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The box-office race this weekend revolves around the number 2: "2 Guns" or "The Smurfs 2" (the latter of which opened Wednesday).
The action movie "2 Guns" is a ridiculously overblown buddy-cop movie, with purple-prose dialogue, explosions and gunplay in abundance, and machismo to burn. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg make it work, though, with a breezily antagonistic chemistry as they play rival undercover officers who are double-crossed while trying to bring down a Mexican drug lord (Edward James Olmos). It's rough and violent, but entertaining.
The week's art-house slate isn't too spectacular.
Best of the lot is "Cockneys vs. Zombies," a low-budget horror comedy from Britain that delivers exactly what the title promises: Tough-talking Cockneys battling slow-moving zombies. It's a one-joke movie, but some of the gags – like the slow-speed chase involving an elderly pensioner (Richard Briers, in his final role) and lumbering undead – are quite funny.
The Cricket's colleague Vince Horuichi didn't care much for "I'm So Excited!", the latest from Spanish director/provocateur Pedro Almodóvar. This one involves passengers who learn their airliner is doomed to crash – so why not join the Mile-High Club before they die?
Lastly, there's "Copperhead," a dull-as-dishwater Civil War drama, centering on a few anti-Lincoln Democrats and the political tensions that boil over in their upstate New York village. The cast includes Billy Campbell ("The Killing"), Angus Macfadyen ("Braveheart") and Peter Fonda.
The Broadway does have the best movie offering in town: A monthlong retrospective of Alfred Hitchcock films. This week's films are "Spellbound," "The 39 Steps" and "Shadow of a Doubt."