What to watch: ‘Heartstopper’ carries the magic to Season 2

This week’s releases are full of surprises — from a heartwarming second season of “Heartstopper” to a satisfying animated reboot of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” and more.

Here’s our roundup.

“Heartstopper Season 2”: Even the most cynical amongst us probably couldn’t resist the charm of this Netflix series that depicts the romantic tale about two very unlike teen boys falling in love. Now the legions of “Hearstopper” fans can take heart, Season 2 has arrived and it’s just as good as the first season, as worrywart Charlie (Joe Locke) and jock Nick (Kit Connor) prepare to take their relationship to another level — announcing to all, including a handful of homophobes at school, that they are indeed a couple. But feeling comfortable and getting the timing right to do so proves challenging in Season 2. Just as Nick musters up the courage to declare that he is bisexual and in a relationship with Charlie, an obstacle gets put into the couple’s path.

Based on the graphic novel and webcomic by series creator Alice Oseman, this eight-episode series expands upon and creates more challenges for the British teens and their friends, with the bulk of it coming during a class trip – with two chaperones – to Paris where they meet (briefly) with Nick’s preoccupied father.

“Heartstopper” clicks because Locke and Connor click onscreen, and more than ever this time as the actors get a chance to deepen their acting range, as Charlie addresses his issues with anxiety and Nick wrangles with his desire to always be the strong one who does the right thing.

While Charlie and Nick’s story anchors “Heartsopper,” the series is just as engaging and enjoyable when it spends time hanging out with friends, particularly Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney), the two friends who grow closer and closer.

“Heartstopper” is a gem, and remains perhaps the most uplifting, refreshingly optimistic and utterly charming series currently running on TV or streaming platforms. I’m already eager to see where Season 3 will take these likable characters. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; available Aug. 3 on Netflix.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”: True confession time, I don’t know a Donatello turtle from a Donnatella Versace gown. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this  animated reboot of the ‘80s-’90s phenom — a beloved cultural mainstay that has an ardent fan base to this day.

As directed and co-written by Jeff Rowe — who wrote and co-directed Netflix’s rather brilliant “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” — with co-writing assists from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and others, this funny, fast-paced adventure could have a punchier screenplay at times and even cut down on the vomit jokes. But it’s hard to resist  the endearing teen quartet of New York sewer-dwelling reptiles and their de facto mutant Rat dad. Really. The best elements of this nostalgic plunge arrive in flashback form as we delve into the origin story of the pizza-loving, martial arts team. It is there, as their quest to be — like so many of us — accepted by the “normal” humans who both mock and fear them, that the film wins you over.

The star-studded vocal cast (Jackie Chan, John Cena, Rose Byrne, Rogen and so on) makes it even more appealing. But it’s Ice Cube who saves the day as destructive-prone Big Apple mutant Superfly. His velvety vocal performance, along with the distinctive urban animation style, gives this one its pop, making it a rarity — a reboot that’s actually worth seeing. And stay through the mid-credits since there’s a scene that sets the stage for future mayhem. Details: 3 stars; in theaters now.

“Shortcomings”: Adrian Tomine’s acerbic, deservedly praised 2007 graphic novel gets the movie adaptation treatment more than 15 years after the mostly Berkeley-set story came out. That time gap unfortunately makes some of the material seem, well, rather dated.

Tomine wrote the screenplay with actor Randall Park directing. They’re a good team, but the film turns into a rather unengaging mumblecore-like character study wherein a jealous, unlikable movie theater manager and nascent filmmaker bungles his life and his relationship by secretly dating others, and then ambles over to New York to get his true love back. Comedian and “Joy Ride” scene-stealer Sherry Cola again commands attention as Ben’s (Justin H. Min) lesbian bestie. While it is a treat to see East Bay staples — the Homemade Cafe, Pegasus Books, BART and so on — on the screen, there’s no denying that Ben is a nails-on-the-chalkboard irritating protagonist (no fault of Min’s) who complains that no one else realizes his cinematic brilliance. Good grief! As was the case of another film version of an East Bay-based graphic novel — Daniel Clowes’ “Wilson” (starring Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern) — something essential gets lost in the translation to the screen. Read the book instead. Details: 2 stars; in theaters Aug. 4.

“Afire”: Christian Petzold continues to solidify his reputation as one of his generation’s most exciting and versatile filmmakers. This Eric Rohmer-inspired chamber piece places an insecure and jealous writer (the worst kind) along with his gregarious chum in a summer house near the Baltic sea. Author Leon (Thomas Schubert) is a nervous wreck about meeting up with his editor to discuss how to save his mediocre sophomore novel, the unwittingly titled “Club Sandwich.” Leon expects some R&R and perhaps a chance to some rewriting near the beach with his chum Felix (Langston Uibel), but instead he gets distracted by two other inhabitants in the house where he and Felix are staying – the beguiling and whip-smart Nadja (Paula Beer, a Petzold regular) and her hunky, quite amorous lover David (Enno Trebs). Meanwhile, a forest fire rages nearby. How do all these elements come together? In true Petzold style, they do, but you’ll have no idea how the drama will play it. “Afire” does stick to a Petzold tradition, leaving you with an ending you’ll want to untether and unpack afterwards. Just relax and fall under its sensual spell. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters Aug. 4.

“The Baker”: All the essential ingredients get tossed into the bloody batter of Jonathan Sobol’s formulaic yet quite capable action entry. A laconic Ron Perlman stars as a Florida baker with a nightmare past as well as an estranged “entrepreneur” son  Peter who gets into trouble in an airport parking lot and walks away carrying a bag of drugs. Hardly a candidate for dad of the year himself, Peter (Joel David Moore, in a convincing turn) saddles grumpy pops with his smart but silent 8-year-old daughter, Alfie (Emma Ho) while he tries to outsmart mobsters, including the main man played by Harvey Keitel. Things do get violent — as so happens in genre flicks like this — but the crisp screenplay, good acting and athletic direction let you forgive that none of this story is pippin’ hot fresh out of the oven. Sometimes you just want straightforward comfort food, and that’s what you’ll get along with a game Perlman. Details: 3 stars; in theaters now.

“River Wild”: It takes a whole lot of chutzpah to opt to “reimagine” a guilty-pleasure river-rafting thriller that starred the likes of multiple Oscar-winner Meryl Streep and the underappreciated Kevin Bacon. Undaunted director and co-writer Ben Ketai navigates those treacherous waters with this airtight survival thriller. Yes, the acting can’t approach the caliber of Curtis Hanson’s preposterous 1994 hit, but it’s impressive. Shot in Hungary, Slovakia and Bosnia, Ketai’s tense drama runs as swift as a Class V rapid, building upon and revealing the backgrounds and motivations and bonds of five rafters who embark on an adventure that turns dangerous and murderous. Whereas Hanson’s thriller was glossier and sillier, this “River Wild” churns with more realistic situations as it targets the survival genre. Adam Brody injects more nuance into the role of a rafting guide wanting to escape a mysterious past while the brother-sister relationship between Gray (Taran Killam) — who runs a rafting company — and Joey (Leighton Meester) grows more complicated as the past gets revealed. All of this makes “River Wild” a taut exercise with a few teeth-gnashing rafting sequences. Details: 3 stars; available to rent or buy on Vudu and Amazon Prime.

“Amanda”: In this satirical character study set in Italy, bored and privileged 24-year-old Amanda (Benedetta Porcaroli, in a nimble performance) decides that she needs to make a friend for once. Trouble is no one really wants to be her bestie since she’s such an annoying, self-involved and pampered pain. Amanda sounds like a character we’d have little tolerance for, but somehow debuting director and screenwriter Carolina Cavalli, along with Porcaroli, make her a compelling and complex person but a symbol of what’s often wrong with the dissatisfied rich — namely disinterested parents and too much wasted time dwelling on neuroses. “Amanda” never lets its guard down or soft-pedals its protagonist’s preoccupation with herself, even as it slyly lampoons the culture and society that not only creates but enables rich characters. Details: 3 stars; opens Aug. 4 in select theaters.

“Kokomo City”: Four transgender sex workers in New York and Georgia talk with great candor and insight about their profession, dreams and lives in D. Smith’s B&W eye opener of a documentary. Smith’s debut heralds a great career but sadly serves as the painful eulogy for one of its subjects — 35-year-old Koko Da Doll who was shot dead April 18 in Atlanta. Details: 3 stars; in theaters Aug. 4

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.