Capsule reviews for Nov. 21

The Age of Disclosure

The entire point of this documentary seems to be persuading the U.S. government to declassify decades of intel regarding military sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (or UFOs). In that regard, it’s persuasive in arguing the possibility of life beyond Earth. However, the problem is that the film itself isn’t especially compelling because it basically features a parade of talking heads — very well-informed ones, mind you — explaining their convictions while the juicier specifics remain fuzzy. Despite the best efforts of rookie director Dan Farah, it’s not a bombshell expose of an institutional coverup, but rather a curiosity piece that’s unlikely to sway moviegoers on its own. (Not rated, 109 minutes).

Altered

Any narrative or visual ambition in this dystopian science-fiction thriller is canceled out by the lackluster script, uneven performances, wooden dialogue, and tonal awkwardness. It’s set in a large city in a bleak near-future when genetically enhanced humans claim socioeconomic superiority. That turns a wheelchair-bound rebel (Tom Felton) into a vigilante for the oppressed, creating himself a RoboCop-style suit to take revenge against political corruption, capitalist greed, and misguided public perception in the name of equality. Perhaps hampered by its budget constraints, the screenplay by Finnish director Timo Vuorensola (Iron Sky) is hopelessly convoluted rather than provocative, which prevents the heavy-handed subtext from resonating. (Rated PG-13, 87 minutes).

Blue Eyed Girl

Melodramatic contrivances overwhelm the heartfelt intentions in this saga of grief and healing from director Mills Goodloe (A Gentleman’s Game), rooted in family friction and reconciliation. It centers on a fledgling Hollywood actress (Marisa Coughlan) who returns home to Minnesota to deal with a health scare involving her aging father (Beau Bridges). Meanwhile, she deals with lingering hostility with her two sisters while renewing acquaintances with a crush (Sam Trammell) from her high-school days. The solid cast elevates the mundane material. Yet with its familiar themes and characters, the film is too predictable to provide a fresh perspective or achieve a deeper emotional impact. (Not rated, 97 minutes).

The Family Plan 2

Mark Wahlberg could operate on autopilot in this latest action-comedy vehicle, an uninspired follow-up to the equally lackluster 2023 adventure about a man whose family discovers his secret past. There are no such surprises this time as Wahlberg again plays assassin and suburban father Dan, who takes his wife (Michelle Monaghan) and kids on a European vacation over the holidays. However, when a criminal (Kit Harington) shows up seeking revenge, the intended festivities turn into a perilous cat-and-mouse chase through exotic locales. Despite some scattered laughs and a few thrills, the film follows a predictable formula, employing a lively pace to cover for the thin script. (Rated PG-13, 106 minutes).

The Great Escaper

An esteemed cast helps this bittersweet drama about healing, reconciliation, mortality, and the lasting emotional trauma of war from drifting into heavy-handed sentimentality. It’s inspired by the true story of 90-year-old Bernard Jordan (Michael Caine), who left his care home in England in 2014 for the 70th anniversary commemoration of D-Day in France, where he served at Normandy. As his wife (Glenda Jackson) copes with her own troubles back home, Bernard makes unexpected headlines while finding closure. This film about Bernard — also played by Pierce Brosnan in The Last Rifleman — takes a different and more serious approach, which is appropriately solemn yet also thoughtful and moving. (Not rated, 96 minutes).

The Shepherd and the Bear

Set amid the beauty and serenity of the remote Pyrenees region, this eye-opening French documentary generates intrigue and tension from bitter conflicts among the humans and animals who live there. Specifically, it chronicles an surly old farmer trying to find an heir to care for his sheep. Trouble stems from hungry bears, who were recently reintroduced into the mountainous area by the government and have become a threat to flocks. In the midst of clashes over species conservation and a vanishing way of life, comes a teenager enamored with the bears. Deliberately paced yet visually alluring, the immersive film is both compassionate and rigorously even-handed. (Not rated, 101 minutes).

Sisu: Road to Revenge

With an enhanced narrative scope compared to its predecessor, this sequel to the 2023 Finnish action saga from director Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports) doesn’t sacrifice the relentless intensity or creatively choreographed brutality. It again follows the indestructible vigilante (Jorma Tommila), whose efforts to relocate his rural family home post-World War II is interrupted by Soviet thugs seeking vengeance, triggering another underdog showdown for our outnumbered but remarkably resourceful hero. Featuring the same go-for-broke audacity yet lacking the same freshness, it’s essentially more of the same. That should please established fans seeking a higher body count and frustrate detractors with its similarly repetitive nature and inconsequential silliness. (Rated R, 88 minutes).

Time Travel Is Dangerous

Despite a cool premise and a cheeky throwback vibe, this lo-fi British science-fiction comedy struggles to translate its abundant quirks into consistent laughs. Mixing mock-documentary with traditional narrative, the story follows the proprietors of a London antique shop who happen upon a discarded time machine and use it to steal vintage knickknacks from the past that they can sell in the present. Of course, the scheme carries consequences beyond petty theft, especially when they run afoul of a secret society of inventors. Populated by an endearing batch of oddballs and misfits, the film becomes lost in a hopelessly convoluted third act that squanders its present-day charms. (Not rated, 99 minutes).

Zodiac Killer Project

We’ll never know the quality of the true-crime documentary Charlie Shackleton wanted to make, but the film he made instead is probably even better. The British filmmaker laments how he lost the rights at the last minute to adapt a nonfiction book written by a California cop who claimed to be obsessively chasing the notorious Zodiac Killer in 1971. So this film explains what that film would have been, down to specific shots and reveals. Rather dry from a visual standpoint, it’s surprisingly insightful and compelling, if a bit self-serving, thanks to a playful ridicule with which Shackleton dissects the genre’s sensationalist tropes and truth-bending ethics. (Not rated, 91 minutes).