SEVEN POUNDS 
(Starz on RESCUE DAWN 
(TMC on Comcast) A mesmerizing Christian Bale performance anchors this harrowing re-enactment of US Navy pilot Dieter Dengler’s survival in the jungles of Laos during the Vietnam War. What appears to be a straightforward, even predictable drama of POW suffering is actually an emotionally overpowering career summary for director Werner Herzog: a man-vs.-nature tale where both sides fight each other to a standstill. Costarring Steve Zahn. (PG-13; runs through Dec. 17) TY BURR SHAFT
(TMC on Comcast) John Singleton’s rejiggering of the blaxploitation classic is cooler and grittier than the original, and more explosive. Half the job is done simply by the casting of Samuel L. Jackson - the undisputed king of cool, and believably dangerous - as the new Shaft, a cop with a short fuse running a vicious racist killer to ground. Richard Roundtree, the original Shaft, climbs aboard as Shaft’s uncle. (R; runs through Dec. 17) 
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