Offside (PG)
Who’s in it: Shayesteh Irani (second from right), Sima Mobarak Shahi, Safar Samandar
What it’s about: In their frenzied desire to watch Iran play Bahrain in a World Cup elimination match, a group of young women disguise themselves as boys, get rounded up by soldiers and engage in a comic war of wills for the rest of the movie.
Worth watching? ****
“Director Jafar Panahi must have decided that if he were going to make audiences laugh, they’d laugh ’til it hurt.” [JOHN ANDERSON, NEWSDAY]
After the Wedding (R)
Who’s in it: Mads Mikkelsen (far right), Rolf Lassgard
What it’s about: An orphanage worker in India (Mikkelsen) returns to his native Denmark after 20 years and discovers that he has a very rich grown daughter.
Worth watching? ** 1/2
“While the writing always transcends the daytime-soap leanings of the setup, we don’t quite get where the filmmaker is coming from.” [JAN STUART, NEWSDAY]
Vacancy (R)
Who’s in it: Kate Beckinsale (above left), Luke Wilson (above right), Frank Whaley
What it’s about: David and Amy Fox (Wilson, Beckinsale), who are getting a divorce, check into the grungy Pinewood Motel after their car breaks down. The manager, Mason (Whaley), is a creepy geek, and soon the couple try to survive the night in the remote motel where snuff films are made.
Worth watching? **
“Although Wilson and Beckinsale do their best to make the Foxes a believable troubled couple, solid performances don’t really help a story that has too many illogical events but not a single clever idea.”
[BOB STRAUSS, L.A. DAILY NEWS]Year of the Dog (PG-13)
Who’s in it: Molly Shannon, LauraDern, Peter Sarsgaard, John C. Reilly
What it’s about: After the death of her beloved beagle, a lonely woman (Shannon) goes off the deep end.
Worth watching? ***
“In Shannon, [director Mike White] has an actress capable of making you empathize with Peggy and agonize over her smart and foolish choices.”
[GLENN WHIPP, L.A. DAILY NEWS]NO SCREENING
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“The Tripper,” David Arquette’s directorial debut, was not screened for critics. The film centers on a serial killer obsessed with President Ronald Reagan who sets his sights on a concert audience made up of characters played by Jaime King, Elijah Wood, Balthazar Getty and Jason Mewes, among others.
ALSO OPENING THIS WEEKEND
* “Fracture”
* “Hot Fuzz”
* “In the Land of Women”
OPENING NEXT WEEKEND:
* “Diggers”
* “The Condemned”
* “The Valet”
* “The TV Set”
* “Ping Pong”
* “The Invisible”
* “Next”
* “Wind Chill”
* “Kickin’ It Old Skool”