kevin Hart) with a criminal record who’s hired to help him. (PG-13 for suggestive content and drug use) ★★★ (M.L.)

What Men Want

Comedy. A woman (Taraji P. Henson) is boxed out by the male sports agents in her profession, but gains an unexpected edge over them when she develops the ability to hear men’s thoughts. (R for language and sexual content throughout, and some drug material) ★★ (P.H.)