On Demand picks

November 19, 2011

CITY OF GHOSTS **

(Showtime on Comcast) Matt Dillon steps behind the camera to direct a moral thriller about American con men in over their heads in Southeast Asia. Graham Greene it’s not. The performances are pungent, though, particularly James Caan as an old rascal with dreams of carpet-bagging glory. Cliches abound, but give Dillon credit for dragging a crew to Cambodia and bringing back an ambitious, intermittently moving film. (R; runs through Dec. 6) TY BURR

HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS ***

(Showtime on Comcast) A girl tries to get a guy to dump her; what she doesn’t know is that he’s been dared to get her to fall in love with him. This romantic comedy jumps the gun on Valentine’s Day but is right on time for February sweeps. The hottest couple to come down the pike recently has been Frodo and Sam, so it’s a relief to see Kate Hudson arouse something in Matthew McConaughey that we can safely call sexual. (PG-13; runs through Dec. 6) WESLEY MORRIS

SCREAM ***

(Showtime on Comcast) Wes Craven’s nasty, clever splatterfest steals outrageously from “Halloween’’ as it sends a psychopathic predator through a bunch of high school kids who should know how to handle it - considering their genre expertise - but mostly wind up dead anyway. (R; runs through Dec. 6)