Here are selected capsule reviews of movies in current release (for films released this week, see full reviews in this section).
American Pie 2 (star)(star)
A sequel to one of the surprise hits of 1999; that cute but raunchy high-school sex comedy whose lewd high-jinks were mingled with some warmth and personality. But “American Pie 2,” which brings back the cast (Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth et al.) for more of the same, is just another by-the-numbers money-hungry sequel with a lot of recycled shaggy-sex jokes and gross-out gags. R (strong sexual content, crude humor, language and drinking). 1:40.– M.W.
Apocalypse Now Redux (star)(star)(star)(star)
Francis Ford Coppola’s monumental re-edit of his classic 1979 Vietnam War epic “Apocalypse Now” (with 47 minutes of new scenes), inspired by Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” co-written with John Milius (narration by Michael Herr), starring Marlon Brando as mad Colonel Kurtz, who must be “terminated with extreme prejudice” and Martin Sheen as Willard, who journeys upriver to his Cambodian jungle lair. Magnificent to look at, thrilling, ingenious, spellbinding, grandly ambitious. R (disturbing violent images, language, sexual content and some drug use). 3:17.– M.W.
The Crimson Rivers (star)(star)1/2
French director Mathieu Kassovitz (“Hate”) directs top French talent Jean Reno and Vincent Cassell as two cops investigating seemingly different cases in the French Alps. As the two cases merge into a serial-killer investigation, leaving the veteran cop and hotheaded rookie to have to interpret the killer’s motives without adding to the body count themselves. A stylish and complex but ultimately flawed thriller. In French with English subtitles. R (violence/grisly images and language). 1:45. –Rob Elder
The Deep End (star)(star)(star)
This quietly seductive, character-driven thriller from writer-director-producers Scott McGehee and David Siegel (“Suture”) could be seen simply as another one of those cautionary tales that teaches: Instead of trying to cover up a crime/accident/whatever, just go to the police and save everyone a lot of trouble. A more interesting theme, and one that’s closer to the film’s heart, is the notion of the havoc that is wrought in trying to keep a gay family member in the closet. Margaret Hall (Tilda Swinton) is a do-everything mother of three in Lake Tahoe, who covers up a murder because she thinks her gay son, the college-bound Beau (Jonathan Tucker), is involved. Also stars Josh Lucas, Raymond Barry, Goran Visnjic. Opened Wednesday; review ran in Wednesday’s Tempo. R (some violence and language, a strong sex scene). 1:39. — M.C.
Ghost World (star)(star)(star)
Based on the characters in David Clowes’ underground comic book, brought to life by actresses Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson, Enid and Rebecca are a couple of teenagers who just don’t belong in the typical modern American teen movie. In the funny, vaguely surreal “Ghost World,” though, they’re just right. As directed by prize-winning documentarian Terry (“Crumb”) Zwigoff, they’re realist creations hovering on caricature but staying funny, and memorable. R. 1:51. — M.W.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (star)(star)(star)
John Cameron Mitchell wrote, directed and stars in this reimagined version of his off-Broadway cult hit gender-bending musical about a young man who survives a botched sex-change operation, moves from East Berlin to Kansas City and reinvents him/herself as a Farrah Fawcett-wigged rock singer. The opening-up of the stage material works to good effect (the new animations) and bad (experiencing the live performances via bewildered diners at the tacky seafood restaurants where Hedwig performs), but Steven Trask’s glam-inspired music and imagery-rich lyrics and Mitchell’s knockout performance more than compensate for the sometimes-muddled storytelling. R. 1:31. — M.C.
Legally Blonde (star)(star)(star)
Without star Reese Witherspoon, this movie might be nothing more than just another lighter-than-air formula-bound girl-power comedy. With her, it’s a delight: a real cutie-pie of a picture about a California blond sorority queen who gets dumped by her snob boyfriend and then pursues him into Harvard Law School. Cliches and one-note characters keep cropping up, but it doesn’t matter. In blazing pink with lots of Bel Air attitude, Witherspoon is in almost every scene — and she makes them snap, pop and crackle. PG-13 (language and sexual references). 1:36. — M.W.
Osmosis Jones (star)(star)(star)1/2
In the half-live-action/half-animated world of “Osmosis Jones,” the laughs are fast, slick and slippery. When walking biohazard Frank (Bill Murray) ingests a lethal virus (voiced by Laurence Fishburne), disgraced white blood cell Osmosis Jones (voiced by Chris Rock) and cold tablet Drix (voiced by David Hyde Pierce) join up to save Frank. PG (bodily humor). 1:35. — R.E.
The Others (star)(star)(star)
CGI effects, begone! The English-language debut of Spanish writer-director Alejandro Amenabar (“Open Your Eyes”) is an old-fashioned, no high-tech-gimmicks, haunted-house story that gives you a case of the creeps oh-so-slowly, then hits you with a clever, mind-warping way of saying, “Boo!” Nicole Kidman, using frosty blond hair and demeanor to her advantage, is the overly protective mother of two allergic-to-light kids who all start seeing and hearing things in a Victorian mansion. PG-13 (thematic elements and frightening moments). 1:44. — M.C.
Planet of the Apes (star)(star)(star)1/2
Of all the summer’s hot-buttered-popcorn movies, “Planet of the Apes” is my favorite. It’s a would-be blockbuster with oomph, a heavy-industrial spectacle whose voluptuous effects and visuals are also graced with subversive blasts of playfulness and wit. Director Tim Burton has taken the 1968 sci-fi classic — in which Charlton Heston played an astronaut marooned on a planet where apes are in charge and humans are chattel — and turns it into a high-speed nightmare comedy-adventure, sweetened by writers William Broyles Jr. (“Apollo 13”) and Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal (“Star Trek VI”) with hip political satire. PG-13 (some sequences of action/violence). 1:50. — M.W.
The Princess Diaries (star)(star)(star)
That “The Princess Diaries” manages to wring some originality out of its fairy tale plot makes this family-friendly film a summer notable. The freshness compensates for the expected hackneyed qualites in this Cinderella tale of an ordinary teenage girl who becomes royalty, not because of a Prince Charming but thanks to the not-so-gentle persuasion of none other than the original Eliza Doolittle herself, Julie Andrews, whose winning performance here kicks the class quotient up several notches. G. 1:51.– L.K.
Rush Hour 2 (star)(star)1/2
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker team up again for another paint-by-numbers buddy comedy, this time starting in Hong Kong. Handicapped by a timeworn cop movie formula and the lack of any real mind-blowing stunts by Chan, “Rush Hour 2” is only a so-so sequel with witty dialogue. PG-13 (action violence, language and some sexual matierial). 2:00. — R.E.
Sexy Beast (star)(star)(star)1/2
A noir masterpiece with Oscar-caliber performances that stars Ben Kingsley as Don Logan, a psychotic who tries to intimidate retired criminal Gary “Gal” Dove (Ray Winstone) into “one last heist.” Few films are as physically affecting as this, which will leave audiences tied in knots with its smart cinematic twists and thriller tension. R. 1:31. — R.E.
Spy Kids (star)(star)(star)
Surprisingly sweet, like one of Disney’s goofy ’70s capers crossed with “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” “Spy Kids” is a rollicking, gizmo-filled adventure about kids — a brother and sister (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara) — who leap into the world of espionage to rescue their captured spy parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino). Re-released with new footage. PG (action sequences). 1:30. — M.C.
Under the Sand (star)(star)(star)
Playing a middle-aged wife cast adrift after her husband’s disappearance, in this Francois Ozon film on the mysteries of bereavement, Charlotte Rampling is magnetic. It’s a movie about loss and the stratagems with which we combat it — as a Parisian couple travel to their cottage, the husband (Bruno Cremer) disappears and the wife (Rampling) copes by denying his death/absence. No MPAA rating (adult: nudity, sensuality). 1:35. — M.W.
