Movie Reviews

The Story: Two washed up soul musicians travel cross-country in order to play a tribute concert for their former partner. The Lowdown: An amiable, but overlong and uneventful comedy that’s entertaining through the sheer force of the personalities of Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville. (From Asheville, take I-26 to U.S. 64 West, turn right at the third light onto Thompson Street. Follow…

The Story: Travelers in rural Alabama are trapped in a house by a masked madman who is not looking out for their best interests. The Lowdown: A confused and totally unscary entry in the hillbilly-horror sweepstakes, but with a supposed message of spiritual uplift.

The Story: The various zoo animals from 2005’s Madagascar return in an attempt to leave the island of Madagascar and head home, only to end up on the mainland in the company of Alex the lion’s estranged family. The Lowdown: A safe and comfy sequel to an already lacking original, with this one offering more…

Crimen Ferpecto, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: Two reps for an energy drink land in trouble and are given community service mentoring a couple of boys as an alternative to jail time. The Lowdown: An agreeable and pretty funny little movie, with a degree of heart and some solid performances to make the predictable nature of it all go down…

The Story: Molly Hartley's parents give her the 18th birthday present most people only dream of -- possession by the devil -- proving you can't trust your parents. The Lowdown: Less frightening than High School Musical 3.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show War Requiem at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville. (From Asheville, take I-26 to U.S. 64 West, turn right at the third light onto Thompson Street. Follow to the Lake Point Landing entrance and park…

The Story: Fact-based story of Christine Collins, who was victimized by the LAPD for refusing to accept that the boy they returned to her was her missing son. The Lowdown: A truly compelling story that suffers from shaky characterization and a story line that necessitates a slightly meandering narrative.

The Story: Lower-echelon crooks go up against both higher-echelon old-school Brit gangsters and their new-school Russian counterparts. The Lowdown: A deliriously giddy wild ride of warped comedy and over-the-top violence, full of odd characters and delighful plot twists, plus it moves at lightning speed and with terrific style.

The Story: Two down-on-their-luck lifelong friends decide to make a skin flick in order to pay their bills. The Lowdown: An extremely adult sex comedy from Kevin Smith, which shows the director’s continuing maturity as both a writer and a director, but trades too much on hit-and-miss vulgarity to be as funny as it could…

The Story: The Jigsaw Killer saga continues with the aid of the old boy's previously unknown other protégé. The Lowdown: It's Halloween. There's a new Saw picture. It's crap. Next question.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Lola Montès at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville. (From Asheville, take I-26 to U.S. 64 West, turn right at the third light onto Thompson Street. Follow to the Lake Point Landing entrance and park…

The Story: Internal police corruption bedevils a family of cops who must decide how far loyalty can go. The Lowdown: Clichéd, dull, pretentious, unpleasant, totally lacking in surprise, an absolute waste of its stars and just generally not good.

Topsy-Turvy, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A collection of teens deal with the pains of G-rated high school, while attempting to stage their senior-year musical. The Lowdown: A poorly directed, meandering musical full of unmemorable pop songs. As a whole, the movie is of little use to anyone who’s not already a fan of the series’ previous television incarnations.

The Story: Tired of the same old thing, the King of Halloween, Jack Skellington, decides to take over another holiday -- Christmas -- and make it his own. The Lowdown: If this slightly twisted musical fantasy isn't perfect, it's close enough that it hardly matters, and its new 3-D incarnation only enhances that.

Nosferatu will be shown outdoors (weather permitting) Saturday, Oct. 25, at 9 p.m., at the lower level of the Wedge (in front of the Wedge Brewing Co.), 125B Roberts St. A "bring your own lawn chair" event. Info: 505-2792.

The Story: A look into the life of George W. Bush, from his misspent youth to his presidency. The Lowdown: A thoughtful, somewhat surprising film from Oliver Stone that seeks as much to understand Bush as to villify him.

The Damned, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.