Movie Reviews

How I Won the War is part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World being presented at 8 p.m. Friday, June 15, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville (enter at Walnut next to Scully's or at 13 Carolina Lane.) Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A serial killer who has kept himself in check for two years is goaded back into action by his alter ego. The Lowdown: Overplotted to the point of insanity, Mr. Brooks starts out as a kind of thinking man's thriller before descending into entertaining nonsense.

The Story: A car park attendant is paid to pose as the boyfriend of a model in order to throw a wealthy businessman's wife off the track of her husband's infidelity. The Lowdown: A little gossamer confection from French filmmaker Francis Veber that more than gets by on style and wit.

Walk-In Theater presents So I Married an Axe Murderer at dusk on Friday, June 8, in the parking lot behind the Bledsoe Building in West Asheville. Admission is free. Please leave pets and alcohol at home. Sponsored by Orbit DVD and the merchants of the Bledsoe Building. Info: 251-1337.

Sir Henry at Rawlinson End is part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World being presented at 8 p.m. Friday, June 8, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville (enter at Walnut next to Scully's or at 13 Carolina Lane.) Info: 273-3332.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Royal Flash at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 10, 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 an upscale professional woman gets pregnant thanks to a one-night stand with an unmotivated slacker, she decides to try to make a go of a relationship with him. The Lowdown: An often very funny film that goes on too long for its own good. Pay attention to the title and the R…

The Story: After the death of her soccer phenom brother, a teenage girl decides to try out for the men's soccer team at her high school as a tribute to her brother. The Lowdown: Apart from its oddball family-affair pedigree, this is just a cliché-ridden, by-the-books sports flick -- nothing more, nothing less

The Story: A pregnant waitress -- and creator of fanciful pies -- with an abusive husband finds herself in a relationship with her married obstetrician. The Lowdown: A film of some charm that overcomes its sometimes significant mistakes thanks to its leads and an often fresh point of view.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Winged Migration at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 3, 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: Jack Sparrow and company are back in this third installment in the phenomenally successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The Lowdown: Not as fresh as the first, slightly more serious than the second and boasting at least one large misstep, the third film is still an adventure worth having.

O Lucky Man! is part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World being presented at 8 p.m. Friday, June 1, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville (enter at Walnut next to Scully's or at 13 Carolina Lane).

The Naked City is being screened at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June 3, at the Asheville Art Museum, 2 Pack Square South. Admission to the museum is $6. Students and Seniors are $5. Movies are free with museum admission.

The Story: A delusional Gulf War vet and a lonely woman forge a mutually destructive bond and descend into insanity. The Lowdown: Extremely well made and acted, William Friedkin's Bug is a sometimes brilliant, always compelling film that's probably too depressingly effective for its own good.

The Story: A couple (Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent) married for 44 years must face the wife's descent into Alzheimer's. The Lowdown: Heartfelt, deeply moving and without cheap sentiment, Sarah Polley's Away from Her is a small-scale triumph, especially for viewers burned-out on mainstream summer blockbusters.

The Story: When King Harold dies, Shrek goes in search of an heir to the throne in order to avoid becoming king. The Lowdown: Mildly amusing and painless, but overall a major disappointment.

The Story: A Danish expatriate working at an orphanage in India is forced to return to his homeland in order to obtain a donation that will save the facility from shutting down. The Lowdown: Convoluted and intricate plotting and fine performances raise a frankly melodramatic story to something more.

Sirens is part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World being presented at 8 p.m. Friday, May 25, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville (enter at Walnut next to Scully's or at 13 Carolina Lane).

The Hendersonville Film Society will show A Midsummer Night's Dream at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 27, 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…

The Story: A mother at her wit's end takes her troubled daughter to spend the summer with her mother in hopes of straightening the girl out. The Lowdown: A basic generational dramatic comedy that strangles itself by trying to be more than it is.

The Story: A slacker takes a job with his father-in-law’s ad agency, where one of his coworkers, who happens to be a friend from his wife’s past, attempts to break up his marriage. The Lowdown: A tired, unfunny comedy full of sub-sitcom jokes that is only watchable due to the occasional likeability of its leads.