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Movies Opening Friday Bra Boys This documentary looks at a community of surfers in Sydney, Australia, with a reputation for hard partying and a history of struggle to fit in with the wider society around them. Narrated by Russell Crowe.

Movies

Opening Friday

Bra Boys

This documentary looks at a community of surfers in Sydney, Australia, with a reputation for hard partying and a history of struggle to fit in with the wider society around them. Narrated by Russell Crowe.

The Children of Huang Shi

Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars in the true story of a 1930s Brit who risks his life by helping to smuggle 60 orphans out of Japanese-occupied China.

The Foot Fist Way

A martial arts instructor (Danny R. McBride) who talks a better game than he fights deals with marital problems and a desire to meet his role model in this sports comedy.

The Happening

Director M. Night Shyamalan's (

The Sixth Sense

,

The Village

) latest thriller is about a family that flees a large-scale natural crisis that threatens humanity. Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel star.

The Incredible Hulk

This latest big-screen adaptation of the comic book hero has Edward Norton in the role of Bruce Banner, who turns into a monster after he's exposed to gamma radiation.

The Promotion

The friendship of two assistant managers at a grocery store (Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly) is put to the test when they both vie for the same promotion.

Savage Grace

Julianne Moore and Stephen Dillane star in the true story of London's wealthy Baekeland family, which descended into a life of sexual obsession and murder.

Water Lilies

Teen angst in the form of rivalry and sexual desire are explored in this drama about members of a synchronized swim team in suburban Paris. French with subtitles.

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 in 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.

The Fall

A dazzling fantasy, a dark fairy tale about suicide and broken hearts, this labor of love from top commercials director Tarsem is set in the early 20th century, and takes flight from an L.A. hospital ward to literally circumnavigate the globe. A celebration of cinema, of old-fashioned storytelling and spectacle, it stirs the soul. 1 hr. 56

R

(violence, 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.

Young@Heart

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

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 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.

Kung Fu Panda ***

Jack Black gives voice, and emotion, to the title character, a roly-poly panda who works for his father's noodle shop in ancient China, but dreams of being a martial arts master. A spirited, computer-animated follow-your-dream comedy - smart, fun, with a little Zen wisdom to boot. 1 hr. 28

PG

(cartoon violence) -

S.R.

Sex and the City ***

Frothy as a margarita and twice as salty, the further adventures of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her bosom buds may well be the most effervescent film fantasy since

The Incredibles.

With Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth and Jennifer Hudson. 2 hrs. 20

R

(nudity, sex, sexual candor, profanity, conspicuous consumption) -

C.R.

The Strangers *

Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman star as a moody twosome terrorized, tormented and tortured by a trio of masked psychos in this contemptible home invasion creepfest. 1 hr. 30

R

(violence, profanity, adult themes) -

S.R.

You Don't Mess With the Zohan **1/2

In this raunchily wholesome message movie that deploys Arab and Jewish stereotypes while smashing them, Adam Sandler is an Israeli commando who fakes his death and comes to America to be - a hairdresser. 1 hr. 53

PG-13

(nudity, sexual candor, sexual innuendo, ethnic sterotypes) -

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

Married Alive!

(Act II Playhouse) Two couples explore wedlock in this new musical. Previews Friday-Sunday, opens June 18.

(Brat Productions) A mother seeks safety for her daughter in a small town, offline - she thinks. Previews today, opens Wednesday.

Wit

(Hovering Above the Gutter Theatre Company) Margaret Edson's Pulitzer-winning play about a literary scholar facing down death. Opens Friday.

Continuing

Gypsy

(New Candlelight Theatre) Mama Rose and Jule Styne's great score settle in for a two-month run. Through July 27.

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. Extended to June 22.

- W.R.

House, Divided

(InterAct Theatre Company) Larry Loebell's new play about a Jewish family torn apart by the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has a convincing first act, a muddy second half, an excellent staging by Seth Rozin, and a cast of six actors who make it work. Through June 22.

- H.S.

I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady From Rwanda

(People's Light & Theatre) Miriam Hyman's acting is exuberant and thoughtful, but this two-person play about a Rwandan refugee suffers from cliche. Through June 22.

- W.R.

Jamaica

(Prince Music Theatre) Arlen/Harburg calypso-jazz hit from 1957 gets its first full staging. Through June 22.

Kooza

(Avenue of the Arts) Cirque du Soleil is back, and although this show lacks the magic of earlier shows, it provides a jolly night out. Through next Sunday.

- 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.

Our Town

(Arden Theatre) Not a dry eye in the house. Arden's lavish and leisurely production of Thornton Wilder's classic provides a solid and moving evening about the good old days. Through June 22.

- T.Z.

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 next Sunday.

- H.S.

Video

John Adams

The HBO miniseries on the founding father and nation's second president starring Paul Giamatti in the title role and Laura Linney as First Lady Abigail Adams makes its debut on DVD.