Freeze Frame: “Ordinary Angels” (PG), “Perfect Days” (PG), “Out of Darkness” (R)

Two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank stars in the family friendly social drama, “Ordinary Angels.” It tells the inspirational true story of Sharon Stevens, an alcoholic hairdresser who seeks redemption by rallying her Kentucky community to help a child in desperate need of a liver transplant. Sharon takes on innumerable obstacles facing the girl and her family, while dealing with considerable baggage of her own. While it’s manipulative and hits a lot of familiar notes, “Ordinary Angels” is a well-meaning drama that may well evoke a tear or two.

Filmmaker Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days” is one of the nominees for this year’s Best International Film Oscar. It’s a very Zen experience as it conveys the daily routine of a man who cleans public toilets in Tokyo. Koji Yakusho won the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Fest for his nearly silent performance. It’s a very slow-moving tale, an empathetic portrait of an everyday worker. It can be seen as a celebration of the dignity of labor and the pride an individual can take in their job. While “Perfect Days” is very deliberately paced, patient viewers may succumb to its understated charms.

“Out of Darkness” is a horror thriller set in the year 43,000 B.C. A handful of cave people desperately in search of food arrive by raft at an unexplored beach. The efforts of these hunter/gatherers seem fruitless as the area proves to be a wasteland. When night falls, however, they’re confronted by an unseen entity that apparently is hunting them. It’s bone cold and very off-putting. The well-made chiller “Out of Darkness” seem to imply that man’s basic nature hasn’t changed much in 45,000 years.

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