On Demand picks

July 20, 2011

GET SHORTY ***½ (Starz on Comcast) Sprightly comedy based on the interchangeability of movie producers and mobsters - smartly written and juicily acted. John Travolta, in full comeback mode, plays a cool thug who goes to Hollywood to collect on a debt and decides it’s time to change careers. Delicious support from Gene Hackman as a shlockmeister, Rene Russo as a disillusioned scream queen, Danny DeVito as the fickle little megastar of the title, and Delroy Lindo as local muscle who also wants into the movie biz. (R; runs through Aug. 4)

SHE’S OUT OF MY LEAGUE ** (HBO on Comcast) Jay Baruchel plays Kirk, a painfully average guy with a gaggle of kooky pals. Enter Molly (Alice Eve). She’s gorgeous, smart, rich, and completely taken with Kirk. No one gets it. Not even the audience, but it’s fun to watch the fantastical romance unfold regardless. (R; runs through Aug. 8)

SWORDFISH ** (Comcast Movies: All Movies) High impact, low IQ. This screenful of costly and explosive dross is built around John Travolta’s master-of-the-universe walk as a bank-robbing anti-terrorist. Others taking the trip are Hugh Jackman’s world-class computer hacker, and an often scantily clad (insofar as she’s clad at all) Halle Berry. (R; runs through Dec. 31)