Movie Reviews

The Story: Holidaymakers in Mexico decide to explore a Mayan pyramid and end up wishing they hadn't. The Lowdown: Lots of gore, combined with a silly plot, will make viewers wish the vacationers had left well enough alone, too.

Sponsored by the merchants of the Bledsoe Building in West Asheville, Walk-In Theater will present Raiders of the Lost Ark on Friday, April 11, at dusk in the parking lot behind the building. Admission is free, and as usual, patrons are asked to leave pets and coolers at home, but to bring lawn chairs.

The Story: A feckless teen skateboarder becomes involved in the accidental killing of a railroad security guard. The Lowdown: An artsy, uninvolving film about a character who's hard to care about.

The Story: A young girl asks her hero, the lead character from her favorite adventure novel series, to come help her save the island she lives on, not realizing that in so doing she’s actually asking the series’ reclusive creator for aid. The Lowdown: A poorly paced, anticlimactic family film full of shoddy direction and…

The Story: An aging football player in the early days of pro football hits on a scheme to make the sport popular -- and profitable. The Lowdown: An altogether enjoyable attempt at recreating the 1930s-'40s style of romantic comedy.

À Nous la Liberté, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, April 11, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A slightly overweight slacker tries to win back the woman he abandoned five years prior by entering a race. The Lowdown: Consistently pleasant, amusing comedy that works by delivering what you expect.

The Asheville Art Museum will present Rivers and Tides Saturday, April 5, and Sunday, April, 6, at 2 p.m.

The Story: Mathematically inclined M.I.T. students set out to break the bank in Las Vegas by counting cards -- with help from their dubious math professor. The Lowdown: So-so drama and clichés abound in this fact-based yarn loosely adapted from a popular nonfiction book.

The Story: A teen is bitten by a genetically enhanced dragonfly, contracts super powers, and decides to become a superhero. The Lowdown: Another in the long line of Movie movies. This one is slightly better -- and a lot shorter -- than its pedigree would lead you to believe, but that still doesn't mean it…

The Story: A soldier returns home from Iraq with eyes on getting out of the military, only to find out he's being forced to return to war due to a lack of troops. The Lowdown: A film that attempts to take a more personal look at the war in Iraq, but remains too slight and…

The Asheville Art Museum will present Orlando as part of the smART Speak Distinguished Artist Series Tuesday, April 8, at 6 p.m. in Lord Auditorium at Pack Memorial Library. Free admission.

The Devil's Backbone, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, April 4, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Don Giovanni at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 6, 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…

Delicatessen, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, March 28, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A single mother down on her luck travels from Chicago to Georgia for the funeral of the father she never met. The Lowdown: Pretty much your standard Tyler Perry movie, but with a few pleasing moments.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Titus at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 30, 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 in…

The Story: After a car accident, a young couple in Japan are haunted by a vengeful spirit that likes to deface photographic emulsion. The Lowdown: Yet another in the seemingly endless procession of rehashed Asian-horror movies. Dull, derivative and dumb, with only a few good moments to break the monotony.

The Story: Three awkward high-school freshmen hire a budget bodyguard to protect them from the psychotic school bully. The Lowdown: Mildly amusing, but thoroughly predictable and unremarkable.

The Story: Two young men living in the slums of Rio find themselves at odds with warring factions of drug lords. The Lowdown: A frequently intense and powerful drama of friendship and becoming an adult under the worst possible circumstances.