February 18, 2009

CRAZY LOVE ( Comcast Free Movies ) An expansive documentary about perhaps the most dysfunctional couple in New York City history (amazing, given the competition): Burt and Linda Pugach. He had her blinded with lye in 1959, went to jail, and married her when he got out. Just your average tabloid romance, in other words. Directors Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens create an outrageously entertaining time capsule that never dispels the rather sad mystery at its heart. (PG-13; runs through March 3) TY BURR

ROCKERS (Comcast Movies and Events) This showcase for reggae music, like so many musical showcases, fails as a film. The music is wrapped around a fitfully dramatic scenario that doesn't end so much as stop, almost as if the filmmaker had run out of film. The Jamaican setting, however, is as evocative as the music. (Unrated; runs through Feb. 28)

SLEEPWALKING (Starz on Comcast) One of those "mama was a rolling stone" stories, this time with Charlize Theron as a woman who leaves her 12-year-old (Anna Sophia Robb) with her meek younger brother (Nick Stahl), while she runs off. The movie turns into a banal road trip for niece and uncle that culminates in a visit to the family ranch, run by a harsh Dennis Hopper in a Dennis Weaver mustache. The movie seems terrified of true psychological complexity or perversity. It's less a family tragedy than a lousy country dirge. (R; runs through Feb. 28) WESLEY MORRIS

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