Movie Reviews

The Story: A heartbroken young woman makes friends with a cafe owner, who falls in love with her, but before anything can happen, she sets out on a journey of self-discovery. The Lowdown: Slow-moving elegance and visual beauty highlight Wong Kar Wai's English-language debut, but don't sell the strong performances or the film's unabashed romanticism…

The Story: This documentary follows the Young@Heart chorus, a group of elderly singers that does covers of rock standards. The Lowdown: An occasionally touching documentary that’s bogged down with sloppy, manipulative and occasionally dull filmmaking and muddled intent.

The Story: The Pevensie children are called back to Narnia to help Prince Caspian and the original Narnians reclaim the land from evil, intolerant usurpers. The Lowdown: A vast improvement over the first film in both structure and execution, but Prince Caspian misses true greatness by a considerable distance.

Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, May 16, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A pair of strangers drunkenly marry in Vegas, but before they can get an annulment, they win a $3 million slot-machine jackpot and are forced to remain married for six months before the money can be split between them. The Lowdown: Exactly what you expect: a 100 percent by-the-book romantic comedy short on…

The Story: Speed Racer goes after the corporate villains behind the supposed death of his brother. The Lowdown: A wild, often incoherent bout of extreme sensory overload that's fascinating without ever being quite good in the normal sense.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Black Room at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 18, 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…

South Wings is having a benefit screening of Mountaintop Removal at the Fine Arts Theatre Thursday, May 15, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12.

The Story: A struggling martial-arts teacher comes up against double-dealing denizens of duplicity and is forced to compete in a professional fight to survive. The Lowdown: In spite of its myriad absurdities, a strong central performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor and the usual David Mamet word-spinning distinguishes this underdog sports story.

The Gang’s All Here is the final installment of a three-movie Busby Berkeley retrospective, and will be presented in Lord Auditorium at Pack Memorial Library Monday, May 19, at 6 p.m. The film will be introduced and discussed by Xpress film critic Ken Hanke.

The Story: When arms manufacturer Tony Stark is captured by terrorists, he transforms himself into an unstoppable juggernaut of vengeance known as Iron Man. The Lowdown: Enjoyable big-budget fun that's aware of its own preposterousness and benefits from probably the best performance ever seen in a comic-book movie, thanks to Robert Downey Jr.

The Story: Documentary film on self-taught South Carolina topiary artist Pearl Fryar and his garden. The Lowdown: A very entertaining, beguiling look at a unique garden and an equally unique human being that's well worth your while.

Walk-In Theater -- sponsored by the merchants of the Bledsoe Building in West Asheville -- will present The Gods Must Be Crazy Friday, May 9, at dusk in the parking lot behind the Bledsoe building. Admission is free, and as usual, patrons are asked to leave pets and coolers at home, but to bring lawn…

Naqoycatsi will be shown at the Asheville Art Museum at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 10 and May 11.

Gold Diggers of 1933 is the second of a three-movie Busby Berkeley retrospective, and will be presented at Pack Library in Lord Auditorium Monday, May 12, at 6 p.m. The film will be introduced and discussed by Xpress film critic Ken Hanke.

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

The Story: A wealthy playboy finds out his female best friend is getting married -- just when he's realized that she’s the one for him. He accepts her offer to serve as maid of honor at her wedding in order to stop the proceedings and steal her away. The Lowdown:: A completely by-the-book romantic comedy…

The Story: A janitor and a soon-to-be-fired manager at a large diamond corporation team up to relieve the company of a portion of their inventory. The Lowdown: Dynamite performances, stylish direction and an incredible script combine to make clever entertainment.

The Story: A fact-based story of a Nazi scheme to destroy the British and U.S. economies with counterfeit money produced by prisoners in a concentration camp. The Lowdown: An intelligent, entertaining and morally complex film that wisely leaves much up to the viewer.

The Story: A 37-year-old single woman discovers she's infertile, and hires a white-trash woman to be her surrogate. The Lowdown: A pleasant yet forgettable comedy carried on the strength of Tina Fey’s lead performance and the film’s supporting cast.

The Story: An uptight accountant becomes involved in a high-class sex club and gets more than he bargained for. The Lowdown: A terminally silly story that constantly thinks it's being surprising when it isn't and largely sinks whatever value you're likely to get from the film's A-list performers.