Short reviews: Tribute to Adrien Brody that'Wrecked'works as a modestly compelling thriller

Queen to Play ***

An American inFrancehelps his maid learn chess. At the Lincoln Plaza and Angelika (1:36). Not rated.

A variation on"Educating Rita,""Queen to Play"starsKevin Klineas a curmudgeonly American doctor stewing away on theFrench Riviera, whose maid Hélène (Sandrine Bonnaire) hopes to change her life by learning chess. She tentatively asks for lessons when her working-class husband loses patience and the electronic set she learned on fails to show her the subtleties of the game.

There isn't much more than that, except two masterful turns by Kline and Bonnaire and an appreciation for how games of strategy are bigger than the boards they're played on.

Kline, who has done a lot of chewy character roles after several stage­triumphs, is as sly and leonine as

ever. His performance here obliterates that phony accent he used in"French Kiss."- Joe Neumaier

Trust *

A girl is attacked by an Internet predator. At area theaters (1:45). R: Sexuality, language.

‘Friends"star-turned-director ("Run Fatboy Run")David Schwimmerhas Something Serious to say. Unfortunately, the vehicle for that message,"Trust"— a drama about the dangers of teen sexting and online predators — plays as prurient, ham-handed and amateurish.

Annie (Liana Liberato) is a hungry-for-attention 14-year-old suburban girl befriended by a 30-ish creep posing in a chat room as a teenage boy. When Annie is raped, her mother (Catherine Keener) waits for theFBI's investigation while her father (Clive Owen) becomes obsessed with justice.

Schwimmer adds so many heavy signals of societal enabling (American Apparel-ish ads, leering businessmen, risqué high school parties) that this important topic seems to have just been discovered by a filmmaker wanting to seem of-the-moment. Crucial scenes are tonally mishandled and the text bubbles that appear onscreen are as distracting as they are clunky.- J.N.

HOP **

Family comedy about the Easter Bunny. At area theaters (1:35). PG: crude humor.

With sly turns in films ranging from"X-Men"to"Enchanted,"James Marsdenhas proven he's got the intelligence and edge to back his leading-man looks. But he seems to lack a certain professional savvy, and his gifts have too often gone to waste. Depressing case in point: he's now talking to computer-generated animals in the latest mediocre kiddie comedy fromTim Hill(who also animated Alvin and Garfield).

He does, at least, give the role his all, even if he's really too old to playFred O'Hare, an unemployed slacker who promises to help runaway bunny E.B. (voiced byRussell Brand). As his initials suggest, the teenage E.B. is destined for big things, but would rather just play drums all day.

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