Freeze Frame

Some foul-mouthed puppets behaving in degenerate ways provide the gimmick in the one-joke movie, “The Happytime Murders.” Jim Henson’s son, Brian Henson, takes his puppetry skills into the R-rated realm with this raunchy and vulgar comedy. Melissa McCarthy plays a police detective who reunites with her former puppet partner to find a serial killer targeting stars from a 1980s TV puppet show. The shock value quickly wears thin in what is basically an overextended TV sketch. “The Happytime Murders” is under-stuffed. The prison escape adventure “Papillon” is based on the bestselling autobiography and the classic 1973 movie version that starred Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Charlie Hunnam plays a French safecracker who is sent to Devil’s Island on a trumped-up murder charge. He befriends a forger, played by Rami Malek, who comes to depend on him. This sweeping and harrowing story is well produced and skillfully acted and vividly portrays the brutality of the old French colonial system. For those unfamiliar with the original, it’s a workmanlike, if uninspired survival story. “Puzzle” is an extremely low-key romance about a repressed housewife, played by Kelly Macdonald, who breaks out of her rut by exploiting her jigsaw puzzle skills. She meets and…

You’ve seen it all before, but not like this and not with this cast and not at this locale. “Crazy Rich Asians” is a very likable Cinderella story, a romantic comedy that seems fresh due to its engaging all-Asian cast, …

You’ve seen it all before, but not like this and not with this cast and not at this locale. “Crazy Rich Asians” is a very likable Cinderella story, a romantic comedy that seems fresh due to its engaging all-Asian cast, feel-good vibe and amusing script. It’s a sweet wish-fulfillment fantasy, the positive Ying to “Fifty Shades of Grey’s” negative Yang.   “Alpha” is a visually spectacular pre-history epic from writer-director Albert Hughes. Kodi Smit-McPhee plays a young hunter who becomes the first to develop a cooperative relationship with man’s best friend. It’s a family-friendly survival saga.   Mark Wahlberg stars in the ultra-violent and morally ambiguous action-adventure, “Mile 22.” Wahlberg plays the leader of a CIA special ops team that must make a dangerous 22-mile trek through an East Asian city to help a valuable prisoner escape. In spite of some well-staged action sequences, this noisy thiller ultimately outfoxes itself.   “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” is about a lesbian teen, played by Chloë Grace Moretz, who is forced by family to attend a Christian conversion therapy camp. Although the cast is fine, Moretz’s character is just too enigmatic and unfocused.   “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” profiles…

If it weren’t true, you might not believe it. “BlacKkKlansman” tells the remarkable true story of a black Colorado police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. Director Spike Lee, who co-wrote the screenplay with KU professor …

If it weren’t true, you might not believe it. “BlacKkKlansman” tells the remarkable true story of a black Colorado police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. Director Spike Lee, who co-wrote the screenplay with KU professor Kevin Willmott, recharges his career with a film that is funny, incendiary, thought-provoking, unnerving and oh-so relevant in contemporary America. John David Washington plays detective Ron Stallworth and Adam Driver is the Jewish officer who provided his face when confronting the Klan in person. It doesn’t all work, but “BlacKkKlansman” is a powerful, dynamic and timely Spike Lee joint.   Couldn’t get enough of Shark Week? Well, Jason Statham is here for you. “The Meg” is a goofy thriller about a 75-foot prehistoric megalodon that terrorizes a scientific crew when it is inadvertently released from its deep-sea trench. This by-the-numbers aquatic adventure is no “Jaws,” but is B-movie Saturday matinee fare that may appeal to the 7-year-old in you.   Maybe the best thing you can say about the family-friendly canine comedy “Dog Days” is that it’s harmless. Vanessa Hudgens and Adam Pally lead a likable cast in the story of some LA folks whose paths cross due to their…

Disney continues its strategy of making so-called live-action films featuring characters from its animated classics. Ewan McGregor plays the troubled “Christopher Robin,” a grown-up who has lost touch with the magic of childhood. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and his …

At age 56, it may seem impossible for Tom Cruise to do his own stunts, pilot doomed helicopters, run his own cameras and lead high-speed motorcycle chases. But he and his co-stars do all this and more in the sixth …

Disney continues its strategy of making so-called live-action films featuring characters from its animated classics. Ewan McGregor plays the troubled “Christopher Robin,” a grown-up who has lost touch with the magic of childhood. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood step into the real world to help him reconnect with his family and rediscover joy. Although beautifully produced and sweetly sentimental, “Christopher Robin” is extremely low-key and maybe too long and slowly paced for many kids.  “The Darkest Minds” is the latest in a parade of dystopian, sci-fi dramas aimed at teens. After an outbreak of childhood disease, the surviving kids develop extrasensory powers and must flee frightened authorities. A likable cast tries hard, but there’s not a moment in this movie that doesn’t seem derivative. Believe me, you’ve seen it all before. A much more satisfying movie about teen life is “Eighth Grade,” a poignant and extremely realistic look at the angst of adolescence from writer/director Bo Burnham. Elsie Fisher plays Kayla, a painfully shy girl who makes internet videos full of helpful advice. If only she listened to her own counsel. Fisher is terrific as Kayla and Josh Hamilton is equally good…

At age 56, it may seem impossible for Tom Cruise to do his own stunts, pilot doomed helicopters, run his own cameras and lead high-speed motorcycle chases. But he and his co-stars do all this and more in the sixth entry in the breathless action franchise, “Mission: Impossible – Fallout.” Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must attain three nuclear warheads from powerful and skilled anarchists before the terrorist group kills millions. Henry “Superman” Cavill joins the team as an intrusive CIA operative who authorities force on the crew. Plot-wise, it’s goofy, convoluted and, yes, impossible. But there’s enough explosive action and spectacle in “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” to please demanding and undemanding fans alike. Joaquin Phoenix gives a powerful performance as famed paraplegic cartoonist John Callahan in “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot.” This irreverent and sharply acted biopic concentrates not on Callahan’s work or the controversial subject matter of his cartoons, which often poked fun at people with disabilities. Instead, writer-director Gus Van Sant focuses on Callahan’s recovery from alcoholism and his struggle with a number of emotional demons. The rock-solid supporting cast includes Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black and Carrie Brownstein. The film’s structure,…

Audiences say they want originality, but do they actually prefer familiarity? If the latter is true, then “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” should catch the fancy of audiences who made the original 2008 Abba musical a box office hit. …