FREEZE FRAME: “The Divergent Series: Allegiant,” “Hello, My Name is Doris,” “The Bronze”

In a future dystopian society, pretty young people will stand around looking bored while computer generated mayhem swirls around them. Or at least that’s how it plays out in “The Divergent Series: Allegiant,” the third film in the four-part franchise about a young woman who leads a rebellion against an evil dictatorship. The first movie was a reasonably entertaining and involving sci-fi thriller, but the subsequent episodes have gotten progressively dumber and are seriously padded. Shailene Woodley and a likable cast do their best with what they’ve been given, but “Allegiant” comes off as little more than “The Hunger Games-Lite.”

Two-time Oscar-winner Sally Field stars as an emotionally stunted older woman who falls in love with a much younger man, played by Max Greenfield, in the episodic comic drama, “Hello, My Name is Doris.” It’s an oddball geriatric coming-of-age flick that stretches credibility to the limit, but is bolstered by an extremely appealing cast that makes the eye-rolling moments easier to take.

The world of competitive gymnastics suffers an ugly blow in the outrageously unpleasant comedy, “The Bronze.” Melissa Rauch plays a nasty, foul-mouthed Tonya Harding type, a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist resting on her laurels in small town Ohio. She’s tricked into coaching an up-and-coming gymnast who steals her spotlight. The script is off-putting and utterly lacking in wit. In a desperate attempt to generate laughs, the filmmakers simply choose to amp up the vulgarity. If there’s such a thing as a lead medal, “The Bronze” might qualify.

Also opening this week, “Miracles from Heaven” is a faith-based drama based on a true story about a young girl who is cured of an incurable disease after she suffers a freak head injury. Jennifer Garner and Queen Latifah star. “Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict” is a documentary about the famous heiress who helped propel the modern art movement.

Well that’s it for this edition of Freeze Frame. Until next week, I’m Russ Simmons with Fox 4 and KKFI-FM.

Share This Episode