Better than "Batman Begins", better than 1989's "Batman"- hell, better than any comic to screen adaptation ever (yes this includes the over-celebrated "Iron Man") Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" is one of the most entertaining and thrilling movies I've seen this year or any year. The inescapable buzz that surrounds the film is as scorching as ever as the Friday release date approaches and rightfully so. Nolan's "Begins", was a much needed jab in the arm of the superhero genre. It wasn't amazing, but it definitely had potential to grow into something more substantial, even great. "Knight" corrects everything that was flawed with Nolan's previous effort and steps it up to wondrous heights.

Moving with an immaculate flow of sheer precision, it seems like Nolan and Co spent a hell of a lot of time making sure this one didn't have a single flaw in its bat armor. One of the things that's quite perfect is the late Heath Ledger. Scary, daunting, zany and unhinged, the performance he turns in is everything the media has hyped it up to be- yes, it's the front runner for the best supporting actor Oscar, but it's more than that. It's a culmination of the talent Ledger contained. We only started to see the brilliance of it in "Brokeback" but this is the performance that will define his career. Words can't describe how heartbreaking it is once you've left the theater and realize, "Oh my god, this is it for him, this is the last full performance of his we'll ever see". The audience cheered after every quip, sly smile or antic his creation of the Joker did. It was quite something.

Adding to the proceedings is Maggie (thank god Katie Holmes left) Gyllenhaal who actually makes you care about the character of Rachel Dawes this time around and adds a little thing called 'acting' to the role. Eckhart impresses as Harvey 'Two Face' Dent, whose "believe" campaign in the film totally reminded me of Obama- they're kind of the same- Obama could be 'Two Race'. Ok bad joke- moving on. Bale was the weakest link in the film- I hated his 'Batman has a case of laryngitis' tone and this is the first time where he seemed to be going through the motions, devoid of the fire he brought to the first film or any of his others.

Nolan has matured as a director as well. We finally can see what the hell is going on in the action set pieces (I get that Batman was a ninja in the first one but a cape flying around and then two knocked out guys on the floor is not my idea of exciting) this time he spreads his wings IMAX style and it pays off it a huge way (pun intended if you care at all). When Bats jumps off the roof of a Hong Kong building you're right there with him, when he's in his Batpod and racing down the highway, you're right next to him. Unfortunately after he's had a hard day's work and hits the bat shower the camera is mysteriously absent.

With echoes of Michael Mann's "Heat" in its crime scenes and the heart of an old style detective novel in its others- Nolan adds the superhero element last and it pays off giving us a more real and thrilling movie than you could have imagined.

-Scott Hoffman

In a nation where “Hannah Montana” dominates the box office, A third “High School Musical” is on its way and a little movie about a pregnant teenager is continuing to rake in dough, it’s undeniable that teen culture is in. What a perfect time it is for a movie to come along that not only annihilates the artificial senselessness of all the aforementioned films, but reinvents the genre. I’m talking about a film called “Charlie Bartlett”.

In a sincere and satisfying 90 minutes or so, we follow the young and assured Charlie (the extraordinary Yelchin) as he tries to fit in in the less dignified public school system after being kicked out of every private school he’s attended. In order to make friends and become popular- he labels himself the underground school shrink. Listening to the private confessions of his schoolmates and teaming up with the school bully (Hilton) he decides to take it a step further and hand out pills he’s obtained from his own psychiatric sessions. Things soon start to get more complicated when he starts to do battle with the alcoholic school principal (Downey) and fall for his younger, rebellious daughter (Dennings).

Delightfully clever and gratifyingly unique, “Bartlett” is something not seen often in American cinema. It’s a teen movie with balls. An R rated, blunt and bona fide comedic affair with fringing dramatic components declaring that kids have real issues. They’re depressed, lonely, isolated and fucked up. They’re not singing about the school musical, talking about a boy they want to kiss or speaking in phony, featherbrained patois, they’re the existing, yet abandoned teen demographic.

I really believe that every generation has a teen film that people look back on to define that moment in time. The 80’s had ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ the 90’s had 'Clueless’ and ‘American Pie’ and now this generation has 'Charlie Bartlett'. As you watch the film progress, you move with its emotion and its characters- not for one second knowing where you will end up. Ultimately, you will be able to identify with its protagonist’s struggle for acceptance and complete and utter happiness, something most of us don’t choose to accept but doubtlessly desire. You can forget about 'Juno'. This is the freshest, most intelligent depiction of modern high school life on film to date.

- Scott Hoffman

While there is fair warning that what you're about to see is half based on fact, half fictionalized, there is a constant naturalism in Bob Balaban's admirable "Bernard and Doris" which aired on HBO this past Saturday and continues to play throughout the rest of the month.

We follow the peculiar life of billionairness Doris Duke (Sarandon) and her companionship with her gay butler Bernard (Fiennes). At first awkward with one another, the two become close while delicately not knowing how to define their relationship. There is a wonderful moment early on in the film when Doris has a close and meaningful moment with Bernard then suddenly changes her tone becoming impersonal and difficult, showing how thin the line between servant and being the boss is between them. It's moments like these that are only pulled off by the best, most professional actors and luckily, Sarandon and Fiennes give their best work in a long time making sure that when awards season comes around they'll be recognized.

The thing that really makes "Bernard and Doris" succeed is the grounded delicacy and compassion that the talent bring together. Balaban stages the film almost like a stage play. Elegantly set designed and gorgeously shot, the film only takes place inside the Duke residence, yet you never grow tired of the continuous surroundings or story. Something like this could have been easily ruined with flaunty performances and artificial direction but is saved by the caliber of the crew involved. Undeniably moving by the final frame, impeccably acted and directed- it didn't matter to me that what I saw wasn't 100% accurate. It accomplished everything it set out to do and did it substantially. See it as soon as possible!

-Scott Hoffman

Like a Guy Richie film minus the usual tongue in cheek comicality, "London to Brighton" is a full frontal assault on your emotions. No hesitations here, this is uncompromising and intense stuff. As I was taking the whole thing in, I suspected more and more that the film seemed to thrive on the thrill of making you feel uneasy.

Two unlucky ladies- the young, naive and homeless Joanne (Groome) and exploited hooker Kelly (Stanley) are on the run. From what, we're not shown. As the film unravels in flashbacks and a non-linear time frame, we soon realize that the two might have messed with the wrong people and in turn are being hunted down for their lives. You're always on the fence about who is playing who and what motives every character possesses.

The thing that was so refreshing about the film was the gritty, no holds barred, shaky cam roughness of it all. So rarely are we exposed to this genre and not toyed around with. No cliché character here, moronic twist, far-fetched cop out to be found, it's all played out in front of you, no strings attached. You almost feel like you're a fly on the wall, left glued there to witness vindictive human suffering. Occasionally the stylistic compulsion kicks in with director Williams pulling a slow-mo, but not quite gimmicky shot of two characters marching into room with classical music playing, but stuff like that is forgettable when you learn to love the astute, determined control he has over the rest of the film. I was confused and would have preferred an ending worthy of the woe that is put before the audience, but I suppose that some sort of satisfaction is acceptable. Featuring fine performances from the female leads, this is a intense little game worth getting yourself into.

-Scott Hoffman

The horror genre hasn't just suffered in recent years; it has essentially curled up and died. Who would have guessed that a little movie out of Sundance could cause a reawakening in the bottomless pit of so called 'scary movies' that's been piling up to insufferable levels lately? This is the new face of terror. It has arrived, people. The horror movie event of 2008, perhaps even the last decade is here. Mitchell Lichtenstein's "Teeth" may have only generated a slight fizzle earlier last year at Sundance, but that was just the start of its campaign.

Where to begin? How about in the strait-laced life of Dawn? (Weixler) A high school student and head of the chastity group, she is the model, prim face of keeping it in your pants. Complications soon arise however, when Dawn discovers (yes it's true) that she has a vagina with fangs. As she struggles to comprehend what's happening to her, her traditional, adolescent existence starts to spin out of control with wicked results. Not just unique, not just influential, not just shocking beyond belief, "Teeth" is the real deal. A horror movie that grabs you by the balls and doesn't let go-literally!

Elevated from being just another female revenge film (partially due to a brilliant star-making performance by Jess ‘the new princess of horror’ Weixler), “Teeth” is the total opposite of those previous films. Its outrageousness is countered by an authentic sensitivity of the loss of innocence. Lichtenstein recalls every thrilling, discouraging, exciting moment of losing that immaculate awareness of yourself and executes it with a biting, harsh reality that’s hopeless to shake off. You can see the confusion, glee, determination and betrayal in every pore of his teenage characters and something like that is hard to pull off in films these days (just look at the failure of “Normal Adolescent Behavior”). There are moments you won't believe what you're seeing, moments that will make you jump, scream and laugh with delight. When experiencing this, fill up your popcorn bucket, grab your friends and enjoy the ride. What a great, great reinvention and shock to the horror genre, I'm confident enough to say "Teeth" stands among "Halloween" and "A Nightmare On Elm St." as a landmark horror classic. It’s beautifully perverse and not to be forgotten.

-Scott Hoffman

It has become increasingly trendy to bash Richard Kelly's "Southland Tales" since its notorious failure at last year's Cannes Film Festival where it was booed and venomously forsaken as a disaster. Now a year has passed, a million dollars worth of added special effects have been put in place and twenty minutes have been trimmed from its original running time. What stands is not only strikingly original, but remarkable and almost drug like. It's 144 minutes of pure movie-going euphoria that demands to be seen.

Set in 2008, we open on a world standing on the verge of a social, economic and environmental plague. A nuclear attack has wiped out half the state of Texas and as a result we've become a constantly monitored, berserk human existance. In the midst of all the disorder, action super-star Boxer Santaros (Johnson, aka The Rock) is battling amnesia while trying to get a script he has co-written with his girlfriend financed. Krysta Now (Gellar) is a porn star entrepreneur who is co-writing the script with Santaros but knows more than she's willing to tell him. Finally, Roland Taverner (Scott) is in two places at once. One half of himself is being held prisoner by the Neo-Marxists (a rebel underground movement planning to take the Government down) and the other is an L.A. police officer struggling to find his other half. Esoteric enough for ya?

Kelly's uncommon exploration could have easily been weighed down by befuddlement (some will still find it this way) but if you can manage to wrap your head around its central storyline, you'll be able appreciate it a lot more. Film geeks will surely get a kick out of seeing fellow cult filmmakers Eli Roth and Kevin Smith make cameos while Kelly's previous fan followers from "Donnie Darko" will notice a Bunny cameo or two. But really, putting all silliness aside, this is a Hollywood art film. A little bit shocking, pretty controversial, bordering on profound and yes, a bit exhausting, Kelly isn't setting out to tell an average story here. It may feature movie-stars but this isn't mainstream cinema- not even remotely. This is a critical experiment (a timely one at that) of the paranoid, social/antisocial, intense, combative times we live in, whether we like it or not. Outlandish on the outside, devastating on the inside- the effectiveness of the film lies within the subtlety (yes, it's there). The wounded soldier lip-syncing to The Killers ("I got soul, but I'm not a soldier"), the look of defeat and puzzlement in the characters eyes near the film's climax ("it had to end this way") is all highly emotional commentary that's ballsy and unequivocally ahead of its time. Kelly has a substantial voice, but from the looks of it- no one is listening.

-Scott Hoffman

A deeply erotic and exposing journey, first time filmmaker Miles Brandman's "Sex and Breakfast" is the latest exploration in TV and film today of couples experiencing problems in their relationships and turning to various types of solutions- often in crowning acts of desperation. I know what you're thinking, this isn’t "Tell Me You Love Me" folks, it’s smarter, sexier and much more compelling. In fact, "Tell Me You Love Me" wishes it were this steamy.

Two couples are going through some spiritless times in their personal lives. James (Culkin) and Heather (Dziena) have turned to making home made sex tapes, while Ellis (Becker) and Renee (Dushku) have completely lost the spark in their relationship and are fearful that this could be the beginning of the end. Trusting all too heavily in the latest experimentation craze (and largely empty promises) of bettering your sex life and strengthening an unthriving relationship, the couples turn to celebrated quack Dr. Wellbridge (Miles, who in the only similarity to "Tell Me You Love Me", looks a hell of a lot like Jane Alexander's character of Dr. May Foster), whose 'method', is to pair couples who are similar in age and are having the same type of dilemma and swinger swap them in seedy group sex situations. When James, Heather, Ellis and Renee ultimately decide to participate in the experiment, the tension and jealousy begins to grow to unbearable levels.

Don't let the goofy poster fool you. While the film does have a considerable amount of comedic elements including one quotable line that Ellis screams out late in the film, the amusement of the story lies in the fast paced, honest portrayal of young couples who irresponsibly wreak havoc on their affairs, only to end up more bruised and battered than where they started out. Showcasing a great soundtrack that moves with vast emotion and featuring a roundhouse of stellar performances from its cast, the film is definitely worth seeking out.

The real admiration however, goes to Mr. Brandman who has not only crafted this generation's "Sex, Lies and Videotape" but something that's completely original and stands on its own. You will no doubt be surprised at how truly affecting the film is. I was shocked. See it and find out for yourself. If with a date, be prepared to compare clashing notes.

-Scott Hoffman

A bathing beauty suntans on the beach. A lone stranger stumbles towards her, "Do you have a cigarette?" he asks. Their lives will now never be the same. Welcome to Alan White's cutting edge drug thriller "Broken", a perplexing mystery that wraps you in its madness, absorbs you in its performances and stuns you with its tightly drawn artistry. How unfortunate that dignified little films like these never get the attention they deserve and often fall through the cracks of the more high profile films of the season.

Seen at the 2007 Visionfest, I was more than a little thrown off guard on how different "Broken" was. Hope (Graham) is a lost soul. Struggling to be a musician and living a modest life, she is seduced into the arms of a stranger (Sisto) who on the exterior seems nice, but soon reveals himself to be a hardcore drug pusher. "I'm scared because I never felt this good before" Hope says while lying in his arms. Fragile and terrified of being alone, she unwillingly becomes his drug companion. Soon and luckily enough, she manages to escape out of the clutches of her boyfriend, running away into deep seclusion. While hiding out in the middle of nowhere, she is seduced again, this time at every turn with various forms of depravity. She also hasn't heard the last from her crazy former man. Is this all just coincidence or does it all measure up to something much more substantial?

Does this film sound different enough for you? With its dialogue heavy, experimental and strange narrative, "Broken" captivates you and hardly ever stales. This is almost entirely due to the best performance Heather Graham has ever given (even over Roller Girl). She is just extraordinary in this film. Radiant and adding layers of emotion and confusion to her character, sometimes using one facial expression that tells more than any piece of dialogue could- conveying a sadness and despair that is real through and through, she is one of the main reasons to see this movie. Sisto is a pro playing a sleazy dude and makes his evil character in "Waitress" look like a saint in comparison. For those that need more of a reason to seek this out, Graham gets cozy with a member of the same sex and even adds another hot sex scene to her resume.

Gratifyingly amusing and frightening, the film packs a lifetime's worth of emotion into 97 minutes and only suffers when Graham is not on screen. A psychological puzzle and refreshing change of pace from the usual drivel that ends the summer season, this film is destined to be a lost gem that's going to have a significantly hard time finding admirers.

-Scott Hoffman

Intelligence tramples brainlessness in Ryan Shiraki’s mercilessly funny, jubilantly offensive, new teen sex classic “Freshman Orientation”. Held back for an elongated wait since its premiere at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, the film finally hits screens this weekend and one wonders, why the long wait? Perhaps because the population wasn’t (and still might not be) ready for a teen film so smart, racy and politically incorrect as this one turns out to be.

Clay (Worthington) is an adolescent male with the usual things on his mind: sex, women, partying and more sex. Calling himself a feminist to get women, he enters college with the goal of scoring all he can. That’s until he sets his sights on Amanda (Doubleday) and vows she’s the only one he wants. Problem is, Amanda has a pessimistic attitude towards college boys feeling they’re all the same and just want one thing. But in order to stay in her new sorority, she is given the ‘challenge’ of wooing a certain type of guy on campus, get them to proclaim they’re in love with her and then dump them. Amanda gets the ‘gay’ card and mistakes Clay as gay himself. In order to get closer to her, Clay plays along pretending he’s gay, only to start up a lot of additional drama along the way.

The bold controversial humor of “Freshman Orientation” is only one of the many reasons to venture out to find this film. While other films are afraid to make a statement, upset someone in the slightest, or just plain old have fun, this film doesn’t hold back. Lesbians call each other “munchboxes”, a clueless teen tries to woo a Muslim by coyly saying “hey evildoer” and even when the film is getting a bit cheesy, it makes a comment like “homosexuality is everywhere… like Mexicans” and gets you to drop your jaw in shock. Even with a plot like straight guy pretends to be gay to get girl, this film turns that obvious plot device around into something entertaining and highly inventive of its own. “Freshman Orientation” pushes the envelope so far with its outrageous, raunchy antics it even leaves “Superbad” and “American Pie” in the dust. Except this film actually has heart to match its bawdiness.

- Scott Hoffman

Are you tired of the same 'boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back' formula of most uninspired romantic comedies? Well there's no need to fret anymore as the promising co-writer and star of "Kissing Jessica Stein" Jennifer Westfeldt, instantaneously strikes you with a flow of constant unpredictability and impassioned comedic talent in Robert Cary's intelligent, charming, mold breaking romantic sparkler, "Ira and Abby".

Coming off like a young, stuttering Woody Allen, Ira (cute as a button, Messina) is the cliché NY, twenty-something Jew. Commitment phobic, agitated and indecisive, he changes his order at a restaurant five times before he's happy, can't stay in a relationship and even his therapist has had enough of him. Running into the free-spirited, complete opposite, Abby (the fabulous Westfeldt) he is immediately intrigued by her outspoken eccentricities and soon enough the two are engaged, then married. All seems well until a complicated past, affair and emotional dilemmas emerge resulting in a fascinatingly poignant, sharp as a tack exploration of true love.

Wonderfully affectionate and perpetually romantic, it didn't surprise me one bit that Westfeldt penned this film. Her script for "Kissing Jessica Stein" managed to be a refreshing Indie exploration of true love and trust. Here, Westfeldt has managed to expand on that examination. Do we ever really know ourselves? Are we ever sure about who we love and what we want? Starting off silly and on the lighter side, the film soon becomes more emotionally complex as we get to know our characters and the complications and fear that drive them. This is clearly not your normal romantic comedy. Sure it may seem a bit unbelievable in moments, but as the characters capture your respect and the wittiness of screenplay hooks you, you will forgive any far fetched aspects and just appreciate the dissimilarity of it all. It gives me great pleasure to declare "Ira and Abby" is the smartest, most original romantic comedy since "When Harry Met Sally". You absolutely don't want to miss this.

- Scott Hoffman