For major-studio new releases, it's your choice today: Steve Carell as Noah in the toothless fantasy "Evan Almighty" or Angelina Jolie as Mariane Pearl in "A Mighty Heart." I know, you're swinging toward Carell; who wouldn't? "Heart," as problematic as it is, is still the one you should see, if only for the vexing questions it raises about how best to portray the West's collision with radical Islam. Jolie's surprisingly effective, too; she almost but not quite shakes the earnest Hollywood patina off this thing. And director Michael Winterbottom versus "Evan" director Tom Shadyac? That's craftsman vs hack. But, yeah, Carell's a funny guy even in a lame movie, so take your popcorn where you will.
Both movies back off from contemplating their respective apocalypses, for whatever that's worth.
For my money, the best film appearing in the Boston area this weekend is Jennifer Baichwal's "Manufactured Landscapes" (photo, above) which is playing at the MFA this weekend and later selected dates. You need a certain stamina for this transfixing document of eco-catastrophe -- the movie slows your metabolism down until you see the big picture, which is both beautiful and horrifying. I haven't been able to get the thing out of my head since I saw it in Toronto last September.
I haven't seen "Journey From the Fall" at the Brattle yet, but based on Janice Page's review today (as well as other reviews), it's an effectively sweeping epic melodrama of Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. Recommended to those who wish "Napoleon Dynamite" had been more of a romance, "Eagle vs Shark" is a sweet little New Zealand misfits-in-lurve snack. John Cusack does his best to energize the Stephen King adaptation "1408," but as Wesley points out, the King hotel horrorshow you're looking for is "The Shining."
The Harvard Film Archive is still closed for renovation but re-opens next weekend with a terrific line-up of new American independent film. Mark your calendars accordingly.
