Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

Ratings for each film begin with a "star" rating -- * meaning "poor,"**** meaning "excellent" -- followed by the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and then by a family-viewing guide, the key for which appears below.

STARTING THIS WEEK (New releases):

STOP-LOSS

***

An Iraq War veteran who thinks his service is done gets a big surprise in this effective drama from director and co-writer Kimberly Peirce, who steered Hilary Swank to an Oscar in "Boys Don't Cry." Made under MTV's production banner, the film boasts a strong performance by Ryan Phillippe in the central role, particularly as the soldier devises a plan to keep from having to return to active duty. Also impressive is Channing Tatum ("Step Up") as another veteran whose behavior reflects the stress of his recent experiences.

SUPERHERO MOVIE

***

Love stories, horror films and gladiator epics have all had their sendups, so the likes of "Spider-Man" and "Batman" get theirs in this satire in the "Scary Movie" vein. Drake Bell plays a young man bitten by a genetically altered dragonfly, turning him into a super-powered hero known as -- of all things -- the Dragonfly. He pines for lovely Jill (Sara Paxton, "Aquamarine") while using his new abilities to combat the sinister Hourglass (Christopher McDonald). It's fun to see co-star Leslie Nielsen back in this genre, and Pamela Anderson, Jeffrey Tambor ("Arrested Development") and Marion Ross ("Happy Days") also appear.

THE RUINS

**

It's terror time for more youths who venture where they shouldn't in this horror story, adapted by Scott B. Smith from his own novel. Jena Malone ("Into the Wild"), Shawn Ashmore ("X-Men") and Jonathan Tucker are among those playing vacationers lured into an excursion to a Mayan temple. The group encounters not only hostile locals but vines that appear to have a life of their own as they ward off intruders. Ben Stiller, who has shown darker creative instincts on occasion, is one of the picture's producers.

FLAKES

**

A New Orleans musician, played by Aaron Stanford, starts enjoying his job at a cereal-only restaurant more than making music in this offbeat comedy. His girlfriend (Zooey Deschanel, "Tin Man") wants him to get back to his creative side, so she secretly helps a rival merchant who caters to the same clientele. Directed by Michael Lehmann ("Heathers"), the film also features "Taxi" and "Back to the Future" icon Christopher Lloyd.

CANNON -- SEASON ONE: VOLUME ONE

***

Legendary for a booming voice that earned him work as Marshal Matt Dillon on radio's "Gunsmoke" and as the narrator of "The Fugitive," hefty William Conrad was an unlikely television star. Nevertheless, he had a substantial run on CBS as a private detective quite choosy about his cases, with a client's ability to pay big money the determining factor on many occasions. Since Conrad was the sole series regular, many of television's most familiar faces of the 1970s passed through the show.

JAKE AND THE FATMAN -- SEASON 1: VOLUME 1

***

"Cannon" wasn't Conrad's only successful CBS series, and it wouldn't seem like sheer coincidence that the other one also hits DVD this week. It doesn't take much to guess which title character he plays -- a district attorney who doesn't always play by the rules -- and his investigator is portrayed by Joe Penny. In this case, too, lots of home-screen staples play victims and suspects. Dick Van Dyke's "Diagnosis Murder" was spun off from this show.

n Little Screen appears in Life & Times each Friday.