“Nothing But the Truth”

My tweet: Nothing but the Truth-Reporter Kate Beckinsale outs a CIA agent and is jailed for not revealing her source. Like that would ever happen. 7.5 (out of 10) Well, it actually happened. But not the way it does in this “ripped from the headlines” political/courtroom drama. Inspired by the real story of Judith Miller, the New York Times reporter who spent three months in jail for refusing to reveal the source of a CIA leak, Rod Lurie, the maker of political dramas like “The Contender” spins a much larger story. Reporter Rachel Armstrong (Kate Beckinsale) spends more than a year in jail as each of her attorney’s (Alan Alda, who seems to be making a career of playing high-powered lawyers) legal manuevers is deftly blocked by the government’s special prosecutor (Matt Dillion). In the meantime, lives fall apart for now-exposed CIA operative Erica Van Doren (Vera Farmiga) and Armstrong herself, as her husband (David Schwimmer, who seems to be getting whinier with each performance) deserts her and her cause. While there are high-minded questions about principle and motive in “Nothing But the Truth,” the identity of the source is the real question we want answered. So after a few plot twists and teases, you’ll learn where Armstrong got her tip. And it’s not a source I would have ever considered. So maybe it’s possible that Scooter Libby wasn’t the one who outed Valerie Plame.

“Nothing But the Truth”

Released: 2008

Rating: R

Length: 107 minutes

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga, Alan Alda, David Schwimmer

Director: Rod Lurie

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller

“Ghost Town”

The reason to rent this DVD, in a word (two, actually): Ricky Gervais, who does another spin on the socially-awkward character he perfected on “The Office.” In “Ghost Town” he plays Bertram Pincus, a dentist who dies on the table during a colonoscopy and is revived, only to discover that he now can see and communicate with dead people. One particular member of his new group of friends is Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), a recently-deceased cad who “convinces” Bertram to break up his widowed wife’s (Tea Leoni) pending marriage. And as is the law in the world of romantic comedies, Bertram must eventually fall in love with the widow and she with him. But that’s a little difficult when Bertram is an “anti-people” person who has a gift for saying and doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Gervais himself has a gift for making these cringe-inducing characters watchable. Just as in “The Office,” you’ll watch a scene unfold and think to yourself, “he’s not going to do that… oh please don’t do that” and when does, you think to yourself, “I can believe he just did that.” And that’s the fun part in an otherwise pretty tame romantic comedy. My favorite scene: The dog with bad breath. My tweet, inspired by Bertram’s ability to see dead people: Ghost Town-Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni & Greg Kinnear star in this romantic comedy loosely based on M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense.” 7 (out of 10)

“Ghost Town”

Released: 2008

Rating: PG-13

Length: 102 minutes

Cast: Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni

Director: David Koepp

Genre(s): Comedy, Romantic Comedy

“This Film Is Not Yet Rated”

It takes a certain amount of courage for a filmmaker to take on a powerful institution. Think of Michael Moore and his documentaries that ridicule GM (“Roger and Me”), the Bush administration (“Fahrenheit 9/11”) or the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare system (“Sicko”). But in “This Film Is Not Yet Rated,” Kirby Dick pokes a finger in the eye of an authority far more closer to home, at least for a filmmaker – the MPAA ratings board. Like many in the movie-gong public, he’d like to know how the Board comes up with its ratings. Why do movies that feature copious amounts of violence get “R” ratings while movies with nudity or sex (that are clearly not pornographic) receive an NC-17? So Dick goes about finding out. This is more than a matter of making a simple phone call. The MPAA works under an air of secrecy worthy of a military intelligence operation. When the polite methods won’t work, Dick becomes inventive – hires a private detective, sorts through trash, uses hidden cameras – and he chronicles everything. He also interviews filmmakers who’ve “suffered” at the hands of the MPAA, including John Waters, Kevin Smith, Matt Stone and Atom Egoyan, as well as some former members of the Board, who I assume will now be unable to get tables at posh restaurants in L.A. The story that Dick pieces together is surprising, but not shocking. The Board members (yes, he finally identifies them all) are promoted by the MPAA as parents of children aged 5-17, yet most are not. The big studios who fund the MPAA get preferential treatment, while indie filmmakers are often left on their own. And the MPAA, who professes to support a filmmaker’s freedom of expression, is a de facto censor because an NC-17 rating will close off various distribution and marketing channels. But “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” gets really interesting when Dick submits his film to the MPAA for a rating (an NC-17, of course). He presses them for an explanation and specifics, and receives a couple of unfriendly phone calls from their representatives, including an MPAA attorney who threatens to “Cut him off.” Now for a filmmaker, that’s pretty courageous. My tweet: This Film Is Not Yet Rated-Kirby Dick investigates the “even when you win, you lose” paradox by taking on the MPAA ratings Star Chamber. 7.5 (out of 10)

“This Film Is Not Yet Rated”

Released: 2005

Rating: NR

Length: 97 minutes

Cast: John Waters, Kevin Smith, Matt Stone, Kimberly Peirce

Director: Kirby Dick

Genre(s): Documentary, Interview