New Movie Releases: Religulous, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and More

But despite its often condescending tone, Religulous is, first and foremost, intended as comedic social commentary. And when viewed in that light, it manages some incredibly funny moments while revealing some interesting social patterns. For example, it's striking how quickly and instinctively believers will sanitize their religion's more repressive or embarrassing beliefs when speaking to outsiders (like the woman who claims, "I don't hate fags, God does," or the Muslim who claims, "we don't subjugate women... look, they have a special corner to pray in!").

During the best segments, we get to share in Maher's triumphant, smirking defiance as he brilliantly dismantles smarmy cult leaders and hateful fringe lunatics. But (unfortunately) he rarely faces a formidable, or even particularly knowledgeable adversary, and you eventually can't escape the feeling that the whole thing is just too easy. The alarmist montage that ends the film is particularly grating, despite the fact that it's not entirely untrue.

In the end, Religulous is a comedic and intellectual mixed bag. But, like Michael Moore's earliest films, it's definitely worth seeing--if only to get the ball rolling on a genuinely fruitful discussion. --Matt Smith
[Trailer] [Showtimes]

Appaloosa
In this quirky western, Ed Harris plays Virgil Cole, a maverick lawman whose specialty is cleaning up violent one-horse towns. Along with his sidekick Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen), Cole attempts to rid a small New Mexico town of a bully cattle rancher named Randall Bragg (played with Day-Lewis intensity by Jeremy Irons). Along the way, a not-entirely-believable love story emerges, and Cole is forced to choose between love, loyalty and pride.

We're huge Harris fans, and though he gives a serviceable performance here, Appaloosa isn't a new Walker or anything. There are a lot of enjoyable moments, and the chemistry between Harris and Mortensen is fantastic, but even great chemistry can't save the ho-hum script. --Matt Smith
[Trailer] [Showtimes]

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Is there kitten calendar hanging in your cube? Do you truly appreciate the artistic merits of Anne Geddes' flower pot children? Then you are probably going to love this movie almost as much as you loved Garden State! Could 20-year-old Michael Cera be any more precious? We don't think so! (And did you know that his girlfriend is 32? 32! We're totally in his age range!) Basically, this seems to be falling in the line of "sad, confused, emotionally stunted boy with silly old jalopy finds muse-ish girl who is cooler than anyone he has ever met, and she happens to have striking features and the unique capability of showing him that life is good." Throw in a little iPod favorites action and some wacky situational comedy and you've got a playful romp around NYC (the center of the universe!) where very little happens beyond doe-eyed hopes and dreams. We're buying our tickets online right now. We LOVE kittens! --Steph Beasley
[Trailer] [Showtimes]

Flash of Genius
When we were children, the one thing that our mother truly coveted were intermittent windshield wipers and we remember the day that a new-to-us 1994 Chevy Cavalier fulfilled her one materialistic wish. For the joy on her face when that first rain storm came, we can thank Robert Kearns, the man at the center of Flash of Genius. After filing a patent for a "Windshield Wiper System with Intermittent Operation" in 1967, Kearns pitched his idea to the big three car companies in the good ole U.S. of A. They sent him on his way with a little league pat on the butt and an attaboy or two, then proceeded to develop their own intermittent windshield wiper system, first installing them in cars in 1969 without giving him any credit whatsoever. They apparently didn't know who they were dealing with! Flash of Genius reveals the Supreme-Court-level walloping that Kearns brought down upon Ford, Chrysler and GM after they stole what was rightfully his, that being the lovely arrhythmic sound of fwap fwap.......fwap fwap...... --Steph Beasley
[Trailer] [Showtimes]

ALSO OPENING IN AUSTIN THIS WEEK
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
Loosely based on British writer Toby Young's memoir of the same name, How to Lose Friends stars Simon Pegg as "Sidney" Young, an ambitious but unlikable young writer making a go at a career in celebrity journalism. --Matt Smith
[Trailer] [Showtimes]

Blindness
Written by the always awesome Don McKellar and directed by Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener, City of God), Blindness was the opening night film at Cannes earlier this year. It follows a group of people struggling to survive as a mysterious epidemic of Blindness sweeps the city, causing societal norms to implode. Looks fantastic. --Matt Smith
[Trailer] [Showtimes]

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
Part Pink Panther, part Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die, OSS 117 follows a French secret agent as he investigates the disappearance of a Russian cargo ship in Cairo circa 1955. --Matt Smith
[Trailer] [Showtimes]

An American Carol
Helmed by absurdist Naked Gun director/producer David Zucker, An American Carol takes dead aim at the Liberal everyone loves to hate, Michael Moore. In the film, a fictionalized Moore (renamed "Malone") begins a campaign to boycott the 4th of July. He is subsequently visited by three ghosts (Washington, Patton, and JFK) who try to convince him that America is awesome. The surprisingly fantastic cast--including Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper, Leslie Nielsen--could make this one worth seeing.
[Trailer] [Showtimes]

Battle in Seattle
Stuart Townsend's dramatized account of the 1999 WTO protests follows characters on both sides of the law as they live through those five infamous days in Seattle. --Matt Smith
[Trailer] [Showtimes]

Beverly Hills Chihuahua
No, seriously. It's a real movie. --Matt Smith
[Trailer] [Showtimes]