Info: Opens today at the Tower Theatre; not rated, but probably R for some nudity, violence and language; 137 minutes.

Here's your chance to second-guess the Oscars (like you weren't doing that already) by seeing all five of the Live-Action Short nominees in one viewing. The winner, the French tale "The Mozart of Pickpockets," about two thieves who find a young accomplice, is charming but a little too cutesy-poo. "The Tonto Woman," a British-made Western based on an Elmore Leonard story, has gorgeous cinematography but is sketchy and too interested in its own iconography. "At Night," a tragic Danish story about three young women in a cancer ward, is a heartbreaker. My vote would be split between two humorous shorts with clever twist endings: The Belgian "Tanghi Argentini," a sweet story of an office drone trying to learn the tango, or "The Substitute (Il Supplante)," an Italian comedy about an unusual teacher.

Semi-Pro

Info: Opens today in theaters everywhere; rated R for language and some sexual content; 91 minutes.

If it looks as if Will Ferrell is just going through the motions in this raunchy sports comedy, it's because he's done this all before. His character, Jackie Moon - a former R&B singer who owns, coaches and plays power forward for the Flint Tropics, an American Basketball Association team circa 1976 - is the same self-absorbed stud he played in "Blades of Glory" and "Talladega Nights," and the '70s fashion jokes are straight out of "Anchorman." The plot in Scot Armstrong's sketchy script involves the Tropics trying to get a winning season, which might get the team in the NBA. Most of this plot isn't carried by Ferrell, but by Woody Harrelson as a washed-up player who tries to reconcile with his ex-wife (Maura Tierney). First-time director Kent Alterman (a producer whose credits include Ferrell's "Elf") is hopeless at reining in Ferrell's manic comedy, and even with mile-a-minute gags and appearances by several of Ferrell's pals, a lot of the jokes clang off the rim.

City of Men

Info: Opens today at the Broadway Centre Cinemas; rated R for violent content, language and some sexuality; in Portuguese with subtitles; 105 minutes.

This follow-up to the stunning 2002 drama "City of God" (and the miniseries "City of Men" that aired on the Sundance Channel) centers on two friends, Ace (Douglas Silva) and Wallace (Darlan Cunha), reaching their 18th birthday on Dead End Hill, a violent slum overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Ace is dealing with being a father, while Wallace is determined to find his long-absent father (Rodrigo dos Santos) - all while a street war breaks out between Wallace's gang-leader cousin Midnight (Jonathan Haagensen) and his former lieutenant Fasto (Eduardo BR), raining bullets on the hill. Director Paulo Morelli doesn't bring the same visual flash that Fernando Meirelles brought to "City of God," but his sharp focus on the characters neatly illuminates the fear and hopes of Rio's poverty-stricken youth.