Capsule reviews for April 17

The Dead Lands

Some lush New Zealand landscapes provide the backdrop for a brutal story of tribal warfare in which a teenage Maori warrior (James Rolleston) tries to develop the courage and ability to avenge the barbaric slaughter of his people, including his chieftain father, at the hands of a rival (Te Kohe Tuhaka). With the help of a mentor (Lawrence Makoare), he learns lessons of fighting with honor and preserving family legacies. The film’s abundant visual splendor — and pervasive bloody fights in the jungle with spears and knives — can’t compensate for a clichéd screenplay that makes it difficult to invest much rooting interest in the characters. (Not rated, 107 minutes).

Monkey Kingdom

Much more intimate than a visit to the primate exhibit at the zoo, this playful nature documentary follows a small pack of macaque monkeys in the jungles of Sri Lanka as they search for food, brave the elements, battle predators, start families and keep social order. Of course, the lush cinematography is a highlight, although the screenplay by director Mark Linfield (Chimpanzee) follows the annoying tendency of such films to manipulate its images to fit a convenient narrative structure – complete with kid-friendly narration by Tina Fey. Still, if it helps convey zoological and ecological lessons to children with short attention spans, then so be it. (Rated G, 82 minutes).

The Road Within

Its aspirations are almost impossibly tricky for this low-budget saga about a young trio that escapes from a behavioral health clinic and hit the road together, against the wishes of their adult caretakers — Vincent (Robert Sheehan) suffers from severe Tourette’s and is grieving his mother’s death, Alex (Dev Patel) is his OCD roommate, and Marie (Zoe Kravitz) is uses impetuous cynicism to mask her anorexia. The script by rookie director Gren Wells navigates their adventures as sensitively as possible to prevent a freak-show comedy, and the performances have a certain audacity. But the formulaic storyline tends to trivialize their afflictions by settling for sentimental clichés. (Rated R, 101 minutes).

The Squeeze

Within the legacy of golf movies, this subpar thriller doesn’t reach the leaderboard. Apparently inspired by a true story, it follows Augie (Jeremy Sumpter), a small-town phenom on the links who’s recruited by a shady gambler (Christopher McDonald) to play in a series of high-stakes matches for big money. At first he reaches the green before traveling to Las Vegas, where his life is inevitably endangered. Sumpter makes a convincing on-screen golfer, and his charming performance helps to elevate the predictable screenplay from rookie director Terry Jastrow. Yet the film consistently feels more contrived than authentic, as it’s technically competent but woefully lacking in subtlety. (Rated PG-13, 95 minutes).

Unfriended

Essentially an effort to tweak the horror genre by employing a hip visual gimmick, this tale of online revenge is amusing in spots but rarely scary, and its shelf life is destined to be pretty short given the rapid evolution of social media. The story begins with a gathering of six teenage cyberbullies on Skype, who are visited by a mysterious hacker claiming to be the ghost of a dead classmate. Soon their online fears turn into real-life terror when they start turning up dead. The film takes place entirely on computer screens (and maybe is best viewed accordingly), but the ambitious premise fizzles out. (Rated R, 82 minutes).