Capsule movie reviews, week of Jan. 24

Capsule movie reviews, week of Jan. 24

Based on an amalgam of true stories, set in 1835, it tells the story of a father and son in search of an escaped slave.

The macabre laughs derive from the sheer weirdness (and harshness) of the film’s world.

The Road Chip Four movies into a reinvention that started in 2007, the filmmakers are sticking to the same lazy yet lucrative formula.

The best thing you can say about “The Road Chip”: While there is a joke involving chipmunk poop, at least nobody consumes it this time.

Anomalisa One of the best animated films in years, written and co-directed by Charlie Kaufman, this is a movie about and for adults.

Taking place over the course of a couple of days, it’s the story of an emotionally isolated man (the voice of David Thewlis) who finds a special connection with a lonely woman (the voice of Jennifer Jason Leigh).

The Big Short One of the season’s most entertaining movies, this black comedy from director Adam McKay finds intelligent amusement in the financial crisis, with a story about a handful of people who made a killing from the collapse.

Christian Bale and Steve Carell are superb as hedge fund managers too sane and too eccentric not to admit the truth when they see it.

The Boy Horror thriller about a nanny who discovers that her new employers’ boy is actually a life-size doll.

Rated PG-13. 97 minutes.

Bridge of Spies The latest from Steven Spielberg is a sure, solid ride, with Tom Hanks as James B. Donovan, who is enlisted to represent a Soviet spy and then actually endeavors to give him good representation.

Brooklyn Rich in emotion and period detail, this story of a young Irish woman (Saoirse Ronan) who moves to Brooklyn in 1951 is one of the best films of the year.

Carol Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara share acting honors, in this, one of the best films of the year, about two women, of different ages and backgrounds, who form an emotional connection in 1950s New York City.

Concussion Occasionally corny in its treatment, the film tells a terrific story, with Will Smith as the Nigerian doctor who discovered the horrible brain syndrome caused directly by football, and of the efforts by the NFL to marginalize him and deny his findings.

Creed Director Ryan Coogler lends energy and a contemporary edge into the venerable Rocky franchise, with Stallone as the aging champ stepping in to train Adonis, the son of Rocky’s late friend Apollo Creed.

Daddy’s Home The movie tries to fashion a heartwarming family comedy from material best suited for nasty black comedy.

The Danish Girl This historical drama about the life of transgender pioneer Lili Elbe has excellent acting and impeccable production values, though at times it seems hemmed in by its own tasteful restraint.

Dirty Grandpa Comedy about a straitlaced young man tricked into driving his rude and crude grandfather to spring break in Florida.

Rated R. 102 minutes.

The 5th Wave Sci-fi adventure about a woman trying to save her younger brother after Earth suffers a series of alien attacks.

Rated PG-13. 114 minutes.

Flowers This melancholy Spanish drama traces the consequences for three women when one of them, who is married, begins receiving flower bouquets from an anonymous sender.

The Good Dinosaur Pixar’s dinosaur-themed Western adventure has an original concept, disarming emotional heft and features the most impressive visuals in animated cinema to date.

The film is limited by visible seams in the script, with a shifting tone that varies from light comedy to surprising menace, sometimes too abruptly.

Heart of a Dog Laurie Anderson’s meditation on death, loss and ultimately life, as exemplified by her beloved rat terrier dog Lolabelle, is one of the best films of 2015 — visually adventurous and lovely, experimental yet accessible, poetic and philosophical.

Lolabelle helped Anderson adjust to a post-9/11 world, and the lessons from her loss are helping Anderson through the death of her mother as well as her husband, Lou Reed.

Kind of a magical film, this.

Mockingjay, Part 2 Jennifer Lawrence is such a good actress that watching her make sense of a completely flat character only makes the silliness stand out in sharper relief, in this labored but intermittently amusing finale to the dystopian series.

Philip Seymour Hoffman stands out in a handful of scenes, but unfortunately he died before filming what would have been the movie’s most important scene.

Ip Man 3 The presence of superstar Donnie Yen makes this martial arts action film worth watching.

Yen is appealing, and the story moves right along.

Rated PG-13. 105 minutes.

Little Girl Blue This Janis Joplin documentary is clumsy at times, but most problems are overcome by its meticulously research and incredible access to friends, family and musicians in the singer’s life.

There’s enough to keep more casual fans interested, and devotees of the singer will be blown away — excited to find new angles and stories they didn’t know before.

The Lady in the Van Maggie Smith stars as a comically cranky, somewhat unhinged elderly woman who lives in a van outside the London home of playwright Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings) for 15 years.

Mustang This impressive, nuanced tale of self-determination follows five Turkish sisters whose home is a “wife factory” that forces them into arranged marriages.

Rated PG-13. 94 minutes.

Norm of the North Animated adventure tale about a polar bear’s efforts to save his Arctic home.

The dialogue generates little laughter, and the film relies on physical gags and cute creatures.

Art Addict Filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland Diana Vreeland:

The Eye Has to Travel explores the life of Peggy Guggenheim, whose instinct and taste carved out a place in the firmament of 20th century artists.

A fascinating story about the woman who amassed one of the world’s great art collections, all the more interesting because of the remembrances of an array of art pundits and historians.

The Revenant A man (Leonardo DiCaprio) is severely wounded in a bear attack and abandoned by his colleagues in the American Northwest of 1820.

The bear attack scene is one for the ages.

Ride Along 2 This sequel to the mildly funny 2014 buddy film, starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, implodes early, under a weak script that makes Hart more neurotic than funny.

Olivia Munn co-stars, but in a role that’s mostly decorative.

Room An interesting experiment that becomes overlong and wearying, this is the story of a woman, held captive for seven years, creating a reality for her 5-year-old son, while living in confinement.

Brie Larson is superb as the mother, but Jacob Tremblay as the child is a little hard to take.

The Holocaust film has become a familiar cinematic staple, but this Hungarian effort is something different.

At times difficult to watch, this is nonetheless worth watching, and the opening two shots are among the best cinema of 2015.

Rated R. 107 minutes.

In Hungarian and German with English subtitles.

Spectre The James Bond series returns to top form, with 007 going up against the best Bond villain in living memory — Christoph Waltz, as a charming lunatic out to control the world.

The Bond women (no Bond girls in this one) are Lea Seydoux and Monica Bellucci, and the action sequences are brilliantly crafted.

Star Wars:

The Force Awakens The best “Star Wars” sequel yet features a return of the original cast, with Harrison Ford delightful as a grumpy-as-ever Han Solo.

The movie is brisk, with a riveting story, lots of surprises and plenty of time to introduce new and interesting characters.

The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi This is a strange war movie, in that it’s not stirring, but dispiriting, though it takes the form of a typical war movie.

The Treasure A fable-like Romanian film about two men searching for treasure buried in a garden.

Youth This English-language movie from Italian director Paolo Sorrentino is a handsomely mounted meditation on art, aging and love — substantial subjects, but the film isn’t heavy-handed.

Two old friends, a retired conductor and a film director attempting a comeback (well played by Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel), meet at an elegant Swiss hotel and spa, where they chat and observe their fellow guests.

Sun.-Thurs.: Star Wars:

Tues.: “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” “Corridor of Mirrors.”