Fri-Sun Feb 21-23, Tues-Thurs Feb 25-27 at the Grand Illusion.
A UN agency invited world-famous Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami (Through the Olive Trees) to make a documentary that would help publicize the plight of 1.6 million Ugandan children who have lost their parents either from an earlier civil war or more recently through AIDS. The director agreed to make the documentary, and over 10 days gathered digital footage from various parts of rural Uganda. Later, he submitted the completed documentary to the Cannes Film Festival, where it was well received. But as for the film itself, the final result, this is not so clear. The documentary is not really about Africa, or the basics of Africa, as the title implies. It's not about the unfortunate children, or the old women who raise them. Nor is it about Kiarostami, and his Iranian worldview. ABC Africa has numerous great moments, such as the one that shows a class of children learning English and mathematics under a tree. But the documentary does not connect this striking moment with others. In the end, the documentary may simply be about the digital cameras, and the blunt fact that they worked so well under such harsh Third World conditions. CHARLES MUDEDE

Dark Blue

dir. Ron Shelton
Dark Blue bolts from the gate as a gritty, energetic hybrid of the great L.A. Confidential and the lesser Training Day, given a potentially killer historical spin. In the hours before the riot-inspiring Rodney King verdict, a grizzled L.A. cop and his idealistic young partner negotiate a day of increasingly dark and twisted crime-fighting, digging up dirty LAPD secrets (extortion, murder, racism) while confronting their own demons, until... in this case, until the Los Angeles jury acquits the officers responsible for beating Rodney King, and ka-BOOM.

Sadly, director Ron Shelton (White Men Can't Jump) stumbles repeatedly en route to his explosive conclusion. Whereas Curtis Hanson's L.A. Confidential transcended its genre through sheer artistry, Shelton goes for the mainstream jugular with a jarring mix of gritty crime and hyperactive action, laced with perfunctory nods to deeper issues; the few times the car chases stop to make way for character development, the resulting revelations are so baldly soliloquized, the attending characters should be given magazines. DAVID SCHMADER

Divine Intervention

dir. Elia Suleiman

Fri-Thurs Feb 21-27 at the Varsity.
If there is a common theme to the battery of recent films about the Israel-Palestine "situation," it is earnestness. Many a documentary has come along in the last few years to examine the "problem" from one side or the other, or even with a view toward admitting the complexity of the intractable collision of two peoples defined by their irresolvable hatred of one another, and doomed by their belief in God.

What is missing from these films, typically, is the mordant sense of humor that distinguishes (and unites) both Arab and Jewish culture: In the face of increasing misery, one can always count on Arabs and Jews to laugh fatalistically. This laughter, an embrace of the inherent absurdity of life on Earth, is the chief element of Divine Intervention, a film told in seemingly random, nearly silent vignettes of Middle Eastern bizarreness. A man in a Santa suit runs through Nazareth, pursued by teenage thugs. A man drives down a busy street waving at strangers, even as he curses each one with mounting hostility. A balloon with Arafat's face on it confounds the guards at the Jerusalem-Ramallah checkpoint, allowing two lovers to sneak through. It's hard to know exactly what these Beckett-lite blackouts are aiming toward, but it's refreshing to see that not everyone in the goddamn world has lost a sense of humor. SEAN NELSON

The Life of David Gale

dir. Alan Parker
You know that friend of yours who had Tyler Durden pegged 20 minutes in? The guy who saw right through "dead people"? Well folks, I am not that guy.

Confession: Your humble reviewer is by no means the sharpest crayon in the box. Aside from a pretty substantial depth-perception problem, the thrills of common sense often elude me--to an embarrassing degree. And even I saw the end of The Life of David Gale coming. It's like watching an episode of Scooby-Doo unfold--heavy-handed nonvillains, meddling kids, and all--except I never had Scooby-Doo pinned either. It's a shame, as the premise--a look at capital punishment and redemption--could have allowed for something of an interesting exercise. With lead-balloon pacing and embarrassingly slack-jawed cinematography, however--not to mention another impossibly smug Kevin Spacey performance--David Gale has all the subtle artistry of a Twinkie. Without all the suspense. ZAC PENNINGTON

Old School

dir. Todd Phillips
Here's a film that relies on a whole list of old clichés (marriage is a ball and chain; the school losers vs. the campus suits) to deliver comedy that's actually really funny in a dumb kind of way. Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Vince Vaughn play a trio of buddies who gave up partying too soon, and who attempt to get back to their wild roots by starting a frat house on a college campus--never mind that they're all way past college age. The story line is completely irrelevant from there, made from the same mush as a freshman's brain on a Friday night. The punch lines come mostly from the chemistry between the three stars and the perfectly typecast supporting performances/cameos from actors like Andy Dick (as a gay blowjob instructor), Juliette Lewis (as a trashy ex into gangbangs), Craig Kilborn (as a sleazy boyfriend), and Seann William Scott (as a mulleted animal trainer). JENNIFER MAERZ