Capsule reviews for Jan. 24

The Cave

A triumph of both artistry and humanity, this powerful and topical documentary from director Feras Fayyad (Last Men in Aleppo) finds a harrowing new angle to the ongoing Syrian unrest. It chronicles the efforts of female doctors to treat oppressed and suffering locals in a makeshift hospital hidden in underground caves beneath Damascus. Not only do the heroic physicians — led by the remarkably tenacious hospital overseer Dr. Amani — have limited resources, but they must overcome lingering systematic sexism within the culture. As uncertainty swirls above them, the gritty film is unsettling, beautiful, poignant, and provocative — demonstrating considerable audacity for both subjects and filmmakers alike. (Rated PG-13, 95 minutes).

John Henry

Recycled genre concepts are tossed together with sledgehammer subtlety in this revenge thriller set on the rough streets of Compton. That’s where John Henry (Terry Crews) — named after the mythical hero because of his size and strength — tries to distance himself from the cycle of violence outside his door. But when a Honduran immigrant (Jamila Velazquez) desperately needs his help in escaping from a gang leader (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), John Henry finds escaping from his past isn’t so simple. Any attempts at garnering sympathy or developing character depth are thwarted by the unfocused screenplay by rookie director Will Forbes, which instead chooses to reinforce clichés. (Rated R, 91 minutes).

My Name is Myeisha

Beneath its song-and-dance exterior, this quietly perceptive coming-of-age saga carries a powerful subtext. With music inspired by everything from 1990s hip-hop to spoken-word poetry to Christmas carols, the film relies mostly on loosely connected dream sequences to tell the life story of the title character (Rhaechyl Walker), a precocious California teenager who endures a night beginning with a police incident and ending in tragedy. Inspired by a true story and adapted from a stage play, the stream of consciousness storytelling style can be frustrating. However, it benefits from Walker’s magnetic screen presence and a uniquely avant-garde approach to merging artistic flair with cultural relevance. (Not rated, 82 minutes).

Quezon’s Game

Perhaps a documentary recalling the feats of the title character would have had more emotional impact than this heavy-handed biopic about World War II heroism from a Filipino perspective. In 1938, Manuel Quezon (Raymond Bagatsing) was the ailing president of the Philippines when it was still an American territory. That means that when he’s urged, and agrees, to accept Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, his intentions are compromised by bureaucratic obstacles. So Quezon is forced to find another way to save lives. The true-life story is fascinating and the intentions here are pure, but the film is woefully melodramatic and lacks polish in every facet. (Rated PG-13, 127 minutes).

The Turning

Everybody gets screwed in this lackluster thriller, from the young actors whose talents are squandered to the Henry James novella that’s been updated in such haphazard fashion. It follows a governess (Mackenzie Davis) hired at a rural estate to watch a recalcitrant teenager (Finn Wolfhard) and his agoraphobic younger sister (Brooklynn Prince). But she’s tormented almost immediately by sinister forces both real and imagined. With such an aggressive focus on jump-scares and supernatural nonsense, the film compromises any suspense or narrative coherence from the source material. Despite some stylish touches from Italian director Floria Sigismondi (The Runaways), the result is more tedious than frightening. (Rated PG-13, 94 minutes).