Bloglander

13 ASSASSINS
They’re “bound for vengeance, bound for glory, bound by the code of the samurai.” Problem is, the tyrant they’re pledged to slay has a couple hundred bodyguards. But if you’re as good as these guys are at leaping off rooftops and beheading people with single scimitar strokes, what’s a 201-to-13 advantage? (in Japanese) (MB) Rated R; at Magic Lantern

BUCK
A documentary about the Horse Whisperer, Buck Brannaman, whose mantra (“I’m helping horses with people problems”) suggests that he practices his empathy on owners as much as on animals. After all, horses don’t want humans jumping on their backs any more than they do lions. So show some compassion, huh? (MB) Rated PG

INCENDIES
After the death of their mother, a brother and sister are handed envelopes by the family lawyer. The daughter is to find and deliver one to their father; the son is to find and deliver the other to their brother. The problem: The father is dead, and they have no brother. So begins a twisting, turning mystery that reveals family secrets that some folks would never want to know. At first confusing, eventually making perfect sense, and leaving viewers exhausted, Incendies (“Scorched”) is a terrific, passionate film. (in French, English, and Hebrew) (ES) Rated R; at Magic Lantern

LARRY CROWNE
It’s impossible not to like Larry Crowne, seeing as how it stars two of our most likeable movie stars. But this is not a particularly good movie. After getting laid off, happy-go-lucky big-box manager Larry (Tom Hanks) finds spiritual renewal by attending community college and befriending manic pixie dream girl (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) — and romantic renewal with bored instructor (Julia Roberts). But director/screenwriter Hanks and his co-scripter Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) can’t make it sting like it should. (MJ) Rated PG-13

MONTE CARLO
Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place), Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) and Katie Cassidy (daughter of David) are vacationing in Paris when Gomez gets mistaken for a rich girl and they get whisked away to guess which glitzy Mediterranean resort. Cory Monteith (Glee) plays one of the boyfriends. (MB) Rated PG