Jindabyne
***1/2 A sense of dread permeates this well-made Australian film, though the surprises happen early. A beautiful young woman of aboriginal descent is abducted and killed by an angry white bushman. Meanwhile, back in town, Gabriel Byrne and his friends prepare for a fishing trip. Wife Laura Linney tolerates the trip, but has her own issues. The men find the woman’s body but don’t report it right away. Relationships descend into bitterness and recrimination in this precisely acted drama. R; 123 minutes. Released today. Michael Booth
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
** Our poor superheroes. They can’t escape the kryptonite of our cultural obsessions. If it’s not the problems (and spoils) of unsought fame, it’s the familiar fretting about tying the knot, maintaining friendships and bringing children into an already complicated relationship. In the sequel “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” Reed Richards and Sue Storm (Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba) are having a heck of a time getting hitched, thanks to the duties of their super-alter-egos Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman. A muscular, silent type is catching waves of air on his platinum board. And the Silver Surfer (voiced by Laurence Fishburne) hangs 10 as the harbinger who comes before planets are annihilated. Is he evil or merely destructive? His ambiguity is the one nice surprise in this otherwise familiar outing. PG; 91 minutes. Released today. Lisa Kennedy
Reign Over Me
*** If not for 9/11, former college roommates Alan Johnson and Charlie Fineman’s lives would be nearly identical. Alan has a wife, daughters and a thriving dental practice (endangered by a nutty patient who takes a shine to him). Charlie had a wife, daughters, a good dental business. Now he has the soundtrack of “Quadrophenia” and “The River” drowning out the world and a video game occupying the time of sleep. With the aid of its cast – Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith – director Mike Binder’s film wails and sings about the power of friendship to transform loss and being lost. R; 125 minutes. Released Oct. 9. Lisa Kennedy
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