“The Black Dahlia”
** 1/2 Brian De Palma tries to re-create the sense of classic film noir, but gets lost in his own penchant for gratuitous blood. Casting choices didn’t help, as Josh Hartnett is too boyish to play a hard-boiled cop, and Aaron Eckhart’s potential nasty streak is sidetracked by poor plot development. Both men are obsessed with solving the notorious real-life case of the Dahlia; Hilary Swank goes glam here as a Dahlia imitator who catches Hartnett’s eye.|R|115 minutes|Released today|Michael Booth
“The Descent”
** 1/2 The story of six women who encounter rabidly carnivorous humanoids during a trek into an Appalachian cave system has some genuine cleverness in both its setup and the eventual gory mayhem it unleashes. Turns out the women have wandered into the feeding territory of cave-dwelling creatures that are vaguely human but have evolved to suit their environment. The beasties are fast and snarling, and they really enjoy the taste of female spelunkers. The women are separated both physically and psychologically as ugly revelations divide them. Once the action kicks into overdrive, the sequences tend to look a lot alike – the creatures biting down bloodily, the women beating them back, plenty of heads exploding like melons on rocks.|R|99 minutes|Released today|David Germain, Associated Press
“Factotum”
*** 1/2 The film opens with Chinaski (Matt Dillon) gainfully employed at one of the oddest jobs imaginable, using a jackhammer to break up sheets of ice for delivery to customers in need of cooling, one in a long line of deadend jobs. The reason Chinaski leads such a hapless, listless, aimless life, struggling with small-time schemes and plans as he stumbles from one half-sodden situation to the next, is his full-time commitment to alcohol in quantities that would anesthetize a moose. “That may not sound noble,” is how he puts it, “but it is my choice.” As played with deadpan Buster Keaton grace by the gifted Dillon, who is maturing into one of the most unexpectedly involving of contemporary actors, Chinaski has a remarkable dignity and self-possession for a nominal down and outer.|R|94 minutes|Released today|Ken Turan, Los Angeles Times
“All the King’s Men”
** 1/2 In Steven Zaillian’s version of Robert Penn Warren’s political classic, Sean Penn finally locates the pol from Mason City standing in front of a hayseed audience drawn by the barbecue. But the spark of connection between the actor and the indelible Willie Stark feels too long in coming to make “All the King’s Men” necessary viewing. Jude Law, Mark Ruffalo and Kate Winslet, playing Jack Burden and his childhood friends, don’t cure the film’s odd malaise. Penn has a sharp moment when he recognizes he’s been played as a sap. But it’s Patricia Clarkson as Sadie Burke who burns truest. She’s not onscreen nearly enough. |PG-13|128 minutes| Released today|Lisa Kennedy
TV ON DVD
“ER: Season 6″| There’s life after George Clooney for the remaining cast and newcomers to the long-running medical drama. Maura Tierney leads the fresh recruits in year six, whose 22 episodes come in a six-disc set.|$49.98| Released Dec. 19|
David Germain, Associated Press
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