‘BRAVE THE DARK’: Movies about inspirational teachers are a well-worn subgenre. Whether it’s “School of Rock” or “Dangerous Minds,” the relationship between a caring teacher and a group of (usually) troubled students offers easy access for heartstring-pulling and triumphant feelings of hard-earned success. The new film “Brave the Dark” treads this familiar territory, but it’s more of a unique one-on-one connection between teacher and student. The film, which is about an unconventional chosen family, is co-written by Nathaniel Deen, based on his own life story about being taken in by his drama teacher, Stan Deen. The film is also a family affair in front of and behind the camera — it’s directed by Damian Harris and stars his brothers, Jared and Jamie Harris. The film is a loving tribute from a son to a father figure, but perhaps Deen is too close to the story to have much perspective on it. We’ve seen this story before and “Brave the Dark” doesn’t shed new light. 1:50. 2 stars. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

‘DOG MAN’: Never fear, “Dog Man” is here. The popular children’s books by Dav Pilkey (a spinoff of the “Captain Underpants” series) are adapted with a silly, self-referential charm by writer-director Peter Hastings, the result a cutely frenetic but somewhat narratively flimsy animated feature. “Dog Man” feels like a bedtime story made up by a dad, then rendered in a sweetly kiddie aesthetic. The character’s origin story is told in a quick introduction: Ohkay City police Officer Knight and his trusty dog Greg make a great team (Greg’s the brains of the operation), but when they’re injured in an explosion, doctors have to attach Greg’s head to Officer Knight’s body, resulting in Dog Man, Supa Cop. Dog Man’s success chagrins his boss, Chief (Lil Rel Howery), and delights the local TV reporter Sarah Hatoff (Isla Fisher). Dog Man’s nemesis is an evil orange tabby named Petey (Pete Davidson) who loves nothing more than to dream up wilder and wilder robots to take down his rival. Dog Man, for his part, is continually throwing Petey in Cat Jail, from which he keeps escaping. But everything changes when Petey, fed up with his assistant Butler (Poppy Liu), clones himself, and out pops an adorable orange kitten, Li’l Petey (Lucas Hopkins Calderon). The whole film barely stretches to its 89-minute run time, and there’s not enough to the conceit to pad out more of the story and lore. However, the lessons of compassion and empathy are profound, and remind us that tales of good triumphing over evil are evergreen, even when it doesn’t seem to be reflected in the world around us. 1:29. 3 stars. — Katie Walsh

‘LOVE ME’: Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: A buoy and a satellite meet on a post-humanity Earth. The satellite asks the buoy, “Are you a life form?” And the buoy answers yes, quickly scanning the dregs of the internet to offer up a lifelike image, and lands on an influencer. A love story ensues. There’s no disputing that “Love Me,” the debut feature of husband-and-wife filmmaking team Andy and Sam Zuchero, is unique. Is it unlike anything you’ve ever seen before? Kind of. It has shades of “WALL-E,” “Her,” the documentary “Good Night Oppy” and any other film in which a female robot powered by artificial intelligence is weirdly sexy. The Zucheros’ film also has the marketing-ready hook of casting two Oscar nominees as a “buoy” and a “satellite” who fall in love; Kristen Stewart plays the buoy, with Steven Yeun as the satellite, sent into space as humanity’s digital tombstone, its time capsule, orbiting the planet, checking for life forms. As their connection grows, the buoy becomes Me, and the satellite becomes I Am, first as Sims-like animated figures then eventually, 1 billion years into their complicated situationship, “real” people (or at least real actors’ faces to look at). This exploration of whether or not artificial intelligence can become “real” (or “human”) poses a lot of questions but doesn’t offer any answers. It’s a tricky film to try and make sense of, because there’s the nagging feeling that the movie doesn’t even know how to make sense of itself, hiding behind high concepts and wordy deflections laden with double meaning. 1:32. 1 1/2 stars. — Katie Walsh

‘ONE OF THEM DAYS’: “One of Them Days” is a pretty good time, made better when one of its major points of distinction takes the wheel. The driver? Keke Palmer, at 31 a seasoned pro. She’s one of many alums of Issa Rae projects collaborating on this feature, including director Lawrence Lamont, first-time screenwriter Syreeta Singleton and R&B star and four-time Grammy winner SZA, taking her first co-lead. Palmer and SZA are an easy on-screen pair in all the best ways: easy interplay, near-zero visible effort even when the movie itself strains for laughs, easy enjoyment for the audience. Palmer delivers an on-the-fly masterclass in overlapping comic skills, sometimes heightened, sometimes subtle and heartfelt. Her keen instinct for pacing, and for propelling an exchange or a scene from point A to B, or C, keeps things energized. She and SZA won’t change anyone’s lives with this one, but I came out smiling. 1:37. 3 stars. — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

‘PRESENCE’: In “Presence,” a ghost story from director Steven Soderbergh, we, the viewers, are the camera, and the camera is the unseen spectral being that’s haunting an ordinary house newly purchased by a troubled family of four. This is the setup for screenwriter David Koepp’s paradox: a confined yet highly mobile scenario, 85 minutes long. The Paynes, settle on their offer with the agent in near-record time. Rebekah, played by Lucy Liu, wants the house for the public school in its district for the benefit of her clearly favored child, high schooler Tyler (Eddy Maday). Tyler’s sister, Chloe (Callina Liang), is locked inside a shell of grief. In overheard bits and pieces, her parents — Chris Sullivan of “This is Us” plays her conflict-avoidant but empathetic father — and her dead-eyed brother refer to Chloe’s recently deceased best friend, victim of an apparent drug overdose. Even with its flaws, “Presence” pays attention to matters of depression and grief, and how some parents look the other way when their kids’ words or behavior cry out for the opposite. 1:25. 3 stars. — Michael Phillips

‘WOLF MAN’: Fans of “SCTV” may remember a “Monster Chiller Horror Theatre” episode in which Joe Flaherty’s late-night host, Count Floyd, mistakenly programs a made-up Ingmar Bergman film, “Whispers of the Wolf,” thinking it’s a simple werewolf picture instead of a moody, existential mashup of Bergman’s “Hour of the Wolf” and “Persona.” The new “Wolf Man” from Universal Pictures and co-writer and director Leigh Whannell may likewise provoke some puzzled Count Floyd-esque looks of confusion among horror fans. Not that it’s a failure or a joke. Whannell makes genre films for a wide audience, adults included. He doesn’t play these Universal franchise reboots for kicks. In “Wolf Man,” he really doesn’t. The results are equal parts marital crisis, sins-of-the-father psychodrama and visceral body horror. They’re also a bit of a plod — especially in the second half, when whatever kind of horror film you’re making should not, you know, plod. “Wolf Man’s” seriousness is heavy going. Its leitmotif sticks, doggedly, to the idea of transmutable, unholy fears and sins of the fathers, transmitted like a virus down the family line. That was neither the first nor the last werewolf movie. This one goes about its business with a solemn air, even when it’s super-blechy and Christopher Abbott’s character is chewing on his own forearm for obvious reasons: an unemployed writer’s gotta eat. 1:43. 2 1/2 stars. — Michael Phillips

RATINGS: The movies listed are rated according to the following key: 4 stars, excellent; 3 stars, good; 2 stars, fair; 1 star, poor.