Here are selected capsule reviews of movies in current release (for films released this week, see full reviews in this section). Note: “State Property” opens Friday, but does not screen in advance for critics; check next week’s Tempo section for the review.
A Walk to Remember (star)
This teen drama coasts on its first hour by being a slightly below-average cliche convention bolstered by pop star Mandy Moore’s lead performance. PG. 1:40.– R.E.
Birthday Girl (star)(star)1/2
Nicole Kidman stole lots of hearts last year in “Moulin Rouge” and she steals them again in “Birthday Girl,” a smart but inconsequential, cynical comedy about a meek British bank clerk (Ben Chaplin) who falls prey to a pair of Russian con artists after contacting a mail-order bride (Kidman). R. 1:33.– M.W.
Black Hawk Down (star)(star)(star)1/2
Ridley Scott’s movie about the 1993 Battle of the Black Sea in Somalia is one of the most violent, ferociously convincing battle movies ever. With Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Sam Shepard. R. 2:24.– M.W.
The Count of Monte Cristo (star)(star)
The latest version of Alexandre Dumas’ classic story of injustice and revenge — starring Jim Caviezel as Edmond Dantes (a.k.a. The Count) — is one of the most overblown and disappointing. With Dagmara Dominczyk, Guy Pearce, Luis Guzman. PG-13. 2:11.– M.W.
Diamond Men (star)(star)
Initially an engaging character study of two diamond merchants (Robert Forster and Donnie Wahlberg), writer-director Daniel M. Cohen sacrifices excellent characters to a lame payoff. R. 1:40.– R.E.
I Am Sam (star)(star)1/2
Sam (Sean Penn), its lovable, childlike hero with a mental age of 7, is the perfect father and the perfect victim. An admirer of The Beatles and “Green Eggs and Ham,” Sam also has a brilliant 7-year-old daughter named Lucy, whom the state is trying to wrest away; the movie is about his struggle to keep his child, with the aid of flashy pro bono attorney Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer). PG-13. 2:12.– M.W.
Italian
for Beginners (star)(star)(star)1/2
This movie — the first from Lars Von Trier’s Dogma 95 group by a woman writer-director — is a rarity: a warm-hearted and humane picture about modern romance among believable adults. R. 1:39.– M.W.
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist 1/2 star
Going where Woody Allen’s “What’s Up, Tiger Lily?” went before, writer-director Steve Oedekerk dubs new dialogue into the 1976 kung fu flick “Tiger & Crane Fists” — but does Allen one better by digitally inserting himself into the film. The difference? Allen’s film is funny. PG-13.– R.E.
Monster’s Ball (star)(star)1/2
In this modern-day vision of William Faulkner’s Deep South, a white corrections officer (Billy Bob Thornton) learns to cast off the racist ways of his father (Peter Boyle) after a series of tragedies and his unlikely bonding with the downtrodden widow of a Death Row inmate (Halle Berry). The acting is solid, the filmmaking effectively moody, but the tones are inconsistent. R. 1:48.– M.C.
The Mothman Prophecies (star)1/2
A gaudy yet grim science-fiction horror movie with Richard Gere playing John Klein, a star Washington Post reporter investigating paranormal activity, doom-laden prophecies and a mysterious moth monster in Point Pleasant, W.Va. PG-13. 1:59.– M.W.
Pinero (star)(star)(star)
Leon Ichaso’s ambitious biopic of the Latino playwright-poet-actor Miguel Pinero, who was also a junkie, thief and ex-con, is the latest entry in the movie tradition that tries to visually depict a writer’s methods and his underlying madness. A standout performance by Benjamin Bratt as Pinero. R. 1:43.– L.K.
The Royal Tenenbaums (star)(star)(star)1/2
Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) abandoned his family 22 years ago and now is seeking reconciliation. “The Royal Tenenbaums” is less cohesive than the filmmakers’ “Rushmore,” yet like its predecessor, it builds to an emotional payoff that comes as a surprise. With Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson. R. 1:48.– M.C.
Snow Dogs (star)1/2
When Miami dentist Ted Brooks (Cuba Gooding Jr.) learns he’s adopted, he travels to Alaska to find himself and sort out the estate of his recently deceased birth mother. PG. 1:39.– R.E.
