Capsule reviews for April 7

Colossal

The latest genre-bending effort from Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo has more depth than you might expect beneath the wacky surface. It follows an alcoholic woman (Anne Hathaway) who gets dumped by her exasperated boyfriend (Dan Stevens) and experiences a mental breakdown. She’s comforted by a former childhood classmate (Jason Sudeikis) now running a bar, then realizes news of a kaiju beast attacking Korea might be strangely linked to her own troubles. The highly uneven film at least deserves credit for subversive ambition, as Vigalondo toys with clichés and expectations even if his mash-up of monster movie and romantic comedy doesn’t always work on an emotional level. (Rated R, 109 minutes).

Mine

The concept is more intriguing than the execution in this gimmicky thriller about a U.S. Marine (Armie Hammer) trying to flee from guerrilla fighters in Afghanistan after a botched attempt to destroy a terror cell. But the landscape is littered with landmines, one of which kills his partner (Tom Cullen) and leaves him stranded with one foot on the trigger, trying to survive in harsh conditions with little hope of rescue. Hammer brings depth and sympathy to his portrayal, although the film overall becomes repetitive and increasingly far-fetched, which diminishes the topical relevance of the material. It might have made a better short subject. (Not rated, 106 minutes).

The Ticket

Quality of eyesight notwithstanding, you can easily see the message in this redemption melodrama about a blind telemarketer (Dan Stevens) who suddenly regains his sight, which he — ahem — envisions as a chance to change his life for the better. However, his obsession with a corporate promotion winds up alienating his wife (Malin Akerman) and a colleague (Oliver Platt) with whom he was close. Stevens brings depth and complexity to his portrayal, which elevates mediocre material more noteworthy for its concept than its payoff. While well-intentioned and intriguing on the surface, the film winds up indulging in some of the same superficiality it cautions against. (Not rated, 97 minutes).

The Transfiguration

When you’re a teenage vampire, it’s difficult to make friends. That’s one takeaway from this mildly compelling but ultimately muddled low-budget horror flick about Milo (Eric Ruffin), a socially awkward Manhattan middle-school student who daydreams about bloodsucking brutality before meeting Sophie (Chloe Levine), a lonely girl who causes Milo to change his outlook. But can you be a vampire and fall in love with a human? The film, expanded by rookie director Michael O’Shea from his short, faces a similar dilemma, struggling to find a balance between a contemporary vampire saga and a tender coming-of-age drama. Yet the sullen Milo doesn’t generate sufficient audience sympathy. (Not rated, 97 minutes).

The Void

A throwback visual vibe adds a layer of discomfort — meant in a good way — to this low-budget horror exercise that combines familiar genre elements into a mostly fresh package. Some folks are trapped inside a short-staffed rural hospital when they realize that evil lurks outside, and possibly within. The film achieves some genuine claustrophobic suspense in the first half, then funnels that into a mess of muddled supernatural nonsense in the final act. Still, even if the ending leaves a feeling of more buildup than payoff, the film shrewdly reveals its secrets and offers more texture along the way than just the expected blood and gore. (Not rated, 90 minutes).