“Marie Antoinette” ** Much has been made of Sofia Coppola updating the familiar Marie Antoinette, let- them-eat-cake costume fest with rock music and high fashion. Such innovation, alas, only amounts to a glimpse of a pair of Converse tennies and a new-wave-revival soundtrack. The rest is all pretty costumes, elaborate desserts and empty heads. Kirsten Dunst is appealing, but she’s given nothing to say or do. We revel in the filthy wealth of the French royal dynasty, but see and hear nothing of the political and class turmoil outside of Versailles. In the end it’s no deeper than a John Hughes movie … “Pretty in Palaces”?|PG-13|123 minutes|Released today|Michael Booth
“School for Scoundrels” *** This goofball guy comedy explores the insecurities of Everyman: How aggressive must we be to succeed? Playing alpha male would be great, sure. But remaining the beta, dolphin-hugging male is a lot less tiring. Jon Heder plays pathetic Roger, a Manhattan meter maid stuck in his dorky regulation uniform shorts “through Dec. 1.” When he writes a parking ticket for a couple of wannabe gangsters, they bust a cap in his official golf cart and ruin his year. When the third kid in a row dumps Roger as a Big Brother, a friend gives him a phone number: Call Dr. P, he’ll teach you how to stand up for yourself. Enter the sleekest shark in the movie waters these days, Billy Bob Thornton, as the abusive and no doubt falsely credentialed leader of the School for Scoundrels. Dr. P promises to make each student a lean, mean, dating machine.|PG-13|99 minutes|Released today|Michael Booth
“Half Nelson” *** 1/2 Up-and-comer Ryan
Gosling and first-time feature director Ryan Fleck combine to make a terrific indie movie, with the kind of grit and unrelenting realism that can be painful to watch. Gosling plays a well-intentioned history teacher in a Brooklyn middle school, struggling with a growing drug habit. He befriends a serious, promising girl named Drey (Shareeka Epps), who is dealing with drug issues of her own in a troubled family. Gosling’s performance deserved and received an Oscar nod.|R|102 minutes|Released today| Michael Booth
“The U.S. vs. John Lennon” *** 1/2 Less a confirmation of legitimate paranoia than a celebration of John Lennon’s ebullient personality, this film is a winner nonetheless. Purporting to be an exposé of the Nixon administration’s wiretapping and general hounding of Lennon on immigration issues, the documentary’s strengths are in giving us long clips of Lennon talking intelligently, wittily and provocatively about his anti-Vietnam War efforts. For those who missed Lennon in his prime, the outtakes may be a revelation.|PG-13|95 minutes|Released today|Michael Booth
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING | Top DVDs
TV ON DVD
“The Hills: Season 1″|Now reality shows have their own spinoffs. “The Hills” follows “Laguna Beach”
teenager Lauren Conrad as she and a pal try to build careers in L.A.’s fashion world. The first 10 episodes come in a three-disc set.|$39.99|Released today|David Germain, The Associated Press
SALES
1. Saw III
2. The Guardian
3. Gridiron Gang
4. The Invincible Iron Man
5. Employee of the Month
RENTALS
1. Saw III
2. The Guardian
3. Gridiron Gang
4. Employee of the Month
5. The Illusionist
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MORE RELEASES | DVDs available today
All in the Family: Season 6
Android Apocalypse
Bicycle Thieves
The Butcher Boy
The Devil’s Den
Ginger and Fred
The Golden Girls: Season 7
Green for Danger
Grosse Pointe: The Complete Series
The Hills: Season 1
Hostage
The Last of the Mohicans
The Loneliness of the Long
Distance Runner
Man About Town
Mutual Appreciation
My Mother’s Courage
Performance
Police Story 2 Special Collector’s Edition
The Quiet (2006)
Wild Camp
World War II: When Lions Roared
Zoom: Academy for Superheroes
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