CQ -- Writer/director Roman Coppola follows in his famous father's filmmaking footsteps with this sly movie-within-a-movie comedy inspired by Roger Vadim's 1967 film Barbarella. An American film editor (Jeremy Davies) is hired to complete a troubled sci-fi movie in 1969 Paris. Angela Lindvall plays the sexy lead actress who clouds his directing judgments. -- Steve Ramos (Rated R.)

THE CROCODILE HUNTER: COLLISION COURSE -- Steve Irwin, TV's Crocodile Hunter, experiences his 90 minutes of big-screen fame in director John Stainton's action comedy. A farcical plot involving Irwin, his wife Terri, a missing spy satellite and a pair of CIA agents helps distinguish The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course from Irwin's TV antics. Rumors that Irwin faces Paul "Crocodile Dundee" Hogan in a climactic, knock-down fight are said to be untrue. -- SR (Rated PG.)

HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION -- Four years after his last batch of big-screen mayhem, bogeyman Michael Myers returns to terrorize a group of teen-agers who win the chance to spend the night in Myers' childhood home and be part of a live Internet broadcast. Actually, being attacked by an unstoppable killer doesn't sound like much of a prize. For the sake of continuity, Halloween veteran Jamie Lee Curtis makes a cameo appearance. -- SR (Rated R.)

REIGN OF FIRE -- Matthew McConaughey plays Van Zan, an American dragonslayer who looks more like a Hell's Angels biker. British actor Christian Bale is the straight-laced fire chief who seeks Van Zan's help. Rob Bowman is the director with the challenge of making audiences accept a dragon tale without medieval knights in shining armor. For moviegoers nostalgic for the futuristic wastelands found in Mel Gibson's Mad Max movies, Reign of Fire looks right up their apocalyptic alley. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING -- Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, director Jill Sprecher's lulling, metaphysical, ensemble drama, fails to make much sense out of its complex storytelling, stark backdrop and solemn characters. All the members of its impressive cast -- John Turturro, Amy Irving, Clea Duvall, Alan Arkin and Matthew McConaughey -- give noble efforts. Unfortunately, their earnest performances are squashed by the film's sluggish and unengaging plot (co-written by the director and her sister). McConaughey is believable as an egoistic lawyer whose life turns upside-down after an accident. Arkin, who's always reliable, manages to make an impact as a bitter insurance adjuster unhappy with life. But Turturro and Irving generate little friction as an unhappy married couple. Duvall's hardworking housekeeper, the only upbeat character in the film, quickly suffocates under the film's overwhelming doom and gloom. By creating this web of New York stories, Thirteen Conversations tries for something complex and challenging. Instead, a series of undeveloped subplots makes its story uninteresting, incoherent and routine. Cinematographer Dick Pope does manage to re-create Manhattan into a grim, fairytale-like setting. Thirteen Conversations has its share of beautiful images. Of course, its sleek photography no longer matters after its epic tale of human misery completely breaks down. When that happens, Thirteen Conversations loses whatever bond it made with its audience. -- SR (Unrated.)
CityBeat grade: D.

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