Being Julia (R, 105 mins.) In 1938 London, Julia Lambert (Annette Bening) is a fading light of the English stage, bored in her marriage to Michael Gosselyn (Jeremy Irons, at his droll best), who falls for a young flatterer, Tom Fennel (Shaun Evans). Istvan Szabo’s eye for production-design detail and Ms. Bening’s highly pitched performance carry viewers along in this old-fashioned light comedy.

Birth (R, 100 mins.) Sean (Cameron Bright), a 10-year-old, believes himself the reincarnation of Upper West Sider Anna’s (Nicole Kidman) dead husband, and succeeds in unseating her fiance Joseph (Danny Houston). Director Jonathan Glazer’s sophomoric sludge ponders the mysteries of love, devotion, and the mental crumbling of the upper crust.

The Brown Bunny (unrated, 92 mins.) The writer, director, editor, and photographer of “The Brown Bunny,” Vincent Gallo, stars as Bud, a motorcycle fanatic on a cross-country trip. Those who survive the many gazes through melancholic Bud’s bug-splattered van window will be treated to Chloe Sevigny performing graphic fellatio on her co-star.

Enduring Love (R, 96 mins.) This film version of Ian McEwan’s novel opens with a hot-air balloon careering above picnickers Joe (Mr. Craig) and Claire (Ms. Morton). Joe and others unsuccessfully try to tether it, and in the attempt, a man dies. Later, one of the would-be rescuers, Jed (Mr. Ifans), declares his love for Joe. Director Roger Michell clearly believes that telling a story slowly and with depth are one in the same.

Hero (PG-13, 96 mins.) Nameless warrior (Jet Li) has a showdown with deadly assassins who imperiled the ruthless King of Qin (Chen Dao Ming): Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) and Broken Sword (Tony Leung). “Hero” mounts many delights for aficionados of multidirectional digi-fu, while valorizing personal sacrifice to centralized political power.

It’s All About Love (unrated, 104 mins.) Thomas Vinterberg’s “It’s All About Love” tells the story of an estranged married couple, John (Joaquin Phoenix) and Elena (Clare Danes), a famous ice skater. Arriving in New York to sign their divorce papers in the year 2021, John discovers that Elena is unhappy. The futuristic setting allows for a series of crazy surrealist touches that charm, and it’s hard not to feel some affection for Mr. Vinterberg’s kitschy ambition.

P.S. (R, 105 mins.) A divorced admissions officer, Louise Harrington (Laura Linney),happens upon the application of F. Scott Feinstadt, who bears the name of her dead high school sweetheart. She’s pleased to find that he (Topher Grace) resembles the dead lover in the flesh, as well. Laura Linney holds a viewer’s attention like a tractor beam, but what this film intends to say is never clear. Ray (PG-13, 150 mins.) Taylor Hackford was the right man to direct a Ray Charles biopic, and Jamie Foxx the perfect man to play him. No wonder they both had Ray’s blessing. Mr. Hackford and Mr. Foxx mine as much drama as possible from the subject’s real life, and in so doing create an ingenious psychodrama – which implies that Charles took to drugs to escape the guilt of not being able to help a brother who drowned in his presence.

Saw (R, 100 mins.) “Saw” cuts back and forth between Doctor Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes), who has until 6 p.m. to kill Adam (Leigh Whannell) or else his wife and children will die, and flashbacks in which we learn about the “Jigsaw” killer and the incompetent cop perusing him (Danny Glover). The plot is much too ludicrous and convoluted to bother with, but the picture is so unhinged and enthusiastic you can forgive the preposterousness of it all.

Sideways (R, 123 mins.) Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) and his best friend Jack (Thomas Hayden Church) depart for a weeklong bachelor adventure in the Santa Ynez Valley wine country. From the start, writer-director Alexander Payne’s “Sideways” is a richly funny movie, with more than a hint of something sour.

A Silent Love (unrated, 100 mins.) “A Silent Love” is a modest little Canadian feature that begins with middle-aged professor Norman (Noel Burton) traveling to Mexico to meet up with Gladys (Vanessa Bauche), a potential internet bride. Gladys and her mother (Susana Salazar) move to Montreal with Norman. There is a fine, literate sensibility at work here, but lacking sufficient tension, the film drifts along with little purpose.

Team America: World Police (R, 105 mins.) A little Parisian boy puppet nibbles his ice-cream cone in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, and suddenly bumps against a dark, turbaned form – a terrorist! Ingeniously directed in mock-blockbuster style with all puppet actors by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, “Team America” follows a group of freedom fighters defending the globe from Kim Jong Il. It’s explosive creativity punks on politics, slaps Jihad up, and falls to the floor in a fit of giggles, rolling in its own mess – and ours.

Voices of Iraq (unrated, 80 mins.) Archie Drury, an ex-Marine, distributed 150 video cameras loaded with tape to a selection of ordinary Iraqis, who were asked to pass them on to others and return them when the tapes were exposed. The resulting picture of life in Iraq today – edited by Robin Russell, Martin Kunert, and Stephen Mark – allows us to believe with reasonable confidence that, though things there are messy in a lot of ways, the country coming into existence is very far from being a mess.