Freeze Frame: “Silvie’s Love” (PG-13),”Pieces of a Woman” (R), “Stars Fell on Alabama” (PG-13), “Shadow in the Cloud” (R)

Are you a fan of the sweeping melodramatic Hollywood romances of the 1950s that often show up on Turner Classic Movies? If so, then “Silvie’s Love” is right up your alley. Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha star in the story of a rocky romance between a wannabe TV producer and a jazz sax player. “Silvie’s Love” echoes those popular, soapy 50s movies that filmmakers like Douglas Sirk made mainly for a female audience. One significant difference is that writer/director Eugene Ashe and his leads are African American, giving the story a unique perspective. The cast is appealing and the score by Fabrice Lecomte is a big help, too. “Silvie’s Love is beautifully shot, lush and lyrical.

Outstanding performances from Vanessa Kirby, Shia LeBeouf and Ellen Burstyn propel the heartbreaking drama, “Pieces of a Woman,” the story of how a traumatic home birth affects the lives of a woman, her partner and her mother. It’s admittedly hard to endure but is a distinctive acting showcase that thrusts Kirby into this year’s Oscar race.

“Stars Fell on Alabama” is a low budget indie romcom that follows an overly familiar path. James Maslow plays a Hollywood agent who travels to his hometown for his 15-year high school reunion. He talks one of his clients, a starlet played by Ciara Hanna, to pretend to be his girlfriend in order to impress his old friends. The likable cast can’t quite overcome the script’s glaring cliches.

Chloë Grace Moretz stars in the wacky, over-the-top sci-fi horror film, “Shadow in the Cloud.” During WWII, a mysterious female captain flies boards a B-17 bomber on a rainy New Zealand runway. She carries a classified package. She and the crew battle Japanese fighter planes and something far more bizarre. “Shadow in the Cloud” is zippy, well directed midnight movie fodder.

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