Capsule reviews for June 6

Barron’s Cove

The setup is more compelling than the payoff in this testosterone-fueled crime thriller that unspools a mostly formulaic web of greed, power, revenge, and dark family secrets. Caleb (Garrett Hedlund) is a New England construction contractor dealing with guilt and grief following a tragedy involving his young son. Not satisfied with the police investigation, his suspicions spur vigilante justice when Caleb kidnaps his son’s classmate (Christian Convery), who’s related to a corrupt politician (Hamish Linklater). Despite some moderately intriguing twists, the screenplay by rookie director Evan Ari Kelman becomes too far-fetched to maintain consistent suspense. The cast includes Brittany Snow, Stephen Lang, and Raul Castillo. (Rated R, 116 minutes).

Dangerous Animals

An uninspired serial-killer saga disguised as a bad shark-attack movie, this Australian thriller from director Sean Byrne (The Devil’s Candy) rarely shows its teeth. It centers on a fisherman (Jai Courtney) who charms unsuspecting visitors to his boat, which he anchors over shark-infested waters for a feeding. But he meets his match with an abducted American surfer (Hassie Harrison) and the boyfriend (Josh Heuston) trying to find her. Although the confined setting ratchets up the tension, the story is driven by a lack of common sense among its characters rather than inventive twists or clever subtext. Never embracing its campy potential, it becomes lost at sea. (Rated R, 98 minutes).

Emmanuelle

As shallow and superficial as its title character, this erotic drama from director Audrey Diwan (Happening) is visually glossy yet dramatically uninvolving. Based on the notorious French novel previously filmed in 1974, it shifts the story to Hong Kong, where Emmanuelle (Noemie Merlant) works for the demanding manager (Naomi Watts) of a luxury hotel. While indulging in affluent and sexual pleasures, she becomes disaffected and searches for meaning and fulfillment, taking a chance with an alluring stranger (Will Sharpe). Beneath its steamy surface, what’s supposed to be an empowering journey of self-discovery winds up more pretentious than provocative, as Emmanuelle’s detachment carries over to moviegoers. (Not rated, 104 minutes).

I Don’t Understand You

If the American travelers in this uneven fish-out-of-water comedy had any common sense or the slightest background in language or customs, the contrived story would grind to a halt. Instead, it’s only a mildly amusing genre hybrid that squanders two solid performances. Dom (Nick Kroll) and Cole (Andrew Rannells) are vacationing in Italy while they prepare to adopt a baby from an expectant mother (Amanda Seyfried). Then they become stranded in a rainstorm, and their run-ins with some small-town locals turn into a nightmare that tests their relationship and resilience. Any meaningful subtext about cultural acceptance and surrogate families is overshadowed by the coincidental twists. (Rated R, 97 minutes).

Resurrection Road

Budget constraints are one thing, but this choppy thriller is so anachronistic and amateurish that it resembles Civil War cosplay. It follows a small troop of Black soldiers led by an ex-slave (Malcolm Goodwin) tasked with neutralizing weapons at a Confederate fort in Arkansas. Yet when their path takes them through a cursed forest in indigenous territory, they encounter a new enemy. The cast does its best to enliven certain scenes, but their characters aren’t sufficiently fleshed out. Neither is the story as a whole, which lacks broader context and resorts to genre tropes rather than finding relevance in a potentially intriguing slice of historical fiction. (Not rated, 77 minutes).