Film Clips: Dolphins, Taylor Lautner and a ballin' Brad Pitt

• Lionsgate
• Not a Boy yet not a Werewolf: Taylor Lautner's identity remains a mystery in Abduction

OPENING FRIDAY
ABDUCTION (PG-13) In Taylor Lautner’s breakaway role from second-choice heartthrob (Team Jacob, anyone?) to lead action star, his character finds off attacks from mysterious hit men. Lilly Collins also stars as Lautner's neighbor and only ally, along with Michael Nyqvist (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).

DOLPHIN TALE 3D (PG) Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, and Harry Connick Jr. star in this heartwarming movie about a dolphin whose tail is destroyed by a crab trap, and the doctors and supporters who join efforts to save her.

KILLER ELITE 2 stars (R ) A Middle Eastern sheik coerces a retired special ops agent (Jason Statham) to kill a trio of murderous British SAS officers. Meanwhile, another former military operative (Clive Owen), in cahoots with a star chamber of British conspirators, tries to thwart Statham’s team. Taking a premise reminiscent of Spielberg’s Munich, first-time feature filmmaker Gary McKendry can’t sort out the supporting players and hidden agendas, so coherence gets killed off early on. Statham still serves as a great movie tough guy, while Owen makes the most of a confusing role. — Curt Holman

THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (1976) 3 stars (R ) David Bowie makes his big screen acting debut as an alien who comes to Earth seeking aid for his drought-ravaged home planet, only to be misdirected from his goal by such human temptations as sex, money and television. Director Nicolas Roeg makes drastic tonal shifts between anti-American satire and the tragedy of Bowie's character. This 139-minute director's cut restores 20 minutes edited from its original U.S. release.

MONEYBALL 4 stars (PG-13) Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane, manager of the cellar-dwelling Oakland A’s, who gambles on recruiting undervalued, inexpensive players based on the “sabermetrics” championed by a meek analyst (Jonah Hill). Co-written by Aaron Sorkin based on Michael Lewis’ nonfiction book, Moneyball crunches numbers to make an entertaining underdog sports movie, with Pitt and Hill serving as a terrific comedy team. Philip Seymour Hoffman goes underused as the A’s uncooperative coach, and director Bennett Miller’s stabs at moody seriousness weigh down a story that wants to be a feel-good movie. — Holman

THUNDERSOUL (PG) Jamie Foxx narrates this highly praised documentary about how band leader Conrad “Prof” Johnson turns a Houston high school band into a funk powerhouse in the 1970s, and how the former students reunite to pay tribute to their mentor. It sounds like Mr. Holland’s Opus with sooooouull!!!

DULY NOTED
THE GOONIES (1985) 2 stars (PG) A ragtag bunch of kids embark on a subterranean treasure hunt to save their neighborhood in this shrill, tedious adventure-comedy somehow beloved by audiences who must’ve seen it as pre-schoolers. The then-child actors include Sean Astin, Josh Brolin and Martha Plimpton. Sep. 23-25. Cinefest Film Theatre, Georgia State University, 66 Courtland St., Suite 240. 404-413-1798. www2.gsu.edu/~wwwcft.

THE ROOM (2003) 1 star (R ) This hilariously incompetent, sub-Skinemax-level romantic triangle has become a wildly entertaining monthly viewing party, a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Writer-director-star Tommy Wiseau strikes a freaky presence as a long-haired, heavy-lidded, thick-accented bank employee cuckolded by his vicious fiancée (Juliette Danielle). The film’s bizarre touches, like framed photographs of spoons, inspire audiences to throw plastic spoons at the screen, and more. Not to be missed. Tue., Sep. 27, 9:30 p.m. $8. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.

SERENITY (2005) 4 stars (PG-13) In the movie version of Fox TV's short-lived "Firefly," Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), captain of the ramshackle freighter Serenity, protects genetically modified teen River Tan (Summer Glau) from the relentless Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) of a galactic dictatorship. Like a Robert Altman film in space, the first act's rush of characters and locales will dizzy the uninitiated. The movie remains a four-star experience for anyone familiar with "Firefly," and the sheer novelty of seeing a space opera with smart dialogue and credible characters will leave audiences floating on air. Sun., Sep. 25, 6 p.m. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.