Film Clips: Dumbstruck over Super Scream 4 Poetry

• 20th Century Fox
• Blue and Jewel in Rio

OPENING FRIDAY
THE CONSPIRATOR (PG-13) A Robert Redford flashback to the Lincoln era. In the trial for President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Mary Surrat is charged for being a co-conspirator. She bears the brunt for the nation’s hostility—the North hates her and the government wants her hanged. Her attorney is the only one who seems to have her back.

DUMBSTRUCK (NR) Director Mark Goffman, a graduate of Emory University, helms this light-hearted documentary about five ventriloquists and their attachment to their dummies.

POETRY (NR) This soft-spoken, uplifting drama from South Korea depicts a woman in her 60s who finds meaning in a poetry class while she faces the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease.

POTICHE (R) French cinema icons Gerard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve star in this comedy by François Ozon about a “trophy wife” who discovers feminine liberation when she takes over an umbrella company in the 1970s.

RIO
A love bird and her Minnesota-bred macaw. Jewel and Blu meet in Rio and head out on adventures together.

SCREAM 4 (R) The Ghostface Killer — the slasher, not the rapper — returns to stalk intrepid survivor Sidney Prescott on the 15th anniversary of the original “Scream” murders. Director Wes Craven reunites with writer Kevin Williamson and actors Campbell, David Arquette and Courtney Cox for the fourth installment of the Scream franchise, which supposedly tweaks the Youtube generation and the tropes for 21st century horror films.

SUPER 2 stars (R) When his addict wife (Liv Tyler) leaves him for a smooth drug dealer (Kevin Bacon), a depressed fry cook (“The Office’s” Rainn Wilson) acts out by becoming a masked vigilante called “The Crimson Bolt.” Slither writer/director James Gunn attempts to puncture the mythos of superheroes, but the drab cinematography and sour, predictable script drain all the fun from the action. Ellen Page nearly saves the day, however, as a comic book fangirl who gets off on becoming the Crimson Bolt’s ultraviolent sidekick. — Holman

DULY NOTED
ATHENS BURNING (NR) This documentary encompasses the history of the Athens, Ga., rock music scene through the historic landmark the Georgia Theater. Thu.-Fri., April 14-15, 7:30 p.m. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave., $8-$12. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com

SUZHOU RIVER (NR) Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo inspires this noir-style Chinese film about a videographer’s split obsession between his girlfriend and a nightclub entertainer, both played by the same actress. Independent Chinese Cinema. Free-$7. Sat., April 16, 8 p.m. Rich Theatre, High Museum, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-5000. www.high.org.