Unleashed Movie

Something strange and unexpected happens partway through "Unleashed," the new Jet Li martial arts film. The stylized world of male brutality and violence abruptly halts and, for a half-hour or so, the story is dominated by the friendship between Li's character and an exuberant young woman with auburn hair, braces and a love for piano. She teaches him to love Mozart, savor vanilla ice cream, eat properly at the dining table, and even appreciate an endearing kiss.

Something strange and unexpected happens partway through "Unleashed," the new Jet Li martial arts film. The stylized world of male brutality and violence abruptly halts and, for a half-hour or so, the story is dominated by the friendship between Li's character and an exuberant young woman with auburn hair, braces and a love for piano. She teaches him to love Mozart, savor vanilla ice cream, eat properly at the dining table, and even appreciate an endearing kiss.

What does Mike Judge have to do to get a movie released and marketed? He could stop making satires as merciless and spot-on as this one, for one thing. His second film in seven years, "Idiocracy," was completed nearly two years ago and dumped on Friday, reviewless and unmarketed, in six markets not including New York and San Francisco. (Because who could possibly be interested in the long-awaited movie by the director of "Office Space" there?