‘Void’ is full of high drama

“Touching the Void”

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Filmmaker Kevin MacDonald explores the impossible choice faced by British climber Simon Yates in 1985 when, after having climbed a dangerous Peruvian peak with his partner (and friend) Joe Simpson, Simpson fell and broke his leg. What Yates did, and what happened next, constitutes the film’s drama. MacDonald intersperses shots of the real men answering questions (separately, of course) with dramatizations of the climb. The mix might sound hokey, as if MacDonald were doing a kind of “COPS Goes Mountaineering.” But it is effective while never really answering the key question. The director, and his film, leave that up to the viewer. (DVD, VHS; 1:46) Rated R (language).

“50 First Dates”

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Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore have a screen chemistry based more on mutual like than on any sense of sexuality. This is good, considering Sandler films are aimed at 12-year-olds. Sandler plays an aquarium veterinarian living in Hawaii who, to avoid commitment, makes it a point to love-and-leave tourists. Then he falls for a “local,” Lucy (Barrymore), who suffers from a brain injury that affects her short-term memory, causing him to have to court her anew every day. The concept is set up early on, so that a large part of the movie centers on the romance, which balances out the usual ration of sex-, culture-, gender- and gay-theme jokes on which Sandler thrives. (DVD, VHS; 1:36) Rated PG-13 (sexual situations, crude humor, profanity, cartoon violence).

“Tupac: Resurrection”

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Shot to death in 1996, charismatic rap star Tupac Shakur comes alive in this Lauren Lazin documentary. The film is eerie in how it seemingly features Shakur talking from the grave. Much of the movie’s power, in fact, comes from Shakur’s narration, during which the intelligent and articulate rapper addresses being shot and reborn. We see the young Tupac, the growing talent, the outrageously outspoken persona, the celebrity humbled by a rape conviction and gunfire, the gradually maturing man who is cut down before his time. We don’t get to hear enough of the music, but we do get a lot of Shakur himself. (DVD, VHS; 1:30) Rated R (strong language and images of drugs, violence and sex).