Formulaic, yet fun 'Bunny'

It also doesn't help that he's a less-than-stellar interviewer and too enamored of his own "journey" making the film to realize that his experiences auditioning for a website devoted to beautiful people is neither amusing nor revelatory. The tragedy is that "America the Beautiful" actually has a doc-worthy subject in Roberts' occasional drop-ins on 13-year-old aspiring model Garren Taylor, whose brief hot rise as a lightning rod of is-she-too-young controversy has the makings of a multifaceted story about youthful ambition, parental responsibility and institutionalized danger.

But with so many pointless detours ripping you away, the film feels as lamely digressive as the proverbial one-track guy whose head won't stop turning as each new temptation walks by.

-- Robert Abele

"America the Beautiful." MPAA rating: R for some language, including sexual references. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. At Laemmle Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-3500.

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Sending message that's too obvious

Based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, "Cthulhu" is repositioned by director Dan Gildark and writer Grant Cogswell from a tale of returning home into an allegory for gay tolerance and acceptance. Having fashioned himself into a respectable big-city college professor, Russell (Jason Cottle) is called back to the small island of his hometown upon his mother's death. There he finds nearly everyone to be in the grip of an apocalyptic cult led by his father. Somehow Tori Spelling, as a small-town heartbreaker, figures into the mix. "Cthulhu" isn't awful, but it isn't particularly compelling either, as Glidark and Cogswell make their message so plain that it robs the story of its broader mysteries.

-- Mark Olsen

"Cthulhu." MPAA rating: R for language, some sexuality, nudity and violence. Running time: 1 hour, 49 minutes. At the Regent Showcase, 614 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood, (323) 934-4071.