Capsule reviews for April 19

Breaking Habits

In the growing subgenre of documentaries about evolving marijuana laws and businesses, this unfocused effort lacks the substance to earn high praise. The premise sounds intriguing enough, as rookie director Rob Ryan follows Sister Kate — the leader of a secular group of central California nuns who make their living from marijuana plants grown on their property, defying local laws in the process. Along the way, Sister Kate tells her own personal story of abandonment and rejuvenation. The disjointed film doesn’t do either of its narrative strands justice, and the result too often feels like a feature-length infomercial that’s insightful only in segments and otherwise blowing smoke. (Not rated, 87 minutes).

Drunk Parents

Audiences might need to be inebriated, as well, to have a chance at enjoying this broad suburban farce from director Fred Wolf (The House Bunny) that’s completely detached from reality. It follows a business executive (Alec Baldwin) and his wife (Salma Hayek) who are looking forward to becoming empty nesters after dropping their daughter (Michelle Veintimilla) off at college. When they get back home, however, financial difficulties start to pile up involving lost jobs, forgotten bills, irresponsible behavior, nosy neighbors, and a misbegotten yard sale. Somehow Baldwin and Hayek manage to smile all the way through the painfully labored hijinks and tasteless gags. What troopers. (Rated R, 100 minutes).

Family

A broad Hollywood formula feels squeezed into an indie framework in this predictable comedy that squanders a spirited performance by Taylor Schilling. She plays a brash executive whose workaholic nature is tested when she is talked into babysitting her preteen niece (Bryn Vale) for a few days. She eventually warms up to the quirky youngster, encouraging her to fight back against bullies and even embracing her desire to become a young Juggalo. That conceptual twist helps trigger a few big laughs, but the screenplay by rookie director Laura Steinel is still a clichéd look at redemption and reconciliation, featuring characters who rarely seem grounded in reality. (Rated R, 85 minutes).

Fast Color

While many superhero movies emphasize the superpowers over the characters who exhibit them, this low-budget dystopian fantasy takes a refreshingly different approach. It follows Ruth (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), a young woman with the superhuman abilities to create seismic events around her. She flees back home to the family farm to connect with her estranged mother (Lorraine Toussaint) and young daughter (Saniyya Sidney), with strange powers of their own. Ruth tries to reconnect with her family before the authorities track her down. While the ambitions of director Julia Hart (Miss Stevens) sometimes exceed the modest film’s grasp, the strong performances keep things compelling through the slower stretches. (Rated PG-13, 100 minutes).

Hail Satan?

The interrogatory nature of the title is appropriate for this documentary that probes the motives and methods of the Satanic Temple, a fringe political activist group with assumed yet mostly debunked ties to devil worship. Even though its members remain relatively tight-lipped about their endgame, which provides some frustrating barriers, the film takes an even-handed glimpse into the group’s founding and future, with an appropriate nod to its absurdity and even a shred of sympathy for its grassroots cause. In fact, despite some muddled stretches, the film thrives by conveying the same satiric tone as its subjects, whose persuasiveness stems from not taking themselves too seriously. (Rated R, 95 minutes).

Little Woods

If money can’t buy happiness, then nobody told the squabbling half-sisters in this sharply observed debut for director Nia DaCosta. It takes place in a fledgling North Dakota oil town, where Ollie (Tessa Thompson) has survived by smuggling patients and medicine across the Canadian border. She wants to go clean, but after their mother dies, Deb (Lily James) pays a visit that begins a new downward spiral. This well-acted and evocative drama benefits from some intriguing character dynamics, even if some of the second-half twists feel more forced than genuine. It offers a fresh perspective to familiar material that resonates beyond its gritty milieu. (Rated R, 103 minutes).

Penguins

Nature documentaries seem to continue raising the bar with regard to breathtaking visuals, and this voyage to Antarctica is no different. It chronicles one year in the life of a 5-year-old male Adelie penguin as he transitions into adulthood, navigating the complexities of mating and parenting rituals, seasonal routines, and survival instincts amid predators and the harsh elements. The film’s lighthearted approach is geared toward younger audiences who might appreciate the animal antics. Adults might find it mildly cute and moderately amusing as they enjoy the wintry scenery. But overall, the narration doesn’t offer much new insight into its titular species compared to similar predecessors. (Rated G, 76 minutes).

Red Joan

The true-life story of unlikely Soviet spy Melita Norwood likely had more compelling twists and turns than this muddled espionage drama from acclaimed British stage director Trevor Nunn (Twelfth Night), which drains much of the provocative subtext from the material. Norwood is instead Joan (Judi Dench), an elderly widow detained by police for her alleged involvement in trading secrets to the KGB while she was a scientific researcher with various romantic interests during World War II. The story is told mostly through flashbacks, although unfortunately, its conventional if uneven structure keeps the tension mild despite subject matter rife with ethical questions and contemporary resonance. (Rated R, 101 minutes).

Stuck

“In the city’s underground, there’s a symphony of sound,” begins the narration for this earnest musical drama that fails to establish an appealing rhythm. It takes place almost entirely inside a New York subway car, where six riders are sequestered due to an above-ground police incident. The working-class strangers come from different backgrounds, and eventually open up to one another through pop songs about their personal problems and lingering insecurities. The pattern of bickering and catharsis becomes tedious and predictable, even if the uneven film has honorable intentions about celebrating our cultural melting pot. The cast includes Giancarlo Esposito, Amy Madigan, and R&B artist Ashanti. (Rated PG-13, 83 minutes).

Under the Silver Lake

The pervasive weirdness in this mystery from director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) borders on self-indulgence, making it admirable more for effort than execution. Sam (Andrew Garfield) is intrigued enough by a strange woman (Riley Keough) in his apartment swimming pool that when she disappears, he becomes obsessed with tracking her down. That leads to a surreal noir-style odyssey through Los Angeles, filled with eccentric strangers and conspiracy theories. Garfield maintains a certain appeal as the emotional anchor, although the deliberately paced film turns aimless and muddled in its second half, more concerned with packing in cinematic references and social commentary than developing its own plot. (Rated R, 139 minutes).