“Appaloosa”
*** Rating | In the late 1880s, the anxious aldermen of Appaloosa, N.M., require the gunslinging services of Sheriff Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and deputy Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) to bring brutally law-resistant rancher Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) to justice. Throw a filly into the mix and things are bound to get complicated. Though, we’re pleased to report, not in the ways you’d necessarily expect. Renee Zellweger purses her lips a little bit much when her character, Allie, sashays into town and turns Cole’s head. But Harris directs with a sharp eye. Still, the surest chemistry comes from the joy Mortensen and Harris take in the deep wells and amusing dry spells of their cowboy conversation. R. 1 hour, 47 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
“Swing Vote”
*** Rating | In “Swing Vote,” Joe Average has degenerated into Joe Sixpack. And if we fret about the state of the nation, it’s because guys like Ernie “Bud” Johnson either aren’t voting, or are so clueless when they do that they pick “the fella I’d like to sit and have a beer with.” Kevin Costner stars as Bud, a blue-collar loser. The one saving grace in his trailer-park life is his daughter, Molly, a bright 11-year- old who is the adult in the family. Bud can’t even be bothered to vote on Election Day, even when Molly needs his ballot receipt for a class project. And wouldn’t you know it, that happens to be the one botched ballot that will decide who will be president. PG-13. 1 hour, 50 minutes. Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
“Brideshead Revisited”
** 1/2 Rating | Emma Thompson steals the new film version of “Brideshead Revisited.” As Lady Marchmain, the genteel but fierce matriarch of Eveyln Waugh’s story, she projects so much intelligence, resolve and even a touch of malevolence that she towers over the pretty young things with whom she shares the screen. She’s so good that when her character vanishes halfway through, the movie never recovers. Working-class Charles comes to visit Brideshead’s reigning son and falls in love with Lady Marchmain’s daughter, a love that endures long after she marries another. PG-13. 2 hours, 13 minutes. Robert W. Butler, McClatchy Newspapers
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