New in theaters

Leonard DiCaprio gives a global-warming lecture (sans PowerPoint presentation) in 'The 11th Hour' and 'Superbad' gives film critics easy ammunition with its title.

from the August 17, 2007 edition

New in theaters

Delirious (Not rated)

Director: Tom DiCillo. With Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Elvis Costello, Phillip Bloch. (107 min.)

Steve Buscemi, one of my favorite actors, plays Les, a paparazzo who yearns for legitimacy in this mostly mediocre drama set on the fringes of the New York night life. Les takes on an assistant, Toby (Michael Pitt), who starts out as an eager lapdog and ends up becoming a kind of celebrity himself. At times it looks as if "Delirious," written and directed by Tom DiCillo, is trying to be "All About Eve" paparazzi-style. But Toby is too formless a conception, and Les devolves into a borderline nut case. Too many different stories are vying for attention here, and none of them are very good. Grade: C– – Peter Rainer

The 11th Hour (Not rated)

Directors: Nadia Conners and Leila Conners Peterson. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Mikhail Gorbachev, Stephen Hawking. (90 min.)

For audiences, the big question about the documentary "The 11th Hour" undoubtedly is: How is it different from "An Inconvenient Truth"? Well, the latter was very much an Al Gore production, while the chief eco-activist and talking head here is Leonardo DiCaprio, who also co-wrote the script. However, despite the presence of a bona fide movie star, "The 11th Hour" is considerably less slick than "An Inconvenient Truth," and no less urgent. Co-directed by the sisters Leslie Conners Peterson and Nadia Conners, the film features interviews with everyone from Mikhail Gorbachev to Stephen Hawking and in its final section lays out some remarkably innovative ways for designers to integrate renewable energy sources into buildings. Grade: A– – P.R.

Superbad (R)

Directors: Greg Mottola. With Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Seth Rogan, Christopher Mintz-Plasse. (114 min.)

This movie tries to be a "Knocked Up" or "40-Year-Old Virgin" for teens, and pretty well succeeds. Three misfits about to finish high school desperately seek summer girlfriends to get some romantic experience before heading off to college. What they get is a night full of drug dealers, trigger-happy cops, and trouble. A lot of wit and inventiveness went into this production – too bad it couldn't have been used constructively. Grade: D – M.K. Terrell

•"The Last Legion" was not screened for critics. Look for a review in the Aug. 24 issue of Weekend.