Opening Friday
THE BRAVE ONE 3 stars (R) See review.
GYPSY CARAVAN (NR) Filmmaker Jasmine Dellal's music documentary chronicles five bands of Gypsy musicians as they unite for a North American tour.
THE HUNTING PARTY 2 stars (NR) See review.
MR. WOODCOCK (PG-13) Seann William Scott stars as John Farley, a self-help author motivated by years of humiliation at the hands of his gym teacher, Mr. Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton). When he returns home, John finds his mother (Susan Sarandon) dating his old arch-nemesis. Directed by Craig Gillespie.
SILK (R) Michael Pitt (Last Days) stars as a silkworm trader, who, while on a mission to Japan, falls passionately in love with a local baron's concubine in François Girard's drama.
Duly Noted
HALF MOON Director Bahman Ghobad has a different perspective on the humorous road-trip movie in this story of Mamo, a Kurdish musician with 10 talented sons who is determined to play in Iraq where such performances are banned under the rule of Saddam Hussein. Iranian Film Today Festival Sat., Sept. 15. High Museum, Rich Theatre, 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-4444. www.high.org.
INTERNATIONAL BLACK DOCUFEST Documentaries from around the world about the lives of people of Africa and the African Diaspora are brought together at the High for three days of educational exchange including screenings and panel discussions. Sept. 13-15. High Museum Sifly Piazza, 1280 Peachtree St. 678-477-2412. www.internationalblackdocufest.com.
POET OF THE WASTES On his garbage-collecting route, Saber, a street sweeper, rescues a poet's drafts from the trash to claim them as his own while wooing a young woman. Iranian Film Today Festival Fri., Sept. 14. High Museum, Rich Theatre, 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-4444. www.high.org.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) (R) The cult classic of cult classics, the musical horror spoof follows an all-American couple (Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick) to the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a drag queen/mad scientist from another galaxy. Midnight Fri. at Lefont Plaza Theatre and Sat. at Peachtree Cinema & Games, Norcross.
TROLL 2 (1990) (PG-13) The cult-classic horror film that fans claim is so bad it's good reappears on the big screen for two nights in Atlanta, the first of which features live appearances by the actors. Sept. 14-15. Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive. 678-495-1424. www.landmarktheatres.com.
Continuing
3:10 TO YUMA 4 stars (R) Christian Bale plays a tough but indebted rancher hired out to help escort a ruthless, charismatic outlaw (Russell Crowe) to the prison train that gives the film its title. After such revisionist Westerns as Unforgiven and HBO's "Deadwood," director James Mangold (Walk the Line) offers a pleasingly old-fashioned oater full of horses, six-guns, rugged landscapes and even more rugged actors. Crowe has the plum part, but Bale doesn't let him steal the movie. -- Curt Holman
THE 11TH HOUR (PG) Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners, The 11th Hour explores solutions to the problem of global warming and warns that humans must take action soon to save the planet.
BALLS OF FURY (PG-13) In the high-stakes underground world of ping-pong, a former professional pingpong phenom (Dan Fogler) is the government's only hope of bringing down the tournament organizer in Robert Ben Garant's comedy.
BECOMING JANE 3 stars (PG) Though it employs the familiar touches of a Jane Austen original, Becoming Jane never fully becomes the kind of Austen piece we know and love. In a pleasant, improbable manner, a feisty Jane (the porcelain Anne Hathaway) and her conflicted, Darcy-esque love interest (James McAvoy) dutifully deliver the expected wry banter and repressed affection to convince us of their love, yet the film's oddly somber tone, which lingers like English rain, hinders any real chance of doing justice to Austen's own bright mastery of wit and observation. -- Allison C. Keene
BLAME IT ON FIDEL (NR) Told from the point of view of 9-year-old Anna, documentary filmmaker Julie Gavras' fiction debut shows how children suffer when parents take political sensibilities too far.
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 3 stars (PG-13) In the third Bourne movie, amnesiac super-spy Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) crosses the globe to reclaim his memory and outwit his former CIA spy masters (including David Strathairn). Paul Greengrass also directed the trilogy's previous entry and again masterfully employs shaky camera work and soundtrack percussion to raise the audience's pulse rate; he could make doing laundry unbearably exciting. Nevertheless, given the identical plots (and impassive acting from Julia Stiles) in all three, it's no wonder Bourne can't remember anything. -- Holman
THE BROTHERS SOLOMON (R) The socially awkward brothers John (Will Arnett) and Dean Solomon (Will Forte) stop at nothing to fulfill their father's dying wish for grandchildren in Bob Odenkirk's comedy.
DEATH AT A FUNERAL 2 stars (R) This calculated British farce milks a strained brand of comedy from the solemn occasion of a death, where disclosures of homosexuality (a less shocking revelation in 2007 than the filmmaker seems to think), midgets and accidental murder show director Frank Oz's effort in keeping the plot moving. -- Feaster
DEATH SENTENCE (R) Kevin Bacon stars in James Wan's action drama about a father sworn to kill each member of the gang that murdered his son.
EL CANTANTE (R) Spanning roughly 30 years, Leon Ichaso's biopic drama chronicles the rise of the Puerto Rican salsa singer Hector Lavoy and stars Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez.
GOYA'S GHOST 3 stars (R) Stellan Skarsgard is the 19th-century doom-tripping painter Francisco Goya, witness to war and political and religious evildoing in Milos Forman's historical epic. But it's Javier Bardem who brings real charisma and grit to his role as a religious zealot priest who takes advantage of an aristocratic Spanish girl (Natalie Portman) during the Inquisition. With his tendency for melodrama in treating Goya's life, Forman's film may be more interesting as a reflection of his fixation with institutional abuses of power. -- Feaster
HAIRSPRAY 4 stars (PG) Yes, it lacks the funky soul sounds of John Waters' original 1988 film of race and tail-shaking in 1962 Baltimore. But director and choreographer Adam Shankman clearly understands the value of keeping things moving in this rousing, infectiously toe-tapping film version of the Broadway musical. Shankman retains Waters' smart-aleck, golly-gee-for-grime spirit and manages to distract from the relative horror of John Travolta (in the Divine role) in a female skin suit. Nikki Blonsky is sassy as the chubby, dance-crazy, integrationist teenager Tracy Turnblad, but it's Christopher Walken as her joshing dad who steals the show. -- Feaster
HALLOWEEN (R) Musician and writer/director of the latest Halloween chapter, Rob Zombie promises new thrills as he revisits Michael Myers' horror story that began in 1978.
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX 4 stars (PG-13) Harry Potter's (Daniel Radcliffe) attempts to defend against evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) are hindered when cruel but cutesy-voiced Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) seizes control of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Low on jokes and wonder, Phoenix offers the tightest, most focused film in the franchise, that plays like a taut, anti-authority thriller rich with political metaphors. It's The Empire Strikes Back of the series. -- Holman
HATCHET (R) From writer/director Adam Green comes a horror movie about tourists on a New Orleans haunted swamp tour that ends in bloodshed.
ILLEGAL TENDER (R) From John Singleton, the producer of Four Brothers, and writer/director Franc Reyes comes a thriller about a woman and her teenage son who seek revenge on the people who killed her husband.
IMAX THEATER The Alps Follow John Harlin III in MacGillivray Freeman's visually breathtaking documentary as he attempts to climb the same summit that proved fatal to his father 40 years ago.
Coral Reef Adventure IMAX cameras travel farther than ever before to capture underwater images of the Pacific Ocean's beautiful coral reefs for this documentary. Fernbank Museum of Natural History IMAX Theater, 767 Clifton Road. 404-929-6300. www.fernbank.edu.
THE INVASION 2 stars (PG-13) Forget communists; Invasion invokes a fear of remakes. This latest member of the Body Snatchers family raises the question: If becoming a pod person means such overacted and poorly scripted films will cease to exist, is there really a problem? Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig play matching bleached-blond heroes, with Jackson Bond as the requisite cute kid with big eyes who might can save us all. -- Keene
THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS (PG-13) Seth Gordon's documentary chronicles the rising and falling of scoring records on classic arcade game Donkey Kong as two men, "Gamer of the Century" Billy Mitchell and family man and teacher Steve Wiebe, battle for the 2007 Guinness World Record.
LA VIE EN ROSE 5 stars (PG-13) An extraordinary, transcendent biopicture treating the trauma-plagued life of parental neglect, drug addiction and loss but also the amazing artistic legacy of French national icon and chanteuse Edith Piaf. Olivier Dahan's direction is stunning and star Marion Cotillard disappears into the role with remarkable ease. -- Feaster
LADRON QUE ROBA A LADRON (PG-13) Joe Menendez's action-heist movie brings the diverse Latin American culture to the fore as it chronicles a team of underdog thieves setting out to rob a big-time crook. In Spanish with English subtitles.
LADY CHATTERLEY (NR) Pascale Ferran's screen adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's story stars Marina Hands and Jean-Louis Coullo'ch as two vastly different characters whose torrid love affair reawakens the life in their formerly stagnant existence.
MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES 5 stars (NR) Capable of inspiring a shiver of fear at the future laid out for us, Jennifer Baichwal's documentary follows Canadian filmmaker Edward Burtynsky as he photographs the encroachment of industry and the erasure of nature and history from contemporary China. -- Feaster
MR. BEAN'S HOLIDAY 3 stars (G) A silly throwback to the physical pratfalls of Keaton and Jacques Tati, this fluffy tale of semi-retarded Brit Mr. Bean vacationing in the South of France is a nice break from the usual scatological kid movies. A campy cameo by Willem Dafoe as a pretentious American director in Cannes only ups the escapist fun. -- Feaster
MOLIÈRE 3 stars In this fluffy, clever-by-half comedy Romain Duris plays the famous French playwright of The Misanthrope and Tartuffe. Director Laurent Tirard's goofy speculative comedy follows in the tradition of Shakespeare in Love by hypothesizing about what Moliere was up to in 1644, the year historians lost track of his whereabouts. In the increasingly silly story Moliere spends time with a family of aristocrats and uses his experiences to temper his farce with tragedy. -- Feaster
MY BEST FRIEND 4 stars (PG-13) Patrice Leconte's (Man on the Train) tale of a silly wager, in which a nonsocial antiques dealer (Daniel Auteuil) tries to prove he is likable by producing a best friend in 10 days, develops into a rueful commentary on the poignancy of human connection. Dany Boon is the gregarious taxi driver who helps "teach" Auteuil how to be a friend. -- Feaster
THE NANNY DIARIES 2 stars (PG-13) A toothless social comedy that seriously misses the mark, directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's (American Splendor) adaptation of the best-selling chick lit book by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus aims to re-create the success of The Devil Wears Prada. This time the misunderstood boss from hell is a Park Avenue socialite (Laura Linney) who is both feared and pitied by her put-upon nanny (Scarlett Johansson). -- Feaster
NO END IN SIGHT 4 stars (NR) Charles Ferguson's quietly haunting documentary is centered on interviews with a number of shockingly high-placed Washington insiders as it makes its case for the Bush administration's woeful bungling of the Iraq war. Measured, calm and nightmare-inducing. -- Feaster
PIERROT LE FOU 4 stars (NR) A significant film for French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard, this madcap political comedy combined the director's varied interests in film form, genre, politics and romance. Lovers Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo escape Paris for the French coast, encountering murder, gangsters and slapstick absurdity along the way in a film that offers an early example of the film obsession with beautiful young lovers on the run, scathing swipes at America's role in Vietnam and Godard's hilarious nods to cinematic genres from gangster films to musicals. -- Feaster
RATATOUILLE 5 stars (G) Despite having a cast that's nearly half rodent, Ratatouille breaks from the Pixar formula of cute, funny action comedies about talking toys/bugs/cars, etc., for an ingenious, bittersweet culinary farce. The brilliant gags might tickle your sweet tooth, but the film also serves rich, hearty subtext about life's sensual pleasures and the necessity of personal evolution. And it looks good enough to eat. -- Holman
RESURRECTING THE CHAMP 2 stars (PG-13) An ambitious sports reporter (Josh Hartnett) discovers what may be a career-launching story when he meets a former heavyweight boxer (Samuel L. Jackson) turned homeless. Although the premise attempts to explore journalistic ethics along the lines of Shattered Glass, Hartnett makes a maddening, self-pitying protagonist and director Rod Lurie (The Contender) softens all the interesting edges. -- Holman
ROCKET SCIENCE 3 stars (R) A scheming high school debater (Anna Kendrick) encourages lovelorn Hal Hefner (Reece Daniel Thompson) to try out for the team, despite his debilitating stutter. At times Rocket Science's ironic, deadpan tone feels overly calculated, as if director Jeffrey Blitz tries too hard to emulate Napoleon Dynamite and the films of Wes Anderson. Nevertheless, Rocket Science's script takes surprising twists and satisfying resolutions, buoyed by the performances of its young cast (including Nicholas D'Agosto as a legendary but enigmatic debater) and the indie-rock music of the Violent Femmes. -- Holman
RUSH HOUR 3 1 star (PG-13) After an attempted assassination of the Chinese ambassador, the LAPD'S Chris Tucker and Chinese cop Jackie Chan bicker all the way to Paris. Fast-talking Tucker and fast-moving Chan make such a natural comic team that it's a shame three-time director Brett Ratner never built them a vehicle with witty jokes or racial insight. All three films are pretty crummy, interrupting the loud comedy and louder action with some still decent stunt work from Chan (now 53 years old), but even the funny outtakes during the closing credits seem calculated. -- Holman
SHOOT 'EM UP Clive Owen (Children of Men) must fight to protect himself and the newborn child he just delivered from the gunmen trying to kill them.
SICKO 5 stars (PG-13) Propumentarian Michael Moore thankfully tends to fade into the background in this impassioned film about America's health care crisis. Apart from the occasional stunt, such as a trip to Cuba to highlight the advantages of nationalized health care, Moore instead lets the victims of America's bureaucracy-choked and bottom-line-minded health care business show -- in chilling but also often humorous terms -- how adequate medical treatment has become a luxury item in this country. -- Feaster
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE 3 stars (PG-13) In the long-awaited film version of television's longest-running comedy, the Simpsons flee to Alaska when Homer (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) accidentally causes an environmental catastrophe. The movie offers far more laughs than you'd get from four current episodes of the once-brilliant show, yet the plot (involving a giant dome) turns out to be as lame and contrived as any present-day story line. The movie makes you laugh nonstop but miss the show in its heyday simultaneously. -- Holman
STARDUST 4 stars (PG-13) In mid-19th-century England, a young man (Charlie Cox) goes on a romantic errand in a magical kingdom and eventually falls in love with a fallen star who looks like Claire Danes. And who wouldn't? Stardust's beguiling blend of fantasy and humor proves both deeper and sexier than the similarly themed The Princess Bride, while spending less time winking at the audience (except for Robert De Niro's performance as an air pirate with a double life).-- Holman
SUPERBAD 4 stars (R) Jonah Hill and Michael Cera make a classic comedy duo as two nebbischy high schoolers trying to buy beer and score with girls before they go off to separate colleges. Although Superbad pays homage to the horny teen comedies of the 1980s, it's far funnier, warmer and better acted than any of them (except possibly Fast Times at Ridgemont High). Directed by Greg Mottola and produced by Judd Apatow (Knocked Up). -- Holman
TALK TO ME 4 stars (R) Kasi Lemmons' (Eve's Bayou) by-turns thoughtful and highly amusing biopicture looks at the astounding career trajectory, in both its quick rise and idiosyncratic fall, of the outspoken, charismatic 1960s ex-con-turned-DJ Petey Greene (Don Cheadle) -- and radio exec Dewey Hughes (Chiewetel Ejiofor) -- who gave a voice to black Americans from his Washington, D.C., radio pulpit. Cheadle is mesmerizing and Lemmons' film is a needed reminder of both the smaller voices lost in the bluster of history, and a politically resonant expression of the need to speak out, now more than ever. -- Feaster
THE TEN (R) With an all-star cast including Jessica Alba, Winona Ryder and Adam Brody, filmmakers Ken Marino and David Wain illustrate the Ten Commandments with 10 sinfully funny interconnected skits.
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE 3 stars (PG-13) Armageddon and Pearl Harbor director Michael Bay plays with the most expensive toys in the planet in this loud, destructive live-action version of the Hasbro properties. The plot, themes and characterization are laughable at best (except for Shia LaBeouf's ingratiating, steadying work in the lead "human" role), but the special-effects extravaganza of giant robots whaling on each other is kind of awesome. Co-stars Megan Fox. -- Holman
TWO DAYS IN PARIS 4 stars (R) Not since Michael Moore has someone looked at their native culture with such jaundiced eyes. Julie Delpy's (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset) directorial debut is a delightfully bitter take on Richard Linklater's one-day-in-Paris romances in which Delpy also starred. A couple played by Delpy and real-life former boyfriend Adam Goldberg (Deja Vu) stop in Paris on their way back to New York from Venice and watch their relationship fall apart. Delpy's takedown of contemporary, post-Sept. 11, Iraq War-era romance parallels her scathing read on Parisians' rudeness and sex obsession, but for all her cynicism the film is also incredibly funny. -- Feaster
UNDERDOG (PG) Comedic actor Jason Lee lends his voice to the rhyming canine who saves the day in Frederik Du Chau's comedy inspired by the original Saturday-morning cartoon.
VITUS 4 stars (PG) At the ages of 6 and 12, a young genius (played in the latter section by actual piano prodigy Teo Gheorghiu) struggles with alienation and the tensions created by well-meaning parents who don't know what to do with him. Switzerland's entry for the 2006 Academy Awards avoids cinematic cliches as it portrays the challenges of having an advanced intellect in a normal world, although the last act takes some strange turns, as if the boy's flights of fancy make the film become correspondingly unrealistic. -- Holman
WHO'S YOUR CADDY? (PG-13) The board president of a country club in the Carolinas strongly discourages an Atlanta rap mogul from joining, but the rapper and his entourage remain tenacious in Don Michael Paul's slapstick comedy.
