Freeze Frame: “Greta” (R), “Never Look Away” (R)

Acclaimed French actress Isabelle Huppert plays a troubled woman who stalks young Chloë Grace Moretz around New York City in the campy thriller, “Greta.” Written and directed by Neil Jordan, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “The Crying Game,” “Greta” tells the story of a naïve girl who finds a woman’s purse on the subway. When she tracks her down to return it, the woman sticks to her like chewing gum. The potential for a great creepfest was there, but the plot elements are a bit too familiar. The talented actresses give this suspense flick a boost, though, making it a passable nail-biter.

The German film “Never Look Away” was one of the nominees for this year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. A sweeping fictional overview of the life of an artist, “Never Look Away” is loosely based on the life of Gerhard Richter, based upon interviews the artist had with the film’s writer and director, Florian Henckel von Donnersmark, the man behind the 2006 Oscar winner, “The Lives of Others.” For his part, Richter has disavowed the movie saying that it is a gross distortion of his life.

While this three-hour epic is beautifully filmed by Oscar nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and has some effective moments, it’s overlong and never quite catches fire.

Also opening this week, “Apollo 11” is a new documentary about the 1969 moon mission consisting entirely of footage never before seen by the public. “Everybody Knows” is a Spanish kidnapping drama starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz and directed by the acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi. “The Hole in the Ground” is a horror thriller from Ireland about a boy who falls into a sinkhole and is not quite the same when he reappears. “Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral” is the eleventh and supposedly final installment in the Madea film series.

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