Constantine
Great-looking gobbledygook, this feverish slice of supernatural Roman Catholic film noir sends demon buster Keanu Reeves--a chain-smoking psychic who can spot the half-breed demons and angels in our midst--on a mission to save the world, and his own soul, from Lucifer, who has broken his detente with God. Based on the "Hellblazer" graphic novels, this stylishly shot thriller is filled with all-that-money-can-buy special effects, but the razzle-dazzle grows wearisome. "Constantine" peaks early, then descends into portentous nonsense.
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
In total opposition to "Constantine"'s bag of CGI tricks is this Thai martial-arts action movie, in which every leap, spin and flying kick of its amazingly athletic star, Tony Jaa, is for real. No wires or camera tricks enhance the fight scenes and chases. Jaa plays a country boy who must reclaim his village's stolen Buddha head from Bangkok gangsters. The storytelling is cheesy, but action fans won't want to miss the debut of the Next Big Thing in martial arts.
Turtles Can Fly
Directed by Bahman Ghobadi
Set in a remote village in Iraqi Kurdistan on the eve of the current Iraq war, this unblinking Iranian film paints an unforgettable portrait of children in an unending war zone. The Kurdish Ghobadi, whose powerful images hook you immediately, shows a world where kids spend their days in the fields collecting live land mines for sale. At the heart of his film are "Satellite," a young wheeler-dealer who installs a satellite dish in the village to get news of the coming war, and a beautiful, suicidal girl and her armless brother, who lost their parents and their home to Saddam's marauding soldiers.
