Movies

Opening Friday

Chicago 10 This documentary uses music, animation and interviews to look back at the riots during the 1968 Democratic convention.

The Counterfeiters A counterfeiter in 1930s Berlin is used by the Nazis to help with a secret mission. German with subtitles.

Doomsday Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins and Alexander Siddig star in this sci-fi thriller about a desperate race to cure a deadly disease before it spreads from a quarantined area.

Flash Point A Hong Kong cop battles a dangerous gang. English, Mandarin and Cantonese with subtitles.

Funny Games Two psychopaths terrorize a family on vacation. Naomi Watts and Tim Roth star.

Horton Hears a Who! In this animated feature, a lovable elephant protects a microscopic community from those who don't believe it exists. Jim Carrey, Steve Carell and Carol Burnett provide their voices.

Never Back Down When a high school student (Sean Faris) moves with his family to a new town, he joins an underground fight club to fit in at school.

Praying With Lior This documentary looks at Lior Liebling, the son of a Philadelphia rabbi, who has Down syndrome and a gift for prayer that has made him the talk of his Reconstructionist Jewish community.

Excellent (****)

Persepolis Marjane Satrapi's brilliant adaptation (with Vincent Paronnaud) of her graphic-novel memoir to animated film. Recounting her childhood and youth in Iran from the fall of the shah to the rise of the mullahs, Satrapi creates a universal coming-of-age story that's as unique as a fingerprint. 1 hr. 35 PG-13 (mature themes, war sequences, profanity, marijuana use) - C.R.

Very Good (***1/2)

City of Men A gritty, kinetic adaptation of a popular Brazilian TV series set in the same shantytown neighborhoods as the 2004 Oscar-nominated City of God. The violent turf wars are the same, but Men has a different point of view, as two childhood friends struggle to survive amid the sun-splashed anarchy that surrounds them. 1 hr. 50 R (violence, drugs, profanity, sex, adult themes) - S.R.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Julian Schnabel's impish and pitiless profile of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a Parisian rake who suffers a massive stroke that leaves him almost completely paralyzed. French, with subtitles. 1 hr. 52 PG-13 (nudity, sexual content, profanity) - C.R.

Juno A 16-year-old girl (sensational Ellen Page) has an unplanned pregnancy and plans to give up the baby for adoption. Improbably endearing comedy about a decidedly unfunny situation. 1 hr. 31 PG-13 (sexual candor, procreative candor, mild profanity) - C.R.

Michael Clayton First-rate thriller about a second-rate guy. George Clooney gives a sterling performance as the morally tarnished title character, a fixer at a law firm where everything is coming apart. 2 hrs. R (profanity, sexual candor) - C.R.

No Country for Old Men The Coen brothers' taut, terrific adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel about a psycho killer, a Vietnam vet, a Lone Star sheriff, and the bag of money that brings them together in the stark borderlands of 1980 West Texas. With Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Javier Bardem. 2 hrs. 02 R (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

The Savages The superb Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman costar in Tamara Jenkins' mordant and poignant portrait of siblings caring for the ailing parent (Philip Bosco) who abandoned them in childhood. 1 hr. 53 R (profanity, sexual candor) - C.R.

There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson steers Daniel Day-Lewis through 30 years in the life of a prospector turned petro king in this turn-of-the-(20th)-century epic about obsession, greed, folly and madness. Day-Lewis delivers a performance that's astounding. 2 hrs. 38 R (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Also on Screens

College Road Trip * Raven-Symone and Martin Lawrence go together like Mentos and Pepsi in this dopey and artificial family comedy. 1 hr. 26 G - D.H.

Semi-Pro ** Will Ferrell as the owner/coach/forward of an American Basketball Association team in 1976. Mildly diverting and utterly dispensable. With Woody Harrelson and Maura Tierney. 1 hr. 28 R (profanity, sex, drug humor) - C.R.

The Spiderwick Chronicles *** Tween adventure/fantasy about bickering siblings (Freddie Highmore and Sarah Bolger) who inherit an enchanted house and stand together against the dark forces that want it for their own. 1 hr. 31 PG (scary creatures, tweens in peril) - C.R.

10,000 B.C. *1/2 Roland Emmerich's tedious, ludicrous and harmless glimpse at the dawn of civilization. With Steven Strait and Camilla Belle, whose mud makeup and dreadlocks match those of the woolly mammoths. 1 hr. 49 PG-13 (intense action, violence, sexual threat) - C.R.

Vantage Point *** A white-knuckle thriller set in Salamanca, Spain, in which an assassination attempt on the U.S. president is viewed from different perspectives. With William Hurt as the president, Sigourney Weaver as a news producer, Forest Whitaker as an American tourist with a camcorder, Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox as Secret Service men, and Eduardo Noriega as a Spanish policeman. 1 hr. 30 PG-13 (mature themes, violence, profanity) - C.R.

Theater

New This Week

Copenhagen (Bristol Riverside Theatre) Michael Frayn's brilliant, brainy play about the physicists who effectively invented the 20th century. Previews Tuesday and Wednesday, opens Thursday.

My Fair Lady (Academy of Music) Lerner and Loewe's loverly musical returns on tour. Opens Tuesday.

The Odd Couple (Walnut Street Theatre) Neil Simon's comedy about mismatched roommates, Mr. Slob and Mr. Tidy. Previews begin Tuesday, opens March 19.

The Piano Lesson (Arden Theater) This August Wilson play, directed by Walter Dallas, is about family members struggling over a piano, the emblem of their history. Previews today and Tuesday, opens Wednesday.

Smoke on the Mountain (Hedgerow Theatre) Billed as an "upliftin' evenin' of singin' and witnessin.' " Previews today, opens Thursday.

Continuing

The Buddy Holly Story (Media Theatre) A short life but a lot of great songs. Through March 30.

Getting Out (Simpatico at the Adrienne) Marsha Norman's drama about a woman being released from prison. Through March 30.

The Glass Menagerie (People's Light & Theatre) People's Light mounts a misguided production of Tennessee Williams' tragic family triangle. Marcia Saunders puts up a valiant fight against Ken Marini's amateurish direction. Through March 22. - W.R.

Mary's Wedding (Delaware Theatre Company) Stephen Massicotte's play about two young lovers, set in Canada and France in World War I, is too dreamlike and literary for its own good. Even so, Stafford Clark-Price and Erin Moon give performances that really are a dream, so to speak. Through next Sunday. - H.S.

Menopause: The Musical (Society Hill Playhouse) Long-running, popular show about The Change.

Mr. Bailey's Minder (Walnut Independence Studio) American premiere of an Australian play about a major artist who's a self-destructive drunk and his caring daughter. Ends today.

O Yes I Will (I will remember the spirit and texture of this conversation) (Gas & Electric Arts at the Playground at the Adrienne) Deb Margolin's sophomorically pretentious one-woman show about a woman talking under anesthetic (and talking, and talking). Through next Sunday. - T.Z.

Something Cloudy, Something Clear (EgoPo at the Adrienne) ) Tennessee Williams' last play which hardly anybody has ever heard of much less seen, and it probably should stay that way. A gooey memory play made worse by an inept production. Through March 22. - T.Z.

West Side Story (New Candlelight Theatre) Maria, Tony, the Jets, the works. Through May 18.

Wittenberg (Arden Theatre) Luther, Hamlet and Faustus mix it up in 1517 Wittenberg in this world premiere that is as funny as it is clever. Extended through March 23. - H.S.

Ying Tong: A Walk With the Goons (Wilma Theatre) The story of the Goons, the postwar British comic trio of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe. The production is best enjoyed by those who knew them way back when. Through next Sunday. - W.R.

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