FREEZE FRAME: “Inferno,” “Certain Women,” “Michael Moore in Trumpland”

Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard may have gone to the well one too many times with “Inferno,” their third entry in the Robert Langdon “Da Vinci Code” series by novelist Dan Brown. This time out, our intrepid Harvard symbologist tries to unravel his trickiest puzzle, yet, involving Dante, a deadly virus and a crazy billionaire.

Howard’s directorial style is as showy as ever and Hanks is solid as always. But in this case, the story’s threads are so tangled that by the time you figure out what’s really going on, you’ll probably be rolling your eyes at all of the coincidences and plot holes. Langdon spends much of the movie in a drug-induced mental haze. I felt the same way without the drugs.

The drama “Certain Women” sets a new standard for the term “low key.” Three intertwining stories about small town Montana life feature actresses Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Kirsten Stewart and Lily Gladstone.

The acting is exemplary, especially from Gladstone. There isn’t much drama, in the traditional sense in this extremely slow-moving glimpse into the lives of ordinary people. But for those patient viewers who allow the characters’ concerns to become their own, it could prove to be very moving.

Incendiary liberal documentary filmmaker Michael Moore returns to the screen with a surprise stealth movie release, “Michael Moore in Trumpland,” a filmed version of a live stage show he performed on October 8th in the pivotal Trump-leaning State of Ohio. If you’re expecting a diatribe against Donald Trump, you’ll be disappointed. This one-man show is more of a love letter to Hillary Clinton. Moore really isn’t a standup comic, so his attempts at humor are hit-and-miss.

Also opening this week, “King Cobra” is a drama about murder in the porn industry. James Franco and Christian Slater are among the cast members.

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