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From the director of “The Crow,” an atmospheric melange of styles and substance about aliens, night and unspeakable acts. Interesting, but more than a bit addled. (1 hr. 35 min.)

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Israeli filmmaker Eran Kolirin’s debut feature, THE BAND’S VISIT, is a subtle, heartfelt, and humane work that goes a long way toward dissolving the incredibly complex cultural divide that continues to plague the Middle East. When the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra flies from Egypt to Israel to perform at the opening of an Arab culture center, they are left stranded at the airport. Their leader, Tewfiq (Sasson Gabai), orders the handsome violinist, Khaled (Saleh Bakri), to solve their predicament, but it turns out that he’s gotten the wrong information. By that time, it’s too late. All eight members are left standing alone in a quiet desert town far from their intended destination with no way to get where they need to go. Tired, hungry, and confused, they find shelter at a restaurant run by the pretty but brash Dina (Ronit Elkabetz). It’s clear that Dina is bored with her lonely life, so she talks Tewfiq into letting the band stay over for the night: he and Khaled will stay with her, and the others will be put up at the home of Itzik (Rubi Moscovich). Over the course of the night, Tewfiq and Dina bond, Khaled helps a hapless local discover his inner Romeo, and the other band members find themselves caught up in a domestic situation that is less than perfect. Kolirin perfectly navigates his film’s slice-of-life tone, blending comedy and drama and poignancy without ever succumbing to one completely. In the wrong hands, this material could turn into a quirk-fest that parodies everyday life. Yet under Kolirin’s assured command, it becomes something that feels like life itself. THE BAND’S VISIT is funny, lonely, inspiring, sad, and beautiful all at once. (1 hr. 26 min.)

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Celebrated sword-and-sorcery artist Frank Frazetta teams up with animation director Ralph Bakshi for this high-energy animated fantasy. It’s a prehistoric battle of the elements as the dissolute ruler of the Ice World, Nekron (Sean Hannon), starts a war against the fire people using a massive, advancing glacier and armies of subhuman monsters as his weapons. When he arranges to have the fire king’s shapely daughter, Teegra (Cynthia Lenke), kidnapped, the adventure begins as she escapes her captors and hooks up with Lorn (Randy Norton), lone survivor of an earlier skirmish. With the aid of a mysterious dark warrior (based on Frazetta’s famous painting “The Death Dealer”), Lorn and Teegra fight the armies of Nekron as well as giant monsters, lesbian sorcerers, and other comic book delights. A thunderous classical score by William Kraft adds excitement to this violent, sexy, fast-moving film. It also benefits from unusual animation techniques that nicely complement the far-out imaginations of Frazetta, Bakshi, and screenwriters Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway. (1 hr. 22 min.)

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Based on a true story, here is all the action, excitement, bravery and courage of the largest successful escape ever staged from a Nazi concentration camp.

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There’s no eye-gouging, no biting, and no crotch shots allowed, but everything else goes in NEVER BACK DOWN, an invigorating high school sports/ultimate backyard fighting hybrid. Sean Faris plays Jake, the new kid (with a troubled past) who butts heads with rich alpha-male bully Ryan (Cam Gigandet, channeling Brad Pitt in FIGHT CLUB) at Miami High. Amber Heard plays Baja, the hot blonde who tricks Jake into attending a combination pool party/fight club held at Ryan’s MTV cribs-style mansion. Jake doesn’t want to fight at first but gets goaded into a blind rage and then gets his butt kicked. Enter Djimon Hounsou as the local fighting instructor who teaches Jake some self-discipline (and how to throw a cement block at the camera from 30 paces). Director Jeff Wadlow clearly harbors nostalgia for the halcyon days of TOP GUN and FLASHDANCE; the emo-rock-scored training montages flow as free as Baja’s blonde hair during her frequent slow-motion walks down the hall. Jake even has a wisecracking slacker cameraman sidekick (Evan Peters) who uploads all the fights to the internet. Concerned parents will be glad to know there’s not much drinking or kissing, and no matter how hard the punches and roundhouse kicks may be, everybody gets to keep their teeth. Special acting shout-out to Wyatt Smith as Jake’s tennis-prodigy kid brother and Leslie Hope as their stressed-out single mom. (1 hr. 53 min.)

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