Erin Podolsky

Irish journalist Veronica Guerin learned just how bad the Irish underworld is during her mid-’90s investigation into Dublin’s heroin traffickers. Joel Schumacher directed this eponymous biopic, which ought to be fair warning for anybody interested in an affecting experience. Cate Blanchett’s Guerin hits all the right notes — but the film can’t allay a curious flatness that runs through the rest of the movie.

Director Paul Cox’s lack of interest in how porn star Johnny Holmes (aka Johnny Wadd) went from nowhere to the big-time to the skids robs Wonderland of anything a viewer can glom onto emotionally, like character, for instance. Nonetheless, the film — starring Val Kilmer as Holmes-Wadd in his final, druggy downward spiral — is hard to turn away from. With Kate Bosworth, Eric Bogosian, Tim Blake Nelson, Josh Lucas and Dylan McDermott.

In the latest Sundance Film Series pick, protagonist Rand bases his life on science, believing that love is nothing but a distinct hormonal reaction. When he encounters Sarah, his views are challenged for the first time. In the end, Dopamine is a bland exploration of the biomechanics and machinations of love.

Macaulay Culkin plays Michael Alig in the true life tale of a young, innocent, Midwestern gay kid who quickly turns into a fabulous, drug-addled New York City party promoter. The script — despite forays into delirious surrealism — is bound by reality, and there just isn't that much interest you can drum up in watching Alig and pals gobble drugs and don outrageous costumes.

There are better "wrong man" films out there, but few have the good fortune to have Denzel Washington as leading man. Nevertheless, this is a film where everything is obvious, and surface suspense sits in for nail-biting thrills. Playing his billionth Johnny Law character, Washington is as good as ever, though not as likable as he’s been in the past.