Margot at the Wedding

Nicole Kidman gives her best performance since "To Die For" (1995) in this neurotic cultural zeitgeist comedy that methodically goes against the grain. Kidman plays Margot, the bi-polar sister to her equally screwed up sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Short-story author Margot feigns sibling loyalty to ostensibly repair the rift she created with Pauline some years ago when she brings her son Claude (Zane Pais) to witness Pauline’s marriage to her slacker fiancé Malcolm (Jack Black) at the couple’s New England home. Familial melodrama explodes in sequenced intervals as Margot gets up to her old tricks of sabotaging Pauline while her obvious motive of hooking up with an old flame that lives nearby shocks her androgynous son’s sensibilities. Writer/director Noah Baumbach’s follow-up to "Squid and the Whale" is a sophisticated satire that takes hilarious and accurate aim at the not-so-squishy belly of American family life where narcissistic psychosexual games are played out with shameless immediacy. Claude is the likable protagonist among a slew of warped family members. The narrative weak link is Baumbach’s refusal to introduce the girls’ mother even though she arrives during the film’s closing moments. Special features include a making-of featurette with Noah Baumbach and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Aspect ratio is 16:9 anamorphic widescreen, with sound quality produced in Dolby Digital 5.1. (Movie –Three Stars, DVD features – One Star) Rated R, 91 mins. (Paramount)

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

As its title implies, "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is a splashy neo-noir buddy thriller with plenty of laughs and jaw-dropping plot twists. Screenwriter Shane Black ("Lethal Weapon") returns to movies after a long hiatus to make a dazzling directorial debut that’s injected with full-bloom performances by Val Kilmer, newcomer Michelle Monaghan, and one very watchable Robert Downey Jr. as Harry Lockhart a petty thief/wannabe actor on the run in LA. Harry teams up with gay private detective Gay Perry (Kilmer) to pose as a private eye-in-training. But bodies start piling up and the girl of his dreams since childhood proves to be much more than he bargained for. Slick, sassy and downright delicious "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is a royal cinematic treat. Special features include English, French, and Spanish subtitles, a commentary track with Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer and Shane Black, a gag reel, and the theatrical trailer. Aspect ratio is 2.35:1, with sound quality processed in Dolby Digital 5.1.
(Movie – Four Stars, DVD features – Three Stars) Rated R, 102 mins. (Warner Brothers)

The Matador

In writer/director Richard Shepard’s cheeky black comedy "The Matador" Pierce Brosnan takes a running stab at his former iconic image as James Bond by playing a worldly, insecure and immature contract killer. Julian Noble (Brosnan) is an eccentric omnisexual hit man with a knack for a dirty joke. While on assignment in Mexico he meets straight-laced Denver businessman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) and the two men strike up an uncomfortable conversation that will lead to an uncomfortable friendship which will eventually end up saving each man’s life, or lifestyle at least. Pierce Brosnan plays the last of a dying breed, hence the film’s title, but he’s also an actor who can slap his audience and kiss them in the same breath. Special features include commentary with Richard Shepard, Greg Kinnear and Pierce Brosnan, a short making-of featurette, 11 deleted/extended scenes, two Richard Shepard radio show appearances, and theatrical trailer. Aspect ratio is 2.35:1, with sound quality processed in 5.1 Dolby Digital. (Movie - Four Stars, DVD features – Three Stars) Rated R, 97 mins. (Weinstein Company)