‘Oldboy’ eeeg

(Kerry Lengel) In Spike Lee’s remake of the ultraviolent South Korean thriller, Josh Brolin plays an alcoholic ad man out for revenge against the mystery man who imprisoned him for 20 years. While it has plenty of satisfying twists and shocks, its cartoonish tone blunts its emotional impact. (R — 104 minutes) N, P, S, V.

‘Philomena’ eeee

Judi Dench is outstanding as a woman who searches for her son, given up for adoption 50 years before. Steve Coogan, who co-wrote the script, is also quite good as the cynical journalist helping her. Director Stephen Frears successfully toes the line between humor and dark, dark drama. (PG-13 — 98 minutes) P, S.

‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ eeee

The sex scenes in Abdellatif Kechiche’s film have generated headlines, and they are graphic. The film also is too long. But don’t let that distract you from the great performances, particularly by Adele Exarchopoulos as a young woman coming of age in France. (NC-17 — 179 minutes) S.

‘The Book Thief’ eeeg

(Barbara VanDenburgh) The big-screen adaptation of Markus Zusak’s best-selling book, about a book-obsessed girl coming of age in Nazi Germany, is solid and well acted, and made especially moving thanks to marvelous performances by Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson. The film falls prey to some cheap sentimentality, but not enough to rob the tale of its potency. (PG-13 — 131 minutes) V.

‘Captain Phillips’ eeee

Matthew McConaughey is brilliant as an unlikely hero of sorts in the early years of AIDS. His character Ron Woodruff is a homophobe who contracts the disease but is soon selling black-market drugs to help fight it. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, the film also includes a terrific performance from Jared Leto as a transgender woman who goes into business with Ron. (R — 117 minutes) D, N, P, S.

‘Dear Mr. Watterson’

Joel Allen Schroeder’s documentary praises “Calvin and Hobbes” creator Bill Watterson to the skies, but it’s ultimately not much more than that. (Not rated — 89 minutes)