WORTH SEEING
Which Movies to Watch This Weekend
Ava: This debut film by Iranian Canadian writer-director Sadaf Foroughi is a heartfelt and compelling tale of a high school girl in Tehran whose goals and desires conflict with the wishes of her parents and a larger society. You feel for Ava (Mahour Jabbari) the way you do for Antoine Doinel in Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows.” Not rated. 125 minutes. — G . Allen Johnson Shock and Awe: Knight Ridder’s Washington bureau goes up against the George W. Bush administration during the run-up to the Iraq War, armed only with the truth, and it doesn’t do much good. Still, it makes for an interesting story, from director Rob Reiner, about one national news agency that stuck to reporting facts and not propaganda. Starring Woody Harrelson and James Marsden. Rated R. 90 minutes. — Mick LaSalle Sorry to Bother You: Written and directed by Boots Riley, this story about a successful telemarketer who becomes privy to the diabolical plans that big business and science have for the working classes is innovative and fresh, with lots of penetrating observations about modern life and modern anxiety. Not every scene works, but this movie is a welcome original. Rated R. 105 minutes. — Mick LaSalle Whitney: Even if you weren’t a big Whitney Houston fan, this is a great documentary that makes a compelling case for her importance, while telling the fascinating story of her life — a complicated tale involving a one-way descent into drug dependency. Full of terrific performance footage. Rated R. 120 minutes. — Mick LaSalle