“Hannibal Rising”
* 1/2 The latest in the series of back stories trying to explain how our favorite serial killer, Hannibal Lecter, got to be the amusing cannibal he is. Gaspard Ulliel stars as Hannibal in European medical school, slowly taking revenge against former Nazis for a horrible incident from his youth. There is some style to the gore, but too much silliness and graphic violence to recommend this addition to a tired franchise. |R|105 minutes |Released today|Michael Booth
“Letters From Iwo Jima”
*** 1/2 After bringing the story of the American soldiers who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima to the screen in his film “Flags of Our Fathers,” Clint Eastwood offers an equally thoughtful portrait of the Japanese forces who held the island for 36 days in this military drama. At its core is a tale of a general and a conscript. It was Gen. Kuribayashi’s letters home – many from the U.S. where he lived for a spell as an embassy attaché – that inspired Eastwood to make this companion piece. |R|140 minutes|Released May 22|Lisa Kennedy
“Apocalypto”
* 1/2 Who knew there were so many ways to die? Mel Gibson explores them all, in gruesome detail, in this re-creation of tribal and Mayan civilization just before the Spanish arrived in Central America. A warrior’s tribe is captured for human sacrifice, but he escapes and battles his pursuers as he tries to get back to his hidden family. There is no doubt Gibson knows how to put together a heart-pounding action film, but the killing is so relentless that sitting through it becomes a matter of will rather than enjoyment. |R|128 minutes|Released May 22|Michael Booth
“The Good German”
** 1/2 Steven Soderbergh strives mightily to re-create the beloved “Casablanca” with a story about an American journalist sniffing out corruption in post-war Berlin. George Clooney pursues his old flame, Cate Blanchett, through a maze of triple- crossings over rocket secrets, Nazis in hiding and buried war crimes. Soderbergh may get the look right, but it never has quite the soul of a 1940s classic. For one thing, the story line is so confusing you may lose track. For another, there are no heroes to root for, even flawed ones. |R|107 minutes|Released May 22|Michael Booth
TV ON DVD|
“The O.C.: Season 4” The prime-time soap wraps up with a five- disc set packing the final 16 episodes in the show centered on a tough city kid living among the rich and privileged in southern California’s Orange County. Series creator Josh Schwartz offers commentary on the finale.| $59.98 |Released May 22|David Germain, The Associated Press
