Going on a recommendation from staff at Westmount's Movieland, I gave the overlooked Boondock Saints a shot. Turned out to be worthwhile. Set in ultra-Catholic south Boston, Saints starts out as a tale of two hellbound-but-holier-than-thou Irish brothers settling scores with Russian mobsters-- the graphically violent way. Willem Dafoe bounces in as an FBI agent with sexual-preference issues and an attitude problem. We're distracted by some Woo-school ballistics and Tarantino-style hijinx before realizing that the whole thing's gotten bigger and weirder than we expected. Nice inconclusive ending, too.

On the flipside, the thoughtful and energetic Pups (think Dog Day Afternoon with junior-high brats) makes for a remarkably effective argument for gun control. Once the set-up's in place, director Ash hits us with a rapid-fire salvo of clever twists and surprises. Burt Reynolds is great as a hostage-crisis negotiator slipping into dad mode.

Also recently on the racks is Titus, the most interesting of the recent wave of Shakespeare adaptations. Anthony Hopkins is stupendous in the lead of ol' Bill's brutal, Roman-era yarn of vengeance. Directed by Julie Taymor, who did The Lion King for Broadway, Titus benefits from brilliant design and effective use of anachronistic elements like cars and loudspeakers.

--Rupert Bottenberg