Waitress
In this romantic comedy that also serves as a homey slice of small-town life, Keri Russell stars as the famous pie-making waitress at the local cafe. She can’t stand her husband, then finds out she’s pregnant. But things take a turn for the better when the local doctor takes a special interest in her case. Andy Griffith lends more corn pone as the cafe owner. The movie succeeds largely because of the luminous face of Russell, who has a true star presence. PG-13; 1 hour, 57 minutes.Michael Booth
First Snow
First-time feature director Mark Fergus, who also contributed writing to “Children of Men,” makes an appealing Southwestern noir out of an old Hollywood premise. Guy Pearce plays a cocky traveling salesman whose car breaks down in a podunk town; he kills time by getting his fortune told, and the news is not good: After initial business success, he’ll die an early death. Before the first snow, even. Pearce spends the next hour trying to confront or run away from the prophesy, slowly exposing his own past as a small-time criminal. Pearce, like Christian Bale, has the intensity to pull off such a role, and the ominous weather forecasts of looming snowfall lend an urgency to the proceedings. R; 1 hour, 40 minutes.Michael Booth
Bratz
For a formulaic comedy about shallow, shopping-obsessed teenagers, it’s about twice as good as it has any right to be. The four bratty fashion plates are distinct characters. They have personal issues to overcome — stage fright, working-class money problems, suffocating parental expectations, egoism. “Bratz” is endearingly tame and harmless. It’s a perfectly acceptable transition film for little girls just aging out of dolls and cartoons and into their own “passion for fashion.” They grow up so fast. You just hope they make a few BFFs along the way. PG; 1 hour, 37 minutes.Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
