Freeze Frame: “The Zone of Interest” (R), “The Underdoggs” (R)

The banality of evil is the subject of the devastating German entry, “The Zone of Interest,” loosely based on the novel by Martin Amis. It’s the favorite to win this year’s International Film Oscar. The film is about Rudolph Hoss, the Commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp during WWII, and his family’s carefree life on the other side of the compound wall. Unthinkable horrors occur on one side, while the family goes about their mundane daily lives on the other. Director Jonathan Glazer’s unique approach keeps the deadly action out of sight, which only adds to the ominous effect. Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller play the commandant and his wife, who bicker about trivial matters while man’s inhumanity to man plays out nearby. “The Zone of Interest” is an uneasy watch, and a chilling one.

On the other side of the cinematic universe, Snoop Dogg stars in the Amazon Prime comedy, “The Underdoggs.” Snoop plays an egotistical former NFL star whose conceited and narcissistic ways alienate everyone around him. After a series of run-ins, he is forced by court order to coach a Pop Warner team of football losers. Take “The Bad News Bears” and “The Mighty Ducks” and up the foul language and crude humor tenfold and you’ll have an idea of what you’re in for with this R-rated farce. If you’re idea of a good time is watching pre-teen kids behaving in ways that would make a sailor blush, then this is the movie for you. While it admittedly has some funny moments, the writing and direction are ham-fisted. While the running time is 141 minutes, it seems longer. “The Underdoggs” is as irritating as fingernails on the chalkboard. You’ve been warned.

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