CLEAN: Maggie Cheung plays a beautiful wreck.

NWO SHOWING

Art School Confidential

Director Terry Zwigoff reunites with his Ghost World writer, Daniel Clowes, for this disappointing comic noir about a series of murders at a Manhattan liberal-arts college. There are chuckles in the first half as the film skewers the various types of art students—vulgar filmmakers, gay fashion designers, vegan painters, et al. But things take a turn for the weird later on as the protagonist, "normal" freshman artist Jerome (Max Minghella), comes to be suspected for the murders. John Malkovich and Jim Broadbent give supporting performances that, like most of the film, are almost funny but not quite. ERIC D. SNIDER. Fox Tower, Cinemagic.

The Big Guy: Tom DeLay's Stolen Congress

[SHORT RUN] The title of this documentary pretty much says it all. If you are looking for a left-leaning documentary that attempts to prove the existence of an Evil Empire that is served by the GOP, this for you. Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St., 238-8899. 7 and 9 pm Friday-Thursday, June 23-29. $3-$6.

The Break-Up

Sometimes I think the only reason Hollywood exists is to make me feel lucky I'm single. Pop-cinema definition of a relationship: Bitchy girl with a Pilates-ed ass and shaved cooter feng-shuis the apartment in an attempt to change the slobby sports hunk she fell for into a charming gay man she can show off to her parents. If that sounds like as much fun to you as it does to me, stay home. Play Sega. Do not attend this very bad Jennifer Aniston-Vince Vaughn movie, because if those relationships were real, this would be a documentary about them. But if your ladyfriend drags you to see it, there are two reasons not to dump her instantly: One, Vincent D'Onofrio as Vaughn's older brother has this one amazing scene of such pure physical awkwardness it's almost worth enduring the whole film to see; and two, halfway to the end you get some Old 97s concert footage. Is this what dating is like? PG-13. BECKY OHLSEN. Pioneer Place, St. Johns Twin, Eastport, Division St., Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Evergreen Pkwy, Forest, Hilltop, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

Cars

It would seem by now that animation studio Pixar is incapable of making a bad movie. Even its worst film, which is quite probably this one, is still head-and-shoulders above all the other 'toon fare that's being peddled to kids these days. The so-simple-a-toddler-can-comprehend-it plot deals with Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), a hotshot rookie on the race-car circuit with a shot at the championship. But before Lightning can become the champ, he must first learn some valuable, Disney-fied life lessons about friendship, responsibility and all the things that make us good people—or in this case, automobiles. As with all things Pixar, the animation is great, and the vocal talent is top-notch. But one of the key flaws of the film is that it is hard to portray human characteristics with cars—bugs, toys, fish and monsters, yes. But cars? It's a tough sell. Other problems with the film are that it runs a bit too long and that it seems intended for a really young audience. We're talking Thomas the Tank Engine audience. Still, the film is entertaining enough, your kids will love it, and, most important, you won't regret not having used birth control after watching this for the 500th time. G. DAVID WALKER. Pioneer Place, Lloyd Cinema, Lloyd Mall, Roseway, Eastport, Division St., Moreland, Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Cornelius, Evergreen, Hilltop, Lake Twin, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

The Century Plaza

[ONE NIGHT ONLY] It's the type of place you've walked past a million times but probably never thought much about: the Century Plaza, a decrepit single-room-occupancy hotel, half a step up from rock bottom. Even if you have wondered about the place, the stories of the people who live there are bound to surprise and move you. In this compelling and stylish documentary about a hard-luck hotel, writer-director Eric Lahey interviews and observes residents and employees to dig beneath the hotel's surface. There are hookers, addicts, long-suffering desk clerks, disgusted maids. There's Mr Friedman, the old man who calmly mumbles threats of violence to who knows who: "Meat cleaver in one hand, .44 in the other...I just bide my time." There's the heartbreakingly self-aware sex-offender terrified of making another mistake. And there's Rico the cat, beloved patron saint of the hotel. The film shows people struggling to carve out a life for themselves, however grim their surroundings. Lahey will appear at both screenings. BECKY OHLSEN. Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St., 238-8899. 7 and 9 pm Thursday, June 22. $6.

*NEW* Clean

Maggie Cheung and director Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep) supposedly signed their divorce papers on the set of 2004's Clean. Maybe that's why Cheung's character, Emily, is so compelling to watch but so hard to like. A frazzled succubus with symbolic hair, Emily bickers with her vanishing-rock-star husband (James Johnston), a fellow junkie, about who's to blame for his stagnant career. When he ODs, she unravels. After six months in jail for possession, she gets the world's gentlest brushoff from her father-in-law (Nick Nolte at his gravelly best), who has custody of her son. If she wants to see the kid again, she'll have to turn her life around (never mind that she didn't show a speck of interest in her son until she was forbidden to see him). Set in Paris and London, the film has a smart soundtrack and a bunch of actual rock stars (Tricky! Metric!) for texture. And there's a refreshing lack of movieland's usual cheery, things-are-so-much-better-now-that-I'm-straight moralizing. But mostly it's just a great excuse to watch Maggie Cheung in a meaty role. If only heroin and divorce made everyone look that good. R. BECKY OHLSEN. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., 223-4515. 7 pm Friday-Thursday, June 23-29. Additional shows 2 pm Saturday and Sunday. $4-$7.

C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America

Masking its biting humor under so much straight-faced seriousness, C.S.A. will go over some people's heads, while others are sure to be offended by director Kevin Willmott's in-your-face take on racism. Built around the premise that the South won the Civil War, the film is presented as a legitimate, Ken Burns-style documentary produced in England that charts the history of a nation where Grant surrendered to Lee and "Dixie" has become the national anthem. C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America is equal parts brilliant comedy and astute social commentary, as funny as it is thought-provoking. And for those who pay close enough attention, it is as much a fairy tale of how things could have been in this country as it is a revelation of how things actually are. DAVID WALKER. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 281-4215. Call theater for times. $4-$6.

The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown's multimillion-copy bestseller comes to life on the big screen in this much-hyped but thoroughly disappointing piece of mediocrity. Tom Hanks stars as Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor and noted symbologist caught up in a mysterious murder at the Louvre in Paris. As the twisting, turning plot careens along, we learn that the murder was part of a massive conspiracy involving a ultra-conservative sect of the Catholic Church that is determined to keep a closely guarded secret from being revealed. Director Ron Howard infuses as much pedestrian style, action and special effects as one would hope to see in a big-budget movie of this nature. But the one thing missing from The Da Vinci Code—the same thing missing from many of Howard's maudlin opuses—is heart and soul. PG-13. DAVID WALKER. Pioneer Place, Eastport, Cedar Hills, Cornelius, Evergreen Pkwy, Hilltop, Sherwood, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

Darwin's Nightmare

[ONE NIGHT ONLY] Portland-based nonprofit Livable Place presents this special screening of Hubert Sauper's documentary, a Tanzanian-Austrian-French collaboration that illustrates the dangers of globalization by looking at the Nile perch. This fish, introduced into Tanzania's Lake Victoria as an experiment in the '60s, quickly took over both the lake and the export market; it's now illegally traded for weapons, supporting the region's continued warfare. BECKY OHLSEN. 5th Avenue Cinemas, 510 SW Hall St. 7:30 pm Saturday, June 24. $3-$5 suggested donation.

District B13

If all mindless, silly films were this fun, then watching stupid movies wouldn't be so difficult. Borrowing a bit from the films of director John Carpenter and a lot from the films of Jackie Chan, District B13 is set in a near future where a giant wall surrounds the ghettos of Paris, creating a no man's land of crime and violence. The most treacherous area is District B13, and somewhere within the crime-ridden neighborhood, villainous kingpin Taha (Bibi Naceri) has come to possess a neutron bomb that will detonate in 24 hours. Super cop Damien (Cyril Raffaelli) is sent in to defuse the bomb, but since he doesn't know the district, he is forced to team up with idealistic vigilante Leïto (David Belle), whose sister is the drug-addled sex slave of Taha. Short of superfluous story or unnecessary exposition, District B13 is a highly entertaining, check-your-brain-at-the-door action flick that never slows down long enough to give you a chance to ponder its lack of intelligence. Fans of movies like the first Transporter film should enjoy what amounts to the most balls-out entertaining film of the summer so far. R. DAVID WALKER. Fox Tower.

The Face of Another

[SHORT RUN] Acclaimed director Hiroshi Teshigahara's 1966 film explores themes of identity. Tatsuya Nakadai stars as a man shunned by all when his face is disfigured in an accident. When he finally gets a new face, it helps manifest a new personality—one determined to exact revenge on those who treated him wrong. Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave., 221-1156. 7 pm Thursday and Sunday, June 22 and 25. $4-$7.

*NEW* The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

Twenty-three-year-old actor Lucas Black stars as Sean Boswell, a wayward 17-year-old with a penchant for drag racing, who, after getting busted one time too many, gets sent off to live with his estranged father, a naval officer living in Tokyo. But rather than straighten up and fly right, Sean quickly falls in with the wrong crowd—Japanese drag racers who specialize in "drifting." For those of you who don't know, drifting is a fancy description for skidding. In an ingenious bit of cinematic trickery, the plot of Karate Kid II is retooled to accommodate Sean and his drifting friends, as they square off against DK (Brian Tee)—short for Drift King—the evil nephew of a yakuza boss (Sonny Chiba). With only the flimsiest connection to the first two films in the franchise, TFTF:TD is a brainless bit of schlock cinema that is entertaining in a picking-at-a-scab sort of way. The script is beyond ridiculous, the characters barely qualify as one-dimensional, and there is almost nothing redeeming about the whole state of affairs. But watching cars skid is kinda cool. PG-13. DAVID WALKER. Broadway, Lloyd Mall, Eastport, Division St., Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Cornelius, Evergreen Pkwy, Hilltop, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

Following Sean

[SHORT RUN] Hippie memoirs usually either make me mad or make me gag. Most of the aging flower children who look back on the late '60s and early '70s are caught between obnoxious pride at having once been so revolutionary and despairing nostalgia at where they've ended up. But this documentary by Ralph Arlyck neatly avoids both traps. Arlyck moved to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury District in his 20s to make films. The family living above him epitomized the free-love hippie dream. Their 4-year-old son, Sean, became the filmmaker's pal, and Arlyck had his big break with a short film in which the precocious kid talked about smoking pot and disliking cops. Sean and the film became an easy target for those who felt the movement was about nothing more than cultivated immaturity and self-indulgence. Some 30 years later, Arlyck, who had always been more of a critical observer than part of any movement, goes back to the Haight to meet the grown up Sean. While there, he asks himself and others unanswerable questions about the meaning or meaninglessness of their time there. It's a searching, reflective film that is refreshingly less concerned with the past than with how the past builds the future. BECKY OHLSEN. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 281-4215. $4-$6.

Friends with Money

Watching writer-director Nicole Holofcener's Friends with Money is like being dragged to a party where you don't know anyone, don't want to know anyone, and spend the whole night wishing someone would choke to death on a chicken wing. None of the main characters in this ensemble is likable, and the more you get to know them, the less you like them. As a drama there's nothing compelling, as a comedy there's nothing funny, and as a mix of the two the film is a lifeless failure. R. DAVID WALKER. Fox Tower.

An Inconvenient Truth

Don't call it a comeback—former Vice President Al Gore's been honing his presentation on global warming for years. Now, director Davis Guggenheim has brought Gore's well-researched, sometimes humorous slideshow to a wider audience and, some might say, to life in An Inconvenient Truth. While the film might not be the most romantic date movie or a pick-me-up for depressive viewers, Gore's message is far from apocalyptic. He wants us to know that now is the time for us to get off our butts and start tackling the greatest crisis in the planet's history. (And that he should be president.) PG. IAN DEMSKY. Fox Tower, Eastport, Cedar Hills, Cinetopia, City Center.

*NEW* Lady Vengeance

South Korean director Chan-wook Park's Oldboy—hands down, one of the best films of the last 10 years—was the second installment in a trilogy of revenge that started with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. And while the first film fails to even give a glimpse of the brilliance of Oldboy, the third, Lady Vengeance, does not disappoint. Yeong-ae Lee stars as Geum-ja Lee, a thirtysomething woman released from prison after serving 13 years for kidnapping and murder. But as the intricately complex tale jumps back and forth in time and from character to character, we learn she did not commit the crime for which she has been punished. And now that she is free, Geum-ja will have her revenge. While not as strong as Oldboy, Lady Vengeance still stands on its own as a remarkable film. The nonlinear exposition can get confusing, but as Park reveals more and more pieces of the puzzle, the picture becomes clearer, culminating in a climax of disturbingly brutal violence. At its core, Lady Vengeance is a vigilante potboiler in the vein of Death Wish and Ms. 45, but it is crafted with such exquisitely poetic beauty that it becomes exploitative trash filtered through the lens of high art. NR. DAVID WALKER. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., 223-4515. 9 pm Saturday-Thursday, June 24-29. $4-$7.

*NEW* The Lake House

A time-travel movie this cheesy makes me think one thing: Dammit! I will never get those two hours back! EVER! And even if I did, with my luck I'd probably just keep reliving them, over and over and over. The inane plot of this film could've been exploded by one quick Google search, but such a romance-sapping solution would never occur to a Chicago doctor like Sandra Bullock in the year 2006. Anyway, plot holes aren't the problem—no one expects a love story to be realistic. The problem is that this love story depends on letters being read out loud between Bullock and Keanu Reeves across time. I've got no beef with the logic; it's the letters, man. "He must write one hell of a letter," says Bullock's sexy boss at one point. But he doesn't. They're so boring! The film does have one or two nice moments, but by constantly likening itself to Persuasion it only calls attention to its own weak writing. Why couldn't the characters have just circled passages from Jane Austen books to mail back and forth instead? PG. BECKY OHLSEN. Pioneer Place, Eastport, Division St., Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Cornelius, Evergreen Pkwy, Hilltop, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

Nacho Libre

Jack Black stars as Nacho, a priest at a Mexican orphanage who has dreamed his whole life of being a great luchador, a masked, high-flying Mexican wrestler. Unfortunately, Nacho's life is one of service to God and serving up disgusting gruel to sad-faced orphans. That is, until he decides to actually become a wrestler in order to raise money to help the orphans. There are some moments in Nacho Libre, all of them courtesy of Jack Black, that border on slightly amusing, but by and large this is no School of Rock. The fault lies in the idiotic script of Hess, his wife, Jerusha,ßß and Mike White (Chuck & Buck), who have written a collection of largely unfunny jokes geared toward those under the age of 12. It is possible to have a movie that is both stupid and fun, which in turn becomes entertaining. But stupid and stupid is always plain stupid, and, just so there is no misunderstanding, this movie is stupid. It's what could happen if the Farrelly Brothers tried to make a Coen Brothers movie—and failed. If you mix beer and wine at the same time, you often get vomit. PG. DAVID WALKER. Pioneer Place, St. Johns Cinema, Eastport, Division St., Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Cornelius, Evergreen Pkwy, Hilltop, Lake Twin, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

The Omen

Of all the sources they could choose to be slavishly faithful to, they pick The Omen? In case you forgot, the 1976 suspense flick about the devil-spawned kid was no prize to begin with (slowly paced, with bland acting by Lee Remick). So here's a remake (more quickly paced but with bland acting by Julia Stiles and Liev Schreiber), and most scenes are line-for-line repeats of the original. A lot of the shots even match, though director John Moore can't match Richard Donner for serviceable elegance. Oh, and the kid's father, originally played by Gregory Peck, is still kind of a dumb lump, too. The doctor tells Schreiber, "There was damage to the womb, so she might not be able to..." and Schreiber says, "Might not be able to what?" Might not be able to play tennis, you moron, what do you think? So why remake the film at all if you're just going to do a carbon copy? Well, the special effects are better this time, and Mia Farrow plays the creepy replacement nanny. And you know she has experience raising evil children. R. ERIC D. SNIDER. Broadway, Eastport, Division St., Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Cornelius, Evergreen Pkwy, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.

Over the Hedge

Movies based on comic strips have a spotty history—Garfield still haunts more than one parent's dreams, I'm sure. But Over the Hedge, about a group of woodland creatures who learn to steal people food when suburbia encroaches on their territory, is a genuinely funny animated lark. A peaceful group consisting of everything from possums to a turtle is joined by R.J. (voice of Bruce Willis), a smooth-talking raccoon who needs their help gathering a ton of junk food in order to pay off a bear he angered. The energetically animated film gets a lot of laughs from its subtle satire of American consumerism, with R.J. showing how the humans' lives revolve around food. At 80 minutes (not counting credits), it's a good length for the rugrats, who will laugh when the squirrel asks, "Wanna help me find my nuts?" even if they don't know why. PG. ERIC D. SNIDER. Eastport, Division St., Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Evergreen Pkwy, Forest, Hilltop, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, Vancouver Plaza.

Peaceful Warrior

In this film based on true events, Scott Mechlowicz stars as Dan Millman, a good-looking, hot-headed college gymnast on the brink of making it to the Olympics. Dan finds he is having trouble sleeping at night, so he takes a breather at 3 am and ends up at a nearby gas station, where the attendant (an incredibly aged Nick Nolte) is a bit hokey. Still, Dan is drawn to his mysterious ways. Let's just say it's a Karate Kid-esque case of Daniel La Russo and Mr. Miyagi: spiritual teacher finds rebellious pupil and molds him into being the best he can truly be. At times, Peaceful Warrior has the high energy of Remember the Titans, a feel-good film with bearable bouts of cheesiness. But Peaceful Warrior is long-winded, and the dialogue runs heavily contrived (Millman nicknames his newfound teacher "Soc," as in, yes, you guessed it, Socrates.) Based on the bestselling novel by Millman, who himself has gained recognition as a spiritual writer and guru, the storyline slowly weaves you through Dan's evolution as an athlete, and most important, an enlightened human being. Thrilling. PG-13. ELIANNA BAR-EL. Fox Tower.

Police Beat

[SHORT RUN] Sometimes the best films languish in a limbo that never allows them to be seen by as big an audience as they deserve. Case in point: director Robinson Devor's Police Beat, one of the best films to screen at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Chronicling the day-to-day experiences and angst of a Senegalese immigrant working as a bicycle cop in Seattle, Devor's film is both stylish and poetic. Pape Sidy Niang stars as Z, a police officer with strong convictions and a sense of self, who begins to falter when his girlfriend goes away on a trip with her ex-boyfriend. Written by Devor and Seattle journalist Charles Mudede, Police Beat uses a unique narrative style that captures both the surreal life of a cop on the beat and the immigrant experience. Despite the fact Police Beat has not gotten the sort of release it richly deserves, it is one of the most refreshing cinematic accomplishments in recent years. DAVID WALKER. Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave., 221-1156. 7 and 9 pm Friday-Saturday, June 23-24, 7 pm Tuesday, June 27. $6-$7.

A Prairie Home Companion

Garrison Keillor and Robert Altman, two love-him-or-hate-him entertainment icons, are together at last in A Prairie Home Companion, which is much less polarizing: It's possible to have very mild, unimpassioned feelings about this one. The film is set backstage at Keillor's famed radio show, during what is likely to be its last performance (don't worry, fans, the movie is fiction), with folks like Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin and Lindsay Lohan playing regular guest performers. Meanwhile, a mysterious woman in white (Virginia Madsen) wanders the corners of the theater, with security agent Guy Noir (Kevin Kline) keeping tabs on her. The film retains Keillor's wry, cornball sensibilities (the script is credited to him), and Altman makes his presence known with long, unbroken takes from Steadicams that float around the theater like silent and omniscient observers. Two scenes set onstage are highlights, both masterpieces of gleeful, carefull y orchestrated comedy. The rest of the movie is typical Altman, with his overlapping conversations and de-emphasis on plot. Keillor's fans will probably consider the film a masterwork, while Altman's people will file it away as one of the director's average efforts, better than Popeye but worse than Short Cuts. PG-13. ERIC D. SNIDER. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., 223-415. Wednesday-Thursday, June 21-22. $4-$7. Eastport, Cedar Hills. Starts Friday, June 23 at Hollywood Theatre. Call theater for showtimes.

The Puffy Chair

The filmmaking duo of brothers Jay and Mark Duplass offer a breath of fresh air with their ultra-low-budget indie film that has arrived after a successful run at festivals in 2005. The bare-bones plot is simple enough: Twentysomething slacker Josh (Mark Duplass) embarks on a road trip to pick up a vintage, purple La-Z-Boy recliner he's won on eBay, which he plans to give to his father as a birthday present. Along for the ride is Josh's girlfriend Emily (Kathryn Aselton), who seems to have problems with where the relationship is headed. For Emily the trip is an opportunity to spend time alone with her boyfriend, but those plans fall apart when Josh's spacey younger brother Rhett (Rhett Wilkins) decides to tag along on the trip. For a movie that cost around $15,000 to produce, the Duplass Brothers' film has a lot going for it. Older brother Jay's direction and cinematography give the film a voyeuristic, documentary feel, and Mark's writing and acting, work with his brother's behind-the-camera technique to give The Puffy Chair a sense of reality and honesty that never seems contrived or manufactured. DAVID WALKER. Fox Tower.

Serenity

[ONE NIGHT ONLY] If you have yet to discover writer-director Joss Whedon's Serenity, or the television series from which it sprang, Firefly, you don't know what you're missing. Set in the future, this fast-paced space adventure that pits roguish mercenaries against an evil galactic empire is the sort of science fiction fun that most recent three Star Wars films failed to be. This special screening is part of massive event taking place simultaneously in other cities, which benefits Equality Now, an organization that works to end discrimination and violence against women. Not only does the screening support a good cause, it give fans a chance to see Serenity on the big screen, and it gives the uninitiated a chance to discover what the rest of us already know—this film kicks ass! For more info go to serenitynow.pdxbrowncoats.com. DAVID WALKER. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., 223-4515. 9 pm Friday, June 23. $10-$12.50.

Thank You for Smoking

Based on Christopher Buckley's bestselling novel from the early 1990s, Thank You for Smoking stars Aaron Eckhart as Nick Naylor, the "sultan of spin"—a master of manipulating the truth with a self-conferred "bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names." Nick's job as the vice president of the Academy of Tobacco Studies is to debunk the claims that cigarettes are bad and to promote smoking. Brimming with subtle visual gags and absurd humor, Thank You for Smoking is a brilliant comedy that is ruthless in its attacks on both hand-wringing liberals and money-grubbing conservatives. R. DAVID WALKER. Fox Tower, Cinemagic.

Twelve and Holding

Three preteens go through tumultuous life transformations after one of their peers is tragically killed. Hardest hit is introverted Jacob (Conor Donovan), whose twin brother, Rudy, was the one killed. Jacob is consumed with avenging his brother's death. The over-achieving Malee (Zoë Weizenbaum) channels her blossoming sexuality into the seduction of a much older construction worker (Jeremy Renner). The obese Leonard (Jesse Camacho) becomes determined to lose weight. The film is not without its charm, and manages to capture the awkwardness of prepubescence. But the interweaving stories don't always balance out as they should, making for an uneven feeling from time to time. Still, the solid performances by the young cast, especially Weizenbaum, help carry the film when the script itself falters. R. DAVID WALKER. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 281-4215. Friday-Thursday, June 23-29. $4-$7.

Water

The third in writer-director Deepa Mehta's elements trilogy (after Fire and Earth), Water is a visually stunning film that is suffused with hope and humor despite its grim message. Set in the late 1930s, as sentiment against British rule builds and Gandhi gains popularity, the story follows an 8-year-old girl, Chuyia (played by child actress Sarala), who was married so young she doesn't even remember it. Her middle-aged husband has just died, making her a widow—and a pariah. So her parents put her in an ashram with other widows, many of whom are ancient and have been there since they were children themselves. They're considered bad omens, reduced to begging for food and forbidden to remarry—at least according to Hindu tradition, if not the law. Also living in the widows' house is the beautiful Kalyani (Lisa Ray), who is prostituted to the Brahmin gentry across the river by the greedy old widow who runs the ashram. Chuyia and Kalyani become fast friends, and there are a lot of laughs and tender exchanges that shine through the web of oppressive custom, selfishness, conflicted faith and star-crossed romance. PG-13. BECKY OHLSEN. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 281-4215. $4-$7.

X-Men: The Last Stand

Our intrepid mutant heroes, routinely called upon to protect a society that fears and hates them, are back in action once again. When a pharmaceutical company develops a "cure" that can reverse the mutant process, it sparks a volatile debate. The "cure" doesn't sit well with Magneto (Ian McKellen), who fears mutants are being posed for eradication, and he leads his army of evil mutants in a war against humanity. The problems with X-Men: The Last Stand are numerous, most notably an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink screenplay that crams too much story and too many characters into a brief running time. There are huge leaps in logic, characters that go undeveloped, and subplots discarded in the hope that we might not notice because we're so excited to see Wolverine go on a slice-'n'-dice killing rampage. Director Brett Ratner seems incapable of extracting any emotion from his actors, and the film only works during the action sequences. PG-13. DAVID WALKER. Broadway, Eastport, Division St., Oak Grove, Cedar Hills, Cornelius, Evergreen Pkwy, Hilltop, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Cinema 99, Cinetopia, City Center, Vancouver Plaza.