An unusually offbeat movie slate opening Friday promises to provoke laughs mingled with wry insights, bitter loathing, blood-curdling screams and “you-go-girl” cheers.

First the funny stuff: Horror comedy Zombieland casts Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland) as humans surrounded by vacant-eyed flesh-eaters.

Current reviews: 9 Fuses Bleak Sci-Fi Story With Brilliant Visuals Nightmare Nazi Dominates Tarantino’s Glorious Basterds
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Tntion of Lying</em> fes Britain’s master of self-deprecation Ricky Gervais as the first human to figure out that telling the truth is optional. Co-directing his own script, Gervais (pictured) hurls himself into a firing squad of ruthlessly honest characters played by Tina Fey, Jennifer Garner and Rob Lowe.</p> <p>

astarred last fall in the David Koepp-directed <em>Ghoswn</em> widdling results but <em>Inven</em> mahe first time Gervais, co-creator of masterful English TV series <em>The ce</em>, hsumed full creative control on a feature film.</p> <p>

ehip/em>, Onominated she-geek Ellen Page (<em>Juno>) twith director Drew Barrymore to play a rebellious roller-derby skater. The Coen Brothers plumb their own childhood Jewish for dark humor in <em>SeriMen</em>.</>

hocumentary front, <em>We Lin Public</em> trthe rise and fall of web pioneer Josh Harris. The fascinating exploration of boom-time excesses opens in San Francisco and Minneapolis ahead of a gradual nationwide roll-out. Also in limited release: <em>Capism: A Love Story</em>, ich Michael Moore tries to collect bags of money from Wall Street big shots to repay their government bailout. The documentary targets the richest 1 percent of the population who control 95 percent of the nation’s wealth.</p> <p>

sthe week: <em>We Lin Public</em> des a complex portrait of a world-class web exhibitionist while the sharp <em>Zombnd</em> ket simple: Walking dead = bad, funny = good.</p> <p>

e about this week’s theatrical offerings and watch trailers below.</p> <p>

2

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:</strong teen Columbus (played by Jesse Eisenberg) survives a zombie plague and teams up with fellow Twinkie-loving badass Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) on a bloody cross-country trip culminating in an amusement park showdown. Bill Murray, Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone co-star for director <a href=eischer</a> (TVem>Jimmmmel Live</em>).<st strongp>

r>_ntion of Lying</a></em_t

:</strongg co-writer/co-director Ricky Gervais, the story takes place in an alternative universe that resembles normal society in every regard except that nobody lies. When a down-on-his-luck loser (Gervais) stumbles upon a way to lie, he uses his newfound ability to woo the ladies. Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Rob Lowe and Tina Fey co-star.<br> <st strongp> <p>

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:</strongd by co-star Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page (<em>Juno>) pBliss, an indie-rock-loving misfit from small-town Texas who rejects beauty queen expectations to take her lumps in the roller derby ring. The action-comedy also includes Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig and Jimmy Fallon.<br> <st strongp> <p>

r>*Men</a></emd)</strongt

:</strongng their Oscar-winning <em>No Cry for Old Men</em>, ten Brothers write and direct this semi-autobiographical period piece set in the Midwest. A Jewish physics professor (Michael Stuhlbarg), saddled with a deadbeat brother (Richard Kind), consults three rabbis for help after his wife asks for a divorce.<br> <st strongp>

r>*sm: A Love Story</a></emd)</strongt

:</strong Moore (<em>Sickm>) a in his latest critique that free-market excesses have wreaked havoc on the lives of ordinary people. Along the way, Moore tries to interview powerbrokers, D.C. politicians and Wall Street money men.<br> <st strongp>

r>*in Public</a></emd)</strongt

:</strongr Ondi Timoner’s documentary explores themes of surveillance, web-obsession and privacy through the rise and fall of internet pioneer Josh Harris, who burned through $80 million in less than a decade. The movie opens Friday in San Francisco and Saturday in Minneapolis before expanding next week.<br> <st stronged</p> <h2

Ters Now</h2> [#

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:</strongn Robert Venditti’s graphic novel, the sci-fi detective tale follows FBI agent Greer (played by Bruce Willis) as he investigates troublemakers threatening to ruin a perfect world administered by robots. Radha Mitchell, James Cromwell and Ving Rhames co-star for director Jonathan Mostow (<em>Termor 3</em>).<st strongp> <p

eiew:</strongcarries the movie adequately, in large part by allowing himself to look bedragged and paunchy for the sake of the story. Operating as an effective metaphor for modern-day social networking, <em>Surres</em> pis a world in which blotchy, wrinkled human recluses present a perfect facade to the outside world through the manipulation of younger, better-looking surrogates. Cromwell delivers the humanistic goods in his brief appearance as a Bill Gates-in-a wheelchair ubergeek. Mitchell, playing Willis’ robot partner, only gets to be human for about five on-screen seconds. The rest of the time, she’s understandably stiff, as are most of the other cast members. Comes with the territory when you’re making a movie about robots. <em>— Huart</em><br

/strongc</strong=es</em>‘ S Crime Drama Stays True to Comic’s Roots</a></p>

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r>_</a></em_t

:</strongthriller stars Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster as a pair of spaceship commanders 500 million miles from Earth who wake up to find that 60,000 passengers have gone missing. In their place, something new is lurking aboard the ship. From the producers of the <em>Resi Evil</em> fithe space adventure is directed by German-born Christian Alvart (<em>Anties</em>).<st strongp>

r>*terviews With Hideous Men</a></emd)</strongt

:</strongasinski (TV’s <em>The ce</em>) w and directs this dark comic examination of the male psyche, based on a collection of stories by the late David Foster Wallace. Julianne Nicholson stars as an anthropology grad student who interviews a cross-section of warped men about relationship dysfunction. Krasinski, Ben Shenkman, Timothy Hutton, Michael Cerveris, Lou Taylor Pucci and Will Arnett co-star.<br> <st strong</p> <p>

r>_hey Serve Beer in Hell</a></em_t

:</strongn the adventures of Tucker Max, who co-wrote and produced the film, <em>Hell> fes the escapades of Tucker (played by <a href=chry</a>), hbout-to-be-married pal Dan (Geoff Stults) and the woman-hating Drew (Jesse Bradford).<br> <st strongp

eiew:</stronghis feature-film debut, Czuchry turns what might otherwise be a repellent egomaniac into a compelling presence. Yes, he lies to his best friend; yes, he degrades women; yes, he’s self-satisfied. And yet lead character Max Tucker, as played by Czuchry, comes across as a likeable, drunken womanizer. Warning: A full-bore diarrhea sequence midway into the film is <em>not< fo faint-hearted. <em>— Huart</em><br

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r>_</em_t

:</strongrectorial debut by Britney Spears choreographer <a href=ncharoen</a> upd the 1980 movie about singers, actors and artists at New York City High School of Performing Arts. Joining the cast of young unknowns are Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mulalley, Charles S. Dutton and Bebe Neuwirth.<br> <st strong<p>

r>_’s Body</a></em_t

:</strongox plays a cheerleader who becomes demon-possessed and begins feasting on lustful guys in her small town. Directed by <a href=sama</a> (<erlt</em>), ark horror-comedy co-stars <a href=eyfried</a> (<ema!</em>, Tem>Big </em>). t is by Oscar-winner <a href=ody</a> ( J United States of Tara).<br> <st strongp

eiew:</stronghere be a better bitchy-hot boy-killer than Megan Fox? The Transformers babe uses sex as a weapon, smart-bombing unwitting males with her best attributes even before she turns into a succubus in Jennifer’s Body. After her possession, she seduces and eats infatuated teens, then barfs up black liquid before returning to snark duty in the classroom. The horror-comedy hybrid bounces between bloody killings, scenes of wailing mourners and <a href=</a> -sthigh school hi-jinks in a way that proves jarring and ultimately unfulfilling, as every scary scene is quickly defanged by a joke. The ever-clever dialogue churned out by Cody is so hip it’s distracting, and doesn’t do much to settle the ride: You’ll either love the zippy lipping or you’ll hate it. — Lewis Wallace<br> <st

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r>_rmant!</a></em_t

:</strongmon stars in the true-story comic take on whistle-blower Marc Whitacre, a high-ranking exec who goes undercover to gather evidence of price-fixing and chemical contamination at Fortune 500 food giant Archers Daniels Midland. Directed by Steven Soderbergh (<em>Ocea11, Che</em>).<st strongp>

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r>_ith a Chance of Meatballs</a></em_t

:</strongcientist out to solve world hunger sees his experiment go awry when food that’s programmed into his latest invention starts falling from the sky. The animated 3-D comedy, based on Judi and Ron Barrett’s best-selling novel, is directed by Phil Lord (TV’s <em>Clongh</em>) aimation artist Chris Miller (<em>Shrem>, <daar</em>) woice work by Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Neil Patrick Harris, James Caan, Bruce Campbell, Andy Samberg and Mr. T.<br> <st strongp> <p>

r>_</a></em_t

:</strongckinsale (<em>Undeld)</em> pl.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko. She has three days left on her tour of duty in Antarctica when she stumbles upon a badly beaten corpse. Facing 6 million square miles of ice and six months of darkness at 120 degrees below, Stetko must solve the murder before the last plane leaves for the winter.<br> <st strongp>

r>_n II</a></em_t

:</strong and directed by <a href=ie</a>, th0th installment of John Carpenter’s horror franchise picks up where the last one left off. Killer Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) has returned home to sleepy Haddonfield, Illinois, to take care of some unfinished family business. This leads to a trail of terror for heroine Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton). <a href=McDowell</a> co-s.<br> <st strongp>

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r>_ous Basterds</a></em_t

:</strong Tarantino’s revenge fantasy follows a squad of American Jews in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Their mission: Scalp the enemy. The plot thickens when an icy Gestapo officer (played by Christoph Waltz) learns of the Basterds’ scheme to blow up Hitler in a Parisian movie theater. Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Mélanie Laurent and Diane Kruger star for Tarantino, who based the film loosely on Enzo Castellari’s 1978 action pic <em>Inglus Bastards.</em><brstrongp

e**/strong**=e Nazi Dominates Tarantino’s Glorious <em>Bast</em></a

</strong=o Names 20 Favorite Films Since <em>Reser Dogs</em></a

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r> _9</a></em_t

:</strongwho landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, 20 years ago have been rounded up by residents as underclass “prawns” and forced to live in the District 9 shantytown. When multinational employee Wikus van der Merwe (played by <a href=Copley</a>) cocts a mysterious virus that alters his DNA, he’s forced to take refuge in the camp. <a href=omkamp</a> dir.<br> <st strongp

e**/strong**=Gritty Lead Performance Drives <em>Dist 9</em>‘s Vérité</a><br>

strong=ia, Racism Drive Alien Relocations in <em>Dist 9</em></a</strong=r Jackson Discovered <em>Dist 9</em> Dir Neill Blomkamp</a><br>strong=of <em>Dist 9</em>‘s y Alien Realism</a></p>

o**:</strong**

ih- em>‘s ing Flora, Fauna Give Comic-Con an Eyeful</a></lih- Later, <em>The Giant</em>‘s nized Soul Still Stirs</a></lih- Mexican Sci-Fi Beams a Blast From the Past, <em>con o</em></ah- 2</em> BlInto Comic-Con, More Badass Than Ever</a></li