Movie Guide

Director: Adam Bhala Lough. With Mark Webber, Gano Grills, Jade Yorker, Jaclyn DeSantis. (91 min.)

Sterritt ** Drama about the travails and triumphs (mostly travails) of New York City graffiti sprayers. Well acted and ably directed, if not very probing about its subject of underclass youth.

Director: Christopher Browne. With Pete Weber, Wayne Webb, Steve Miller, Walter Ray Williams Jr. (98 min.)

Sterritt *** Documentary about efforts to turn bowling into a big-time spectator sport. While the movie is strong on the history of its subject, it allows some yawns to enter its own account of a big, heavily hyped tournament. Still, it's very entertaining.

Director: Peter Segal. With Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, James Cromwell, Burt Reynolds. (114 min.)

Sterritt * See review.

Directors: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath. With voices of Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith. (80 min.)

Sterritt * Bored with his life, a zoo animal takes himself and some friends on a quest for more agreeable climes. The animation is deft but the screenplay is stilted, the voice-performances are unimaginative, and the whole project is surprisingly clumsy in its efforts to please young and old alike. A major disappointment.

Director: Volker Schlöndorff. With Ulrich Matthes, August Diehl, Bibiana Beglau, Hilmar Thate. (90 min.)

Sterritt **** On temporary leave from the Dachau death camp, a Roman Catholic priest struggles with his conscience, his fears for his family, and with a Nazi officer who hopes he'll push his bishop toward more sympathy with the Nazi cause. This is moviemaking on the highest dramatic, psychological, and moral plane. In German with subtitles.

Director: Alice Wu. With Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen, Jin Wang. (91 min.)

Sterritt *** A mother and daughter face romantic complications at the same time in New York City's busy Chinese-American community. Nicely acted. In English and Mandarin with subtitles.

Director: Eléanore Faucher. With Lola Naymark, Ariane Ascaride, Robert Ryan, Thomas Paroppe. (88 min.)

Sterritt **** Deeply moving French drama about a working-class teenager who discovers she's pregnant. Faucher's filmmaking is exquisite, Naymark's acting is luminous, and superb use of music lends a crowning touch. In French with subtitles.

Director: Claude Berri. With Michel Simon, Alain Cohen, Luce Fabiole, Charles Denner. (86 min.)

Sterritt *** Berri made his feature-directing debut with this serious-minded 1967 comedy about a Jewish boy living with an anti-Semitic farmer while evading Nazi terror. Based on Berri's own experiences, the movie was originally called "Le Vieil Homme et l'enfant." In French with subtitles.

Director: Paul Haggis. With Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Esposito, Matt Dillon. (113 min.)

Sterritt *** Interlocking stories of diverse Los Angeles characters, from cops and crooks to folks caught in between. The writer of "Million Dollar Baby" makes his directing debut with a screenplay that often seems rigged and contrived, but comes to life via excellent acting and a philosophical argument that bigotry and benevolence are inextricably intertwined.

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