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THE PROPOSITION A cold, hard film chiefly populated by cold, hard men, The Proposition finds director John Hillcoat and scripter Nick Cave (yes, the musician) transplanting what is perceived as a quintessential American genre -- the Western -- to the equally sparse Australian terrain. In a standout performance, Ray Winstone plays Captain Stanley, the lawman who captures Charley (Guy Pearce) and Mikey (Richard Wilson), two-thirds of the murderous Burns clan. But Stanley is really after oldest sibling Arthur (Danny Huston), and so he tells Charley that if he can find and kill Arthur, he'll spare the dimwitted Mikey. Early word has compared this to the Sam Peckinpah oeuvre, and that's apt. But it also identifies with Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man and Tommy Lee Jones' The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (to say nothing of Australia's own Outback flicks from the 1970s), mood pieces in which philosophical renegades seek to come to terms with their own restless souls while navigating territories that only enhance their desperation and disconnectedness. ***
X-MEN: THE LAST STAND The 2000 hit X-Men, which introduced Marvel's band of mutant outsiders to a wider audience and helped spearhead the current boom in superhero flicks, appealed to fans of the comic book but also offered comfort to anyone who could tap into its obvious symbolic gestures (most equating the fantasy world ostracism of mutants with the real world shunning of homosexuals). Director Bryan Singer returned for 2003's X2, and, bucking the trend, managed to make a follow-up that nearly matched its predecessor. Alas, Singer has fled the series to helm Superman Returns, and Brett Ratner (the Rush Hour duo) and his scripters prove to be shaky replacements. Yet it's a testament to the durability of the original comic created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby that the movie survives this hostile takeover. There are plenty of boneheaded decisions plaguing this action-packed chapter -- too many players, stagnant characterizations -- yet there's also enough of merit to earn it a passing grade. **1/2
OPENS FRIDAY, JUNE 16:
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT: Lucas Black, Bow Wow.
GARFIELD: A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES: Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt.
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH: Documentary.
KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS: Jeremy Piven, Jami Gertz.
THE LAKE HOUSE: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock.
NACHO LIBRE: Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera.
SIR, NO SIR!: Documentary.