Freeze Frame

With a name like “Zootopia,” you might expect a cute Disney animated flick about anthropomorphic animals. And while you’d be right, “Zootopia” is much, much more. It’s a wildly imaginative, beautifully animated comic crime thriller. “Zootopia” is a utopian city …

With a name like “Zootopia,” you might expect a cute Disney animated flick about anthropomorphic animals. And while you’d be right, “Zootopia” is much, much more. It’s a wildly imaginative, beautifully animated comic crime thriller. “Zootopia” is a utopian city where predator and prey peacefully co-exist by suppressing their aggressive instincts. But when a bunny cop investigates a missing person’s case, she discovers the city’s dark underbelly. “Zootopia” slyly comments on humanity and the very the nature of civilization. There are a few scary moments that might disturb very young viewers, but this funny, thoroughly engaging movie is the year’s most pleasant cinematic surprise.

“London Has Fallen” is the sequel to the 2013 hit action thriller, “Olympus Has Fallen.” This time terrorists attack the funeral of the British Prime Minister and attempt to kill off all of the world’s leaders in one fell swoop. Gerard Butler is back as the backside-kicking secret service agent in charge of protecting the President. Vice President Morgan Freeman calls the shots from back home. It’s arguably jingoistic and exploitive, but “London Has Fallen” is a rousing, high-powered thriller the delivers the action goods.

Tina Fey plays real life foreign correspondent Kim Baker in “Whisky Tango Foxtrot,” an adaptation of Baker’s popular memoir about her decadent and darkly humorous experiences reporting from chaotic, war torn Afghanistan and Pakistan. While neither as funny nor as riveting as it should be, Fey and company make it a mildly absorbing stranger-in-a-strange-land tale.

Also opening this week, ““The Other Side of the Door “(R) is a horror flick about a woman who opens a supernatural portal in a temple in an attempt to see her dead son. Bad move. “Desierto” (R) is a thriller about a loony tunes vigilante who takes on illegal immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border. “The Boy and the Beast” is a Japanese anime fantasy about a boy protected by a warrior beast.

Although you’ll feel shamelessly manipulated by the cheery sports flick “Eddie the Eagle,” you probably won’t mind too much. Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman star in the true story of a somewhat mentally challenged British ski jumper and the drunken …

Although you’ll feel shamelessly manipulated by the cheery sports flick “Eddie the Eagle,” you probably won’t mind too much. Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman star in the true story of a somewhat mentally challenged British ski jumper and the drunken ski bum who trains him to compete in the 1988 Olympics. The movie so lightweight that it threatens to blow right off the screen, but the likable stars and good-natured spirit make it a painless time-waster. Yet again, white guys have the lead roles in a story that takes place in ancient Egypt. In the over-produced fantasy epic “Gods of Egypt,” Scotland’s Gerard Butler and Denmark’s Nikolaj Coster-Waldau play gods who battle it out over control of the land of the Nile. The $140 million budget is all eye candy effects, but the gods of screenwriting apparently cursed the convoluted script. “Triple Nine” is a sleazy but involving crime drama. Some crooked cops are forced by the Russian mob to pull off some complicated heists, but the arrival of an honest rookie officer complicates matters. The strong cast includes Casey Affleck, Kate Winslet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie and Woody Harrelson, and they’re all too good for this squalid material. There’s…

Many recent faith-based films have suffered from low budgets and mediocre acting. Not so with “Risen,” a new take on the story of the resurrection of Christ. Joseph Fiennes is excellent as a battle weary Roman Tribune who is charged …

Many recent faith-based films have suffered from low budgets and mediocre acting. Not so with “Risen,” a new take on the story of the resurrection of Christ.

Joseph Fiennes is excellent as a battle weary Roman Tribune who is charged with finding the body of Jesus after it disappears from its tomb. He reluctantly discovers that there’s something miraculous afoot. Well acted, skillfully produced and appropriately reverent, “Risen” rises above the crowd and goes beyond preaching to the choir.

Kansas City’s Jason Sudeikis and newcomer Stephan James star in the sports drama, “Race.” James plays Olympic great Jesse Owens who electrified the world during the 1936 Berlin games that were supposed to prove Hitler’s theory of Aryan superiority. Sudeikis is Owens’ hard-drinking coach. This handsome-looking film hoped to do the same thing that “42” did for Jackie Robinson’s story, focusing on a great sportsman’s dignity in the face of daunting racism. While very well meaning and honorable, it’s also slow moving and a bit too episodic. Thanks to its cast and its commendable heart, “Race” gets a bronze medal for its efforts.

81-year-old Dame Maggie Smith won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the “Lady in the Van.” This affable comic drama tells the true story of an elderly homeless woman who occupied a van in writer Alan Bennett’s driveway for 15 years. Low key and sentimental, “The Lady in the Van” benefits greatly from Smith’s savvy portrayal of a cantankerous and mysterious character.

Also opening this week, father and son actors Donald and Keifer Sutherland star in a Western drama, “Forsaken.” It’s the Puritans versus the supernatural in 17thcentury New England in the horror drama, “The Witch.” Katie Holmes and Luke Kirby play bi-polar poets who find love in the psych ward in “Touched With Fire.”

Many recent faith-based films have suffered from low budgets and mediocre acting. Not so with “Risen,” a new take on the story of the resurrection of Christ. Joseph Fiennes is excellent as a battle weary Roman Tribune who is charged with finding the body of Jesus after it disappears from its tomb. He reluctantly discovers that there’s something miraculous afoot. Well acted, skillfully produced and appropriately reverent, “Risen” rises above the crowd and goes beyond preaching to the choir. Kansas City’s Jason Sudeikis and newcomer Stephan James star in the sports drama, “Race.” James plays Olympic great Jesse Owens who electrified the world during the 1936 Berlin games that were supposed to prove Hitler’s theory of Aryan superiority. Sudeikis is Owens’ hard-drinking coach. This handsome-looking film hoped to do the same thing that “42” did for Jackie Robinson’s story, focusing on a great sportsman’s dignity in the face of daunting racism. While very well meaning and honorable, it’s also slow moving and a bit too episodic. Thanks to its cast and its commendable heart, “Race” gets a bronze medal for its efforts. 81-year-old Dame Maggie Smith won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in…

First, the bad news: The edgy R-rated Marvel superhero movie “Deadpool” is smutty, vulgar, tasteless and perverse. Now, the good news: “Deadpool” is funny, sharply made and Ryan Reynolds is terrific as the X-Men’s snarky, wisecracking antihero. If you’re not …

First, the bad news: The edgy R-rated Marvel superhero movie “Deadpool” is smutty, vulgar, tasteless and perverse. Now, the good news: “Deadpool” is funny, sharply made and Ryan Reynolds is terrific as the X-Men’s snarky, wisecracking antihero. If you’re not easily offended, “Deadpool” could prove to be a shamelessly raunchy guilty pleasure. Just leave the kids at home. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson return as the fashion world’s dumbest male models in “Zoolander 2,” the sequel to the 2001 comedy that developed a cult following on video. An endless parade of celebrity cameos is the most amusing thing about this long-delayed follow-up that plays like an overextended sketch. Even fans of the original may find it lame. “How to be Single” is a bawdy R-rated sex comedy that may make you want to shun the single life. A likable cast that includes Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Allison Brie and Leslie Mann give the movie a boost, but this episodic and meandering movie plays out like a de-glamorized episode of “Sex and the City.” “Where to Invade Next” is the latest documentary from left wing activist Michael Moore. Moore goes a number of other countries to see how they’re coping with…

Russ covers the latest farce from the Coen Brothers as well as an Oscar-nominated British drama.