If asked to sum up “The Ice Harvest” in just one word it would have to be ‘pointless’. Of course if all I was asked to give was a simple one-word summary, there would be no reason to write a full-length review. So to pad out the ‘pointless’ description, I’m adding mean-spirited, nonsensical, and a waste of time and talent.

There’s absolutely nothing appealing about “The Ice Harvest.” I realize this is a movie about a couple of bad apples surrounded by a basket-load of rotten fruit, however at the core of “The Ice Harvest” is a blackened pit that’s sure to leave an ugly aftertaste in your mouth. (Sometimes these descriptions just pop into my head and they won’t leaf…er, leave.)

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A career criminal who has been deformed since birth is given a new face by a kindly doctor and paroled from prison. It appears that he has gone straight, but he is really planning his revenge on the man who killed his father-figure and sent him to prison. Written by Mark Logan {marklo@west.sun.com}

Told from three perspectives, a story of a bunch of young Californians trying to get some cash, do and deal some drugs, score money and sex in Las Vegas, and generally experience the rush of life. Written by Vladimir Zelevinsky {vz@alum.mit.edu}

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An intelligence operative discovers that no one is what they seem in the shadowy world of espionage.

Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo get down and dirty in the whodunit, “In the Cut.” Showing off more than their acting skills, Ryan and Ruffalo attempt to generate a lot of heat for director Jane Campion in this big screen adaptation of Susanna Moore’s novel.

After a promising start, “In the Cut” quickly deteriorates into a jumbled mess of naked limbs and muddled plot. Bland rather than bold and predictable rather than suspenseful, “In the Cut” lacks the emotional thrust needed to carry off what could have been a super-charged erotic thriller.

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Maryanne is a plus sized woman who has been teased all her life and has never had the confidence to live her dreams. That is until she meets Fran at a dance for plus sized gals and their admirers. Fran helps Maryanne on her way to becoming a woman of confidence. Along the way she meets Barry, a charming Englishman who sweeps her off her feet, but he has a secret. Written by bjevans

Cooper and Ed are brothers: Coop acts, in ads and soaps, spending his real energy chasing women for one-night stands. His younger brother Ed, an earnest young man, works in an ad agency. For the past year, since finding his girlfriend in bed with another man with a video camera running, Ed has been in a funk: he’s carried a torch, his social life has tanked, and his work has suffered. Ed will be fired on Monday unless he can save a major account. It’s his birthday weekend: he wants to work, but Cooper wants Ed to rediscover his sex life. Cooper works hard to help Ed score, but disaster piles on disaster. Can a decent guy save his job and get a life? Written by {jhailey@hotmail.com}

When an accident obliterates the British royal family and most of its branches, a desperate geneological search discovers the next king: Ralph, a sleazy American lounge singer. Can Ralph measure up to the job, even with the help of loyal aristocrat Willingham? Written by Reid Gagle

Dalton is the Cooler in bars; He backs up and directs the bouncers. He takes a job in a Road House that has gotten far too rough. His attempts to clean things up put him in conflict with Brad Wesley, the town bully and rich person. Things heat up. Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net}

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Seth Gecko and his younger brother Richard are on the lam after a bloody bank robbery in Texas. They escape across the border into Mexico and will be home-free the next morning, when they pay off the local kingpin. They just have to survive ‘from dusk till dawn’ at the rendezvous point, which turns out to be a Hell of a strip joint. Written by Tad Dibbern {DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu}

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