Academy of Music Theatre

(584-8435)

Gillian Anderson shows just how under-used she is on "The X-Files" in "The House of Mirth," an exquisite adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel.

AMC Mountain Farms 4

(584-9153)

Director Gus Van Sant lamely re-makes his own "Good Will Hunting" in "Finding Forrester."

Art restorer Monica Potter is "Head over Heels" for neighbor Freddie Prinze, Jr.-even after she discovers that he may be a murderer.

When Jason Biggs ("American Pie") falls prey to psycho girlfriend Amanda Peet ("Whipped"), his loyal pals Jack Black ("High Fidelity") and Steve Zahn ("Happy, Texas") become bent on "Saving Silverman."

"Sweet November" is reviewed in this issue.

The remarkable Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo star as sister and brother in Ken Lonergan's funny and wrenching drama "You Can Count On Me."

Cinemark at Hampshire Mall

(587-4233)

Tom Hanks gets down and dirty with a volleyball in "Cast Away."

"Chocolat" is a by-the-numbers feel-good pseudo-art film from Miramax, but what the heck-the chocolates look delicious, as does luminous leading lady Juliette Binoche.

Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat kick major ass as wushu warriors-in-love in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," but the central plot involving spoiled protege Zhang Ziyi lacks urgency. In Chinese with English subtitles.

Chris Rock is reincarnated as a rich white man in the "Heaven Can Wait"-esque "Down to Earth."

Anthony Hopkins returns as "Hannibal" in this gory but distressingly unscary sequel to "The Silence of the Lambs." Julianne Moore co-stars.

Petty thief George Clooney flees from the law with two other inmates in the period comedy (and loose Odyssey re-telling) "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

During summer break, a band of grade-schoolers save the world from their ex-principal, a laser-toting madman, in Disney's animated "Recess: School's Out."

Ballerina Julia Stiles ("10 Things I Hate About You") asks hip-hopper Sean Patrick Thomas to "Save the Last Dance." Call it "Dirty Dancing" for Generation Y.

"Snatch," Guy "Mr. Madonna" Ritchie's more-of-the-same follow-up to the guns-and-accents comedy "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," features flashy camera work and a hilarious Brad Pitt as a gypsy boxer in a convoluted tale revolving around stolen diamonds.

Director Steven Soderbergh masterfully documents the "Traffic" of drugs in America in this powerfully bleak ensemble film starring Michael Douglas and Benicio Del Toro.

Jennifer Lopez is "The Wedding Planner" in this brainlessly outrageous-and painfully unfunny-romantic comedy co-starring Matthew McConaughey.

Pleasant Street Theatre

(586-0935)

Vanessa Paradis plays a suicidal woman who falls in love with a circus knife thrower (Daniel Auteuil) in the black-and-white, French-language "Girl on the Bridge."

STAGE

The Acting Company, a touring theater troupe, will perform Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. (Thurs., 8 p.m. at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton. Student discount tickets are $25.75, $18.25, and $13.75. Call 586-8686 for more info.)

August Strindberg's Miss Julie, directed by Amherst theater department faculty Peter Lobdell, explores issues of gender and class. (Saturday thru Monday, 8 p.m. at Kirby Theater. Free. Call 542-2277 for reservations.)

"Counter-Clockwise," written and directed by Mt. Holyoke College alumna Laconia Koerner, is set in a nameless, timeless limbo and explores the relationship between two female friends. (Sat. thru Tues., 8 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinee show on Mon. Rook Theatre at Mt. Holyoke College. $2. Call 538-2406 for reservations.)

Euripides' "The Bacchae," translated by Wole Soyinka and directed by Judye Al-Bilal, questions the relationship between chaos and order as a commentary on the modern world. (Sat. thru Mon. at 8 p.m. at UMass' Rand Theater. $4. Call 545-2511 for more info.)

TUNES

A trio of pop-punk bands-the Pilfers, the Rustic Overtones, and the River City Rebels-will scorch The Skybox at UMass. (Fri., 7:30 p.m. $10. Call 577-4SKY for more info.)

The Morgan State University Choir will perform classical, gospel and modern songs in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Fri., 8 p.m. in Buckley Recital Hall. Free.)

"JHALAK," the annual cultural show of Smith College's South Asian Students Association, will include dances, songs, skits and a fashion show. (Sat., 6 p.m. at Smith College's Sweeney Concert Hall in Sage Hall. $2.)

New music by Amherst College Prof. David Reck will be performed by Fred Cohen (oboe), Greg Hayes (piano), Lynn Klock (soprano saxophone), Bobby Lambert (alto saxophone), Mike Gillespie (baritone saxophone) and Matthew Waugh (electronics). (Sat., 8 p.m. at Buckley Recital Hall. Free.)

Jazz/soul/funk septet Inner Orchestra has been building a solid local following with its dance-floor rhythms and blistering horn attack.

(Sat., 10 p.m. at The People's Pint in Greenfield. $3. Call 584-1354 for more info.)

MISCELLANEOUS

Continuing her series on herbs, Emily Cohen will teach simple methods of concocting home remedies such as salves and tinctures for common illnesses. (Today, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Hampshire College's Farm Center. $20. Call 559-5610 for more info.)

Critical Mass, a UMass-based group advocating the use of bicycles, will sponsor a group ride from Amherst to Northampton. (Fri., 5:15 p.m. on the Amherst Common.)