Capsule reviews for Nov. 7

The Better Angels

If this stark historical drama recalls some of the more atmospheric tendencies of Terrence Malick, it’s because his protégé A.J. Edwards makes his directorial debut with this mood piece about the childhood of Abraham Lincoln (Braydon Denney) growing up in Indiana during the 1820s, and how his meager upbringing — surrounded by his father (Jason Clarke), mother (Diane Kruger) and older sister (Brit Marling) — influenced his future aspirations. The result has some powerful moments and a handful of black-and-white visual flourishes that suggest Edwards’ potential, but it winds up frustrating and emotionally aloof, with a whirling camera and glacial pace that offer more tedium than insight. (Rated PG, 95 minutes).

Elsa and Fred

The esteemed charm of Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer helps to elevate this innocuous but woefully predictable romance from director Michael Radford (Flawless) based on a 2005 Spanish film of the same name. Fred is a misanthropic widower still grieving as his daughter (Marcia Gay Harden) moves him into an apartment with a live-in caretaker. His impetuous single neighbor is Elsa, who develops a crush but who carries baggage of her own. Eventually their bickering leads to companionship and attraction, but how long will it last? The better question is whether moviegoers will care enough to invest emotionally in this lighthearted look at aging and redemption. (Rated PG-13, 94 minutes).

Mr. Pip

This ambitious and heartfelt historical drama celebrates childhood innocence and literary imagination, so it’s hard to find too much fault in that. Yet this tale from director Andrew Adamson (The Chronicles of Narnia), inspired by Great Expectations, has difficulty finding cohesion among its divergent elements. Hugh Laurie stars as an English expatriate in a small village in Papua New Guinea set against the backdrop of civil war there during the 1990s. He volunteers as a schoolteacher, where a teenage student named Matilda (Xzannjah Matsi) becomes enchanted by his readings of Dickens. But as she dreams of herself in the novel, her reality is much more harsh. (Rated PG-13, 116 minutes).

On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter

The latest high-adrenaline documentary from Dana Brown (Step Into Liquid) is a follow-up to the 1971 film directed by his father, Bruce, which chronicled the rise of motorcycle racing by profiling some of its competitors. This sequel does the same thing, offering behind-the-scenes access to a new and diverse crop of thrill-seekers — including Travis Pastrana, Marc Marquez and Ashley Fiolek — while emphasizing the dangers of motorcycles with abundant shot of crashes and daredevil behavior. That approach yields some visual flair at locales around the globe, yet the emphasis is on celebrating the sport more than analyzing it, which will leave the engine in neutral for outsiders. (Rated PG, 94 minutes).

Open Windows

There’s an intriguing concept buried beneath all the visual and narrative gimmicks in this real-time thriller from Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes), which follows an obsessed fan (Elijah Wood) who thinks he’s won a date with his favorite actress (Sasha Grey), only to be lured into an online stalker scenario by a third party that winds up putting both him and his crush in danger. Perhaps it’s meant to probe the dangers of technology and surveillance and whatnot, but there’s not enough narrative momentum to sustain the premise at feature length. All the cool technology on display fizzles out amid the emotionally detached contrivances. (Not rated, 99 minutes).