“Paradox Effect” (** out of four) was a half-baked suspense potboiler about a former drug addict (Olga Kurylenko) who witnesses a murder and is forced to cooperate with the killer (Oliver Trevena) to save her daughter’s life and this all leads back to an aging crime boss (Harvey Keitel) they all want to take down. Tense story is watchable but lacks the skill and suspense to really put it over and give it maximum charge. Similar (and inferior) to Michael Mann’s “Collateral.” Kurylenko turns in another strong performance; Keitel sleepwalks through his umpteenth role as a mob villain.

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“Ezra” (** out of four) was an earnest but scattershot melodrama about a comic (Bobby Carnavale) and his complicated relationship with his young autistic son (William A. Fitzgerald), his ex-wife (Rose Byrne), and his bitter father (Robert De Niro). Good intentions abound in this story which is well-served by a first-rate cast but never connects emotionally and never gets off the ground as a comedy or family drama. Director Tony Goldwyn has a small role as a doctor.

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“Cinderella’s Revenge” (* out of four) was an appallingly mean and cruddy “adaptation” of the classic fairy tale about Cinderella (Lauren Staerck) who is pushed too far by her vindictive sisters and stepmother (Stephanie Lodge, Beatrice Fletcher, Megan Purvis) and turns to her fairy Godmother (Natasha Henstridge) for help in seeking bloody revenge. Incessant cruelty and unpleasantness and crude filmmaking make this a total turnoff. Hard to believe Disney would want any part of their name on this.

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“Moviepass, Moviecrash” (**1/2 out of four) was a modestly interesting documentary about the company that founded Moviepass which (temporarily at least) seemed to revive the movie-theatre industry and revitalize customer interest but it soon crashed and burned as the company went bankrupt and its owners were under federal investigation. Film covers what was primarily a footnote in film history and was not quite as monumental as it makes it out although the editing, interviews, and footage are relatively well-captured. Best left for ardent film lovers and documentary die-hards.

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“Atlas” (*1/2 out of four) was a desperately derivative sci/fi thriller about a counterterrorism analyst (Jennifer Lopez) who has a deep distrust of A.I. but discovers that it might be her only hope of saving mankind when a mission to capture a renegade robot goes awry and it might mean apocalypse now. Film’s title is ironic and apt since it is a virtual atlas itself of futuristic sci/fi cliches and is entirely composed of humdrum spare parts from other movies. Lopez is much better than the material; she also produced.

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“Back To Black” (*** out of four) was a captivating biography of music star Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela) who came out of nowhere in the early 2000’s and took the music scene by storm with the title blockbuster album and whose career was sadly undone and crippled by mental health and drug problems leading to her early death in 2011. Final third showing Winehouse’s downfall feels a little sanitized and truncated but film does a good job in showing her upbringing and love of music that translated onto the stage. Abela (who looks at times more like Britney Spears) is strong in the lead and so is Jack O’Connell as her long-time partner.

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“The Listener” (*1/2 out of four) was a pointless and torpid melodrama about a help-line counselor volunteer (Tessa Thompson) who works from home and takes various calls from those in need and gradually reveals the flaws and failings in her own life. Director Steve Buscemi shows a feel for mood and dialogue just as he did in his 1996 debut “Trees Lounge” but (same as that film) film rambles without any story or narrative drive and thus winds up a bore. Might have worked better as a stage play but as a feature film is hardly worth watching or “listening” to.

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“War Of The Worlds: Extinction” (*1/2 out of four) was a threadbare continuation of this series about a rogue general (a grizzled William Baldwin) who leads his troops to attack Earth while a team of archaeologists have to track him down to prevent the end of the world as we know it. Opens with some impressive visual effects but all is pretty much downhill there after into standard sci/fi story cliches. What- if anything- does this have to do with Orson Welles’ story original? Time for this series to face “extinction” of its own.

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