Ty's movie picks for Friday, July 25

What's new and worthwhile in movie theaters this weekend? A whole lot of not much, actually. "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" is awful: dank and slow and self-important, running solely on the fumes of long-ago glories. "Step Brothers" is crassly amusing but mostly just crass; if your inner frat boy is hungry, you'll be well served. (But keep the kids away, please, unless you consider a close-up of Will Ferrell rubbing his testicles on a drum kit a formative experience. I guess it is, but probably not in a good way.)

"The Last Mistress" is worthwhile if you want the full sexy/academic French art movie brain massage -- it's a period piece from director Catherine Breillat that stars Asia Argento (in photo above), who seems more dangerous the older she gets, as a misused Spanish mistress in 1830s Paris. And there's "Brideshead Revisited," which I haven't seen but which seems to be getting a muted reception from most critics. It's there if you're starved for class, or you can always curl up with the beloved miniseries version, a huge hit on PBS in 1982.

Or you can finally catch up with "The Dark Knight" and decide for yourself what the fuss is about.

Your best bet might actually be at the MFA tonight (Friday), where the French Film Festival is winding down with a sneak preview of "Tell No One," a twisty thriller that has been picking up rave reviews elsewhere; it opens at the Kendall Square next Friday, when Wesley will weigh in. The Harvard Film Archive continues its Joseph Losey survey and also coughs up a rare chance to see the final Beatles movie, "Let It Be," on a big screen.

And if you're looking for something completely different this Sunday afternoon, drive up to Wilton, NH (cross the Massachusetts border and turn left at Nashua) where the town hall is playing the 1927 Gary Cooper silent "Nevada" with live music accompaniment.