Movie Guide

Sterritt *** This romantic comedy takes a low-key look at a high-strung film festival, using it as the backdrop for intersecting stories about a young actress looking for a break, an aging diva longing for a comeback, an indie newcomer and a studio hotshot scrambling for the same star, and others of their ilk. The cast is superb, and Jaglom's improvisational style works well, turning loosely strung incidents into an easy-going treat.

Sex/Nudity: 3 instances of innuendo. Violence: None. Profanity: 6 strong expressions. Drugs: 4 scenes with smoking and drinking.

Director: Chris Wedge. With (voices): Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary. (81 min.)

Staff *** Unlike the characters in "Ice Age," the computer animation that rendered them shows no sign of extinction. The woolly mammoth, sabre-toothed tiger, and sloth in this story look wonderfully realized thanks to the animation technology. If only the story were as three-dimensional. It's a fairly standard tale in which an unlikely gang of animals bond as they rescue a human infant separated from his tribe. What lifts the film is its humor, including a sequence hinting at why the Dodo is doomed to extinction and hilarious set pieces that recall the late Chuck Jones' "Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunners" 'toons. By Stephen Humphries

Staff ***1/2 Superb animation, edgy, bright, fun.

Sex/Nudity: None. Violence: About 25 instances of cartoonish violence. Profanity: None. Drugs: None.

Director: Mira Nair. With Naseeruddin Shah, Roshan Seth, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shetty. (111 min.)

Sterritt *** Celebrants gather in New Delhi for the Punjabi wedding of an Indian-American groom and an Indian bride who's not sure she's ready for matrimony. Despite its entertaining trappings, this is a thoughtful story, touching on sensitive issues of sexuality and child abuse. Nair hasn't lost her eye for revealing details of personality, behavior, and environment. In English, Hindi, and Punjabi with English subtitles.

Staff ***1/2Vital, zesty, mix of comedy, drama.

Sex/Nudity: 10 scenes, mostly innuendo and kissing. A few scenes implied child abuse. Violence: None. Profanity: About 12 expressions. Drugs: At least 8 scenes of drinking and smoking.

Director: Hal Hartley. With Sarah Polley, Robert John Burke, Helen Mirren, Julie Christie. (106 min.)

Sterritt ** Following the trail of a missing news team, a young journalist meets a mythological Icelandic monster who's melancholy and mean, passing the hours of his endless life by cursing fate and killing any human who's unlucky enough to cross his path. Like some movie creatures of the past, this odd villain is baffled and enraged by his inability to live comfortably in the world, and the movie gains poetic power through Hartley's view of him as a kind of tragic hero, worthy of pity as well as fear. The movie is uneven, but has fresh, imaginative moments.

Sex/Nudity: 3 instances innuendo and implied sex. Violence: 12 scenes, some with torture. Profanity: 24 strong expressions. Drugs: 28 scenes with smoking and drinking.

Director: David Fincher. With Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Kristen Stewart. (110 min.)

Sterritt ** A woman and her young daughter scurry to a bunkerlike sanctum when three crooks invade their new Manhattan home to steal a fortune that happens to be locked away in the panic room itself. This is a minimalist thriller, centering the action on five characters in one place during a single three-hour period. Also present is Fincher's long-standing affection for hyperactive camera movements, juicing up any scene where the acting or dialogue sags. There are many, since David Koepp's screenplay isn't nearly surprising or clever enough to sustain a reasonable degree of suspense on its own.

Staff **1/2Nail-biter, intense, goofy at times.

Sex/Nudity: None. Violence: 9 instances, some quite violent. Profanity: About 60 expressions, mostly harsh. Drugs: 6 scenes with drinking, smoking, including illegal drug use.

Director: Paul Anderson. With Milla Jovovich, Eric Mabius. (100 min.)

Staff ** When a nasty virus is released in a secret lab, the compound's artificially intelligent security system locks everyone in and kills them. But the afflicted don't stay dead long – they turn into zombies on a quest to seize control of the world. It's up to a group of government commandos to stop them. The zombies and commandos do their jobs, but Milla Jovovich is the only thing that really shines as the gun-toting, evening-gown-wearing heroine. By Alex Kaloostian

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