21 AND OVER (R) One’s reaction to pejoratively describing 21 and Over as The Hangover Jr. should determine one’s level of interest in this flick. If a viewer disregarded The Hangover Part II for its lack of originality, then said viewer should stay away from 21 and Over. At least the second Hangover still had some jokes to tell. 21 and Over lacks any jokes, instead relying on an escalating series of scenarios scored to music one would hear while watching MTV’s current crop of programs. Two pals, played by the appealing duo of Miles Teller (Footloose) and Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect), take a third friend, Jeff Chang (Justin Chon), out to celebrate his 21st birthday. But Jeff Chang cannot celebrate too hard, as he has an important med school meeting the next morning. So what does Jeff Chang do? Gets wasted. The rest of the movie involves Miller and Casey meeting hot chicks and d-bags while trying to get Jeff Chang home before his evil father (Francois Chau of “Lost”) finds them. 21 and Over mixes a plot left over from the transitional Weekend at Bernie’s period, with the raunchy, we can do anything gags of today. The resulting concoction doesn't go down well.

42 (PG-13) Sports biopics are largely interchangeable. The sports and the players may change, but the obstacles to overcome are nearly identical. Heck, the same could be said of any biopic, musical, sport, etc. Still, something about the challenges faced by Jackie Robinson (gracefully inhabited by unknown Chadwick Boseman) as he broke the color barrier in professional baseball feels so much more singular than your average true tale of successfully bucking the odds. When signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Robinson faced derision by his teammates, opposing players and coaches (embodied by Alan Tudyk as Phillies manager Ben Chapman) and the fans. The role of Robinson requires a special actor giving a special performance. Boseman’s is not a skilled mimicry like so many other portrayals of famous persons; he imbues Robinson with such strength of character and composure. Equally important to this tale is Dodgers exec Branch Rickey, so gruffly played by Harrison Ford, who may finally be making the transition into grand old actor. Writer-director Brian Helgeland does nothing unique as he recounts this cinematic biography, but his film reads quickly, entertainingly and informatively. What more could you ask of a biopic?

• THE BIG WEDDING (R) The Big Wedding should be celebrated as a strong candidate for worst film of the year. The Bucket List scripter Justin Zackham has delivered an Americanization of France’s Mon frère se marie where Brit Ben Barnes is acceptably ethnic enough to play one of the film’s central Hispanic characters and the opening gag combines an ex-wife stumbling upon her former spouse and his girlfriend in the midst of sex. Oh the guffaws! They can only be matched by a grown daughter throwing up on her dad. Hilarious! Seriously, The Big Wedding, in which a long-divorced couple (Diane Keaton and Robert De Niro) must act married for their adopted son’s wedding because the grown man will not tell his devoutly Catholic birth mother (Patricia Rae) that they are divorced, is populated by offensive, meanly unfunny characters (a role in which Katherine Heigl does excel) differentiated by their virginity or lack thereof. The entire family acts like a hormonal, randy teen. The sinking ship of a movie has nary one likable, nuanced character to grab onto like a life raft. And I haven’t even mentioned that Robin Williams appears as a sober, mean-spirited priest. Avoid these nuptials at all costs.

• THE COMPANY YOU KEEP (R) You’ve seen a Robert Redford movie before, right? A River Runs Through It, Quiz Show, The Horse Whisperer, something? Then you know what to expect from The Company You Keep. It’s a little slow, thoughtful, possesses an even, steady tone and pacing. Fortunately, the adaptation of Neil Gordon’s novel benefits from an un-Redford-like, thriller-ish sharpness thanks to Lem Dobbs’ script (he wrote The Limey and Haywire for Soderbergh). A lawyer (Redford, as stalwart and slightly wooden as ever) goes on the run after a young reporter (Shia LaBeouf, who reminds us of his appeal) outs him as a member of the domestic terrorist organization, the Weather Underground. Naturally, the newspaperman discovers more to the story than first thought. The mystery isn’t terribly hard to solve (the clues are dropped a bit too obviously), but the decrease in tension is made up for by onscreen talent. Redford has assembled a great cast of aging greats—Julie Christie, Nick Nolte, Richard Jenkins, Stanley Tucci, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Elliot, Chris Cooper and Stephen Root. The Company You Keep isn’t hip (though one might wonder how Redford’s nearly 80-year-old fugitive doesn’t break one). It’s a natural, narrative extension of Redford’s career.

THE CROODS (PG) Despite its underwhelming trailers, The Croods stands out as one of the best non-Pixar animated family films released in the last few years. A family of cavemen—dad Grug (v. Nicolas Cage), mom Ugga (v. Catherine Keener), teen daughter Eep (v. Emma Stone), dumb son Thunk (v. Clarke Duke), feral baby Sandy and grandma (v. Cloris Leachman)—are forced on a cross-country road trip after their cave is destroyed by the impending “end of the world.” Fortunately, Eep meets Guy (v. Ryan Reynolds), whose developed brain filled with “ideas” might just help them all survive. Most cute family fun pics feel rehashed and overdone; The Croods does not. Its characters successfully, though unbelievably, combine the Flintstones with the Simpsons, and the voice acting, particularly by Cage, Stone and Reynolds sparkles. Cage was an inspired choice, for a role one would think is practically written for Kevin James. Most animated features, with their paint-by-numbers plot and rote, child-pleasing gags lose an adult’s attention within minutes of beginning. The Croods held my rapt attention for its entire entertaining run time and left me considering potential plots for its inevitable, disappointing sequel.

EVIL DEAD (R) The remake of Sam Raimi’s cult classic is more important for what it represents—an R-rated gorefest released into mainstream multiplexes—than what it is: an above average horror movie. Picking up some time A.A. (After Ash; see Ash’s car rusting away behind the cabin), 2013’s Evil Dead puts five new young people (including Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez and Lou Taylor Pucci) through the horrific, maddening, limb-threatening paces. When will young people learn not to read from a book bound in human skin? What Evil Dead gets right is the massive amounts of blood poured upon its actors. Director Fede Alvarez also shows (borrows) the stylistic imagination of a young Raimi. Still, the importance of Bruce Campbell’s Ash was underestimated. The new victims don’t generate any connection with the audience. Evil Dead also lacks a tonal identity. Does it want to be fun or discomfortingly intense? It’s neither. (I’d like to see Diablo Cody’s original version for its distinctive tone, if nothing else.) Gorehounds (like me) are going to see Evil Dead no matter what, but if the droves of teenage horror fans show up, a new generation of horror movies that deliver the gory goods we want can begin.

FRENZY (R) 1972. Screening as part of Ciné’s 6th Anniversary Celebration, Frenzy is Alfred Hitchcock’s penultimate film. A serial killer, whose M.O. is strangling young women with a necktie, is on the loose in London. Too bad the police have the wrong man. That description makes this Hitch flick sound very Giallo-like. Richard Allen, the chair of the Department of Cinema Studies at NYU’s Tisch School for the Arts and a Hitchcock scholar, will be discussing the film at the Monday, Apr. 22 screening. (Ciné)

FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (PG) 2011. Legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki collaborates with his son Goro’s second feature. (His first was Tales from Earthsea.) As the 1964 Tokyo Olympics approach, a group of teenagers in Yokohama seek to save their school clubhouse. The English-language voice cast includes Gillian Anderson, Sarah Bolger, Beau Bridges, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bruce Dern, Christina Hendricks, Chris Noth, Aubrey Plaza and Anton Yelchin. Japan’s biggest domestic hit of 2011 won the Best Animation Film prize from the Awards of the Japanese Academy. (Ciné)

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (PG-13) G.I. Joe: Retaliation is everything that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was not. The second Joe movie is also the movie for which my inner child has been waiting since 1987. Mostly ignoring Stephen Sommers’ 2009 misfire, this franchise reboot introduces three new lead Joes: Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) and my childhood favorite, Flint (D.J. Cotrona); Duke (Channing Tatum) and Snake Eyes (Ray Park) are pretty much the only other Joes to reenlist for the sequel. Featured Cobra players—Zartan, who appears as the President (Jonathan Pryce) for almost the entire movie, Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) and Firefly (Ray Stevenson)—plot to break Cobra Commander, much improved from the first movie, from a super-secret prison. (Sadly, no love is shown for Destro in this prison break.) But the plot is inconsequential. G.I. Joe blows stuff up real good. Director Jon M. Chu (Step Up 2 and 3) proves as proficient filming action stunts as kinetic choreography. The mountainside ninja battle is an exciting sequence that could’ve been ripped right from the popular 80s cartoon. G.I. Joe: Retaliation has just the right amount of stupid smarts (and Bruce Willis) to be a nostalgic blast of action.

GINGER & ROSA (PG-13) Two teenage girls grow up in 1960s London as inseparable friends, but as the Cuban Missile Crisis and nuclear annihilation loom, Ginger (Elle Fanning) and Rosa (Alice Englert, Beautiful Creatures) clash over love. Writer-director Sally Potter has not done much high profile work since 1992’s Orlando with Tilda Swinton. The film has picked up a few awards including a couple of awards for Fanning’s work, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Virtuoso Award and the Valladolid International Film Festival’s Best Actress prize. With Christina Hendricks, Timothy Spall, Annette Bening, Oliver Platt and Alessandro Nivola. (Ciné)

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (R) Do audiences find Bruce Willis’ New York Detective John McClane running into trouble for a fifth time, in Russia, with his CIA operative son (Jack Reacher’s Jai Courtney), believable? Does it matter? Maybe. R-rated action is not doing so hot, with Arnold’s The Last Stand and Sly’s Bullet to the Head both underperforming their already low expectations. Respectable but unexciting action director John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix, The Omen and Max Payne) should be better than Live and Let Die Hard’s Len Wiseman.

HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE (NR) The Oscar-nominated documentary tells the true story of young activists from the 80s and 90s who infiltrated government agencies and pharmaceutical companies to stop the AIDS epidemic from becoming a death sentence. (Ciné)

THE ICEMAN (R) In 1986, Richard Kuklinski was arrested; unbeknownst to his wife and daughter, Kuklinski was a contract killer who had killed 100 people since 1964. Renowned for his intensity (some might say crazy), Michael Shannon should make a great Kuklinski, and I cannot wait for the summer double shot of The Iceman and Man of Steel. Writer-director Ariel Vromen won the Capri Breakout Director Award. With James Franco, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, Winona Ryder and David Schwimmer.  

IDENTITY THIEF (R) Unfortunately, stars Melissa McCarthy (an Oscar nominee for Bridesmaids) and Jason Bateman are better than this more-annoying-than-funny odd couple road comedy. With two kids and another on the way, Sandy Patterson (Bateman) is struggling to make ends meet. Having his identity stolen by friendless Diana (McCarthy) only further aggravates his financial distress. In desperation, Sandy travels to Florida to bring his tormentor to justice. Inexplicably and unnecessarily on their heels are a couple of drug enforcers (Genesis Rodriguez and Tip “T.I.” Harris) and a mean ass bounty hunter (a pretty much wasted Robert Patrick). Strangely, the gags work best when Bateman’s straight man and McCarthy’s manic criminal bond rather than fight. Too bad the mean-spirited comic scenarios cooked up by screenwriter Craig Mazin (Scary Movies 3 and 4 and The Hangover: Parts II and III) lack originality. The punch lines lack the subtlety that brings out Bateman’s greatness. Director Seth Gordon (The King of Kong and Horrible Bosses) and his hilarious stars have done and will do comedy better.

IRON MAN 3 (PG-13) Robert Downey Jr., the most surprisingly perfect match of actor to superhero/alter ego, returns for a third Iron Man. Tony “Iron Man” Stark must battle his greatest foe, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a terrorist who is bent on destroying the superhero’s world. Jon Favreau turns over directing duties to Shane Black, who made his name writing great 80s action flicks like Lethal Weapon (and my personal favorite, The Monster Squad). With Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce and Don Cheadle.

JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (PG-13) Another reteaming of director Bryan Singer with his Public Access/Usual Suspects/Apt Pupil/Valkryie scripter, Academy Award winner Christopher McQuarrie, should be more exciting, intriguing and lasting than Jack the Giant Slayer. While far from a bad fantasy film, this retooled telling of the classic children’s stories, Jack the Giant Killer and Jack and the Beanstalk, does little to fire the imagination once the credits roll. We all know the story: young Jack (Marcus Hoult, whose romzom Warm Bodies showed loads more creativity) gets some magic beans, from which a giant beanstalk grows. At the top of the leafy, green ladder is a land full of giants who have a taste for human flesh. Of course, this new telling has to involve a love interest, headstrong Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), who Jack sets out to rescue. The mostly British cast is top-notch—Ian McShane as the king, Ewan McGregor as the king’s number one guardsman, Bill Nighy as the voice of the lead giant—and Stanley Tucci’s always a swell villain. Jack the Giant Slayer will kill an afternoon pleasantly enough (and better than last summer’s fairy re-tale Snow White and the Huntsman), but the special effects-acle lacks any lasting magic.

JURASSIC PARK 3D (PG-13) Some movies are made to be watched dozens upon hundreds of times at home on TV; Jurassic Park is not one of those movies. It deserves, nay, requires being seen in a theater, on a big screen, accompanied by booming theatrical sound. One thing JP does not require is 3D; a 2D theatrical screening of Steven Spielberg’s last classic blockbuster will suffice. This 20-year-old, effects-laden, dino-disaster pic, based on Michael Crichton’s giddy sci-fi adventure, has aged much better than your last home viewing experience has you remembering it. The first moment Drs. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Ian Malcolm (the always entertaining Jeff Goldblum) see a dinosaur can still thrill, even after the intervening years and improved effects. (A hefty chunk of that credit goes to John Williams’ score, which stands alongside his greatest works.) If you’ve got a kid or a younger sibling that has never seen Jurassic Park, take them on a visit to John Hammond’s magically dangerous kingdom, courtesy of the wonderful cinematic imagination of Steven Spielberg. Or see it on your own and relive the memories of that glorious summer afternoon in 1993 when dinosaurs again ruled the Earth.

KISS OF THE DAMNED (R) Despite her better judgment, vampire Djuna (Joséphine de La Baume, Ron Howard’s upcoming Rush) falls for human screenwriter, Paolo (Milo Ventimiglia, “Heroes”), but trouble brews when her sister, Mimi (Roxane Mesquida, Rubber), arrives. Suddenly, the entire vampire community is threatened. Xan Cassavetes, daughter of John and sister of Nick, makes her feature directing debut with this pulpy, genre flick that looks like it would make a great double bill with Rubber or any of Rob Zombie’s oeuvre.

NO (R) Pablo Larrain’s fourth feature is one of the Academy Award nominees for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1988 Chile, ad exec Rene Saavedra (Y Tu Mama Tambien’s Gael Garcia Bernal; think Don Draper en Español) plots to defeat Augusto Pinochet. Larrain’s previous features Fuga, Tony Manero and Post Mortem have yet to break through in the United States; this Oscar nominee could be it. Featuring Jane Fonda, Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Reeve and Augusto Pinochet as themselves. (Ciné)

OBLIVION (PG-13) The new Tom Cruise action, sci-fi spectacle is a doozy of a looker. Everything from the set design to the vehicle design to the music (scored by M83) is stylishly crafted and a visual/aural knockout. After fighting off an alien invasion via nuclear destruction, humanity has moved off-planet to Titan, a moon of Saturn. Two people, tech Jack Harper (Tom Cruise, who is arguably the best preserved man on the planet) and his communications liaison Victoria (Andrea Riseborough), have been left behind, tasked to protect the giant hydroreactors that power Titan using remnants of the alien invaders. But Jack's world is turned upside down by the arrival of a NASA scientist (Olga Kurylenko) of whom Jack has been dreaming, and by the discovery of human survivors, led by Malcolm Beech (Morgan Freeman). Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski co-scripted Oblivion from his own graphic novel, and despite its derivative pieces, the whole narrative coheres rather well. It's the rare video game-inspired movie that I enjoyed watching alone; I never once thought I'd rather be playing Oblivion. This late-April, pre-summer salvo has set the blockbuster bar higher than expected; hopefully summer 2013's entrants can clear it. Hear that, Iron Man 3?

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (R) Olympus Has Fallen feels like a relic from the bygone era of the 1980s, where audiences were satisfied by old-fashioned, bloody action movies wherein stone-faced heroes faced off against despicable bad guys without obfuscating their violent exploits with frenetic camerawork. Too bad director Antoine Fuqua’s latest flick isn’t the new Die Hard, as this Gerard Butler-saves-the-president actioner easily bests John McClane’s latest misfire. Disgraced Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Butler, who needs to stick to action movies) is the only person in America who can save the President (Aaron Eckhart) after North Korean terrorists take over the White House. The movie relies quite heavily on Butler’s manliness. Luckily, no one is more badass than the Scot best known as 300’s King Leonidas (when he’s not wooing Katherine Heigl or Jessica Biel). The supporting cast keeps up better than usual, which should not surprise considering the presence of Morgan Freeman (as the Speaker of the House), Melissa Leo, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell and Cole Hauser. With a franchise-worthy new hero and a well-choreographed, well-shot focus on physical conflict, Olympus Has Fallen kicks butt better than the muscular bulk of recent action movies.

• PAIN & GAIN (R) Sure, bagging on Michael Bay is a fun pastime of cinematic snobs. I’ve taken my share of digs at his more galling efforts (the technically marvelous, emotionally destitute Pearl Harbor and the offensively assaultive Transformers 2/3). Add Pain & Gain to the list of Bay films I’ll defend (Armageddon, The Rock, Bad Boys). With the subtlety of an 18 wheeler, Pain & Gain chronicles the true story (of which we are constantly reminded) of three bodybuilders—Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) and Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie)—who turn to crime in order to achieve the American Dream. If you were hoping Bay had a quirky indie crime caper in him, he doesn’t. P&G detractors will find many of the (whether you like him or not) auteur’s flaws on display. The film is too long, sledgehammeringly artless and mindnumbingly dumb. It’s a film created in the image of its characters and equally as appealing as those amateur criminals thanks to Wahlberg, Johnson and Mackie. Would I have preferred a shorter, pulpier, Elmore Leonard/Carl Hiaasen version of this tale (or better yet, an award winning documentary)? Yes. Will I accept this musclebound, meathead movie? Certainly, but only once.

A PLACE AT THE TABLE (PG) This new documentary from the same production company that released Food, Inc. examines the hunger pangs felt by millions of Americans every day. Thankfully, filmmakers Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush also offer solutions. The inimitable Jeff Bridges appears as himself, as do five-time James Beard Foundation Medal winner Tom Colicchio, Ken Cook and Raj Patel. A Place at the Table was nominated for the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize. The music is coolly provided by The Civil Wars and T Bone Burnett.

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES (R) The Place Beyond the Pines is an easy film to laud, an easier film to critique, but a tough film to recommend. At two hours and twenty minutes, writer-director Derek Cianfrance’s follow-up to Blue Valentine is constructed like three short stories, all connected by one major event. In the first story, Ryan Gosling stars as Luke Glanton, a stunt bike rider who turns to bank robbery to take care of his young son and baby mama (Eva Mendes). The second story stars Bradley Cooper as Avery Cross, a rookie police officer turned hero turned whistleblower. The final arc connects the two men via their similarly aged sons in ways much less profound than the somber film or its imperious running time imply. The Gosling-led initial sequence is the strongest; it carries the aura of Michael Man(n)hunter that influenced Drive, thanks largely to the soundtrack by Faith No More’s Mike Patton, which offers hints of Clint Mansell and Angelo Badalamenti. (Despite its enigmatic title, the film lacks any other similarities to David Lynch.) An ambitious character study of fathers and sons, The Place Beyond the Pines isn’t an easy watch, but is ultimately more rewarding than arduous.

RENOIR (R) 2012. On the French Riviera in 1915, future filmmaker Jean Renoir (Vincent Rottiers) returns home to convalesce from an injury suffered in World War I. While there, he meets Andree Heuschling (Christa Theret), the last model for Jean’s father, the Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste (Michel Bouquet). Fascinatingly, director Gilles Bourdos used the skills of convicted art forger Guy Ribes to recreate Renoir’s paintings on screen. The film competed in the Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.

SAFE HAVEN (PG-13) One thing I enjoy about reviewing movies is having a readymade excuse for watching sappy romances like Safe Haven. I’ve been curious as to what the big mystery is since the first trailer; plus, Julianne Hough is really attractive. Unfortunately, the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation, set in another North Carolina paradise, is one solved mystery away from just being one couple’s two hour how we met story. Pretty, young Katie is on the run from a constantly drunk, really sweaty cop (“Revolution” star David Lyons). Lucky for her, a hot widower, Alex (Josh Duhamel), with two cute kids is ready to love again. Wondering how this romance is ultimately different from Sleeping with the Enemy? Then prepare for the laughable, Shyamalan-esque, climactic twist. Still, Safe Haven is competently, if unexcitingly, made by Academy Award nominee Lasse Hallstrom, but The Notebook need not worry. Its legacy as the gold standard for this sort of Sparks-ian cinematic page turner is under no threat.

SCARY MOVIE V (PG-13) So, Scary Movie is back. What do you really need to know? A Paranormal Activity/Mama mashup provides the frame that is rattily covered by an hour and thirty minutes of puerile, scattershot jokes. A Black Swan B-plot? Real timely, David Zucker and Pat Proft, who’ve done this parody thing so much more successfully in their shared Naked Gun past. Airplane! worked as a spoof of disaster movies that developed its own witty gags. The Scary Movies simply tosses pop culture references and cameos by celebrities who have passed their sell-by date with no real interest in spoofing the genre they allegedly came to spoof; if Mike Tyson meets Fifty Shades of Grey jokes make you giggle, be my guest. How did they get that Evil Dead sequence (the movie’s strongest, at that) into theaters within a week of its release? At least A Haunted House had Marlon Wayans. Simon Rex is some weak comic sauce. The absolutely frightening aspect of this movie is the thought that enough people might venture to see it to warrant a sixth entry.

SNITCH (PG-13) The new actioner from The Rock, né Dwayne Johnson, is a lot more serious than you’d expect a movie from a former stuntman, director Ric Roman Waugh. (Knowing cowriter Justin Haythe wrote Revolutionary Road should mitigate some of the surprise at Snitch’s serious side.) Construction bigwig John Matthews (Johnson) will do anything to lessen his son Jason’s jail time after a drug arrest. Matthews convinces one of his ex-con employees, Daniel (Jon Bernthal, late of “The Walking Dead”), to introduce him to a drug dealer, Malik (Michael K. Williams, aka Omar Little aka Chalky White), in order to cut a deal with federal prosecutor Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon), who could use a big bust to boost her congressional campaign. Refreshingly, Johnson spends most of the movie in desperate dad mode as opposed to real life action figure. Appearances be damned, Snitch is no '80s action rehash; the movie’s got too much gravitas for Ah-nuld, even in his prime. All these kind assessments get smashed by the ridiculous 18-wheeler chase with the drug cartel that concludes the picture. Oh, well. The first hour and a half’s better than expected.

TYLER PERRY’S TEMPTATION (PG-13) Is it possible for a filmmaker to “jump the shark?” If so, Tyler Perry’s Temptation might be that point for Atlanta’s multi-hyphenate filmmaker. He cast Kim Kardashian, for goodness’ sake. And wait for Brandy’s climactic reveal. It’s the sort of melodramatic gem that could turn this dreck into popular camp were it less dull. A marriage counselor, Judith (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), who feels neglected by her nice guy, pharmacist husband, Brice (Lance Gross), waltzes off with a handsome, ripped billionaire, Harley (Robbie Jones), after he offers her the good life of shopping, drugs, sex, etc. By the time Judith’s religious mother (Ella Joyce) wanders in to preach at her daughter (and the audience), it’s too late. Old Judith done let the devil in. Remember that post-Basic Instinct period of the early-to-mid '90s when a new erotic thriller was coming out each week? Well, imagine one of those Basic rip-offs minus all the risqué, headline-making sexuality; substitute a sermon instead, and you’ve got Temptation. Unfortunately, Perry seems too caught up in making easy box office cash to worry that much about reinforcing stereotypes. He’s probably got another hit, but at what cost? Not enough to outweigh his millions upon millions of benefits.

UPSTREAM COLOR (R) Writer-director Shane Carruth has not directed a film since 2004’s Primer (check it out via Netflix Instant, if you missed it), but he has done well with his second feature, which was nominated for Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize. Not only did Carruth direct, he also wrote, produced, acted, photographed, edited, composed, cast and designed the production and sound, for which he won a Sundance Special Jury Prize. Forgive the lack of a description, but I couldn’t figure out what the movie was about from its trailer. Yet, I really want to see it, if just to listen to the score. (Ciné)