(All reviews by Jeremy Mathews unless otherwise noted.)

“Elf”
3 reels (out of four)
See review

“Love Actually”
Universal Pictures
Rated R
(out of four)—reviewed by Hayley Heaton
I have a dualistic relationship with movies that make me want to fall in love. It isn't complicated or anything, I simply hate them because they make me want to be in love and I also love them because they make me want to be in love.”Love Actually” is one of those movies. It leaves you with that warm and comfy feeling of Christmas, but also with that undeniable “Oh, shit, I need to fall in love” ache.

British screenwriter Richard Curtis, responsible for the classic Oh-shit-I-need-to-fall-in-love films “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Bridget Jones’ Diary,” makes his directorial debut with “Love Actually.” The film jumbles a load of lovely love stories, sets itself in London and wraps them up nicely in a Christmas box for us to enjoy. And let me not forget to mention the amazing cast and a few of the English accents: Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightly and a whole slew of others. I quite liked this movie, but be prepared for all the aforementioned genre's tricks. It's going to make you love love no matter what.

“The Matrix Revolutions”
3 reels (out of four)
See review

“The Station Agent”
Miramax Films
Opening at the Broadway
Rated R
(out of four)
(See last week issue’s full-length review.)
Thomas McCarthy’s “The Station Agent” is a smart, funny portrait of a friendship between three unlikely people in a small town: a train-enthusiast dwarf (Peter Dinklage), an artist mourning the death of her son (Patricia Clarkson) and a coffee wagon vendor (Bobby Cannavale). Impressive performances abound.

“Sex in a Cold Climate”
Not rated
(Not reviewed)
Opening at the Tower.
British documentarian Steve Humphries’ “Sex in a Cold Climate” examines the real-life conditions portrayed in the recently successful “The Magdalene Sisters.” The 1998 film, which is mentioned as an inspiration in the end credits of the drama, explores the Magdalene asylums, which Catholic nuns ran as laundries where women who had premarital sex were treated with cruelty. The film is playing a limited run at the Tower Theatre.
jeremy@red-mag.com
hayley@red-mag.com