Movie Minis

OPENING

• Being Julia (2004) (R) — A movie version of the 1930 novel “Theatre” by W. Somerset Maugham. Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons play a successful London acting couple, Julia Lambert and Michael Gosselyn. Their marital and professional stability is threatened by the appearance of a young admirer, Tom Fennell (Shaun Evans), who seduces Julia and turns out to have fairly unsavory motives.

• Birth (2004) (R) — A supernatural melodrama starring Nicole Kidman as a young woman who becomes enthralled with a spooky boy who claims to be the reincarnation of her late husband.

• The Machinist (2004) (R) — A psychological suspense melodrama starring a severely emaciated Christian Bale, who dropped about 60 pounds to embody a tormented drill press operator in an advanced stage of chronic insomnia and self-starvation. The cause of his distress is concealed until the denouement, but it also generates hallucinations. A beefy, smirking figure (John Sharian) reappears to taunt and mislead him. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Ironside, Anna Massey and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon are conspicuous supporting players.

• Ray (2004) (PG-13) — Taylor Hackford’s biographical drama about singer Ray Charles, portrayed in adulthood by Jamie Foxx. The supporting cast includes Kerry Washington as his first wife, Regina King as a prominent mistress, Clifton Powell as a devoted manager and Curtis Armstrong as a recording executive. Mr. Hackford collaborated on the screenplay with James L. White.

• Saw (2004) (R: Harsh language, grisly violence and mature themes.) A twisted serial killer abducts a series of morally challenged victims and forces them to play games for their own survival. The film, which promises chills along the lines of “Seven” and “Silence of the Lambs,” stars Cary Elwes and Danny Glover.

• Sideways (2004) (R: Coarse language, simulated sexual situations, violence and crude humor.) A wine tasting trip turns into a chance for some serious soul searching for two mismatched pals (Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church). Writer-director Alexander Payne (“About Schmidt”) is stirring Oscar talk with this highly anticipated drama.

• Undertow (2004) (R: Graphic violence with gruesome illustrative details; occasional profanity and sexual candor; thematic concentration on imperiled or fugitive children) — . A lamentable shift in an awkwardly commercial direction from the young regional filmmaker David Gordon Green, who appeared to be evolving a lyrically intuitive style in his second feature, “All the Real Girls.” As before, he uses small-town and rural settings in North Carolina, but the circumstances grow intolerably sordid and weird as he struggles to do something distinctive with a murder melodrama about fraternal enmity that leaves two boys running for their lives. The plot recalls “The Night of the Hunter” while failing to recapture any of its apprehensive or sentimental finesse. With Dermot Mulroney and an impressively menacing Josh Lucas as older brothers; Jamie Bell and Devon Alan play the young runaways.

• Voices of Iraq (2004) (No MPAA Rating: adult subject matter) — A mosaic of impressions from Iraqis, united by largely optimistic outlooks in the wake of American intervention and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Compiled from digital camera records in several parts of the country, where about 150 participants kept video diaries for co-producers Eric Manes, Martin Kunert and Archie Drury. Exclusively at the Landmark E Street Cinema.

NOW SHOWING

• Cellular (2004) (PG-13: Violence, sexual situations and harsh language) — **1/2. Kim Basinger stars as a woman in peril who dials a random number on her cell phone looking for help. The call is answered by a young man (Chris Evans) who decides to rush to her side, but he doesn’t know what awaits him when he gets there. “Cellular” jams its own signal with too many illogical turns but rights itself in time for a nifty final reel. The solid supporting cast includes William H. Macy, Noah Emmerich and Jason Statham. Reviewed by Christian Toto.

• DIG! (2004) (No MPAA Rating: Adult subject matter) — ***. A rock music chronicle that recalls seven years of camaraderie and conflict between the leaders of two bands: Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Courtney Taylor of The Dandy Warhols. Directed by Ondi Timoner and narrated by Mr. Taylor. Exclusively at the Landmark E Street Cinema.

• The Final Cut (2004) (PG-13: Occasional profanity, graphic violence and sexual candor; allusions to incest and child molestation) — *. In this futuristic polemic Robin Williams suffers away as a video editor, Alan Hakman, who prepares memorial bios shown at the funeral services of people who have had video implants in their brains since a uterine stage. Hakman specializes in effacing the bad impressions; he is menaced by an apostate cutter (Jim Caviezel) who has joined a radical group dedicated to banning the implants. Writer-director Omar Naim fails to make a persuasive case for either the technology or its baleful effects.

• The Forgotten (2004) (PG-13: Some strong language and intense subject matter) — ***. Julianne Moore plays a mother, grieving over the death of her 8-year-old boy, who is told by her psychiatrist the boy never existed. She thinks she may be going insane but soon finds a man who also is told a huge part of his life never happened even though he’s sure it did. The film, which co-stars Anthony Edwards (of “ER”) and Dominic West, treats its heroes like rational adults, unlike some thrillers these days. That maturity, combined with uniformly taut acting, lets it dance over some obvious story flaws. Reviewed by Christian Toto.

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