Capsule reviews for May 28

American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally

Steeped in smoky period atmosphere, this World War II procedural from director Michael Polish (Force of Nature) struggles to drum up the intrigue its true-life subject matter would suggest. Mildred (Meadow Williams) was an American singer who broadcasted Nazi propaganda over the radio during the war at the direction of Joseph Goebbels (Thomas Kretschmann). A few years later, she’s arrested and accused of treason while proclaiming her innocence to her eccentric defense attorney (Al Pacino). Despite some effective scenery chewing by Pacino, who also belts out a terrific courtroom soliloquy, sympathy for the title character remains elusive. The verdict is more tedious than provocative. (Rated R, 109 minutes).

Endangered Species

Hardly a trip worth taking, this low-budget survival thriller might leave you rooting for the four-legged predators over their two-legged prey. It’s set in Kenya, where Jack (Philip Winchester) and Lauren (Rebecca Romijn) take their brooding teenage children on a safari. Danger strikes during a remote rhino encounter, however, leaving them stranded with little hope of rescue amid the hyenas and big cats ready to pounce. As directed by M.J. Bassett (Solomon Kane), the film is about as cheesy as it sounds, with threadbare visual effects, subpar acting, and a tacked-on anti-poaching message. Moviegoers seeking realistically gory animal attacks would do better watching cable television. (Rated R, 101 minutes).

Moby Doc

For an artist whose music has always pushed traditional genre boundaries, Moby’s personal life contains many of the same highs and lows as many other pop-rock stars. That’s a primary takeaway from this appropriately quirky documentary, which charts his troubled Harlem upbringing, early career struggles, eventual techno breakthrough in the 1990s, grappling with the pressures of fame, battles with addiction, and eventual peace through advocacy. The project might have been cathartic for its subject, who conceived much of it himself. Yet while the film provides behind-the-scenes insight for fans into Moby’s inspirations and process, the surreal indulgences create a sense of self-congratulatory detachment rather than sympathy. (Not rated, 92 minutes).

Plan B

The latest entry in the burgeoning gal-pal road-trip pro-choice subgenre, this sharply observed teenage comedy features heartfelt charm beneath its raunchy surface. Sunny (Kuhoo Verma) is a nerdy outsider trying to rebel against her overbearing Indian mother. When she becomes pregnant following a one-night stand at a party, her best friend, Lupe (Victoria Moroles), leads her on a desperate search for the titular pill. Their odyssey features outrageous high jinks and encounters with eccentric strangers that test their sisterhood and prompt self-reflection. Although the film sometimes confuses crass and low-brow for edgy and progressive, the characters have an endearing chemistry that resonates above the contrived mayhem. (Rated R, 107 minutes).

Port Authority

A deeply felt immersion into life on the socioeconomic margins, this multicultural story of self-expression and sexual identity manages to overcome a lack of narrative focus. It centers on Paul (Fionn Whitehead), who arrives in Harlem with a checkered past, finding work alongside a low-level rent enforcer (McCaul Lombardi) while living in a shelter. He falls for Wye (Leyna Bloom), a surrogate mother of sorts to a troupe of underground Kiki ballroom dancers, before untold secrets from their past threaten the relationship. Although It lacks urgency at times, the gritty debut of director Danielle Lessovitz is a well-acted and richly textured glimpse into marginalized queer subculture. (Rated R, 101 minutes).

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

Despite some undeniable poignancy embedded in the true-life subject matter, this heartfelt coming-of-age drama is familiar in its softened depiction of Holocaust horrors through a child’s eyes. Based on Judith Kerr’s memoir, the film follows Anna (Riva Krymalowski), a precocious preteen whose family of four flees Berlin because her journalist father (Oliver Masucci) is an outspoken nonconformist. They hastily relocate to Switzerland and eventually to Paris, where they struggle to transition to a new life. Rendered with visual flair by director Caroline Link (Nowhere in Africa), this uneven period piece is well acted, yet compromises its authenticity by yanking too aggressively at the heartstrings. (Not rated, 119 minutes).