“The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” (PG-13)
Who’s in it
Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen,
Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies
What it’s about
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The Fellowship charges forward in the greatest battle of their lifetime, united in their singular goal to keep Sauron distracted and give Frodo a chance to complete his quest. Traveling across treacherous enemy lands, Frodo must rely increasingly on Sam and Gollum as The Ring continues to test his allegiance and his humanity.
Worth watching?
(star)(star)(star)(star): “This is a movie that, purely and simply, has visions and excitement to blow us away once again.” —
“The Cooler” (R)
Who’s in it
William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, Ron Livingston, Paul Sorvino
What it’s about
Bernie Lootz (Macy) is the unluckiest man in Las Vegas … he’s so unlucky, it’s contagious. One of the last mob-run casinos in town decides to use Bernie as a “cooler” to defuse the high rollers’ lucky streaks. The scheme goes fine until Bernie falls in love with a cocktail waitress who turns his luck around, much to the chagrin of the casino’s crooked director (Baldwin).
Worth watching?
– (star)1/2: “[Writer/director] Wayne Kramer’s point seems to be that we make our own luck. Not super original (“The Cooler” owes a lot to “Leaving Las Vegas”), but it’s a lesson I’d be willing to relearn. Unfortunately, the only lesson any of us learn from “The Cooler” is that writing a good movie is not a matter of luck.” —
“Calendar Girls” (PG-13)
Who’s in it
Julie Walters, Helen Mirren, Penelope Wilton, Annette Crosbie, John Alderton
What it’s about
Inspired by the true story of 11 middle-aged women in England who posed naked for an annual calendar to raise money for medical research, after one of their husband’s becomes terminally ill from leukemia.
Worth watching?
(star)(star)(star): “Those who can’t stand the odd-but-wonderful-little-British-folk genre will probably not have their opinion changed by this one. … But if you can tolerate the stuff, you’ll appreciate the stiff dose of relationship drama that runs between scenes of demure dames doffing for the good cause here.”