Metro Pulse Online: Movies, Past &Amp; Future

Armed only with his mysterious mental connection to the feral minds of studio executives, the Movie Guru reveals just how good or bad this week's new releases will be:

Alexander (R)
Does Hollywood’s most notorious playboy, Colin Farrell, have what it takes to play the ancient world’s greatest warrior, Alexander the Great? Oliver Stone’s epic follows Alexander’s conquests over much of the known world, leading the Greek and Macedonian armies in the fight against the mighty Persian army. The all-star cast also includes Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Rosario Dawson, Jared Leto, and Anthony Hopkins.
Now Showing: Knoxville Center, Farragut Towne Square, Wynnsong 16, Foothills 12

Christmas with the Kranks (PG-13)
What’s a holiday season without a cheesy family comedy complete with old standby actors like Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis? The two pair up to play a married couple who, after their daughter goes to Peru for a Peace Corps mission, decide to cancel Christmas altogether and opt for a Caribbean cruise instead. A scramble to reinstate Chevy Chase-style decor and cheer ensues when their daughter calls suddenly to say she’ll be coming home after all.
Now Showing: Knoxville Center, Farragut Towne Square, Wynnsong 16, Foothills 12

Finding Neverland (PG)
Intense and subtle character actor Johnny Depp takes on the personage of writer J.M. Barrie, whose friendship with his neighbors—the widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (played by Kate Winslet) and her four young boys—inspired the now-classic story of Peter Pan. Directed by Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball).
Now Showing: West Town Mall, Carmike 10

Sideways (R)
Two 40-something college buddies, Miles and Jack (Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church), take a weeklong sojourn to California wine country as prologue to Jack’s wedding. Miles’ love of wine collides with Jack’s love of womanizing in this all-over-the-road trip. Read the review on page 37.
Now Showing: Downtown West

Zelary (R)
In the midst of WWII, the Czech Republic is occupied by the Nazis, forcing Eliska, a nurse in Prague, to flee. Her only option is to live in the countryside in the backward town of Zelary with a simple mountain man named Joza, whose life she had once saved by giving her own blood. The tale of survival and compassion is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
Now Showing: Downtown West (This film is tentatively scheduled to open Friday, Nov. 26. Please call the theater to confirm.)

Just the Three of Us

When it comes to cinema, the only thing worse than a bad movie is a good movie that’s only paces away from greatness. So it is with A Home at the End of the World. The film traces the faithful friendship of Bobby Morrow and Jonathan Glover from 1967 through the mid-‘80s. After losing his mother, and then his beloved older brother when he sprints through a glass door, Bobby fastens himself to Jonathan, a nerdy introvert at his high school. The two become fast friends, and Bobby even manages to beguile Jonathan’s unhappy mother, Alice (Sissy Spacek), instructing her on the magical powers of reefer and songstress Laura Nyro. Jonathan is obviously gay, and as Bobby stays most nights over at his house, things grow more complex as the boys try out their budding sexuality on one another. However, Bobby’s sexuality is a non-issue for him; he’s not really gay, just interested in making everyone around him happy. When Bobby’s father passes away, he is invited into Jonathan’s home to stay.

Only when the Glovers consider a move do they push for Bobby (the adult version played by Colin Farrell), at the age of 24, to find a life of his own. Bobby relocates to New York, which finds him once again united with Jonathan (Dallas Roberts), who has shacked up with the eccentric Clare (Robin Wright Penn). Clare is smitten with both men, and because she longs for a child, she eventually instructs Bobby through the loss of his virginity. When Clare becomes pregnant with Bobby’s child, Jonathan is tested with maddening jealousy, but after some convincing, the love for his two best friends prevails. The three decide to buy a country house together, and one almost begins to believe that this unconventional family might work, even as we see them trying to convince themselves of the same thing. Though Farrell normally braves his way through action flicks, he is compelling in the role of his life, as sensitive, selfless Bobby. The film wraps up without a satisfying conclusion—but, then again, the entire movie trips along this same path—as there are both good and bad days, in an effort to portray life as it really is.

—Ellen Mallernee