Here are selected capsule reviews of movies in current release.
– = New this week
– Drop Dead Gorgeous (star)
A silly undertaking in which contenders of a local beauty pagent in a fictional Midwestern town turn up dead. The film hasn’t a true or interesting minute in it, and seems to be making fun of people’s lack of sophistication. PG-13. 1:37. — B.S.
– The Haunting (star) (star) (star)
The production design is worth applauding in this flick as the haunted house has real personality. Based on the sophisticated 1959 novel “The Haunting of Hill House” and 1963’s classy film “The Haunting,” this version finds Liam Neeson as a psychologist-author who gathers three other adventurers for an experiment in terror. PG-13. 1:53. — M.W.
– Inspector Gadget (star) (star)
A security guard (Matthew Broderick) longing to be a police officer is blown up in a car chase, then awakens to find the daughter of a scientist (Joely Fisher) has turned him into a prototype semi-robotic crime fighter. PG. 1:20. — M.C.
– Relax…It’s Just Sex (star) (star) (star)
A low-budget, warm ensemble comedy that tells the story of a woman (Jennifer Tilly) and her extended family of friends. It’s a bittersweet comedy offering a braver and broader look at contemporary urban relationships in America than most films or television shows do. No MPAA rating (strong language and sexually explicit material). 1:48. — M.E.
