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The Dictator / *** (R)

Wed, 09 May 2012 17:45:00

"The Dictator" (R, 85 minutes). Funny, in addition to being obscene, disgusting, scatological, vulgar, crude and so on. Sacha Baron Cohen establishes a claim to be the best comic filmmaker now working. He plays General Admiral Aladeen, a North African dictator who to his amazement falls in love with a left-wing Manhattan health food nut (Anna Faris). About as dedicated to plot as the Marx Brothers; the movie's spiritual ancestor is "Duck Soup" and Groucho's Freedonian dictator Rufus T. Firefly. Three stars

Dark Shadows / **1/2 (PG-13)

Wed, 09 May 2012 23:58:00

"Dark Shadow" (PG-13), 112 minutes). Tim Burton's film is all dressed up with nowhere to go, an elegant production without a central drive. There are wonderful things in the film, but they aren't what's important. It's as if Burton directed at arm's length, unwilling to find juice in the story. Johnny Depp is flawless at the vampire Barnabas, transported from the 18th century to 1992, but the other characters get lost in arch mannerisms. As always with Burton, the visual style is wonderful. Two and a half stars

Headhunters / ***1/2 (R)

Wed, 09 May 2012 21:43:00

"Headhunters" (R, 100 minutes). A superior thriller from Norway, about an executive headhunter (Aksel Hennie), who moonlights as an art thief to lavish luxuries on the woman he loves. He's too insecure to believe she could love him or himself. That gets him into a showdown with a former commando (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who turns out to be the wrong man to cross. It's not often a thriller keeps me wound up as well as this one did. Three and a half stars

The Sound of My Voice / *** (R)

Wed, 09 May 2012 21:52:00

"The Sound of my Voice" (R, 85 minutes). Two Los Angeles documentary filmmakers infiltrate a San Fernando Valley cult group led by an ethereal young woman (Brit Marling) who claims to be from the year 2054. Whether that and several other things are true is the question at the enter of a low-budget but compelling weird tale. Three stars

God Bless America / ** (R)

Wed, 09 May 2012 21:47:00

"God Bless America" (R, 100 minutes). Bobcat Goldthwaite's savage satire stars Joel Murray as a decent man who loses his job, is diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor, and starts killing people he sees on TV who disgust him. In a cross-country murder spree he's joined by a deranged teenager (Tara Lynne Barr) who urges him on. The first 30 minutes are brilliant. After that the film is simply identifying with two psychopaths, and it's impossible to laugh. Two stars

Girl in Progress / *1/2 (PG-13)

Wed, 09 May 2012 21:43:00

"Girl in Progress" (PG-13, 84 minutes). Studying "coming of age" in high school, a teenage girl sets out a road map to do so. It includes losing her virginity, dumping her best friend, and in general seeming much stupider than Cierra Ramirez, the smart, appealing actress who palsy her. Eva Mendes plays her mom, whose life is also messed up, and Matthew Modine is the snaky doctor having an affair with Mendes. One and a half stars

The Avengers / *** (PG-13)

Wed, 02 May 2012 23:31:00

"The Avengers" (PG-13, 142 minutes). A threat to earth from the smirking Loki, resentful adoptive brother of the Norse god Thor, causes Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), to assemble all of the Avengers: Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Capt. America (Chris Evans), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Black Widow (Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). The result is sort of like an All Star Game for Marvel superheroes. Exactly what you'd expect, although more of the same. Gets the job done. Three stars

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel / ***1/2 (PG-13)

Wed, 02 May 2012 21:32:00

"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" (PG-13, 124 minutes). A charming, funny, heartwarming movie making good use of seven superb veteran actors. They're Brits on limited income who have taken their chances on a retirement hotel in India, run on a shoestring with boundless optimism by Dev Patel (he was the quiz show contestant in "Slumdog Millionaire.") An amazing cast, including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton and, in the best, most surprisingly movie role, Tom Wilkinson. Three and a half stars

Surviving Progress / ***1/2 (Unrated)

Wed, 02 May 2012 21:28:00

"Surviving Progress" (Unrated, 86 minutes). A bone-chilling documentary saying that unsustainable growth rates are being financed by debt, on which the interest is paid by irreplaceable natural resources. We are nearing the tipping point at which the earth will slide into ecological bankruptcy. Three and a half stars

Keyhole / *** (R)

Wed, 02 May 2012 21:24:00

"Keyhole" (R, 94 minutes). Surrounded by police on a dark and rainy night, a desperate armed gang is holed in inside a vast haunted house surrounding a courtyard holding a bog into which they will soon push two bodies. Their leader (Jason Patric), his hat dripping with rain, finds his way through the night with the body of a drowned woman slung over his shoulder. Guy Maddin is creating another of his doomy nightmares. The endlessly inventive Canadian director's film plays like a fever dream using the elements of film noir but restlessly rearranging them. With Isabelle Rossellini, Udo Kier, Brooke Palsson. Three stars

The Raven / ** (R)

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:10:00

"The Raven" (R, 111 minutes). John Cusack stars as Edgar Allen Poe, in an overwrought serial killer melodrama having only the most tenuous connection to the great writer. Starting with one fact, that Poe was found wandering delirious in Baltimore in 1849, the movie concocts a plot that depends much more on sensational acting than on suspense or atmosphere. With Luke Evans as a detective who teams up with Poe. Two stars

Darling Companion / * (PG-13)

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:26:00

"Darling Companion:" (PG-13, 103 minutes). A dog gets adopted and the lost in the woods. An all-star cast splits into couples and goes looking for it. That's what happens. Essentially, it's all that happens. It's depressing to reflect on the talent that conspired to make this inert and listless movie. Directed by I walked in knowing it was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, its cast includes Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Richard Jenkins, Dianne Wiest and Sam Shepard. Thin soup. Freeway! Freeway! Freeeee-way! Where are you, boy? Freeway! One star.

We Have a Pope / ***1/2 (Unrated)

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:38:00

"We Have a Pope" (No MPAA rating, 102 minutes). To his horror, a senior cardinal has been elected Pope. Played by the legendary actor Michel Piccoli, he begs to be excused: The weight of responsibility is too great for his shoulders. As he slips out of the Vatican City and wanders around Rome, the College of Cardinals remains locked up in high security. Amusing, respectful, entertaining. Three and a half stars

Monsieur Lazhar / ***1/2 (PG-13)

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:18:00

"Monsieur Lazhar" (PG-13, 94 minutes). After a Montreal school teacher hangs herself in her classroom, an Algerian immigrant (Fellag) volunteers to teach the class. During the rest of the school year, the teacher and his students learn some lessons about human nature. One of the 2012 Oscar nominees for best foreign film. Three and a half stars

Boy / ***1/2 (PG-13)

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:40:00

"Boy" (PG-13, 90 minutes). Delightful, inventive coming of age story set in New Zealand and telling the story of an enormously likable 11-year-old Maori kid (James Rolleston) who lives in a village near the Bay of Plenty. His mother is dead, and his grandmother is away at a family funeral when unexpectedly his father (Taika Waititi) turns up after finishing prison sentence. Boy (the kid's name) has idealized his dad, visualizing him with elements of Michael Jackson, and does some growing in a few days. Three and a half stars

The Lucky One / **1/2 (PG-13)

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:56:00

"The Lucky One" (PG-13, 101 minutes). Shameless love story about a Marine (Zac Efron) whose life is saved by a photo he funds in Iraq. He tracks down the girl in the picture (Taylor Schilling) and finds her running a dog kennel in impossibly beautiful North Carolina hills. Her nana (Blythe Danner) spots Efron as husband material, but her ex-husband (Jay R. Ferguson) hags around getting drunk and acting mean. A smooth, pretty adaptation of a smooth Nicholas Sparks novel, if incredible coincidences and romantic clich�s don't both you; it's mid-level Sparks, done well. Two and a half stars

Think Like a Man / ** (PG-13)

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:09:00

"Think Like a Man" (PG-13, 122 minutes). All-star cast, promising premise, doofus behavior. Women seek happiness in romance by leading their lives according to Steve Harvey's best-seller "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man." Then their men catch on and start reading the same book. Tiresome cycling through the couples; might have been better as satire. With Harvey, Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Chris Brown. Two stars

In the Family / **** (Unrated)

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:57:00

"In the Family" (Unrated, 169 minutes). One of the year's best films, about a gay man (Patrick Wang), whose partner (Trevor St. John) is killed, leaving him to raise the partner's son (Sebastian Banes). But the partner's sister has an old will, written before the two men met, and takes possession of the child. A courageous film that sidesteps shopworn stereotypes and a "social issues" approach and tells a quiet, firm, deeply humanist story. It avoids any message or statement, and shows us, with infinite sympathy, how the life of a completely original character can help us lead our own. Four stars

Marley / ***1/2 (PG-13)

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:00:00

"Marley" (PG-13, 144 minutes). An ambitious and comprehensive film that does what is probably the best possible job of documenting an important life. Authorized by all the members of his scattered family and with rights to all of his music and a wealth of previously-unseen film and video footage, it shows the growth of a legend, from a shack without electricity in Jamaica to international stardom. Three and a half stars

Fake It So Real / ***1/2 (Unrated)

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:06:00

"Fake It So Real" (Unrated, 95 minutes). A documentary that filled me with affection for its down-and-out heroes, a group of semi-pro wrestlers in Lincolnton, N.C. On Friday nights they rent a hall, construct their own ring, set out the folding chairs, stage a wrestling show, take the ring apart, truck it away, and start talking about next week. For this labor, one of them jokes, they get "twenty bucks, a hot dog and a pat on the ass." There is a rough nobility in the way they strive for fame and success. They work hard and pay painful dues for a moment in the spotlight. Three and a half stars

The Lady / **1/2 (R)

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:02:00

"The Lady" (R, 132 minutes). Timely because of recent headlines, a biopic about the Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi (Michelle Yeoh), whose reform movement has just been swept into power in Burma, winning her a seat in Parliament after 15 years of house arrest. David Thewlis stars as her British husband. French director Luc Besson follows traditional biopic conventions too close, and his film lacks the spontaneity and energy we might have expected. Interesting but not much more. Two and a half stars

Great Movie: La Collectionneuse (1967)

Mon, 14 May 2012 18:14:00

During lazy summer days and nights, the subjects of "La Collectionneuse" practice idleness and slow-motion mind games in a villa in the hills above St. Tropez on the French Riviera. Sensuality is always in the air, where it drifts aimlessly. This is the third of Eric Rohmer's Moral Tales, the first at feature length, the first filmed in color. It functions as a jumping-off point for the rest of his long career.

Great Movie: La Ceremonie (1995)

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:06:00

The French have a name for the events leading up to a death by guillotine. They call it "the ceremony." Although Claude Chabrol's "La Ceremonie" (1995) contains no guillotines, there is a relentless feeling to it, as if the characters are engaged in a performance that can have only one outcome. It comes as a surprise to all of them, and to us. But given these people in this situation, can we really say in hindsight that we're surprised?