MIND OVER MATTER

NOW IN THEATERS...

* Lucy, a brainless sci-fi actioner featuring Scarlett Johansson as a woman unlocking the potential of "cerebral capacity." Yet another in a long line of stinkers from Luc Besson.

* Magic in the Moonlight, Woody Allen's new romantic comedy featuring Colin Firth as a magician and Emma Stone as a spiritualist in 1930s France.

* A Most Wanted Man, the last film from Philip Seymour Hoffman is also the latest from Anton Corbijn, and it's a pretty fantastic spy movie to boot.

* Who is Dayani Cristal? is the question posed in this documentary about the journey of illegal immigrants from Honduras.

For those Portlanders not going to Comic-Con this weekend, you can create your own mini convention by seeing the original Tim Burton Batman movie and the 1940s Superman cartoons.

Or you can catch the special screening of documentary Mending the Line, about a WWII vet returning to France to fish their rivers.

WATCH IT AT HOME...

* The Big Chill, the 1980s nostalgic ensemble drama requires a little nostalgia for the 1980s to get through.

* Lola, the debut feature from Jacques Demy is a multi-tiered drama. The first in the new Criterion boxed set The Essential Jacques Demy. 

* The Scalphunters, a later 1960s race-driven western directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Burt Lancaster.

* Six by Sondheim, a documentary about composer Stephen Sondheim, building an image of his life around six of his most important tunes.

Current Soundtrack: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Only Run

A CAR THAT (MOSTLY) SPED

NOW IN THEATERS...  

New movie reviews!

* Don Jon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's slick directorial debut. You will be asked to believe that porn is better than Scarlett Johansson. I remain unconvinced. There is nothing better than Scarlett Johansson.

* Inequality for All, a documentary about the widening gulf between the 1% and the working poor, as well as the disappearing middle class. Luckily, your host for this sobering journey is the affable Robert Reich.

* Rush, a middle-of-the-pack racecar movie from Ron Howard.

At the Oregonian, we're shaking things up a bit. Online, the column I write will be broken up and the individual movies listed on their own; the Friday paper will still print them all together.

This week, Portlanders can see... 

* Cutie and the Boxer, a documentary about two Japanese artists who have been married and living in New York for four decades.

* Salma, the true story of an Indian poet who transformed confinement into art.

* A Tribute to Les Blank: Three nights of Southern culture, music, and food. 

I know also have a dedicated writer's page at the paper. Check it out!

 

 Don Jon offers its own proof.

Current Soundtrack: Avicii, True