“The Disaster Artist” (Biography/Comedy/Drama: 1 hour, 44 minutes)

Starring: Dave Franco, James Franco and Seth Rogen

Director: James Franco

Rated: R (Profanity, violence, nudity and sexuality)

Movie Review: This is an adaptation of “The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made” by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell. The screenplay is an account of actual events of Sestro and his encounter with the eccentric Tommy Wiseau. The directorial feat of James Franco is comical creativeness.

In 1988, Greg Sestero (Dave Franco), an aspiring film actor, encounters a mysterious and peculiar Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) in an acting class. They become friends and set off to Los Angeles to make their movie dreams come true.

Not the best of actors, they have a difficult time finding work. They concoct a super plan; they decide to make their own movie titled, “The Room.”

Just like the actual movie, “The Room,” “The Disaster Artist” is just as unconventional. Again, it is about an eccentric man, Tommy Wiseau, who has a cameo scene after the end credits. The movie follows suit. It takes peculiar moments and makes them gratifyingly entertaining. The movie imitates bad superbly.

The Franco Brothers play their roles with a certain zeal that is contagious. No matter the craziness, they manage to keep straight faces, the dedicated professionals. James plays weird well, and Dave is sound, often the glue that binds.

“The Disaster Artist” is an acquired taste. It is an independent film, the cast has a doting relationship with modern audiences. The Francos and Seth Rogen have their fan clubs. Audiences will like them. Others will appreciate the amount of detail Franco and his crew put into this photoplay. It is not perfect, yet it is thought-provoking cinema imitating life, mimicking moviemaking.

Grade: B (This is the exact opposite of a disaster movie.)

“Just Getting Started” (Comedy/Action: 1 hour, 31 minutes)

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones and Rene Russo

Director: Ron Shelton

Rated: PG-13 (Profanity, violence and sexual innuendo)

Movie Review: Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones are dynamic actors. Each is brilliant in their deliverance of characters. In “Just Getting Started,” they are just getting nowhere.

Ex-mob attorney Duke Diver (Freeman) is living large in the Witness Protection Program as a carefree manager of a luxurious resort in Palm Springs, Calif. After an untimely explosion, Diver realizes his former employers are trying to kill him. Diver enlists the assistance of his rival, Leo (Jones), for protection.

“Midnight Run” (Director Martin Brest, 1988), which Joe Pantoliano starred in that movie and this one, is the movie people are aligning with “Just Getting Started.” The two movies are different in that “Midnight Run” made sense. “Just Getting Started” has a wayward story that is not worth the merits of Freeman, Jones and Rene Russo.

The plot has three story objects. Someone attempts trying to kill Freeman’s Duke. The second is the rivalry — later friendship — between Diver and Jones’ mysterious Leo. The third is Russo playing a corporate executive, who is present to evaluate Diver’s effectiveness as a manager. The three stories haphazardly collide. All are nonsensical in their execution.

The comedy is mediocre. The humor feels unpersuasive and forced often. The moments are not natural. The screenplay leads to ineffective characters written by director Ron Shelton (“Tin Cup,” 1996). He has written better; the notable is 1988’s “Bull Durham.”

Grade: C (A false start …)