recommended 13 Assassins
The latest from Takashi Miike is the definition of a slow burn: Front loaded with portent and exposition, 13 Assassins takes entirely too long to get moving, but once it does, Miike doesn't hold back. He might be trying to make a serious samurai epic, but what it seems like Miike really wants to do is assemble an epic action flick about a bunch of pissed-off samurais. ERIK HENRIKSEN Fifth Avenue Cinema.

recommended Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse
Nearly seven years ago, James Chasse Jr. was chased and beaten by cops, kept from the medical care that would have saved his life, and left to die in the back of a police car. Lies were whispered in the minutes and hours that followed, and years have passed without any meaningful reckoning. And ever since, director Brian Lindstrom and the producers of Alien Boy, some who knew Chasse personally, worked when they could to painstakingly assemble the most definitive—and unflinching—account of a tragedy Portland should never forget. Living Room Theaters.

recommended Barbara Stanwyck: The Miracle Woman
See Film, this issue. Whitsell Auditorium.

The Call
The latest terrible-looking movie starring Halle Berry. Various Theaters.

recommended The Gatekeepers
See review this issue. Fox Tower 10.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
See review this issue. Various Theaters.

recommended Like Someone in Love
The camera likes to linger on the subjects of this warm, melancholy drama from Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami: a young call girl named Akiko, her fiancé, and an elderly scholar she's sent to see one night. The film patiently observes the conversations and silences that arise between them, and, poignantly, the assumptions that they make so willfully about one another. The plot is so light that to discuss any of it would be to reveal most of it, but the unfolding of character—overheard in side-conversations, deliberated on during taxicab detours around the block, or glanced at in reflections—steadily brings the emotional weight of the film into focus for the viewer. The film is set in Tokyo and features a small, all-Japanese cast that's more than capable of conveying the subtleties the script demands, and the glowing color palette, coupled with an ambient murmur of soft music (or traffic, or footsteps, even the sounds of a mechanic's garage are imbued with muted, lilting rhythms), provides an inviting sensory backdrop to the performances. KRISHANU RAY Living Room Theaters.

Lincoln
Oscar bait doesn't get much more baiting than this: Steven Spielberg directing Daniel Day-Lewis with a Tony Kushner script about the final months of America's most beloved, tragic president. By and large, Lincoln wanders many of the same paths Spielberg's other Oscar bait-y films have taken—this one feels particularly like Amistad, though there's some War Horse in here too. Lincoln is a generally well-made film, but it's also one stitched together from Day-Lewis' dramatic monologues and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski's reverential sepia tones: Even when it tries to humanize Lincoln, it's mostly just here to reaffirm what a Great Man he was and how he made some Very Important History. ERIK HENRIKSEN Various Theaters

Masquerade
Remember that Ivan Reitman movie Dave? Masquerade is that, but set in 17th century Korea! When a dickish king (Lee Byung-hun) becomes incapacitated, his scheming advisers install a gold-hearted comedian look-alike (Lee Byung-hun). While the story is simple, the level of commitment is impressive: The costumes are gorgeous, the acting is wry, and the editing keeps things moving. BEN COLEMAN Fox Tower 10.

Oz the Great and Powerful
Oz has a lot going for it—cutting-edge CG, a decent script, and Spider-Man and Evil Dead director Sam Raimi. And while it might seem an impossible task to replicate the greatness of 1939's Wizard of Oz, this prequel is still a wonder to behold—from a visual standpoint, at least, it matches and sometimes betters the original. I'd unequivocally recommend this movie—if it weren't for the casting. James Franco is simply too lethargic, and Mila Kunis shows none of her usual spark. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY Various Theaters.

A Place at the Table
Some documentaries can feel like an old man complaining at a bus stop; making valid points about society's injustices, but not offering any solutions. A Place at the Table isn't visually compelling, but you'd have to be Colonel A. Dickwad not to be bothered by the issue it illuminates: 50 million starving Americans. The film underlines starvation as a pervasive issue in America, with plenty of blame to go around between greedy agriculture corporations and politicians. But directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush also offer ways for the viewer to get involved—and make a compelling case for why we should. ROSE FINN Hollywood Theatre.

Repressed Cinema
A monthly series at the Hollywood Theatre, "showing vintage and contemporary films that are obscure, neglected, and from the fringe." This month: the BDSM feature Maximum Shame, preceded by the charming-sounding short The Phallus Killer. Hollywood Theatre.

Stoker
See review this issue. Fox Tower 10.

recommended Terminator 2: Judgment Day
"You broke my arm!" "There's 215 bones in the human body. That's one." Laurelhurst Theater.

recommended They Live
See My, What a Busy Week! Hollywood Theatre.

Turning
Charles Atlas' film following Antony and the Johnsons 2006 European tour and "exploring themes of identity, transcendence, and the revelation of essence." One dollar from each ticket sold to the screening on Fri March 15 goes to Basic Rights Oregon's Trans Justice program. Clinton Street Theater.

recommended VHSEX
See My, What a Busy Week! Hollywood Theatre.

Welcoming Departure
A feature from local filmmaker Scott Ballard, and a "jazz-inspired portrait exploring the challenges of change." Not screened in time for press; review forthcoming at portlandmercury.com. Whitsell Auditorium.

recommended Yossi
In 2002, director Eytan Fox released Yossi & Jagger, an acclaimed romantic drama about two men in the Israeli army who find themselves in a deeply passionate, deeply closeted love affair before the war claims one of their lives. Ten years later, here's Yossi, Fox's sequel, which finds the 10-years-older-and-still-shellshocked Yossi going through the motions of his closeted life as doctor while attempting to find some resolution for his secret lost love. It's a small film that might not resonate fully with those who haven't seen its predecessor, but it's full of tough and lovely details about heartbreak-induced stasis, and features a wonderful central performance by a sad, pudgy, and sexy Ohad Knoller. DAVID SCHMADER Living Room Theaters.