Freeze Frame: "The Smashing Machine" (R), "The Lost Bus" (PG-13), "Play Dirty" (R)

Freeze Frame

Respectable. That may be the best thing one can say about the new Dwayne Johnson movie "The Smashing Machine." In this art house sports drama from writer-director Benny Safdie, The Rock plays troubled mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr who battles drugs and insecurity as well as his opponents in the ring. Emily Blunt is his impatient, moderately supportive girlfriend. The performances of real-life MMA fighters Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten and former heavyweight champion boxer Oleksander Usyk bring additional authenticity. The stars are fine, but in an attempt to avoid cliches, the movie also avoids dramatic momentum. This low-key, matter-of-fact approach prevents "The Smashing Machine" from scoring a knockout. A true story from California's devastating 2018 Camp Fire is the basis of the Apple TV+ thriller, "The Lost Bus." Matthew McConaughey stars as a troubled school bus driver who attempts to navigate the overwhelming blaze and save the lives of two dozen kids and a teacher, played by America Ferrera. Director Paul Greengrass, best known for the Jason Bourne films, knows how to build tension. With “The Lost Bus,” he’s created a realistic and involving nail-biter. In the tongue-in-cheek Amazon Prime crime thriller "Play Dirty," Mark Wahlberg plays Parker, the gifted professional thief from Richard Stark's novel series. What may have worked on the page seems overblown and ludicrous on screen under the direction of action filmmaker Shane Black. After a racetrack heist goes bad, Parker recruits a band of thieves to steal some priceless antiquities and exact revenge on the woman who ruined his previous caper. A good cast is wasted in a bloody, noisy, profane and utterly preposterous crime opus.