THE FIGHTER***½ (Comcast Movies: All Movies) The long-awaited Micky Ward boxing movie is this close to a triumph: a movie that steeps us in the grit of Lowell in the 1990s and electrifyingly dramatizes Ward’s (Mark Wahlberg) battles with the family that almost loved him to death. Christian Bale effectively steals the show as Ward’s crackhead trainer brother Dicky Eklund. Warning: No Arturo Gatti and not much of an ending either. (R; runs through Aug. 21)

TY BURR

SOMETHING WILD *** (Comcast Movies: Free Movies) Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith are a pair of star-crossed lovers in Jonathan Demme’s strangely romantic comedy thriller. All the ingredients don’t quite mesh but it’s worth the effort. (R; runs through Aug. 25)