Capsule reviews for Jan. 25

In Like Flynn

Perhaps it’s best that Errol Flynn remained in front of the camera during his Hollywood heyday, rather than behind it. This cartoonish adventure is based on a lightly fictionalized novel written by Flynn (Thomas Cocquerel) about his pre-stardom days in Australia as a mischievous seafarer and roustabout adventurer, unintentionally foreshadowing his subsequent reckless reputation. Haphazardly assembled with minimal coherence or narrative logic, it plays out like a juvenile fantasy version of an Indiana Jones adventure, where our chiseled and courageous hero always saves the day, gets the girl, and escapes death in the most dramatic way possible. It must have been more exciting in Flynn’s head. (Rated R, 98 minutes).

The Invisibles

More noteworthy for its heartfelt intentions than its muddled execution, this historical docudrama recounts the stories of four Holocaust survivors among the 1,700 or so Jews who avoided Nazi persecution while hiding in Berlin. Rookie director Claus Rafle splices together the on-camera recollections of all four interviewees with dramatized flashbacks of their courageous true-life adventures, including a graphic artist who found work as a forger, and a teenager who acted as a war widow, then became a maid for a complicit Nazi officer. However, the built-in suspense and poignancy is compromised by an awkward structure that tries to juggle too many disparate narrative elements. (Not rated, 110 minutes).

Tito and the Birds

A feast for both the eyes and the brain, this allegorical animated fantasy should resonate with children and adults alike. Tito is a precocious Brazilian boy whose best friend becomes one of the first victims of a disfiguring pandemic that apparently stems from widespread fear and paranoia. So Tito tries to follow in the footsteps of his father, a missing scientist, in developing a high-tech cure in which pigeons fight corporate greed. That’s a bunch of scientific bunk, but kids should identify with the courageous and resilient young protagonist. Plus, the abstract style of hand-painted animation is vibrant and evocative, tying its themes together with flair. (Not rated, 73 minutes).