Movie Reviews

The Story: A quasi-biographical look at Jane Austen and her romance with a young man before she became famous. The Lowdown: A decent attempt at examining the impact of Austen’s life experiences on her work, but the film suffers from the standard biopic and period-piece ailments of being too stodgy and lifeless.

The Story: A young man enters a world of plotting royalty, evil witches and enchantment when he crosses a wall into an alternate reality in his search for a fallen star. The Lowdown: A rich fantasy with delightful comedy and characters. Brilliantly directed by Matthew Vaughn and superbly acted by a stellar cast, this is…

Smiles of a Summer Night is part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World being presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: Bad werewolves are out to kill a 12-year-old boy who will lift the curse of lycanthropy when he turns 13. His only hope lies in the good werewolves, who are protecting him. The Lowdown: A silly, sometimes unintentionally funny werewolf movie that brings nothing new to the genre.

The Story: The third installment of the Rush Hour series finds Detective Carter and Chief Inspector Lee heading to Paris to take down a crime syndicate. The Lowdown: Maybe the most generic movie of the summer, it’s not quite as bad as the trailer may indicate, but it’s far from good and never anything more…

The Story: Werner Herzog crafts a narrative variant on the prisoner of war story depicted in his documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997). The Lowdown: A couple of good performances and flashes of Herzog brilliance keep this otherwise rather standard P.O.W. tale afloat.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Mayerling at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19, 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: Eddie Murphy has transformed into Cuba Gooding Jr. for this sequel, which finds our hero struggling to keep a ramshackle summer camp from going under. The Lowdown: Painfully unfunny family fare that relies on bodily-function humor and the unseemly mugging of its star.

The Story: A lab accident imbues a dog with superhero-like powers. The Lowdown: A boring, noisy, unfunny attempt to update the old cartoon series as ill-advised live-action kiddie fodder.

Walk-in Theatre presents The Last Unicorn at dark on Friday, Aug. 10, in the parking lot behind the Bledsoe Building in West Asheville. Sponsored by the merchants of the Bledsoe Building. As usual, admission is free, but please leave pets and alcohol at home.

The Story: An amateur daredevil attempts to organize a stunt where he would jump 15 school buses, allowing him to make the $50,000 he needs to pay for his stepdad's heart operation, which in turn would give him the chance to beat his stepdad up in order to gain his respect. The Lowdown: An idiotic…

Wild Strawberries is part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World being presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Photographing Fairies at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12, 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…

The Story: Four BFFs with a "passion for fashion" try to wrest control of their repressive high school from the mean daughter of the airheaded principal. The Lowdown: Dubious life lessons housed in what is conceivably the worst movie ever made.

The Story: Amnesiac C.I.A. agent Jason Bourne is on the run again as new information surfaces that might lead to learning his real identity. The Lowdown: Terrific action set pieces and a sense of something weightier than usual in action movies make this thriller worthy fare.

Woman in the Dunes is part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World being presented at 8 p.m. Friday, August 3, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A rap mogul causes problems for an uptight country club when they deny him membership. The Lowdown: A tedious comedy filled with stereotypes, clichés and tired jokes.

The Story: The long-running animated TV series finally comes to the big screen. Homer accidentally turns Springfield into a toxic cesspool, and the Simpson's must save their hometown from imminent destruction. The Lowdown: As a movie, it's simply OK. It should be enough to satisfy longtime Simpsons fans, but since it loses steam quickly somewhere…

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Radio Days at 2 p.m. Sunday, August 5, 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…

The Story: When a device that allows users to enter other people's dreams is stolen, the world is threatened to be plunged into chaos from a gigantic collective nightmare turned real. The Lowdown: This is one extremely wild ride, but a wild ride with something on its mind. It's also easily the best movie around…

The Story: A temperamental chef finds herself saddled with an orphaned niece and an unwanted sous-chef she thinks wants her job. The Lowdown: An OK diversion that's never as moving or as funny as it thinks it is, and ultimately just feels a little phony.