Commandments

Ludicrous as morality or theology but passable as light entertainment (despite the lame try at jaunty theme music), writer-director Daniel Taplitz’s comedy-drama concerns a man (Aidan Quinn) who loses his wife, home, and job and is even hit by a bolt of lightning. He then resolves to defy God by breaking all of the Ten Commandments. Since this, like most commercial American movies, is about capitalist male ownership, the bad luck of the hero’s wifenot to mention the welfare of his community relative to his lossesis never remotely at issue; what’s at stake is God’s respect for a man’s private property. With Courteney Cox and Anthony LaPaglia. (JR) Read more

Shall We Dance?

Its paper-thin characters turned into caricatures by egregious hamming, this 1996 Japanese comedy drama about shy ballroom dancers is sentimental goo and downright interminable. Clearly pitched to the Strictly Ballroom market, it’s strident and glib enough to corner it. Good luck and all that, but count me out. Written and directed by Masayuki Suo. In Japanese with subtitles. PG-13, 118 min. (JR) Read more