Don’t get caught up in the looney logic that governs this death row drama. Instead, appreciate it for its performances: occasionally Kevin Spacey’s as a professor convicted of murder, mostly Kate Winslet’s as a reporter who comes to interview him and above all that of Laura Linney as the murder victim. The Life of David

A hack’s Heathers, New Best Friend follows a college wallflower (Mia Kirshner) who is introduced by three party girls into a world of sex, drugs and bad dance music. Laughably amateurish, the movie boasts robotic performances, a barely there plot and sex scenes that give off more desperation than heat.

The deserving Laura Linney gets a chance to take center stage as a 30-something divorced woman succumbing to a life devoid of romantic love – until she meets a young graduate student (Topher Grace) at the university where she works. The film loses its focus as the complications arise, but whenever the camera is on

Hilary Duff once again showcases her considerable screen charm – her specialty is scrunching her eyebrows so that she looks cute even while in distress – but this modern take on the fairy tale consist mostly of high-school movie cliches. It’s hardly the prince of a vehicle she deserves.

Even at his best – Lone Star, Limbo, Sunshine State – independent writer-director John Sayles tends to get preachy. Look out, then, when he decides to take the pulpit. This dull yet hectoring political drama, which follows a gubernatorial campaign in Colorado, is so strident and obvious it makes Fahrenheit 9/11 look like a calm