Too much ‘Chaos’

“Chaos Theory” is not exactly bad, but it disappointingly never really discovers the movie that it wants to be. Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds) tells his soon-to-be son-in-law the tale of how his marriage to Susan (Emily Mortimer) once nearly fell apart and the ways in which the experience deeply changed how he has looked at the world ever since.

Director Marcos Siega (“Pretty Persuasion”) allows the film to flail about wildly, changing its tone from heartfelt domestic drama to ironic farce to broad slapstick on a whim, never seeming to grasp to what end events have been set in motion. In trying to find a hook for “Chaos Theory,” the marketers have seized on what is a fairly minor plot point: One morning, Susan accidentally sets Frank’s clock back 10 minutes instead of ahead, as she intended, causing him to be late and setting in motion a string of life-changing events. Yet much of what follows isn’t so motivated by his being off-schedule.

The cast members twist themselves into knots trying to sell the story, Reynolds in particular. He is at his best as the slightly shallow charmer of the film’s middle sections, and so he doesn’t quite pull off the soulful depth of the man he is meant to become -- instead signifying his hard-won eccentric gravitas by wearing red socks with a dark suit. If only it were always so easy.

-- Mark Olsen

“Chaos Theory.” PG-13 for thematic material, sexual conduct and language. Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes. ArcLight, 6360 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 464-4226.

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Boxing doc has no punch

Although the built-in paradox of an Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn (by way of Ukraine) becoming a professional boxer would seem like ideal documentary fodder, Jason Hutt’s portrait of devout young pugilist Dmitriy Salita is surprisingly uninspired.

The problem lies chiefly with Salita, who, for better or for worse, lacks the sort of brash charisma and inner turmoil normally associated with boxers, which might have made him a more compelling subject. Despite his share of hardships (immigrant poverty, his mother’s untimely death), the kindly and dedicated Salita, now 24, has enjoyed a fairly steady, conflict-free rise in his sport of choice; good for him, bad for building on-screen tension. Worse, Hutt keeps a too-respectful distance from Salita, avoiding any direct collision with the athlete and never really digging beneath his composed surface.

As for the boxing matches, Hutt shoots them efficiently, though they don’t pack any particular punch.

-- Gary Goldstein

“Orthodox Stance.” Unrated. In English, Russian, Hebrew and Spanish with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour, 22 minutes. Laemmle’s Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 274-6869.

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A stunted ‘Sunflower’

In the latest from Chinese writer-director Zhang Yang, the discord between a father and son across the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s plays out against a backdrop of the rapid changes affecting life in Beijing. The film wears its ambitions toward allegory plainly, as the family tensions are meant to represent the difficulty of transitions within China from old to new. As traditional buildings make way for modern high-rises, the father tells his son, “You are my second chance.” Zhang’s structure for the film, spanning decades, hampers it from coming into its own, as scenes play out slowly but the film rushes to get from A to B to C. Too often Zhang’s storytelling feels an outdated melodrama.

-- M.O.

“Sunflower.” Unrated. Running time: 2 hours, 9 minutes. In Mandarin with English subtitles. Laemmle’s Grand 4-Plex, 345 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, (213) 617-0268.

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‘Word’ is an amateurish effort

Director and co-writer Casper Andreas and co-writer and star Jesse Archer revisit characters from the previous “Slutty Summer” in the gay romantic comedy “A Four Letter Word.” Party boy Luke (Archer) tries to settle down with Stephen, while Peter moves in with his latest boyfriend. Meanwhile, Trisha struggles with her impending wedding and her sobriety when her female AA sponsor makes a pass at her. Although the film has a certain freewheeling energy, it is often undercut by an overall sense of amateur-hour awkwardness, with back-and-forth dialogue often segueing into long-winded monologue. Though they have the foresight to weave the idea of a character being a “gay cliche” into the story, they can’t find a way to transcend their shop-worn characters and situations.

-- M.O.

“A Four Letter Word.” Unrated. Running time: 1 hour, 27 minutes. Laemmle Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-3500.