“Stranger Than Fiction”
**** Not since “Groundhog Day” has a tickler been so metaphysically engaging while being just as entertaining. And though this tale about Harold Crick, an IRS auditor who discovers that he’s a character in a novel and is soon to die (played by “SNL” alum Will Ferrell) it achieves its generous moral with nary a smirk and maybe even a few tears. Emma Thompson is marvelously tormented as author Karen Eiffel, who can’t figure out how to kill off her protagonist. When Harold locates her, her dilemma becomes profound. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays bakery owner Ana Pascal, the subject of Harold’s audit and affections. Dustin Hoffman and Queen Latifah add flavor to this delight, directed by Marc Forster (“Finding Neverland”).|PG-13|113 minutes|Released today|Lisa Kennedy
“Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny”
** 1/2 For the uninitiated, there are more than enough easy gags in Jack Black and Kyle Gass’ rock fable about how their band, Tenacious D, came to be to keep the flatulence-loving among you chuckling. Yet the guitar-shredding comedy becomes funnier by half (a star) for the fans of the popular band. “Pick of Destiny” begins in a pious household in Kickapoo, Mo., with long-haired Lil’ JB thrashing and trashing all dining decorum with a song fit for a stevedore. After a tanning and a meandering journey to Hollywood, the heavy-metal aspirant (Black) meets his rock guru, Kyle Gass, on a Venice boardwalk. Soon enough, the two embark on a Grail-style quest for the guitar pick from hell – literally. “Pick of Destiny” is a “kitchen sink with InSinkErator” comedy, throwing all manner of pop-culture morsels into its mix. Alas, there is enough ribald rhyming of the word “rock” to earn the movie an R rating. Too bad. There’s little heavy about this metal-loving comedy, and there’s a lot that is good-hearted. Fun cameos by Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins and Meat Loaf.|R|97 minutes|Released today|Lisa Kennedy
“A Good Year”
** The words “Russell Crowe” and “lighthearted provincial comedy” rarely blend well. Crowe tries his hardest, but the strain of the work shows through in this unfocused, mildly amusing fish-out-of-water story. Crowe plays rich London bond trader Max Skinner, who is left a Provence vineyard by his old tomcat uncle (Albert Finney). Subplots are introduced and then dropped, and Crowe has too many women to chase to make the happy ending very satisfying. Both Crowe and director Ridley Scott are better with tough-guy (or tough-gal) movies.|PG-13|110 minutes|Released today|Michael Booth
“Shut Up & Sing”
*** 1/2 The Dixie Chicks, the top-selling female band in history and big Grammy winners earlier this month, were shooting video for Internet fans when lead singer Natalie Maines made her infamous comment in Europe that she was “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” Oscar-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck saw the brewing firestorm and immediately asked if they could begin making a documentary about the Chicks, the political overreaction to the comment, and the effect on their careers and family lives. The results are entertaining out of all proportion to the subject. The Chicks are dedicated, smart, musical, humble in the right places, and charming family women, not to mention tough business planners. The fact they are gorgeous and prone to saying exactly what’s on their minds doesn’t hurt. If you didn’t hate corporate radio before this, you certainly will afterward. Featuring moving versions of classic Chicks songs like “Lullaby,” “Travelin’ Soldier” and “Long Time Gone.”|R|93 minutes|Released Feb. 20|Michael Booth
What we’re watching:
SALES
1. Cinderella III: A Twist In Time
2. Flags Of Our Fathers
3. Open Season
4. Flicka
5. The Grudge 2
RENTALS
1. Flags Of Our Fathers
2. The Guardian
3. Open Season
4. The Marine
5. The Grudge 2
