Movie Reviews

The Story: A poor young man -- a "slumdog" -- goes on a game show and proceeds to win a fortune, but the question arises as to whether or not he cheated. The Lowdown: A truly magnificent film to be savored -- funny, intense, moving, warmly human and done with enough style for at least…

The Story: A visitor from outer space lands in Central Park to make way for the destruction of humanity. The Lowdown: A low-grade -- and incredibly unexciting -- attempt to cash in on a famous title by "improving" it with more special effects, color photography and colorless characters.

Camila, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: An egomaniacal Nobel Prize winner finds his $2 million in prize money being lost as the ransom for his kidnapped son. The Lowdown: A tragically unhip attempt at hipness that misunderstands everything it tries to copy in terms of quirky dark comedy. Its watchability factor depends entirely on one's fondness for Alan Rickman.

The Story: Biographical film about gay activist Harvey Milk that charts his life from San Francisco camera-store owner through his rise to political office holder to his assassination at the hands of former council member Dan White. The Lowdown: A spectacularly detailed, warmly human and emotionally charged film centered on an astonishing Sean Penn performance…

The Story: The Punisher goes after master criminal Jigsaw to protect the widow of an FBI agent and prevent an influx of terrorist-ready weapons from entering the hands of New York City's apparently thriving community of Islamic extremists. The Lowdown: Trashy, overstated, witlessly violent, borderline incoherent and predictable to the point of boredom.

The Son of the Bride, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: When their holiday getaway flight is canceled, a couple is forced to spend Christmas with their improbable families. The Lowdown: Now's the time to unwrap that fruitcake your aunt sent five years ago. It is bound to be fresher than this.

The Story: Frank Martin is back. This time, at the behest of a shady American, he transports a trunk full of duffel bags, accompanied by a mysterious young woman. The Lowdown: A parade of over-the-top fight sequences and car chases that’s damn entertaining simply because it revels in its own absurdity and never takes itself…

The Story: A prim Englishwoman teams up with a rough Australian drover to save her murdered husband's cattle ranch from financial ruin. Romance and World War II follow. The Lowdown: A deliberately unrealistic, larger-than-life old-school epic that's constantly engaging, beautiful to look at and more emotionally engaging than it probably has a right to be.…

Belle Epoque, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: New girl in town falls for dreamy vampire hunk. Improbable romance follows. The Lowdown: Really low-grade horror mixes with hard-to-buy teen romance in this dull adaptation of the popular series of young-adult books. Unless you're a really romantic teenage girl, there's not much here.

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

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Murder on the Orient Express at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 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…

The Story: A young, naive, lonely German boy -- and son of a Nazi officer -- makes friends with a Jewish child who he believes is living on a farm, but who is in fact living in a concentration camp. The Lowdown: Full of good intentions, the movie falls victim to its own snail-like pacing,…

The Story: Drug-addict Kym gets out of rehab to attend her sister's wedding -- and face up to the demons of her past and present. The Lowdown: There's much to admire -- even to celebrate -- here, but a script that doesn't know when enough is enough and a talented director who piles on too…

The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Brothers Grimm at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, 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 Sea Inside, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A TV-star dog -- who believes he’s some sort of “super dog” because he doesn’t realize he’s living his life on the set of a wildly popular adventure show -- escapes into the real world in order to track down his master, only to learn that life is much different in reality. The…

The Story: A look at the life of Poppy Cross, an inveterately happy English primary-school teacher, as she interacts with her friends, relations and the world in general. The Lowdown: A surprisingly deep, yet mostly sunny, look at one person's world done in a refreshing manner that makes it all seem new and invigorating.

The Story: In a direct sequel to Casino Royale, James Bond seeks revenge for the death of Vesper Lynd, while also bringing down a world-class villain and getting himself branded a rogue agent. The Lowdown: The shortest Bond film ever plays like the longest. Nice to look at -- and there is one standout sequence…