Movies

Opening Friday

Finding Amanda Matthew Broderick stars as a struggling TV producer with a drinking and gambling problem who is determined to deliver his niece (Brittany Snow) from a life of prostitution in Las Vegas to rehab.

Gunnin' for That #1 Spot This documentary follows some of the nation's top high school basketball players (including Tyreke Evans) as they prepare for an all-star game at a legendary playground in Harlem. Directed by the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch.

My Winnipeg Director Guy Maddin's semi-autobiographical drama reveals his mixed feelings about his Canadian home town.

Refusenik This documentary chronicles the 30-year international effort to help Jews emigrate from the Soviet Union.

Surfwise The documentary looks at Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, who gave up a successful medical practice for the life of a nomadic surfer, along with his wife and nine children.

WALL-E In the year 2,700, long after mankind has departed the planet, a robot discovers something new and wonderful in this animated sci-fi comedy from Pixar.

Wanted A bored, 25-year-old underachiever is transformed into an avenger with superhuman powers by events beyond his control. James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie star.

War, Inc. A American corporation's CEO hires a hit man to murder a Mideast oil minister to monopolize money-making opportunities in the minister's war-torn country. John and Joan Cusack, Dan Aykroyd and Ben Kingsley star in this political satire.

Very Good (***1/2)

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.

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.

Mongol An eastern western, and a historical epic of epic proportions, tracing the rise of Genghis Khan from nomadic boy prince to warrior leader. Rife with bloody battles, galloping steeds, and the beautiful faces of a cast hailing from Central Asia, China and Japan, the film is great cinema, great fun. 2 hrs 04 R (violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Surfwise Doug Pray's portrait of a dictatorial dad and his jostling, surfing-obsessed clan is more than just a colorful tale about a nonconformist couple and their nine (!) kids in a 24-foot camper, nomads with boards. This engaging film offers a cautionary tale about parenting, home-schooling (camper-schooling, actually), sibling rivalries, and family sacrifice. 1 hr. 33 R (profanity, 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 Incredible Hulk **1/2 Edward Norton stars as nice-guy scientist Bruce Banner, who tranforms into Marvel Comics' un-jolly green giant whenever he gets too upset. Tim Roth and William Hurt are the nasty military types on Banner's tail, and Liv Tyler is his nifty neuroscientist sweetheart. The action starts great in the slums of Rio, but finishes in noisy waves of tedium on the streets of New York. 1 hr. 54 PG-13 (violence, carnage, adult themes) - S.R.

Get Smart ** Steve Carell seems lost in this perfunctory remake of the '60s sitcom. Anne Hathaway and Dwayne Johnson also star in this paint-by-numbers espionage farce. 1 hr. 50 PG-13 (rude humor, violence) - D.H.

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.

The Love Guru ** Mike Myers stars as a sage spiritualist hired to save a hockey team from disaster in this unwaveringly juvenile, phallocentric comedy. Dumb gag is piled upon dumb gag - it's like benign pummeling. Occasionally, you have to laugh. Very occasionally. 1 hr. 27 PG-13 (bathroom humor, profanity, sex, adolescent 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 stereotypes) - C.R.

Theater

Continuing

Dracula: The Journal of Jonathan Harker (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University) Although Jim Helsinger's adaptation flip-flops between compelling and repetitive, Patrick Mullen in all the roles is kinetic and convincing. Directed by Matt Pfeiffer with a sensibility that approaches athletic. Ends next Sunday. - H.S.

Gypsy (New Candlelight Theatre) The life-force is lacking in this version of Momma Rose's stop-at-nothing bid to see her daughters become vaudeville stars. Call it a yeoman production - all the elements are there, but they don't spark. Through July 27. - H.S.

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. Ends today. - 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, excellent staging by Seth Rozin, and a cast of six actors who make it work. Ends today. - 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. Extended through June 29. - W.R.

Jamaica (Prince Music Theatre) This Arlen/Harburg show has been revived and revamped after 50 years, but the "Caribbean musical" about simple island life vs. touristic exploitation provides little calypso and not much pleasure. Ends today. - 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.

Married Alive! (Act II Playhouse) Two couples explore wedlock in this new musical. Through July 6.

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. Ends today. - T.Z.

Q (At Walnut Studio 5, one of the six shows of the Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival) A sweetish, youngish revue about being gay and loving your body. Some good voices, many mediocre songs, plus a humorless drag diva dishing out advice. Through Saturday. - T.Z.

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily (People's Light & Theatre) Jewels, royals, Oscar Wilde and Lillie Langtry! Through July 13.

Souvenir (Media Theatre at the Wilma) Stephen Temperley's musical about society oddity Florence Foster Jenkins and her sold-out evening at Carnegie Hall. Media Theatre brings its successful production to the Wilma. Through next Sunday. - W.R.

Ten Percent of Molly Snyder (Montgomery Theatre) A trip to the DMV leads directly to hell. Through July 12.

Twelfth Night (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival) Through disguises, deceptions and gender swaps, true love finds a way. Through July 6.

User 927 (Brat Productions) A mother seeks safety for her daughter in a small town, offline - she thinks. Ends today.

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

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