NEW YORK.  More than 20 years ago, Greek Canadian actress and author Nia Vardalos penned the script for a screen adaptation of a one-woman play she had written and performed exploring the mores and foibles of the immigrant community in which she had been raised. The result was a sleeper box-office hit that was also well received by critics.

NEW YORK. In a timely move, the folks behind the slick, vibrant espionage thriller “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” (PG-13, Paramount) have added an experimental Artificial Intelligence project run amok to their roster of villains. So if moviegoers weren’t afraid of AI before seeing the picture, they may well be afterward.

NEW YORK.  A pilgrimage to Lourdes provides the framework for the tender drama “The Miracle Club” (PG-13, Sony Classics). By turns humorous and touching, director Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s delicate film will appeal to grown-ups and perhaps mature teens. But it’s neither aimed at nor suitable for kids.

NEW YORK. Viewers may be misled by the title of director and co-writer Abel Ferrara’s historical drama “Padre Pio” (Gravitas). The film is less a profile of the titular saint, played passionately by Shia LaBeouf, than a portrait of San Giovanni Rotondo, the Apulian town of his Capuchin monastery, in the period immediately after World War I.

NEW YORK. The idea of updating a classic film is always a dangerous one. But, provided there’s a better motive at work than mere hubris, it can work.

Such, emphatically, is the case with “The Little Mermaid” (PG, Disney), director Rob Marshall’s live-action remake of the beloved 1989 animated musical derived from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairy tale. Using technology not available in the waning days of the Cold War, Marshall and his team serve up a charming fresh take on the timeless story.