New releases

"Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe" A Vanity Fair cover waiting to happen, Wagstaff was handsome, rich, and Mapplethorpe's lover and photographic mentor. Although James Crump's 2007 documentary is a bit smitten with him (it's much less about Mapplethorpe), it displays a rare degree of intelligence, sophistication, and frankness. (77 min., unrated) (Mark Feeney)]

"Fugitive Pieces" A politely made drama about a taciturn Holocaust survivor (Stephen Dillane) and the sad, nervous boy (Robbie Kay) he used to be. The movie oscillates between its present and the past, which allows the excellent character actor Rade Serbedzija to give a moving, charismatically rich performance as the boy's guardian. The writer and director Jeremy Podeswa does a respectable job dramatizing the psychological hassles of being a survivor. But his movie is incongruously interested in the finer trappings of its protagonist's adult life and the bourgeoisness of it all. (104 min., R ) (Wesley Morris)

"Jellyfish" A whimsically moody Israeli film whose characters, like the title creatures, follow the currents of life and end up where they least expect. It's one of those multiple cast affairs that follows seemingly unrelated stories and wonders where they'll intersect. Directed by the married literary couple Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen, the movie has a dream-logic that never quite expands beyond its own artful wistfulness. (78 min., unrated) (Ty Burr)

"Mister Lonely" From the notorious Harmony Korine, writer of "Kids," director of "Gummo," comes this dreamscape full of idol worship. He puts a Michael Jackson impersonator (Diego Luna) on a commune with about a dozen other impersonators, including Samantha Morton as a wannabe Marilyn Monroe. But the circus you fear he'll make never comes to town. This ambient, ruminative movie finds that, in the eight or so years since his last movie, its maker has matured as both an artist and a man. With Werner Herzog as a priest. (112 min., unrated) (Wesley Morris)

"Redbelt" Writer-director David Mamet's latest wonders what place there is for a moral man in an amoral universe. The changeling British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a Los Angeles jiu-jitsu instructor and Gulf War vet at peace with his past who finds his purity put to the test by weaselly movie actors and sports promoters. Worth seeing, if not Mamet's best. Costarring Emily Mortimer, Tim Allen, Joe Mantegna, and Ricky Jay (99 min., R) (Ty Burr)

"Son of Rambow" A delight: A cheeky comedy about two unlikely young friends in early-'80s England and the rip-off of "First Blood" they create with a video camera (it eventually involves the entire school). Bill Milner and Will Poulter are extremely funny as the leads; the film, among other things, is about the joys and headaches of creative partnership. From the production company Hammer & Tongs (writer-director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith). (96 min., PG-13) (Ty Burr)

"Speed Racer" The new lollapalooza from the Wachowski brothers is like being force-fed a giant bag of your favorite candy. A CGI-enhanced live action version of the beloved 1960s Japanese cartoon show, it swamps actors like Emile Hirsch (as Speed), Christina Ricci (as Trixie), and Susan Sarandon (as the hero's mom) in a high-octane digital wonder-world. Hot Wheels on industrial steroids, it's enthralling and then it's exhausting. (129 min., PG) (Ty Burr)

"What Happens in Vegas" Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher meet on the strip, get drunkenly married, and proceed to stay that way in order to share a $3 million jackpot. The stars do beery ver sions of their usual airhead shticks. Sadly, none of the drinking makes us feel drunk. It actually leaves an audience in a custodial lurch. You don't watch the movie so much as hold its hair back while it bends over the toilet. (99 min., PG-13) (Wesley Morris)

"Baby Mama" The rare gangbusters comedy not driven by men. Tina Fey plays an executive who hires an uncouth slacker (Amy Poehler) to be a surrogate mother. The movie was written and directed by a male, Michael McCullers, but it cuts out the obligatory middleman and lets two women make us laugh, often very hard. With Greg Kinnear, Sigourney Weaver, Romany Malco, Dax Shepard, and Steve Martin. (96 min., PG-13) (Wesley Morris)

"The Counterfeiters" Like "The Lives of Others," this year's Oscar winner for best foreign language film is a tale of a compromised man forced to confront his larger complicity: a Jewish counterfeiter printing fake pounds and dollars for the Nazis. It's a slick, exciting work that ultimately hangs on its lead actor, Karl Markovics. Based on the true story of Operation Bernhard. In German and Russian, with subtitles. (99 min., R) (Ty Burr)

"Deal" The latest card-tournament drama to suggest that the movies ought to find a more compelling sport. Although it's often more pleasant to watch the poker in this film than the face of its star. Burt Reynolds's body distracts from the little bits of soul he's put into this performance as an aged gambler looking to win his first championship. With Bret Harrison as the up-and-comer he mentors. Directed and co-written by Gil Cates Jr. (86 min., PG-13) (Wesley Morris)

"88 Minutes" The only way to survive the new Al Pacino serial-killer thriller, aside from skipping it altogether, might be to use it as a drinking game. Every time a woman's corpse is shown hanging from a pulley, the movie throws in one of its gratuitous flashbacks, or somebody mentions that Pacino's character is a top forensic psychiatrist, have a sip of Fanta. Sugar shock shouldn't be too far behind. (108 min., R) (Wesley Morris)

"The Forbidden Kingdom" Hong Kong superstars Jackie Chan and Jet Li finally share screentime. The movie itself is a high-spirited retread that sends an American teen (Michael Angarano) through a wormhole to ancient China, where he joins Chan and Li in returning a mystical fighting staff to its rightful owner. Ignore the warmed-over "Karate Kid"-isms; when the two stars bounce off the screen together, the movie's visual jazz. (113 min., PG-13) (Ty Burr)

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" The latest product from the Judd Apatow factory, and like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up," it delivers belly laughs that explode from the meeting of wit and shock. Screenwriter Jason Segel stars as a shlump who loses his TV star girl-friend (Kristen Bell) to a preening British rocker (a very funny Russell Brand). Ordinary in a way other Apatow comedies aren't, it's still rudely funny. (112 min., R) (Ty Burr)

"Iron Man" Entertainment out of a jar. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy, brilliant scientist, and extremely successful weapons manufacturer who becomes a weapon himself. The ear for dialogue is tin. The directing (by Jon Favreau) is full of lead. And the gases released are mostly sulfuric, although a few of them turn out to be noble. But it has some decent moments - nearly all of which involve Downey. This is not a part that makes great demands on his talent, and his slummy approach to it is very amusing. With Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges. (126 min., PG-13) (Wesley Morris)

"Made of Honor" A shameless retread - "My Best Friend's Wedding" with the genders reversed and the brains removed. Patrick Dempsey tries to shore up his newfound TV sex appeal as a Manhattan cad who realizes he loves his best friend (Michelle Monaghan) only after she gets engaged. Chick flicks this calculated should come with enough Scorpion Bowls to numb the pain. With Kevin McKidd in the old Ralph Bellamy role. (101 min., PG-13) (Ty Burr)

"Then She Found Me" Helen Hunt directed, co-wrote, and stars in this movie about a schoolteacher trying to conceive a baby while getting awkwardly acquainted with the woman who gave her up for adoption 39 years ago. With Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick as the men in her life and a wonderful, if unexpected, Bette Midler as the birth mother. (100 min., R) (Wesley Morris)

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