Teza

One part personal drama and three parts crash course in postwar Ethiopian history, "Teza" turns the story of a returning expatriate intellectual into a reflection of his country's tribulations. Anberber (Aaron Arefe) left Ethiopia for Germany to become a doctor in the 1970s. He's an idealist who wants to wipe out the diseases troubling his homeland. The film is rough around the edges, but an eye-opening portrait of injustice and loss. (Unrated.)

• Colin Covert

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

"The Karate Kid" meets "Harry Potter" with a dash of "Ghostbusters." It's an OK, family-oriented comedy-action blockbuster with jokes and special effects troweled on to bolster its story of magic and mentoring. Nicolas Cage is Balthazar Blake, a modern-day Manhattanite who long ago was an apprentice to Merlin. Balthazar is guardian of a Russian-doll-like container of evil wizards, and his job is to make sure they don't get out. There's a nice tip of the hat to "Fantasia," but plenty of Jerry Bruckheimer overkill. View showtimes. (Rated PG.)

• San Francisco Chronicole