MOVIES

Off and Running (limited release) - Avery is an African-American girl adopted by a lesbian Jewish couple in Brooklyn, along with her other non-white siblings. When she decided to contact her birth mother, Avery goes on a quest to learn more about her own race and identity. Unable to focus on life as she's known it, the budding track star is thrown off course before she gains the strength to recover. This coming of age documentary is captivating.

When in Rome - A young, ambitious, go-getting female unlucky in love?! No way! The ever-charming Kristen Bell stars as Beth, who take a trip to Rome and ends up stealing coins from some sort of magic love fountain. Apparently that kind of embezzlement causes the original owners of the coins (Danny DeVito, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, and Will Arnett) to pursue her for love --  conveniently, none of the coin's owners were women. Oh, and Josh Duhamel is in it — not that his and Bell's chemistry is all that great, but he's worth mentioning.

Edge of Darkness - We're not big fans of racial-epithet-spewing Mel Gibson —pissed off, avenging Mel Gibson, on the other hand, is awesome. There's a lot going on in this film. Gibson plays a Boston detective whose adult daughter is shot and killed right in front of his home. But her death is part of a greater conspiracy. He goes after the killer, and we get to watch him bash some bad guys.