Transsiberian

Emily Mortimer is an American abroad in Transsiberian (First Look International)

Transsiberian (opening August 29 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas) is a kindred spirit to the recent Tell No One (still playing at Landmark's La Jolla Village Cinemas). Both films present themselves as thrillers with crimes, cops, deceit, and innocent victims fueling their tense and occasionally violent narratives. But the real and somewhat disguised core of both films is the marital relationship of the main characters. Tell No One was an obsessed love story dressed up as a thriller about murder and deception while Transsiberian is a film about a marriage under pressure despite its trappings as a tale of drug trafficking and international intrigue.

Elegy / Interview with Isabel Coixet

Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz star in Elegy, the adaptation of Philip Roth's The Dying Animal (Red Envelope Entertainment)

Elegy (opened August 22 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas) is based on Philip Roth's book The Dying Animal and focuses on aging academic David Kepesh and his affair with a student. The character of Kepesh has appeared in two other Roth works: The Breast and The Professor of Desire. As with most of Roth's books, the focus and the perspective are distinctly male. But what gives the new film adaptation of The Dying Animal a fresh spin is that it has been brought to the screen thanks mainly to a pair of women: actress Penelope Cruz and director Isabel Coixet.

The Wackness Crosses the Generation Gap

The Wackness appeals to KPBS' Teen Critic (Sony Pictures Classics)

By Candace Kavanagh

Pot movies have been a part of the film culture for decades. Of course in earlier years they were a little more ambiguous about it than these days with movies like Pineapple Express and Harold and Kumar supporting our green little plant friend. Now The Wackness (opened July 11 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas) can be added to this legacy -- although it is lacking any colorful scenes of flying or adventurous trips to famous fast food joints. Instead The Wackness looks a little deeper as it follows a pot dealer, Luke Shapiro (played by Josh Peck of Drake and Josh). Yes I know, I was surprised as well. Luke  is beginning his first summer as a high school graduate. As he looks down from a balcony at one of his client's parties -- watching all the people he had gone to school with for four years and not knowing a single one of them -- he realizes that he is virtually alone in this world. His only "friend" is his almost insane psychiatrist, played by Ben Kingsley, who accepts weed as a payment.

This movie takes us through the sincere journey of two unlikely friends finding salvation in each other. With the Doc teaching Luke about women, and Luke saving the Doc from himself and the illusion of his life being over. Accompanied by tales of finding first loves and failing at old ones, the Doc finds that it's not the end of the world. As we see Dr. Squires falling out of love with his wife, played by Famke Jansen, and Luke falling in love with Doc's step-daughter, played by Juno's Olivia Thirlby, you realize how hard it was for any of us the first or third time around in this crazy thing we call love, and how it feels as if it's the end of our lives. But of course they don't do this without giving us a real sense of hope in the end for both of our heroes.

And then of course, what is an indie film without a few stabs at politics. This movie set in New York in 1994, Rudolph Giuliani plays the part of a faceless villain named Party Pooper. So the audience gets a couple of laughs about the trouble with the cops that the Doc and Luke face as lovers of weed. But of course like the drugs, this political context is simple background music that gives humor to the almost heartbreaking coming of age story for both our heroes.

The Wackness (rated R for pervasive drug use, language and some sexuality) may follow the formula of recent "original" films, using the freedom of sex scenes and drug use to qualify themselves as "different," but it still gives you a feeling of connection that most mainstream films lack. This movies sucks you into its world and lets you resonate in it. It crosses the generation gap, not subtly, but definitely effectively. So this movie has found a place in my heart and I expect will find a place many other hearts as well. But if you expect a Cheech and Chong adventure with the mention of weed, this movie will leave you wanting.

-- Candace Kavanagh just graduated from Mount Miguel High School. She spends her life absorbing celluloid images. She loves every type of film from so-called "chick flicks" such as My Fair Lady and Legally Blonde, to mind bending thrillers like Mulholland Drive and Hard Candy -- with every zombie movie, action flick, musical, and comedy in between.

The Wackness

Drugs for therapy... The Wackness (Sony Pictures Classics)

It's 1994, and Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) is spending his summer before college listening to hip-hop and selling drugs from an ice cream cart in New York City. His shrink, Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley), lets him trade dope for therapy, but Luke's more interested in the doc's sexy step-daughter than any psychobabble. Writer-director Jonathan Levine serves up a funny, sharp, and ultimately compassionate coming of age tale with his sophomore feature The Wackness (opening July 11 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas). Liste to the KPBS Film Club of the Air Discussion of The Wackness.

War, Inc.

John Cusack, the star, co-writer and producer of War, Inc. (First Look)

If you ever wondered what might have happened to John Cusack's hit man from 1997's Grosse Pointe Blank, then check out War, Inc. (opening June 27 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas). The character Cusack plays presents a possible fate for Martin Q. Blank, or at least a logical trajectory his killer could have taken. War, Inc., as with Grosse Pointe Blank, is also co-written by Cusack, co-stars his sister Joan as his assistant Marsha (she was Marcella in Grosse Pointe Blank), and boasts an appearance by Dan Aykroyd. But unlike Grosse Point Blank, which knew exactly what kind of dark comedy it wanted to be, War, Inc. is all over the map.

The Love Guru

Mike Myers is The Love Guru (Paramount Pictures)

Let me begin with a confession: I like Mike Myers. His comedy can be dumb but he's a genuinely likable guy and that helps make his comedy appealing. So when I heard the bad buzz generated by his latest film The Love Guru (opening June 20 throughout San Diego), it prompted me to set my expectations low. And maybe that helped. I didn't expect much so I wasn't really disappointed. The Love Guru is getting no love from critics, and although I can't give it a hearty endorsement, I also don't see it as the worst thing Mike Myers has ever done. That dubious distinction belongs hands down to The Cat in the Hat. The Love Guru is a 10-minute Saturday Night Live skit stretched out to 90-minutes and overstuffed with juvenile potty humor but there were more than a few moments when it did make me laugh.