Freeze Frame: “Hypnotic” (R), “Book Club: The Next Chapter” (PG-13), “Blackberry” (R), “Fool’s Paradise” (R), “The Mother” (R)

Ben Affleck stars in “Hypnotic” a flaky sci-fi thriller from Robert Rodriguez about a police detective who discovers that government mind control experiments may have something to do with his missing daughter. The gimmicky plot outwits itself with twists that will make your eyes roll.

The sex lives of women of a certain age once again endure the sitcom treatment in the raunchy sequel, “Book Club: The Next Chapter.” Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen play friends who go on an Italian vacation. If terrible sex jokes told by actresses in their 70s and 80s is your idea of fun, have a look. A great cast and beautiful locales help cover the flaws in a truly awful script.

The involving drama “Blackberry” is a fictionalized account of the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of the company that made the ubiquitous handheld devices. Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton star as the co-CEOs whose chilly relationship and personal hubris helped short-circuit the firm. Its sharp script and documentary-style cinematography give “Blackberry” a gritty, realistic feel.

“Fool’s Paradise” is a Hollywood satire that plays like a screwy sitcom on speed. Charlie Day wrote, directed and stars in the tale of a mute mental health patient who’s a doppelganger for a narcissistic movie star. It’s a total misfire that strands its impressive cast in a manic, misguided farce.

In her latest Netflix drama, Jennifer Lopez is one bad mother…. In “The Mother,” J Lo plays a retired assassin forced to give up her daughter for adoption only to have to return to combat mode to protect her child from vengeful bad guys. While it’s preposterous, violent, and over-the-top, “The Mother” delivers the brutal action genre fans demand.


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