New Reviews:

Smart People (R)
Noam Murro’s “Smart People” is a smart film, but could have told a tighter narrative. The story follows widower Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) who has never moved on since his wife’s death. Instead of finding another person to complete his life, Wetherhold has presumably turned inward. In addition to being a literature professor at a prestigious institution, he’s a writer. As most folks know, writing is a lonely, insular activity and often subjects the writer to all kinds of ridicule. Wetherhold is understandably grumpy and often appears lost in thought. But maybe those thoughts have become so duplicative that everything is now plainly routine. He’s in desperate need of change.

Street Kings (R)
If clichés were bullet holes, then “Street Kings” would look like the victim of a drive-by. Talk about a movie that’s full of stereotypes involving gang bangers and dirty cops in the city of Los Angeles, “Street Kings” is so derivative that screenwriter James Ellroy and director David Ayer should be sued for plagiarism. Then again, they’d only wind up suing themselves, since they’re pretty much plagiarizing their own superior work.

City of Men (R)
In my opinion, Fernando Meirelles' "City of God" is one of the few legitimate masterpieces released this decade. An epic story enhanced by bold, vivacious direction, it rightfully stands alongside the best crime films of any era. The movie's influence was so pervasive that it inspired a television series entitled "City of Men," which has now given birth to the feature film of the same name. Due to the lofty reputation of the movie that preceded it, "City of Men" is logically saddled with a host of expectations.

Semi-Pro (R)
“Semi-Pro” is funny as hell, but as a complete feature film, it is lacking. Will Ferrell plays Jackie Moon in the 1970s era basketball flick. Moon’s a former one hit R&B wonder whose number one tune includes lyrics promoting sweaty sex—buckets of sweat, a bathtub full o’ sweat even. With the loot he netted from sales of his song, Moon bought the Flint, Michigan, Tropics, an American Basketball Association team that hardly wins games let alone fills the arena with fans.

The Other Boleyn Girl (PG-13)
First, an easy quiz (which you're going to get wrong): How many wives did King Henry VIII have? Answer at the end of this article, but why not try to figure it out before looking? Oh, too late, you already did... And now, a question: Did Henry VIII always look like Charles Laughton, with the heft and bulges of the most memorable actor in the role of the monarch? The truth is that both the king and Laughton looked a lot better when they were young.

Penelope (PG-13)
“Penelope” is a neat modern fairy tale. It’s about a girl, Penelope, who has grown up secluded from the rest of the world. Her mother decided when Penelope was young that until a family curse is reversed, her daughter will not be turned loose on the world. But at some point, the little girl grows up and the world proves to be too tempting to pass up.

Vantage Point (PG-13)
Hamlet's "the readiness is all" needs to tweaked in case of movies: if you get something you were not quite ready for, you may have quite a good time. It's either audacious or just plain dumb of Sony Pictures to trumpet the story of "Vantage Point" in advertising and promotion around the world, around the clock. What's the point of seeing a movie about "the attempted assassination of the President from different perspectives," veritable spoilers well illustrated in trailers?

The Signal (R)
Our parents’ warning about how television would drain our heads and leave us mindless beasts could not have been more prophetic. The Signal is a smart, scruffy, endearing, disturbing new work from three Atlanta-based filmmakers; starring a cast of until-now unknowns. Each act (or Transmission, as the film’s titles state) manages to pull off a terrific feat. It’s sort of an anthology picture and yet one consistent story at the same time, and has cult classic written all over it ten minutes in.

Charlie Bartlett (R)
Charlie Bartlett is an unusual high school student. After being kicked out of a long list of private schools, he has no choice but to attend public school. The question isn’t whether Charlie is ready for the public, but whether the public is ready for Charlie? The trouble with the film “Charlie Bartlett” is that it tries too hard to be ultra cool and edgy at the same time. This leads to an over-the-top series of events that pretends to be self-important and real or, at least, really satirical.

Peter & the Wolf (NR)
Suzie Templeton’s animated adaptation of Sergei Prokofiev’s classic “Peter and the Wolf” contains some most amazing animation. Five years in the making, Templeton’s “Peter & the Wolf” employs the same stop-frame model animation popularized by “Wallace & Gromit” creators Aardman Animations. This new “Peter & the Wolf” is a sight to see with many different levels of animation combined to produce a real and, yet, fantastical world.