Movie Reviews

It’s not “Every Day” (Orion) that you run into an incorporeal spirit who inhabits the bodies of different people for 24 hours at a time. But such is the unusual nature of the love interest in this strange teen romance.

Lent is intended to be a season of ongoing conversion. These are capsule reviews of 10 films that showcase characters experiencing a positive change of heart, mind or outlook.

Writer-director Alex Garland’s “Annihilation” (Paramount), a blend of sci-fi and horror, starts off promisingly, its understated tone and matter-of-fact dialogue ratcheting up audience dread.

With the new movie “Paul, Apostle of Christ,” Eric Groth, one of the film’s executive producers, said, “it was real important to tell the story of God’s mercy.”

Nick Park, the creative genius behind so many Aardman Animations claymation comedies spanning more than two decades, finally makes his feature-length directing debut with “Early Man” (Lionsgate).

While not suitable for the youngest viewers, the spirited biblically based drama “Samson” (Pure Flix) can provide a fine introduction to the Hebrew he-man’s story for teens.

Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler’s adaptation of a series of Marvel Comics — Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first launched the character of the title in 1966 — is sprawling, energetic, lightened by some clever humor but, ultimately, overlong.

Patrons unwise enough to shell out good money for this campy nonsensical movie, “Fifty Shades Freed” (Universal), will get a facial workout as they roll their eyes, drop their jaws and gurgle derisively at the ineptness of it all.