Colin Farrell, Samuel L. Jackson, Michelle Rodriguez, James Todd Smith, Olivier Martinez
No better than it has to be, but no worse either, S.W.A.T. is a police action thriller that gets by on stock characters and a mundane plot counterbalanced by plenty of chases, gun battles and explosions, all set to an ear-splitting soundtrack. You've seen it before, and done better, but it should sustain needy hardcore action fans until the next Jerry Bruckheimer opus—Bad Boys III)—comes along. Inspired by the undistinguished mid-'70s TV series (which starred Robert Urich) of the same name, S.W.A.T. follows as team commander Dan "Hondo" Harrelson (Jackson) recruits and trains five top cops for a unit of the L.A.P.D.'s Special Weapons and Tactics division. The team is then assigned to transport a major international criminal (Martinez) who, though in custody, has promised $100 million to anyone who frees him. Jackson and Farrell, as a gung ho unit member, add zip where they can, but there's nothing memorable about these roles. Only Rodriguez, as the group's lone female, hints with a smoldering look or two that her character might actually have a life beyond the script. (PG-13)
BOTTOM LINE: S.T.A.N.D.A.R.D.
Documentary
Step into Liquid
Critic's Choice
You don't have to be a master of surfing to enjoy hanging ten. That's made clear in this joyous, stunningly photographed look at the current state of surfing around the globe by writer-director Dana Brown. (Brown is the son of Bruce Brown, who made the popular 1966 surfing documentary The Endless Summer and its 1994 sequel.) Though Step into Liquid shows many of the sport's top competitors (including Laird Hamilton, Kelly Slater and Taj Burrow) mastering humongous waves, the folks here having the biggest blast just may be a group of middle-aged potbellied midwestern pals who've been testing their boards against the decidedly diminutive waves of Lake Michigan near Sheboygan, Wis., for a quarter century. As Keala Kennelly, an elite surfer on the women's circuit, says, "The best surfer in the world is the one having the most fun." If you can't get up on a board yourself, watching Liquid is the next best thing. (Not rated)
BOTTOM LINE: Cowabunga!
Le Divorce
Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts
If only the rest of this comedy of manners were as buoyant as its witty final image, in which a red Hermès Kelly bag floats over Paris's rooftops, echoing the journey of the red balloon in the popular 1956 Academy Award-winning short of the same name.
Le Divorce traces the romantic education of Isabel Walker (Hudson), an American in Paris visiting her pregnant sister (Watts). Sis's feckless French husband has abandoned her and is seeking a divorce. This modern-day Isabel pointedly shares the same first name as Isabel Archer, the 19th-century heroine of Henry James's Portrait of a Lady, and she too finds her Yankee ways conflicting with those of the Old World.
Based on the 1997 novel by Diane Johnson and directed by James Ivory (The Golden Bowl), Divorce is well crafted, pleasant enough to watch and offers let's-book-tickets-now views of Paris, but it never quite clicks. Hudson displays only the vaguest clue as to what her character is about, and other sawier stars (Glenn Close, Stockard Channing) show up too briefly to make a difference. (PG-13)
BOTTOM LINE: Lots of Paris, not enough sizzle
The Secret Lives of Dentists
Campbell Scott, Hope Davis
Once suburban dentist David Hurst (Scott) decides, on the scantiest of evidence, that his wife and fellow dentist Dana (Davis) may be having an affair with a member of her local theater group, he begins to work his obsession like someone probing a sore tooth with his tongue. Dentists takes a keen look at marriage, family life (the couple have three girls) and whether husbands and wives can ever really know each other. Directed by Alan Rudolph (Afterglow) and written by Craig Lucas, this comedy drama starts off superbly but then wanders off track pursuing David's fantasies. What never disappoints, though, are the deeply felt, nuanced performances by Scott and Davis, among the finest on film this year. (R)
BOTTOM LINE: A Secret worth sharing
•And Now Ladies & Gentlemen: Like a sappy pop song, the latest drama by French schmaltz king Claude Lelouch (A Man and a Woman) has an undeniable appeal, but that doesn't make it good. The always excellent Jeremy Irons is a jewel thief and Patricia Kaas a lounge singer. Both end up in Morocco, where they bond over their shared medical ills. (PG-13)
•The Magdalene Sisters: Definitely worth seeing. Based on true stories, this harrowing drama depicts the abusive treatment suffered by supposedly "wayward" young women confined to Irish convents in the 1960s. (R)
Music has been integral to movies since Al Jolson belted out "Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye" in 1927's The Jazz Singer. Though the popularity of full-blown musicals waxes and wanes, thanks to Chicago it's on the upswing again. Some new releases highlight tuneful offerings.
•Chicago (Miramax, $29.99)
A cynical look at a would-be nightclub crooner (Renée Zellweger) in the '20s who shoots to fame by murdering her lover, this year's Oscar winner for Best Picture loses none of its razzle-dazzle on DVD. If anything, the performances by hardworking stars Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones (who nabbed a Supporting Oscar), Richard Gere and Queen Latifah gain depth.
Extras: "Class," an excised snappy duet by Zeta-Jones and Latifah, and audio commentary by director Rob Marshall and writer Bill Condon that tends toward the self-congratulatory. (PG-13)
•All That Jazz (Fox, $14.98)
Legendary stage director Bob Fosse, who launched Chicago on Broadway in 1975, shines a harsh spotlight on his own excesses in a largely autobiographical drama from 1979 featuring sleek, sexy musical numbers.
Extras: Star Roy Scheider provides an insightful, anecdote-filled audio commentary. (R)
•The Lizzie McGuire Movie (Disney, $29.99)
Teen queen Hilary Duff brings her girl-power TV show to the big screen, adding innocuous pop songs.
Extras: Deleted scenes, an alternate ending and a peek at Duff recording her latest CD. (PG)
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
