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On demand picks

August 29, 2011

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THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE (Max on Comcast) Eric Bana plays a man afflicted with “chrono-impermanence,’’ meaning he bounces back and forth between moments in his own life. It’s hell on a relationship, but his wife (Rachel McAdams) bears up with a beatific smile. An effective tear-jerker, but the film’s extreme tenderness leads mostly to dullness. (PG-13; runs through Sept. 8) TY BURR

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT (HBO on Comcast) Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel play a mismatched pair - she’s a neatnik, he’s a cocky slob - forced to raise their friends’ orphaned toddler together. An improvement over Heigl’s last few movies, this is brisk, pleasantly acted, painless date-night fluff - the sort of thing that gives bland and predictable a good name. (PG-13; runs through Sept. 12) TY BURR

THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD (Showtime on Comcast) Sean McGinly’s movie is about Troy Gable (Colin Hanks), the ex-law student who takes a job as the assistant to the Great Buck Howard (John Malkovich). Very little of this feels connected to anything that wasn’t gleaned from a hundred so-so independent movies before it. (PG; runs through Sept. 13) WESLEY MORRIS

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