Freeze Frame: “The Friend” (R), “Freaky Tales” (R), “MobLand” (R)

Don’t be fooled by the deceptive advertising. The big dog movie “The Friend” with Naomi Watts and Bill Murray is NOT a family friendly comedy. It’s an R-rated drama about suicide and grief based on the novel by Sigrid Nunez. Watts plays a struggling novelist who inherits a Great Dane from her friend and mentor Murray after his death. Both she and the dog struggle in mourning as she attempts to figure out how to handle the awkward situation in her small New York apartment. “The Friend” is thoughtful and well-acted but a bit on the gloomy side.

Now on the other hand, the title for the movie “Freaky Tales” is an example of truth in advertising. Pedro Pascal leads a diverse cast in four fantastical interconnected stories that take place in Oakland on one night in 1987. Written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, best known for “Captain Marvel,” “Freaky Tales” is a violent, over-the-top flight of fancy inspired by Fleck’s memories of growing up in that unsparing California city. You gotta give it points for daring, but this decadent movie is a Quentin Tarantino wannabe that lacks that filmmaker’s sharp dialogue and outlandish touch.

For those who can’t get enough violent gangster action, Paramount+ offers more British mayhem from filmmaker Guy Ritchie. In the 10-episode limited series “MobLand,” Tom Hardy plays the fixer for a crime family headed up by Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren. Can Hardy please his employers and stay one step ahead of rival gangs and avoid a turf war? A great cast gives this grisly and somewhat soapy melodrama “MobLand” a much-needed lift.

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