Movie Guide

NEW RELEASES

Director: David Mackenzie. With Ian McKellen, Natasha Richardson, Marton Csokas, Hugh Bonneville. (90 min.)

Sterritt *** A psychiatrist's wife falls in love with a dangerously demented mental patient. Patrick McGrath's novel provides a solid and suspenseful story, even if it loses much of its bite in Mackenzie's hands. By David Sterritt

Director: Terry Gilliam. With Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Monica Bellucci, Jonathan Pryce. (120 min.)

Sterritt **** The literary siblings are portrayed as clever con artists who bilk superstitious peasants by exorcizing bogus monsters - until a real threat challenges their courage as well as their improvisational skills. Gilliam has rarely been more inventive, energetic, or just plain funny. - D.S.

Director: Olivier Assayas. With Maggie Cheung, Nick Nolte, Béatrice Dalle, Don McKellar. (110 min.)

Sterritt **** A woman with a drugged-up past seeks to put her life in order and regain regular contact with her little boy. Can a misguided adult start afresh with a new set of values and priorities? This ambitious drama, directed by one of France's most resourceful filmmakers, explores that crucial question in depth and detail. In English and French and Cantonese with subtitles. - D.S.

Director: Lutz Hachmeister. With historical footage, voices of Kenneth Branagh, Udo Samel. (104 min.)

Sterritt *** Documentary about the Nazi era as seen by the party's propaganda genius. Informative and illuminating. In German with subtitles. - D.S.

Director: Art Jones. With Victor Argo, John Hoyt, Gordon Joseph Weiss, Jordan Lage. (81 min.)

Sterritt *** An aging loan shark contemplates his shady past and uncertain future in the weeks after 9/11 disrupted New York, the city he loves. This modest drama is a touching tribute to the late Argo, a character actor you'll instantly recognize. - D.S.

Director: Stephen Vittoria. With Gore Vidal, Gloria Steinem, Howard Zinn, Warren Beatty. (125 min.)

Sterritt **** Lively documentary about McGovern's disastrous run for the US presidency. The interviews with him are worth the price of admission. - D.S.

Director: Steven Greenstreet. With Michael Moore, Sean Hannity, Jim Bassi, Joe Vogel. (88 min.)

Sterritt **** Documentary about the uproar that ensued when student leaders at a mostly Mormon college invited filmmaker Michael Moore to give a talk on their Utah campus. Frequently funny, sometimes sad, often electrifying. - D.S.

Director: Thomas Riedelsheimer. With Evelyn Glennie, Fred Frith, Roxanne Butterfly. (99 min.)

Sterritt **** Documentary about Glennie, a professional percussionist who happens to be deaf. Exquisitely beautiful for the eyes as for the ears. - D.S.

Director: Keith A. Beauchamp. With Mamie Till-Mobley, the Rev. Al Sharpton, historical footage. (70 min.)

Sterritt **** Harrowing documentary about the 1955 lynching of a Southern black teenager that became a national scandal, partly because of his mother's courage in refusing to hide its most horrific details. Required viewing for anyone interested in the struggle for American racial equality. - D.S.