At the Movies: capsule reviews of new films

Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

"Breakfast on Pluto" - A raucous, thoroughly involving successor to director Neil Jordan's "The Crying Game" and "The Butcher Boy," which also blend wicked absurdist humor and fantasy elements with harsh and often bloody reality. Aside from being a real looker in heels, skirt, blouse and wig, Cillian Murphy is a whirlwind of effeminate energy as a cross-dressing Irish misfit searching for both the mother who abandoned him and a place to call home. Jordan enlists a tremendous lineup, including such past collaborators as Liam Neeson, Stephen Rea and Brendan Gleeson, in rich supporting roles. Dozens of sugary pop tunes and glam-rock songs punctuate the story as Murphy frolics amid social conflict and IRA violence in the 1970s. The film is adapted from the novel by Patrick McCabe, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jordan. R for sexuality, language, some violence and drug use. 130 min. Three stars out of four.

- David Germain, AP Movie Writer

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"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" - If the third film in the series, last year's "Prisoner of Azkaban," seemed frightening with its soul-sucking Dementors and its German expressionist aesthetic, then the fourth will have kids quaking in their seats - and perhaps wishing they had an invisibility cloak to hide beneath. This "Potter" earns its PG-13 rating - a first for the previously PG series about the boy wizard - as Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) grows into adolescence and learns more about his powers and his past. "Goblet of Fire" features the return of the dreaded Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), the dark warlock who killed Harry's parents and tried to kill him, too, when he was just an infant. Radcliffe is more confident than ever; Emma Watson as Hermione is more vibrant than ever. And Brendan Gleeson is a fabulous addition to the cast as the mad-eyed Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Visually, though, the film feels a bit artificial and detached. PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images. 157 min. Two and a half stars out of four.

- Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

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"Walk the Line" - The film is about Johnny Cash, whom Joaquin Phoenix plays with a raw intensity and a blaze in his eyes that's part bad boy, part scared child, but 100 percent emotional commitment. Then along comes Reese Witherspoon as Cash's lifelong love, June Carter, and she pretty much steals the movie right out from underneath him. This is in no way intended to disparage Phoenix's performance. What he has done in capturing the energy and essence of a towering American cultural figure, without lapsing into facile imitation, is nothing short of extraordinary, especially when you consider that's him singing and playing the guitar in Cash's deep, driving style. Witherspoon, though, just takes over the entire screen, and when she's gone, you want her to come back. This is the part she was born to play, showcasing her radiance and charm and also her maturity. (She does all her own singing, too.) Together they elevate "Walk the Line" above what it essentially is: a conventional biopic. PG-13 for some language, thematic material and depiction of drug dependency. Running time: 128 min. Three stars out of four.

- Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic