Hot Sheet

Movies

How Do You Know? —  A love triangle between Legally Blonde's Reese Witherspoon (as a professional softball player at the end of her career), The Object of My Affection's Paul Rudd (as a financially beleaguered businessman) and Owen Wilson (as a womanizing baseball star) seems like a comedic home run, but even a broader-than-usual Jack Nicholson (as the father of Rudd's character) can't  knock the thin, familiar material out of the park. The latest from the once-reliable writer-director James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, As Good as It Gets) is, unfortunately, a strike \out.

Rabbit Hole — Hedwig's John Cameron Mitchell seems like an odd choice to direct the film of David Lindsay-Abaire's Tony award–winning play about a couple (Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart) grieving the death of their 4-year-old son, but he proves an inspired choice to helm the harrowing material. Mitchell finds the unexpected humor in the story and allows Kidman to give a naturalistic performance that's her best work since The Hours. Two-time Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest and Life With Judy Garland's Tammy Blanchard also deliver indelible performances as Kidman's sympathetic mother and party-girl sister, respectively.

Tron: Legacy — In this sequel to the 1982 sci-fi hit Tron, Jeff Bridges returns as a software programmer trapped in the gladiatorial Grid he created. As his son, Country Strong cutie Garrett Hedlund — who will also star in the film version of Jack Kerouac's On the Road — gives a cocky-sensitive performance much like Chris Pine’s Star Trek breakthrough. House’s Olivia Wilde is a quirky love interest, and a blond Michael Sheen channels Alan Cumming as a Grid club owner. The plot’s nonsensical, but the 3D visuals and Daft Punk score are neato.