Opening This Week

CASINO JACK AND THE UNITED STATES OF MONEY—Detailed documentary about Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the man as responsible as anyone for the “pay to play” government we now have. Directed by Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room). Reviewed this issue. Eastern Hills

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME—Video game adaptation. Disney no longer previews its movies in Buffalo, but the New Yorker’s David Denby notes that while the movie “is meant purely as light entertainment, the way it draws on layers of junk is depressing.” Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley. Directed by Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco). Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Sunset Drive-In, Transit Drive-In

SEX AND THE CITY 2—Sequel. Starring the cast of the HBO series and no one else, which is to say for fans only. Amherst, Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Sunset Drive-In, Transit Drive-In

ETC:

CRAZY HEART—Jeff Bridges in his Academy Award-winning performance as a hardscrabble country singer who has spent too many years in too many bars. Co-starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, and Beth Grant. Directed by Scott Cooper. Fri, Sat, Tues, Weds 8pm. The Screening Room, Northtown Plaza in Century Mall, 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst (837-0376 / www.screeningroom.net)

HERE AND THERE—Low-key comedy about a depressed Manhattan musician hired to go to Serbia and marry a woman in order to bring her to the United States. Starring David Thornton, Mirjana Karanovic, Branislav Trifunovic, and Cyndi Lauper. Directed by Darko Lungulov. Fri 7 9; Sat 1 3 5 7 9; Sun 1 3 5 7. HD Video Café, 5445 Transit Rd, Williamsville (688-4933 / www.hdvideocafe.com)

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (2004)—Imagine a John Hughes teen romance remade by Jim Jarmush as a group of SNL sketches. Already a cult classic, this is exercise in cool, distancing style that may actually be meant as a spoof of teen flics, although it’s kind of hard to tell. Starring Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, and Diedrich Bader. Directed by Jared Hess. Fri midnight. Hamburg Palace Theatre, 31 Buffalo St, Hamburg (649-2295 / www.hamburgpalace.com)