Every week in Friday's Weekend Ticket section, I review new movies and I recommend previously released ones. Can't wait til Friday? Well, this feature now also appears at 21Q each Thursday afternoon.
My picks among recently released movies:

Across the Universe
2 1/2 stars
Julie Taymor’s Beatles musical goes on too long and lags in stretches, but some production numbers are truly magical. At its best moments, the film mixes great sophistication with goofy charm. (Check out Eddie Izzard, pictured, as Mr. Kite.)
Rated PG-13
Eastern Promises
3 stars
Anna (Naomi Watts), a midwife tangling with mobsters, isn’t a criminal, but that doesn’t mean she’s easily put off. Watts has played amateur sleuths and/or imperiled women for much of her career, yet she still lends a freshness to Anna’s determination and naivete. She also shows tremendous chemistry with Viggo Mortensen, who plays an enigmatic mob chauffeur.
Rated R
3:10 to Yuma
3 1/2 stars
As loyal second to criminal mastermind Ben Wade (Russell Crowe), Ben Foster looks like Billy the Kid as outfitted by the wardrobe person for Velvet Revolver. Foster goes big with his performance – a gambit that works surprisingly well as counterpoint to the more subtle work by Crowe and Christian Bale.
Rated R








About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.