PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF ★★
(MAX on Comcast) It sounds like an Otis Redding cover band but is, instead, an unofficial cover of the Harry Potter franchise. A New York teenager named Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) discovers he’s the powerful son of Poseidon. That Chris Columbus has been recruited to direct only multiplies that ersatz “Potter’’ feeling. For what it’s worth, Uma Thurman is having Marlene Dietrich fun as Medusa. (PG; runs through Feb. 2)
WESLEY MORRIS
THE WOLFMAN ★★ ½
(MAX on Comcast) What are dignified, award-worthy thespians like Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, and Sir Anthony Hopkins doing in a piece of old-school hokum like this? Having the time of their lives while trying to keep a straight face. The movie is by no means good but it’s surprisingly enjoyable: a Saturday-matinee monster-chiller-horror special that alternates fog-machine atmosphere with spurts of trendy gore. (Unrated; runs through Feb. 2)
TY BURR
PLEASE GIVE ★★★ ½
(Starz on Comcast) The new film from writer-director Nicole Holofcener (“Lovely & Amazing’’) is a moral comedy that feels at times like one of the late Eric Rohmer’s deceptively breezy miniatures, or a mid-period Woody Allen movie minus the fussiness. Catherine Keener heads up the cast as a frazzled Manhattanite wondering if it’s possible to lead a moral life. (R; runs through Feb. 11) TY BURR