John Dahl (USA)
There's not much joy on this particular ride. Director John Dahl (Red Rock West, The Last Seduction) has made a career out of delivering pastiches of film noir that get tackier and less credible with each outing. College freshman Lewis (Paul Walker) commences a cross-country trip to lend a helping hand to Venna (Leelee Sobieski), a girl with whom he's smitten. But first he extends a hand to his brother Fuller (Steve Zahn), just out of jail and in need of a ride. Fuller goads Lewis into playing a crude practical joke on a trucker with their CB radio. The joke backfires and the trucker quickly turns into the avenging villain. The nagging question this lame thriller fails to ask is: How could a protagonist be so dumb as to fall for a high-school gag, then become smart enough to become the ultimate nemesis? - K.C.

(Sun., Sept. 9, 9:35 p.m., Uptown 1; Tues., Sept. 11, 9:30 a.m., Cumberland 2)