V for Vendetta ***|Cheesy but true: “V for Vendetta” deserves an E for entertaining. Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving are Evey and masked avenger V, the shades-of-
gray heroes in this ka-pow, ka-boom tale of fascism and resistance. Although the movie is based on a graphic novel created during Margaret Thatcher’s stint as British prime minister, the Wachowski brothers have found plenty of resonant material. And while the movie is set in London in the near future, the “former colonies” make disturbing cameo turns. And the brothers have a copacetic director in James McTeigue (he worked on their “Matrix” trilogy). “V” takes you on a pleasure ride all the while tossing pop-culture kernels of wisdom at you. The one sticking point: the movie’s R rating.|R|132 minutes|Released today|Lisa Kennedy
The Shaggy Dog ** 1/2|Tim Allen was born to play a dog. He has been practicing since before he became a TV star – the growling, the panting, the crotch fixation. Disney’s remake of “The Shaggy Dog” uses Allen to great effect in a comedy about a workaholic dad who has to be bitten by a magical dog and become canine himself to find out the truth about his family and the real villains in a trial he is trying. Robbins wastes a lot of time setting up this magical dog’s origins, complete with a jackbooted black helicopter dog-nap team, and the film’s frequent trips into the animal testing/torture lab are unpleasant and could creep out younger children.|PG|95 minutes|Released today|Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel
The Lost City **|Andy Garcia stars and takes his first shot at directing, in a labor of love harking to his childhood memories of leaving Cuba in exile. “The Lost City” is an arty, beautiful but politically stilted love poem to old Havana, before Fidel ruined everything. Garcia plays a nightclub owner in a conscious imitation of “Casablanca,” trying to stay neutral as revolution approaches. The music and dancing are impeccable, as are the lush tropical shots by cinematographer Manu Kadosh. But the portrayal of the revolutionaries and the reactionary Batista thugs feels retrograde, even for angry expatriates.|R|143 minutes|Released Aug. 8|Michael Booth
Ask the Dust ***|Writer-director Robert Towne wanted to make “Ask the Dust” for more than 30 years. While writing “Chinatown,” he read John Fante’s novel about a young Italian-American writer who finds his muses in the dust-choked, sun-bleached environs of 1930s Los Angeles. With Colin Farrell’s muscularly delicate performance, Towne has created a moody, emotionally elegant drama. Salma Hayek plays Camilla, Arturo Bandini’s love and nemesis. “Rent’s” Idina Menzel repels then mesmerizes as the other handmaiden to Arturo’s growth, Vera Rifkin. “Ask the Dust” mourns a city long ago lost even as it celebrates an old-school belief in “the writer.”|R|117 minutes|Released July 25|Lisa Kennedy
TV ON DVD
“Chappelle’s Show: The Lost Episodes” | Is there such a thing as “Chappelle’s Show” without Dave Chappelle? The answer, perhaps not surprisingly, is yes. After two enormously successful seasons and a pair of best-selling DVDs, the popular sketch comedy series came to a screeching halt last year when Chappelle, left, suddenly bolted and went to Africa. The good news: The third season was partially complete, which meant Comedy Central had something. That something a handful of completed sketches was enough to form three final
installments of “Chappelle”s Show,” dubbed “the lost episodes.” The DVD delivers more genuine laughs than I expected, and the two-plus hours of extras provide additional hilarious moments from that tumultuous third season. | $24.99 | Released July 25 |
