Formal openings this weekend are sparse, but you probably still need to catch up with December 25th openings:

The dystopian thriller Children of Men is perhaps more scenario than plot, but it’s riveting. My review is here. My interview with director Alfonso Cuarón (who also directed A Little Princess, Y Tu Mamá También, and the best Harry Potter) is up now too. (If you want to read the interview that hogged much of the time slotted for my interview with Cuarón, proceed to Sean Axmaker’s piece at Greencine. They actually turned out quite complementary—I stuck to themes and friends, Sean discusses camerawork and films of a comparable genre.)

And the review everyone loves to hate: The ever-witty Lindy West takes on Dreamgirls. Devour with a side course of David Schmader.

Other new and recent openings: Christopher Frizzelle on the forgettable The Painted Veil, Michael Atkinson on the bucolic Sweet Land, and me on competing Goods: Robert De Niro’s dull CIA epic The Good Shepherd and Steven Soderbergh’s fun imitation-’40s drama The Good German.

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Film Shorts this week can be enjoyed two ways: The traditional listing format and our new beta-test Movie Times search. Either way, you’ll find capsule reviews of Bonjour Tristesse, Linda Linda Linda, Serenity, and more.

(For old-school Movie Times, complete with the matinee info we haven’t quite figured out the best way to present on the new site, click here.)