Movie Reviews

The Story: A small-town deputy "rescues" a woman from kidnappers who are really FBI agents escorting her to a trial. The Lowdown: Witless is certainly an accurate assessment of this vile little paean to the simpleminded life.

The Story: The story of the attempted assassination of the U.S. president told from several different points of view. The Lowdown: Telling the movie’s story through the eyes of multiple characters quickly becomes a gimmick, which would be fine if it weren’t such an uninteresting one.

The Story: A 3-D film of U2's Vertigo tour. The Lowdown: Interest depends largely on one's fondness for U2, but the 3-D is wholly remarkable.

Mana: Beyond Belief will be screened for one show only by the Asheville Art Museum at the Fine Arts Theatre at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28.

Excalibur, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 29, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: Having been thrown out of a string of private schools, Charlie Bartlett faces life in the public-school system, where he becomes a hit through amateur psychiatry and prescription drugs. The Lowdown: An engaging, savvy little film that errs by borrowing a little too much from other movies, but still succeeds thanks to a…

The Story: When all the VHS tapes are accidentally erased at a failing rental store, the clerk and his friend decide to remake the lost inventory themselves. The Lowdown: One of the most charming, joyous and creative films you're likely to see this year -- or most years. No, it's not realistic. It's better than…

The Story: A young dancer from the streets is forced to go to a private arts school, where she starts a dance crew in order to compete in an underground dance competition. The Lowdown: Yet another dance movie filled with clichés and teen melodrama that never really tries to do anything new.

The Story: The Grace family move into the old Spiderwick mansion where an old book unlocks the supernatural world around them. The Lowdown: A successful blend of fantasy and domestic drama that offers little new, but works on its own merits.

The Story: Animated coming-of-age story of a young Iranian woman. The Lowdown: An almost completely successful, wildly creative, funny and moving film that offers many surprises and rewards.

The Story: A recently divorced Christian man becomes fixated on his girlfriend of 30 years ago. The Lowdown: Even allowing for the bare-bones independent-production problems, this is simply a painfully slow character study in which people talk endlessly yet do very little.

The Knack ... and How to Get It, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A young man with the ability to teleport himself runs afoul of a group bent on destroying anyone with such powers. The Lowdown: A preposterous, generally incoherent story made just that much worse by an unlikable lead character and a cornucopia of bad ideas.

The Story: A young man on the verge of divorce tells his daughter the story of the three women he has loved in his life, and how one of them became her mother. The Lowdown: An agreeable, good-natured romantic comedy with characters and performers that smooth over the more predictable bits and its slightly clunky…

The Story: A policeman -- called a Blade Runner -- is assigned to terminate a group of renegade replicants (androids) in Los Angeles of 2019. The Lowdown: The grim visual splendor of Ridley Scott's film overcomes any reservations one may have about certain narrative shortcomings.

The Story: A talk-show host goes back to his Southern roots and learns the meaning of family à la Hollywood. The Lowdown: A truly obnoxious comedy that tries to blend crude humor with debatable life lessons.

The Story: Comedy routines and documentary footage of the tour that contain them. The Lowdown: Occasionally amusing but rarely hilarious comedy combined with a dubious documentary approach and fleeting insights into the performers.

The Porter Center at Brevard College will show Son of the Sheik Sunday, Feb. 17, at 3 p.m. with live accompaniment of the Porter Center's pipe organ by Vance Reese. Tickets are $5 at the door or call 884-8330 in advance.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Last Wave at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17, 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…

The Story: A look at Jimmy Carter as he travels the country promoting his controversial book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. The Lowdown: An unassuming documentary that's never close to spectacular, but gets its message across while being surprisingly interesting.

The Story: A down-on-his-luck treasure hunter ropes his newly ex-wife into searching for a sunken treasure. The Lowdown: Flat romance, lame comedy and a so-so adventure plot are brought even lower by an excessive running time. Mild compensation comes from the scenery.