PLAYGROUND RULES

Todd Field follows-up his acclaimed first feature, In the Bedroom, with a mordantly perceptive film about the paranoias of modern life, Little Children. By Scott Macaulay

HAPPY MEALS

Loosely adapting Eric Schlosser’s best-selling non-fiction book Fast Food Nation, Richard Linklater’s new film is an affectionate comedy that critiques American corporate culture by telling the stories of the working class people it most often neglects. By Howard Feinstein

CAMERA READY

Following up the success of his S&M romance Secretary, Steven Shainberg tackles the story of Diane Arbus, the iconoclastic photographer of freaks, oddballs and the perverse. By Peter Bowen

SOUND OF SILENCE

James Ponsoldt talks with Kelly Reichardt about Old Joy, her intimate story of two friends’ search for a hot spring and the self-discoveries they find.

HOLY WAR

The team behind Boys of Baraka are back with Jesus Camp, a new film that focuses on Evangelical children training to be “soldiers in God’s Army.” By Annie Nocenti

NON-STOP EROTIC CABARET

John Cameron Mitchell pushes the sexual boundaries once again in Shortbus. By Sandi DuBowski

PETTING ZOO

Cam Archer examines teenage sexuality and social acceptance in his debut feature, Wild Tigers I Have Known. By Mike Plante

DEATH DEFYING

In his science-fiction epic The Fountain, Darren Aronofsky asks whether love can truly conquer all boundaries. By Scott Macaulay

AN EYE FOR AN EYE

Alejandro González Iñárritu explores how one event changes the lives of a group of strangers in Babel. By Mike Jones

BUZZKILL

In his latest comedy, For Your Consideration, Christopher Guest takes on the absurdity behind the Oscar race. By Jason Guerrasio