Freeze Frame: “The Happytime Murders” (R), “Papillon” (R), “Puzzle” (R)

Some foul-mouthed puppets behaving in degenerate ways provide the gimmick in the one-joke movie, “The Happytime Murders.” Jim Henson’s son, Brian Henson, takes his puppetry skills into the R-rated realm with this raunchy and vulgar comedy. Melissa McCarthy plays a police detective who reunites with her former puppet partner to find a serial killer targeting stars from a 1980s TV puppet show. The shock value quickly wears thin in what is basically an overextended TV sketch. “The Happytime Murders” is under-stuffed.

The prison escape adventure “Papillon” is based on the bestselling autobiography and the classic 1973 movie version that starred Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Charlie Hunnam plays a French safecracker who is sent to Devil’s Island on a trumped-up murder charge. He befriends a forger, played by Rami Malek, who comes to depend on him. This sweeping and harrowing story is well produced and skillfully acted and vividly portrays the brutality of the old French colonial system. For those unfamiliar with the original, it’s a workmanlike, if uninspired survival story.

“Puzzle” is an extremely low-key romance about a repressed housewife, played by Kelly Macdonald, who breaks out of her rut by exploiting her jigsaw puzzle skills. She meets and has a fling with her wealthy Indian-American puzzle partner, played by Irrfan Khan. Macdonald is so believable that you may well forgive some of the movie’s lapses, including a lack of romantic chemistry between the stars.

Also opening this week, “A.X.L.” is a sci-fi fantasy about a boy and his robotic dog. “Far from the Tree” is a documentary about parenting children with special needs. “Beautifully Broken” is a faith-based true story shot in South Africa about the Rwandan genocide. “Nico, 1988” is a drama about the latter years of a once popular British singer. “Summer of ‘84” is a coming-of-age horror entry.

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