Where 1970s punks talked a lot about destroying rock 'n' roll, the hardcore punk movement of the 1980s did something perhaps more remarkable: It started over from scratch. Filmmaker Paul Rachman attempts to tell the story using gritty archival footage and present-day interviews. The resulting documentary is at times thrilling, frequently funny and sometimes even scary, but it lacks narrative focus and analysis.
Not rated. 98 minutes. -- W.
Crain Well-acted and ambitiously structured, this drama about the various lives touched by a single shooting in Morocco suffers from a narrative strategy that strives to cover four stories at once, only one of which is genuinely compelling, and two of which have little to do with the film's main incident. Unlike "21 Grams," by the same writer and director, the unconventional structure is a contrivance, illuminating nothing about culture or the human condition. Rated R.
142 minutes. -- M. LaSalle For a film that spends most of its time in a sewer, "Flushed Away" has some charming moments.
The computer-animated film from the studio that produces "Wallace Gromit" could use a dose of Ritalin -- some of the action scenes are so frenetic that it's hard to figure out what's going on. But the writing is excellent and the voice work is outstanding -- singing slugs are always a good idea, and Ian McKellen was born to play a dastardly bullfrog. Rated PG.
86 minutes. -- P. Hartlaub Barry Levinson wrote and directed this comedy-thriller about the American political system, in which a comedian becomes president through a voting-machine error.
Neither the biting satire nor the Capra-esque fantasy one might crave, but the film still satisfies, touching on some of the currents and anxieties of the day and providing Robin Williams with a good vehicle. The ideologically bland ending, though, is a disappointment. Rated PG-13.
115 minutes. -- M. LaSalle The latest from Christopher Nolan ("Memento") is a disappointing story about a rivalry between two magicians, played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.
Like "The Illusionist," it's set in the 19th century and presents two cat-and-mouse games: one between the characters and the other between the filmmaker and the audience. The difference here is that both characters are unappealing, and the movie's central gimmick can be seen from a mile off. It's a slow, cold film without romance or rooting interest.
Rated PG-13. 130 minutes. -- M.
LaSalle The Dixie Chicks' commercial free fall after singer Natalie Maines said she was "ashamed" that President Bush was from Texas is caught in vivid, intimate detail by documentarian Barbara Kopple. Despite a near total boycott of their music, the three women refused to back down. The Dixie Chicks, as this remarkable film makes obvious, will go down as unlikely casualties of the Iraq war, and their story demonstrates how freedom of speech works in America today.
Rated R. 93 minutes. -- J.
Selvin This deeply moving and disturbing film is based on a true story of a black South African (Derek Luke) who does everything to get by within an immoral system but becomes radicalized almost despite himself. Luke and Tim Robbins, as a police security officer who becomes the man's interrogator, give nuanced performances. Rated R.
102 minutes. -- R. Stein With the most minimal of plots -- a small girl finds a stray dog and cares for it, against the wishes of her father -- this docudrama focuses on the details of day-to-day life for a family of nomadic Mongolian shepherds.
Writer-director Byambasuren Davaa endows measured scenes with spiritual overtones. Impatient viewers will find the film intolerably slow, but for those who can get in sync with its serene rhythms, the experience is rewarding. In Mongolian with English subtitles.
Rated G. 93 minutes. -- W.
Addiego Cross "D.O.A.
" with "Speed," add lots of carnage, and you've got "Crank," a feature that's more full-length video game than movie. Awakening to find that he's been injected with a poison that will kill him if his adrenaline drops too low, a hit man (Jason Statham) rips his way across Los Angeles in a rabid -- and bloody -- quest for vengeance. Rated R.
83 minutes. -- N. Chonin This is Martin Scorsese's most enjoyable film in years, and his first in 15 years that isn't a failed attempt at a masterpiece, but rather a fabulously successful attempt at a good movie.
Matt Damon is a police mole working for a gangster (Jack Nicholson) and Leonardo DiCaprio is a spy working for the police from within the gangster's crew in this complicated, irresistible and always entertaining picture. Rated R. 149 minutes.
-- M. LaSalle The latest from director Clint Eastwood is, no surprise, meticulously researched and filmed, but the story -- about the guys who raised the flag at Iwo Jima and the survivors who went on a spring 1945 savings-bond tour -- somehow never finds its way to a compelling narrative. Despite great shots and several powerful scenes, it remains less than the sum of its parts, a lukewarm story about a worthy subject that ends up packing little emotional impact.
Rated R. 132 minutes. -- M.
LaSalle This very loose adaptation of the book "My Friend Flicka" has two things going for it: First, Tim McGraw does a pretty good imitation of Ben Cartwright from "Bonanza"; and second, there's nothing else in theaters aimed at the 11-year-old girl demographic. Horse lovers will enjoy the scenery, but the movie is kind of slow and the dialogue is overwrought. And the apparent lesson here?
Keep disobeying your parents, and you'll eventually get your way. Rated PG. 95 minutes.
-- P. Hartlaub A juvenile probation officer makes a team out of inmates and plays against high schools, raising the prisoners' self-esteem along the way. The film, starring former wrestler Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson, succeeds as a crowd-pleaser without glossing over the complicated roots of gang violence.
Rated PG-13. 120 minutes. -- P.
Hartlaub This well-intentioned independent film shouldn't be missed for Ryan Gosling's astonishing performance as a junior high school history teacher addicted to crack cocaine. He's so mesmerizing that you wish this drama were half as good. The script by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who also directs, strains to prove that a drug addict can also be a good guy and a passionate teacher.
Rated R. 106 minutes. -- R.
Stein This is a stylish and evocative Hollywood story about the events leading up to the mysterious death of George Reeves, who played Superman on television. As Reeves, Ben Affleck gives his best performance in years, but the movie is dragged down somewhat by a parallel story that's not as involving and by an ending that trails off into nothing. Rated R.
126 minutes. -- M. LaSalle Edward Norton stars as a master magician who runs afoul of an evil crown prince (Rufus Sewell) in old Vienna.
This is a fine story, well told, with lots of period and character detail. Paul Giamatti plays a detective whose task is to trip up the illusionist, and the cat-and-mouse game the two men play is one of the film's particular delights. Rated PG-13.
109 minutes. -- M. LaSalle Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's trenchant documentary about children indoctrinated into the ranks of evangelical Christianity should be required viewing for coastal urbanites perplexed by the heartland's shift to the right.
Following a group of kids from a neighborhood revival to a fundamentalist training camp, "Jesus Camp" stares into the face of faith run amok, with jarring results. -- N. Chonin This latest from writer-director Sofia Coppola survives for an hour as a style piece, a wallow in the extravagance that was the court in Versailles, but the film bogs down in plain bad storytelling.
The French queen's life becomes an endless succession of meaningless parties, and the audience, alas, is invited to all of them. Coppola's decision to mix a New Wave (circa 1980) sensibility with 1780s France is an idea that just doesn't pan out. Rated PG-13.
123 minutes. -- M. LaSalle Tony Jaa is a bona fide movie star who is the best martial arts film actor on the planet, and his follow-up to "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" has one amazing action set piece after another.
But "The Protector" plays like a greatest-hits collection of fight scenes because there's very little plot -- and what there is of it is confusing. Rated R. 80 minutes.
-- G.A. Johnson This shrewd, disarming movie, by the brother team of Jay and Mark Duplass, stars Mark Duplass as a former musician who goes on a long road trip with his girlfriend to buy a vintage recliner and bring it to his father for a birthday present.
There are adventures along the way, all diverting, but the movie's haphazard feel belies a tight structure. Rated R. 85 minutes.
-- M. LaSalle This warmly appealing family drama takes its title from the celebration marking a Latina's 15th birthday, when she ostensibly becomes a woman. Emily Rios stars as a 14-year-old, eagerly awaiting her chance to be queen for a day, who discovers she's pregnant.
The twist is that she swears she's a virgin. Rated R. 90 minutes.
-- R. Stein This is an uneven adaptation of Augusten Burroughs' critically acclaimed 2002 memoir about growing up in an emotionally unstable family. The acting is uniformly excellent, particularly Annette Bening as the boy's mother who fancies herself a poet, and Brian Cox as her nutty shrink.
Rated R. 116 minutes. -- R.
Stein It would require a near-lethal injection of nitrous oxide to induce laughter while watching this bogus comedy. Jon Heder plays a super-shy nerd who enrolls in a course to build self-esteem, taught by Billy Bob Thornton. The pairing had potential, but the actors prove ineffectual at bringing out each other's ability to be silly, in part because of an ill-conceived script.
Rated PG-13. 101 minutes. -- R.
Stein Maggie Gyllenhaal has never been more compelling than as the title character in this drama about a reformed heroin addict trying to pull her life together. The gutsy script by Laurie Collyer, who also directs, is well thought out and largely plausible. A fine supporting cast is led by Ryan Simpkins as the daughter and Danny Trejo as a former druggie Sherry meets in rehab.
The movie is on her side, and you will be, too. Rated R. 96 minutes.
-- R. Stein Hyped into a sensation on the Internet, this is actually a very good comic thriller that's funny while still being exciting, and one that's more than just a title and a premise. There is enough variation and interest to sustain the movie for a full 105 minutes.
It's never boring, not for a second, and Samuel L. Jackson is lots of fun. Rated R.
105 minutes. -- M. LaSalle It would be fascinating to see a documentary about who serves on the influential movie ratings board and how they reach their sometimes curious decisions.
This film is not it. It is, however, extremely amusing and as close a look at the mysterious workings of this regulatory agency as we're likely to get. Director Kirby Dick was unable to penetrate the secrecy maintained by the MPAA ratings board.
After a while, it seems as if he really isn't after a fact-filled, balanced documentary anyway. Not rated. 97 minutes.
-- R. Stein For John Lennon fans, this will fill in some of the details of his life, as well as provide footage and interviews previously unseen. For those unfamiliar with Lennon, particularly young people, it's a good introduction to the music and character of one of the most interesting people in the last third of the 20th century.
As a political document, it's rather naive and incomplete, but the parallels and differences between Lennon's era and ours don't go unnoticed. Rated PG-13. 99 minutes.
-- M.
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