Movies

Opening Friday

Chris and Don: A Love Story This documentary examines the 30-year relationship between British writer Christopher Isherwood and American portrait artist Don Bachardy.

CSNY Deja Vu The 2006 "Freedom of Speech" tour with its focus on speaking out on the Iraq war and featuring Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young is brought to the big screen. Young also directs and cowrites.

Love Comes Lately An 80-year-old man pursues a love life with the vigor of someone much younger, but risks his one true love in the process.

Step Brothers Two spoiled and lazy 40-year-olds (Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly) are thrown into competition, then an unlikely alliance when their single parents marry.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson return to the big screen as Mulder and Scully, whose pursuit of the ultimate truth never dies.

Very Good (***1/2)

Encounters at the End of the World Director Werner Herzog's impressive first documentary since Grizzly Man looks at the natural beauty of Antarctica and the scientists who live there in the most rugged of conditions. 1 hr. 39 G - C.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.

Hancock Will Smith stars as a problem-plagued, screwup superhero in this dark, funny, rollicking tale of rehabilitation, redemption, and really cool special effects. With Jason Bateman and an awesome Charlize Theron. 1 hr. 33 PG-13 (profanity, 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.

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.

Tell No One Adapted from Harlan Coben's 2001 bestseller, this is one terrific mystery, equal parts haunting love story and nimble thriller. Yup, it's French, but if you're subtitle-phobic, don't be: it's wildly exciting, and among the more satisfying movies out there. 2 hrs. 05 No MPAA guide (violence, profanity, nudity, adult themes) - S.R.

Up the Yangtze Life along the Chinese river and how it is being changed by the building of the biggest hydroelectric dam in history are looked at in this excellent documentary on a subject of great importance. 1 hr. 33 No MPAA rating (adult themes) - T.D.

Also on Screens

Hellboy II: The Golden Army **1/2 A hyperactive sequel to the 2004 hit, based on Mike Mignola's comic books and once again directed by Guillermo Del Toro, this trippy visual spectacle goes somewhere the first Hellboy never ventured: into the Realms of Tedium. 1 hr. 50 PG-13 (violence, mayhem, scary monsters, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D. **1/2 Fanged fish, T-Rex drool and bioluminescent bluebirds respectively nip, plop and flutter in the audience's face in this diverting 3-D update of the Jules Verne classic with Brendan Fraser and Josh Hutcherson. 1 hr. 33 PG (frightening animals) - C.R.

Mamma Mia! ** You'll smile! You'll wince! (Sometimes both at the same time.) Meryl Streep's debut as a knockabout physical comedian, Amanda Seyfried's breakout role as her daughter, who doesn't know which of Mom's three exes is Dad, and wall-to-wall ABBA songs. With Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters. 1 hr. 48 PG (risque situations) - C.R.

Space Chimps **1/2 The grandson of the first chimp in space is sent on a new mission, which turns tricky when he has to deal with the evil ruler of the planet that he and his chimp friends land on. Animated. 1 hr. 21 G - W.S.

WALLE *** An adventurous shift away from the anthropomorphic madcappery of Pixar's recent animated features, this 28th-century tale about an old robot abandoned on Earth is part love story, part eco-cautionary tale, and, for its first half, pretty much devoid of human dialogue. Lots of fun. 1 hr. 37 G (cartoon mayhem) - S.R.

Theater

Continuing

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 journeyman production - all the elements are there, but they don't spark. Through next Sunday.

- H.S.

King Lear (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival) The Sopranos-meets-Tarantino interpretation of the great tragedy is inconsistent, but still shows that Shakespeare is more gangsta than the gangsters. Through Aug. 3.

- W.R.

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.

Mamma Mia! (Academy of Music) This chick-friendly confection draped around an ABBA soundtrack is all about sweet escapism. Through next Sunday. - W.R.

Niagara Falls (Quince Productions/Shubin Theatre) This play about an absent gay brother's effect on his sister's wedding has potential, but it's unfulfilled. Through Aug. 2. - W.R.

There Goes the Bride (Hedgerow Theatre) This comic look at nuptial madness is Hedgerow's seventh annual summer farce by Brit Ray Cooney. Through Aug. 31.

Working (Theatre Horizon) The pace sags in this production of the Studs Terkel-based musical about U.S. jobs and the people who fill them. Through next Sunday. - W.R.

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