Our critics recommend...
Movies Opening Friday Battle for Haditha This docudrama looks at an incident in which Iraqi civilians were allegedly killed by American Marines in retaliation for the death of one of their own.
Movies
Opening Friday
Battle for Haditha
This docudrama looks at an incident in which Iraqi civilians were allegedly killed by American Marines in retaliation for the death of one of their own.
The Fall
A hospitalized actor in 1920s Los Angeles befriends a child patient with fantastic tales that mirror his own state of mind.
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
James Bond meets Maxwell Smart in this spy spoof set in 1950s Egypt. French with subtitles.
Sex and the City
Before
Desperate Housewives
, there were the fabulous four New Yorkers - Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis - whose characters now take their juggling of careers, relationships and family to the big screen.
The Strangers
Strangers terrorize a couple in a remote house in this horror film starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman.
Very Good (***1/2)
Reviewed by critics Carrie Rickey (C.R.) and Steven Rea (S.R.).
The Counterfeiters
Winner of the 2008 Oscar for foreign language film, this true story of a band of concentration camp prisoners who worked on an SS counterfeiting ring - trading their talents for their lives - is powerful, affecting stuff. 1 hr. 38
R
(violence, atrocities, profanity, nudity, sex, adult themes) -
S.R.
Flight of the Red Balloon
Not a remake, and not a kid flick, Hou Hsiao Hsien's sublime little film takes its inspiration from the 1956 children's classic "The Red Balloon." Juliette Binoche stars as a harried single mom, juggling work and home life, in contemporary Paris. Loose, improvisatory, with a grace and humor that's wonderfully inviting. 1 hr. 53
No MPAA rating
(adult themes) -
S.R.
Iron Man
Fast. Funny. Deliriously entertaining. As a hybrid of Howard Hughes and Hugh Hefner, Robert Downey Jr. delights as billionaire Tony Stark, playboy/inventor/
businessman, who realizes that U.S. soldiers are casualties of the weapons he has designed to protect them. 2 hrs. 06
PG-13
(sexual innuendo, violence) -
C.R.
Jellyfish
Israeli writer and director Etgar Keret (with Shira Geffen) conjures up a beautifully strange movie about three Tel Aviv women who share a common bond: a profound sense of disconnection from family, from loved ones, from themselves. Playful, mesmerizing, sad. 1 hr. 18
No MPAA rating
(adult themes) -
S.R.
Fresh from its showing at the Philadelphia Film Festival, this documentary focuses on a senior citizens' choral group that covers rock music from Jimi Hendrix to James Brown. 1 hr. 48
PG
(life and death) -
C.R.
Also on Screens
Baby Mama ***
Tina Fey as a buttoned-up careerist who can't conceive and Amy Poehler as an unzipped, trash-talking babe hired to be her pregnancy surrogate. What's not to like? Hilarious cameos from Steve Martin, Sigourney Weaver, Romany Malco and Holland Taylor. 1 hr. 39
PG-13
(procreative candor, profanity) -
C.R.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ***
A year after they fell through the wardrobe into the parallel universe of Narnia, the Pevensie siblings return to help the Narnians restore the legitimate ruler, Prince Caspian, to the throne. Andrew Adamson's film overcomes a shaky start to find its own rhythms. Despite its intended tween audience, this is less of an adventure than a war movie. 2 hrs. 17
PG
(intense war and action sequences) -
C.R.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull **1/2
Wisecracking, whip-snapping archaeologist-adventurer Henry "Indiana" Jones is back, as Harrison Ford reunites with his fedora, and Steven Spielberg and George Lucas with one another in this third sequel to
Raiders of the Lost Ark
. It's been 19 years since the last, and things are a little creaky. With Shia LaBeouf as the Indy heir apparent and Cate Blanchett as a villainous Russian in this Ike-era escapade. 2 hrs. 04
PG-13
(violence, scares, adult themes) -
S.R.
Made of Honor **1/2
My Best Friend's Wedding
by way of
Four Weddings and a Funeral
, with Patrick Dempsey as a serial cad and Michelle Monaghan as his platonic best friend - until she decides to go off and get married. 1 hr. 41
PG-13
(sex, profanity, adult themes) -
S.R.
Speed Racer ***
A sugar rush of pop art, op art and pure pop for car people, the Wachowski Brothers' remake of the '60s Japanese toon is a turbocharged mix of gamer action and crazy camp, plus a wild new way to think of - and look at - movies. But physical and mental collapse sets in from two-hours-plus of kaleidoscopic digital imagery, zooming motorway mayhem, and dialogue that's all crackle and cool. 2 hrs. 09
PG
(mild profanity, cartoon violence) -
S.R.
What Happens in Vegas **1/2
Pleasant formula rom-com starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz respectively as a slacker and a workaholic who drunkenly meet, mate and marry on a Sin City spree. 1 hr. 39
PG-13
(profanity, sexual candor, crude humor) -
C.R.
Theater
Reviewed by critics Wendy Rosenfield (W.R.), Howard Shapiro (H.S.), David Patrick Stearns (D.P.S.), and Toby Zinman (T.Z.).
New This Week
The Adventures of a Boy and His Dog in Ye Olde Philadelphia
(Mum Puppettheatre) The kid and the dog are back for more colonial shenanigans! Opens Saturday.
Gypsy
(New Candlelight Theatre) Mama Rose and Jule Styne's great score settle in for a two-month run. Opens Friday.
House, Divided
(InterAct Theatre Company) World premiere about a Philadelphia Jewish family torn by politics. Previews tonight and Tuesday, opens Wednesday.
I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady From Rwanda
(People's Light and Theatre) A teacher of writing and a refugee from Rwandan genocide are transformed through her memories. Previews Wednesday and Thursday, opens Friday.
Jamaica
(Prince Music Theatre) Arlen/Harburg calypso-jazz hit from 1957 gets its first full staging. Previews Friday through June 6, opens June 7.
Our Town
(Arden Theatre) Bringing Thornton Wilder's classic home. Previews tonight and Tuesday, opens Wednesday.
Continuing
Beautiful Boy
(1812 Productions) A father looks at life with an autistic child in this workshop production. Ends today.
The Dead Guy
(Flashpoint Theatre Company) A play about a reality show where you get to decide how someone dies; its overworked premise is saved by a solid cast. Through Saturday.
- W.R.
Eurydice
(Wilma Theater) Wilma's production of Sarah Ruhl's reinterpretation of the Orpheus myth is visually and musically strong. This interesting play, and Blanka Zizka's interesting direction, raise more questions than the production answers. Through next Sunday.
- T.Z.
The Full Monty
(Media Theatre) Media's charming production is based on the British film about blue-collar guys forced to literally take the shirts off their backs to make ends meet. Through next Sunday.
Go, Dog. Go!
(Arden Theatre) P.D. Eastman's irrepressible children's classic is brought to laugh-out-loud life in this Arden production. Through next Sunday.
- W.R.
The Happiness Lecture
(Philadelphia Theatre Company) U.S. clown laureate Bill Irwin joins forces with some of Philly's favorite actors and dancers for an ode to joy that is both thoughtful and funny. Through June 15.
- W.R.
The Irish . . . and How They Got That Way
(Walnut Independence Studio) A musical history of the Irish written by Frank McCourt. The young, energetic cast members sing better than they act, but it's a show you're likely to enjoy even if you're not wearing the green. Ends Thursday.
- T.Z.
Kooza
(Avenue of the Arts) Cirque du Soleil is back under the big top, and although this show lacks the magic of their earlier shows, it provides a jolly night out. Through June 15.
- T.Z.
Les Miserables
(Walnut Street Theatre) Just because the Walnut has created its own new production doesn't mean it's much different from what audiences have loved for decades. Few new insights here, but few will mind. Through Aug. 3.
- D.P.S.
A Seagull in the Hamptons
(McCarter Theatre) Emily Mann's take on Anton Chekhov's
The Seagull
sets the play in the ritzy Hamptons, in a thoroughly modern context, in a classy production. Through June 8.
- H.S.
Songs for a New World
(Act II Theatre Company) Musical uplift in many genres. Through next Sunday.
The Woolgatherer
(New City Stage) More William Mastrosimone, this one about two lonely people. Through next Sunday.
Video
Cassandra's Dream **
Woody Allen's Anglophilic tragedy about family, duplicity and murder stars Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor as brothers, lured into a killing scheme. 1 hr. 45
PG-13
(violence, profanity, adult themes) -
S.R.