FAIR GAME (****)
Dir: Doug Liman. Starring: Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Michael Kelly.

‘True Stories' come in many shades of true. At one end there are films like the Coen brother's Fargo which, despite its opening claim, isn't true at all. Then there are films ‘based on true events' which hang fictional stories on the grain of a real incident. Fair Game, on the other hand is pretty much a real True Story, based as it is on two books about the events. The lack of criticism and lawsuits would suggest it gets things pretty right.
The events in question were the outing of a covert CIA agent, Valerie Plame, by the Bush administration in an attempt to smear her husband, Ambassador Joe Wilson, who had inconveniently reported that the administration's claims of Iraq buying uranium from Niger were actually nonsense.
It is a fascinating story and Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) tells it as a fast-paced thriller, showing us the covert work that Plame (Watts) was involved in and just how dangerous it was for an agent to be publicly exposed, both for her and particularly for several of her operatives who were subsequently killed.
Acting, cinematography, writing and editing are all top-notch and if the ending doesn't have you clenching your fists in anger than you probably haven't been paying attention.

When You're Strange (***) is a music documentary about The Doors, which initially passed me by. On closer inspection I noticed it was directed by quirky indie filmmaker Tom DiCillo and, while not exactly groundbreaking, has a different perspective than many such rock-docs, in that it consigns tales of bad behaviour (and there was plenty to go around) to the background and focuses on the music. Rare clips keep things fresh while narration (from Johnny Depp), rather than the usual interviews, keeps the story moving. Fans will eat this up.
Of all the films I never imagined seeing a remake of, close to the top would be the Coen brother's debut Blood Simple. Especially if it was remade as a Chinese musical comedy. Yet that is exactly what director Zhang Yimou (Hero) has done. A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop (***) holds remarkably true to the plot of the original tale of infidelity, mistrust and double dealing, but is played at the level of a frantic Chinese opera. This won't be for everyone, but if you're a Coen brothers fan and want to have your mind boggled, look no further.
The incident is famous in Brazil: a bus was hijacked in Rio De Janeiro, 2002, and the hostage situation played out at great and tragic length on national television. The brilliant documentary Bus 174 emerged in 2002. Now Last Stop 174 (***) tells the same story from a fictional perspective, kicking off with the baby Alessandro being ripped from his mother's breast by coke-selling gangsters (whom she owes money). From there it's a gritty trawl through the violent upbringing that led to the hi-jack and, while very well done, it seems somewhat redundant, exposing less about the incident than the original documentary. Seek that out – it's stunning stuff.
The Assassin Next Door (**) looks like a gritty Israeli thriller but is perhaps further evidence of the ‘Bond Curse'. Because it stars latest Bond girl, Quantum of Solace's Olga Kurylenko, and is really pretty awful. She plays Galia, a young Russian in Tel Aviv forced to become a hit girl (low-rent Nikita-style), or lose her kidnapped son to mafia nasties. She meets abused neighbour Elinor and endless bonding ensues before they try and free themselves, which isn't pleasant at all but at least brings some much needed action to a film that sinks under dubious dialogue (English, Russian, and Israeli) and a nasty cheap digital look.