Here are selected capsule reviews of movies in current release. Information is based on the most up-to-date theater schedules available and subject to change.
Reviewers include: M.P. = Michael Phillips; J.R. = Jessica Reaves; M.W. = Michael Wilmington.
Bobby (star)(star)1/2: Director Emilio Estevez’s well-intentioned chronicle of the night Robert Kennedy was killed is too broad and the subject too much for this brave, very flawed attempt at capturing a moment that changed America. R. 1:51.–J.R.
Borat (star)(star)(star)(star): Sacha Baron Cohen’s grinning bigot of a Kazakh TV commentator has made America, and some of its more gullible and xenophobic inhabitants, his straight man in various TV vignettes. R. 1:22.–M.P.
Candy (star)(star)1/2: Heath Ledger is excellent in this grim Australian addiction drama. Ledger plays a struggling poet in love with a would-be artist played by Abbie Cornish. Together they get lost in the chemical allure of heroin. R. 1:48.–M.P.
Casino Royale (star)(star)(star)1/2: Daniel Craig is the best 007 since Sean Connery–a tough, emotionally wary agent beginning his career as a “double-0.” This exciting adaptation of the first Bond novel stays close to its flinty spirit. PG-13 2:24.–M.P.
Deck the Halls (star)1/2: Matthew Broderick plays Steve Finch, a tightly wound optometrist, planning his town’s Christmas celebration. Ironically, this movie extolling the virtues of understatement is loud, crass and generally garish. PG. 1:35.–J.R.
Deja Vu (star)(star)(star): The new Denzel Washington movie is a science-fiction thriller/romance about time travel, mad bombers and love at first sight, and it’s an overwhelmingly professional picture, full of outlandish notions. PG-13. 2:08.–M.W.
Flushed Away (star)(star): This chaotic animated feature sends a posh pet mouse (Hugh Jackman) into the sewer. There he meets a rat (Kate Winslet) and, between arguments, they foil the evil plans of a frog (Ian McKellen). PG. 1:25.–M.P.
For Your Consideration (star)(star)(star): Christopher Guest’s comedy is worth seeing even though it’s a bit soft in its showbiz-ego premise. Those who feed the awards-season hype machine get the wittiest material. PG-13. 1:26.–M.P.
The Fountain (star)(star)1/2: Darren Aronofsky’s incredibly ambitious three-part tale of the search for the Tree of Life–for victory over death–stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. PG-13. 1:36.–M.W.
Fur (star)(star)(star): This foray into photographer Diane Arbus’ life has ups and downs, but rewards–great acting, particularly from the two leads (Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr.), a captivating story–far outweigh hints of melodrama. R. 1:52.–J.R.
Happy Feet (star)(star)(star): Audiences are in for an emotional thumping in a mood-swinging tale of a tap-dancing Emperor Penguin, Mumble, on a quest to find out why the penguins’ food supply is vanishing. Not for kids under 7 or 8. PG. 1:48.–M.P.
The Nativity Story (star)(star)(star): Few stories are more familiar than the birth of Christ, but director Catherine Hardwicke and writer Mike Rich manage to make the tale fresh and vital. PG. 1:42.–M.W.
Shut Up & Sing (star)(star)(star)1/2: In 2003 one of the Dixie Chicks said she was “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” The Chicks’ stardom fell fast. This fall-and-rise saga loves its subjects but keeps its perspective. R. 1:33.–M.P.
10 Items or Less (star)(star)(star): This character study starring Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega feels utterly natural, to the extent that it’s easy to forget you’re watching something scripted. R. 2:02.–J.R.
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (star)(star): Even with Jack Black’s eyebrows and a musical showdown with the devil, this is kind of a whiff. Some gags click; more do not in this tall tale. R. 1:40.–M.P.
Turistas (star)1/2: In sunny Brazil, a group of stranded gringo and gringa tourists with exceedingly white teeth run afoul of a fiendish doctor intent on harvesting their organs. In all, pretty dull. R. 1:29.–M.P.
Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj (no star rating): Van is absent as his protege Taj (Kal Penn) takes his mojo to a teaching post in England. Director Mort Nathan (“Boat Trip”) catches neither the tone nor the spirit of the original.–Tribune Newspapers
