In the Valley of Elah (in theaters September 14): Aside from four or five scenes where a character emotionally rapes the audience with loud harangues about moral justice or writer/director Paul Haggis goes way too far to prove a point, In the Valley of Elah is pretty darn fascinating. But those scenes drag the film down far below possible recommendation. Tommy Lee Jones's mesmerizing performance as a father unraveling the murder of his son -- a soldier previously stationed in Iraq -- makes his character seem less one-dimensional than he actually is. Everyone's transformation from pro to anti-war barely registers until the end, at which point Haggis concludes with one of the most pretentious, unearned images of mighty self-righteousness (his own) we'll see in a while. Pretty much the equivalent of a Lifetime TV-movie for liberals.

Cassandra's Dream (Nov. 30): Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell star as two brothers with expensive ambitions. A distant family member offers the opportunity of cash and a debt-free future, but only in exchange for murdering a political enemy. Cassandra's Dream bears writer/director Woody Allen's trademark sharp dialogue, but Allen has the two leads running in so many circles with endless theological arguments about death and natural law that it's hard to take the drama seriously. Allen loves to talk about death, but when a scene calls for action, he's still too shy with the camera to show it at its messiest or most chaotic. For a movie about working class men issued with something as dirty as murder, Cassandra's Dream is too prim, too elegant.

Atonement (Dec. 7): Part Cold Mountain, part Pride and Prejudice, Atonement tells the journey of two lovers (Keira Knightley and James McAvoy) torn apart when one goes to jail -- and subsequently, World War II -- for a crime he didn't commit. Atonement was filmed in the style of 1940s British films (e.g. Brief Encounter), so expect rat-a-tat line delivery and opulent set design. And like the best films of that era, Atonement is bursting with sheer romantic energy. Every frame is a radiant treat and the director Joe Wright's eloquent camerawork keeps Atonement from feeling stagy or theatrical, culminating in a breathtaking six-minute tracking shot on a French beach with 1,600 extras.