FREEZE FRAME: “Hunter Killer” (R), “Johnny English Strikes Again” (PG), “Free Solo” (PG-13)

A game cast isn’t quite enough to keep the submarine thriller “Hunter Killer” afloat. Gerard Butler plays Captain Joe Glass, the square-jawed leader of an American nuclear sub that is called upon to fulfill a unique mission: To save the leader of Russia from an internal military coup. There are so many improbabilities in “Hunter Killer” that audiences are forced to suspend disbelief more than for a Harry Potter movie. And why did Gary Oldman choose to follow up his Oscar-winning role as Churchill with this goofy enterprise? As a military thriller, the submarine flick “Hunter Killer” is sub-par.
The one good thing you can say about the goofy spy spoof sequel “Johnny English Strikes Again” is that it’s more believable than “Hunter Killer.” British comic Rowan Atkinson, best known as Mr. Bean, returns as a bungling secret agent in this sequel to his 2003 comedy. English is called upon to save the world from an evil computer entrepreneur who’s bent on world domination. Peter Sellers in “The Pink Panther” movies is the obvious template for this character, but “Johnny English” lacks the inspired lunacy of those comic hits.

“Free Solo” is a documentary about mountain climber Alex Honnold and his attempt to scale the face of Yosemite’s sheer El Capitan without ropes or gear. It’s glimpse at Honnold’s eccentricity is as interesting as the beautifully photographed climb.

Also opening this week, “Indivisible” is a faith-based drama about an Army Chaplin who leaves his family behind for an extended deployment in Iraq. “London Fields” is a suspense drama based on the novel. Billy Bob Thornton stars. “Mid90s” is a comic coming of age skateboarding story written and directed by Jonah Hill. “Silencio” is a drama about a reality-bending meteorite. “After Auschwitz” is a documentary about Holocaust survivors in America.

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