“Gran Torino”
The real muscle car here isn’t the sleek forest- green Ford of the title, it’s Clint Eastwood. The icon directed and stars as Walt Kowalski, a bigoted, retired autoworker whose routine shifts hard after a Hmong teen tries to steal his prized possession. In addition to race, faith and family are deep themes. A young priest hopes to get Walt into the confessional. Like Eastwood’s Oscar-winning “Million Dollar Baby,” this film is a neo-melodrama. Emotions and antagonisms are heightened in ways that look oversimplified. Yet so much feels true and honorable. R. 1 hour, 54 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
“The International”
Clive Owen brings scruffy, dogged energy to this globe-leaping thriller that’ll have you booking travel to Berlin, Milan and Istanbul. Owen plays a former Scotland Yard man who’s never gotten used to being merely an investigator. When a colleague is killed in the midst of a case against a multinational bank, his cop reflexes are roused. Naomi Watts gives a surprisingly stilted turn as Salinger’s partner in crime-busting. Even so, Tom Tykwer directs this satisfying ride with taut vigor. Armin Mueller-Stahl does subtle work as the bank’s fixer and the movie’s most interesting monster. R. 1 hour, 58 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
“Crossing Over”
This immigration drama borders on the overly familiar. Set in L.A., this ensemble extravaganza even has a fender bender to drive home its “Crash” similarities. Still, the performances are commanding. Starting with Harrison Ford, who is appropriately weary as ICE agent Max Grogan, worn by the demands of arresting undocumented immigrants. One pleads with him to find the son she left with a sitter. Other intersecting stories include those of a green-card adjudicator (Ray Liotta); his immigration-lawyer wife (Ashley Judd); an Aussie actress in need of a visa; and her U.K. boyfriend, ditto. Grogan’s partner Hamid is set to celebrate his father’s citizenship ceremony even as their Iranian family scorns his younger sister. Those don’t account for all the threads writer-director Wayne Kramer tugs on. Indeed, “Crossing Over” is too interwoven, a cable series’ worth of stories jammed into a couple of hours. R. 1 hour, 53 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
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