Capsule reviews for April 11

The Comic Shop

At first a charming and affectionate tribute to nerd culture — and scrappy small businesses — this uneven underdog story overdoses on forced optimism and contrived sentimentality. Its hero is Mike (Jesse Metcalfe), an illustrator who gave up his dream years ago and now runs his own struggling Las Vegas shop that’s endangered by competition and evolving trends in the digital age. Mike rediscovers his spark after bonding with a lonely teenager (Micah Giovanni) who shares his adolescent ambition and indie tastes. Perhaps appropriately cartoonish, the heartfelt film generates sufficient rooting interest but lacks subtlety in neatly tying up every loose end. At least it knows its subject. (Not rated, 94 minutes).

Gunslingers

A compendium of genre cliches and stereotypes as generic as its title, this Western thriller feels tossed-off on both sides of the camera. It’s set in a dusty Kentucky town called Redemption (eye roll), where an outlaw (Stephen Dorff) arrives with a bounty on his head, which leads to a posse following closely, and eventually showdowns between morally ambiguous characters with unsteady allegiances, including a woman (Heather Graham) with a mysterious past. Nicolas Cage pops in with an array of random tics and quirks to enliven the proceedings, but between the haphazard action sequences and the wooden dialogue, it feels more like ultraviolent cosplay. (Rated R, 104 minutes).

One to One: John and Yoko

We hardly need another John Lennon documentary, but this time capsule from director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) finds its niche by focusing on the ex-Beatle’s only full-length concert after the band. It came in 1972, when he and Yoko Ono were living in a Greenwich Village apartment and became immersed in various American sociopolitical causes. The film splices together archival footage of the titular Madison Square Garden benefit with news footage, pop-culture snippets, and the couple’s recorded telephone conversations from the time. It reveals fresh insights as a fascinating study of the convergence of art and politics — another way to televise the revolution. (Rated R, 101 minutes).

Sacramento

Committed performances bring emotional complexity to this quirky character-driven saga about fractured friendships and arrested development that finds a fresh perspective amid familiar narrative territory. It follows free-spirited Rickey (Michael Angarano, also the director), who convinces his estranged pal Glenn (Michael Cera) to hop in a classic convertible for an impulsive weekend road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento. Their opportunity to reconnect becomes fraught with neurotic outbursts and surprise revelations covering grief, regret, masculinity, and impending fatherhood. Anchored by the chemistry between its leads, the film conveys modest charms while incisively exploring fragile male egos, even if you pretty much know its final destination. (Rated R, 89 minutes).

That They May Face the Rising Sun

Ambling at an appropriately unhurried pace for its small-town setting and characters, this bittersweet Irish drama is a quietly perceptive probe of subtle changes between generations and societal shifts. It’s set in the early 1980s, when writer Joe (Barry Ward) and gallery manager Kate (Anna Baderke) have fled the city for a quiet life on a rural sheep farm. As they welcome a stream of eccentric neighbors who’ve lived nearby for generations, they have doubts about what their own future will bring. Layering its evocative charms with contemplative wisdom, the film benefits from gorgeous visual backdrops to supplement the compelling conversation. Just be patient and listen. (Not rated, 107 minutes).

Zero

A puzzle that’s not worth solving, this gimmicky thriller from Congolese director Jean Luc Herbulot (Saloum) can’t match its gritty intensity with a deeper sense of intrigue or urgency. During a time of sociopolitical turmoil in Senegal, an American man (Hus Miller) wakes up with a bomb strapped to his chest and a timer set for 10 hours. While piecing together clues and following audio instructions from the apparent perpetrator (Willem Dafoe), he discovers another man (Cam McHarg) under similar circumstances whose fate is tied to his own. Withholding context effectively builds suspense for a while, but heavy-handed contrivances cause the ticking-clock story to lose momentum. (Rated R, 88 minutes).