Playing at local movie theaters

NEW FILMS FRIDAY

THE GOOD GERMAN — ** — Steven Soderbergh's World War II thriller is an interesting failure, but all the crudities make it hard to get through. George Clooney stars. Black and white, running time: 105 minutes, R (profanity, violence, vulgarity, sex, ethnic slurs, torture, brief nudity, brief drugs)

THE HITCHER — Sean Bean stars as the menacing title character in this remake of the 1986 hit thriller. To be reviewed next week, running time: 83 minutes, R (violence, gore, profanity)

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA — **** — Shown almost entirely from the viewpoint of Japanese soldiers, Clint Eastwood's war drama has a subtle and lovely, almost poetic tone. Japanese with subtitles, running time: 141 minutes, R (violence, gore, profanity, vulgarity, brief drugs)

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

THE 6TH ANNUAL LDS FILM FESTIVAL — A local event featuring films with LDS themes or by LDS filmmakers. A schedule of events is available at www.ldsfilmfestival.com. (Through Saturday: SCERA, Orem)

THE 2007 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL — The grandfather of all Sundance alternative festivals kicks off its schedule of independent fare with screenings at the Treasure Mountain Inn in Park City and select events at Trolley Square mall in Salt Lake City. Film schedules are available at www.slamdance.com; catalogs are also available at theaters. (Through Jan. 27: Trolley Square)

THE 2007 TROMADANCE FILM FESTIVAL — The makers of such low-budget cult fare as the "Toxic Avenger" movies put their unique spin on film festivals with a series of screenings of some of their features and shorter-length works. Most are R-rated or do not carry ratings and generally contain strong violent and sexual content. (Tuesday, 2 p.m.: Salt Lake City Library; Wednesday, 6 p.m.: Brewvies, must be 21 or older)

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 07 — The 2007 edition of the "Cannes of the West" kicks off its Salt Lake events tonight with showings of the drama "Away From Her" and continues with screenings of independent features, documentaries and short works in a variety of Salt Lake City and Park City venues. An online film guide is available at www.sundance.org; catalogs are also available at theaters. (Through Jan. 28: Broadway, Rose Wagner Center, Tower)

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH — *** 1/2 — This global-warming documentary is well-crafted, compelling cinematic food for thought. Running time: 100 minutes, PG (violence, nude artwork, brief drugs) (Wednesday, 7 p.m.: Jones Conservatory, Westminster College, free)