James Rocchi At The Movies

Summertime Sleepers - Part II

(CBS) You've seen the superheroes, the pirates, the fistfights and the big stars. But if you're in the mood to go off the beaten path, you can find some great picks at smaller Bay Area cinemas. Here's a roundup of some of the best.
-James Rocchi

A Scanner Darkly: (Rating: 3 out of 4 Stars)
Sci-fi author Philip K. Dick's paranoid visions have been made into films as varied as Blade Runner and Total Recall -- but this rendition of one of his novels may be the most faithful to Dick's trippy spirit thanks to a look and feel achieved by computer animating over video footage of real actors like Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and more. In a seven-years-from-now future, undercover cop Keanu Reeves is chasing the dealer of a new designer drug called 'Substance D' -- and finds the chase leads in unexpected directions. … Directed by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrs), A Scanner Darkly is a weird, inventive brain-bender.

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (Rating: 3 out of 4 Stars)
This mix of concert film and documentary is a great look at the life and loves of songwriter/singer Leonard Cohen -- with live concert footage of performers from U2 to Beth Orton, Nick Cave to Rufus Wainwright, performing his songs. If you know Cohen's work (including songs like "Suzanne" and "First we Take Manhattan"), this is a great chance to see his work and life and a new light … and if you aren't a Cohen fan, you will be. Inventively cut and frank about art, life and love, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is a great look at an underappreciated artist.

Wordplay (Rating: 3 out of 4 Stars)
This documentary is your entrée to the rock-em, sock-em frantic competition of … The New York Times Crossword Puzzle? Spotlighting NYT Crossword maven Will Shortz, the crossword phenomenon and famous crossword buffs like Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart and The Indigo Girls, Wordplay is a funny, breezy look at the people who make - and the people who solve - the daily crossword. With inventive effects to show how crosswords work and a nail-biter of a climax at the National Crossword Championships, Wordplay is a workout for your brain and funny bone.

The Road to Guantanamo (Rating: 3 out of 4 Stars)
Combining newsreel footage, interviews and dramatic re-creations, The Road to Guantanamo is the true story of three men from Britain whose trip to a wedding in a foreign land led to incarceration as suspected enemy combatants at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. Winner of the Best Director prize at this year's Berlin Film Festival, The Road to Guantanamo doesn't answer all the questions it raises -- but it's willingness to ask tough questions about liberty versus security and human rights versus national defense makes it a film to be admired and seen.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)