Movie Reviews

The Story: A selfish woman learns the meaning of love when she inherits her sister's children. The Lowdown: It starts well, but quickly devolves into the usual clunky mishmash of Tyler Perry clichés -- with a few notable scenes that stand out from the rest of the movie.

The Story: A U.S. marshal must track down a murderer in the frozen wastes of Antarctica. The Lowdown: A refreshing premise quickly falls victim to messy direction, jumbled action and a mystery that’s never very mysterious.

The Story: After some sorority girls are accidentally responsible for the death of one of their sisters, they ditch the body -- only to find themselves being bumped off by an unknown killer apparently out for revenge. The Lowdown: Standard schlock-slasher horror that exceeds its dubious welcome by about 20 minutes and suffers from an…

The Story: A child molester hiding from the mob (via the witness-protection program) in a dinky town makes a deal with the local cannibals to lure mobsters there to replenish their larders. The Lowdown: Offensive, amateurish, predictable, unscary and just plain not good.

The Story: After humankind has been exterminated, a group of artifically created beings must bring life back to the world. The Lowdown: A marvel of animation and atmosphere tied to a dull story, limp characterizations and a monotonous approach.

The Wizard of Oz will be shown by Fathom Events at Carolina Asheville Cinema 14 on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Red Shoes at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, 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…

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

The Story: A socially inept crossword-puzzle writer decides to stalk her blind date across America. The Lowdown: An unfunny, wrongheaded attempt at romantic comedy that’s downright odd in its attempt to make stalking cute and cuddly.

The Story: When his son accidentally kills himself, a father doctors things up to make it look like suicide, and turns his ghastly progeny into a kind of high-school cult hero. The Lowdown: A wicked satire on how death can be used to alter the reality of the perception of the dead, but a film…

The Story: A fake documentary about making a documentary that incorporates more fake documentary in the form of a scripted romance. The Lowdown: An interminable 88-minute movie that's so in love with its own clever cuteness that it may make your teeth hurt.

The Story: A comedy/drama about the romance of a young man with Asperger's Syndrome and a young woman who moves into his apartment building. The Lowdown: A strong central performance from Hugh Dancy and a largely unforced sense of quirkiness help overshadow the more awkward aspects of this sweet-tempered little movie.

The Story: In the near future, video games advance to a level where gamers control real people in death-match shoot-outs. The Lowdown: Explosive bad taste from the Crank creators splatters across the screen in ever-increasing absurdity. If you like that sort of thing, this could be your movie. If not, you've been warned.

The Story: The trials and tribulations of a much put-upon owner of an extract company as he deals with an unresponsive wife, oddball employees, an overly friendly neighbor and a scheming crook. The Lowdown: An unusually intelligent and humane comedy that tempers its outrageousness with a sense of real people in the real world.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Intermezzo: A Love Story at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 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…

Patch Adams will be shown at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St., in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

Repo Man will be shown at 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 7, at Firestorm Cafe and Books, 48 Commerce St., Asheville.

Rear Window will be shown as part of the Wedge Brewing Company's Outdoor Cinema series at 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at 125-B Roberts St.

The Story: An insider's look at politics -- and how to create a war by careful bargaining and selective cheating. The Lowdown: A blistering, funny political satire -- perhaps the year's funniest film to date. But be warned: It goes where other political satires fear to tread.

The Story: A young man figures a way to save the family business by arranging to have the concert that became Woodstock come to his town. The Lowdown: A sweet, low-key, yet celebratory film about the behind-the-scenes aspects of Woodstock as seen through the eyes of one young man. Rather than try to be big,…

The Story: A stranded journalist is told the story of a woman stoned to death on bogus charges of adultery in a small town in Iran. The Lowdown: A fact-based drama that has an unfortunate tendency to topple over into melodrama and propaganda -- not to mention a lengthy, graphic depiction of the title event.…