Movie Guide
Director: Nir Bergman. With Orli Zilbershatz-Banai, Maya Maron, Nitai Gvirtz, Daniel Magon. (86 min.)
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Sterritt *** A teenage girl copes with her father's death, her mother's distraction from the family, and the needs of her younger siblings. Heartfelt acting and a sometimes tragic but ultimately life-affirming story make this an unusually touching Israeli production. In Hebrew with English subtitles.
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan. With Muzaffer Özdemir, Zuhal Gencer Erkaya, Emin Toprak, Nazan Kirilmis. (109 min.)
Sterritt **** Already burdened with problems of his own, a Turkish man acquires an unwanted roommate when his country-bred cousin shows up in Istanbul, ostensibly looking for work but not very eager to find it. Mood, atmosphere, and character are more important than story twists in this unassuming, acutely observant drama. In Turkish with English subtitles.
Director: David Koepp. With Johnny Depp, Maria Bello, Johm Turturro, Charles S. Dutton. (97 min.)
Sterritt *** Once again, a thriller based on a Stephen King story focuses on a writer whose work gives him big trouble - in this case, sinister visits from a stranger who accuses him of plagiarizing a hack horror story. Depp gives a smart, subtle performance, and Turturro is terrific as a foe who's both exactly what he seems and exactly the opposite. Koepp's makes his (literally) corny tricks seemfresh and surprising.
Director: David Mamet. With Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, Kristen Bell, William H. Macy. (104 min.)
Sterritt **** See review.
Director: Lone Scherfig. With Jamie Sives, Shirley Henderson, Adrian Rawlins, Lisa McKinlay. (111 min.)
Sterritt *** The world-weary title character is a young Scottish bookseller whose longsuffering brother falls in love with a customer at the shop they've inherited, bringing the woman and her young daughter into a complex new relationship with both of them. Directed and cowritten by a veteran of Denmark's no-frills "Dogma 95" movement, this is a quiet, no-frills drama with simple human values at its core.
Director: Sara Sugarman. With Lindsay Lohan, Adam Garcia, Megan Fox, Alison Pill. (86 min.)
Staff * Lola Cep (Lohan) is a desperately spoiled "New York City doll" forced to move to a sleepy New Jersey suburb in this unbelievable comedy. She thinks everyone stands between herself and stardom, but she refuses to stop dreaming and lands the lead role in her school play, as well as an invitation to her favorite rock star's afterparty. By Elizabeth Armstrong
Staff *1/2 No substance, Britney-esque.
Sex/Nudity: 1 instance of innuendo. Violence: 1 instance. Profanity: 1 mild expression. Drugs: 2 scenes with drinking.
Director: Guy Ferland. With Romola Garai, Diego Luna, Sela Ward, Patrick Swayze. (86 min.)
Sterritt * A rich American girl learns love and dancing from a Latino boy during a family sojourn in Cuba just before the Castro regime takes over. At least the original "Dirty Dancing" had Jennifer Grey for Swayze to swing around. This belated "reimagining" is as beguiling as a dried-out palm tree.
