For a series so steeped in romance, the eagerly awaited “Sex and the City” movie feels a trifle half-hearted. Although there’s pleasure in seeing HBO’s fabulous four reunited, writer-director Michael Patrick King doesn’t fully bridge the gap between TV and film — delivering major story flourishes but, too often, playing like a regular episode bloated to five times its customary length. Best in its small moments, the movie should find receptive gal pals congregating for the mother of all viewing parties, but appeal beyond that core should present New Line with less of a storybook finish than it doubtless would like.

A young couple at a remote house get some very-latenight, highly unwelcome visitors in debuting writer-director Bryan Bertino's effectively stripped-down thriller "The Strangers." Offering home invasion horror on a less intellectualized plane than the recent "Funny Games U.S.," "Strangers" should court correspondingly more robust patronage from mainstream fright fans -- even if this exercise, too, might leave some viewers wondering what the point is at the punishing journey's end.

Well-crafted docu "Fire Under the Snow" concerns septuagenarian Tibetan monk Palden Gyatso, who, imprisoned and tortured for 33 years, became a rallying cry for his country's liberation. New York-based filmmaker Makoto Sasa contrasts the horror of the story and the serenity of its teller for dramatic impact. Now perched high atop a mountain in India, Gyatso asserts his faith that if people knew the injustice he and his countrymen endure, they would end it; Sasa then proceeds to illustrate that injustice and the world's reaction to it. Recent, well-publicized anti-Olympic Games brouhaha assures pic longevity in fest and educational play.

An involving, ultimately touching romantic drama about a young man's struggle deciding between the two women in his life, "Two Lovers" reps a welcome change of pace for director James Gray from his run of crime mellers. Well acted by Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw, this very New York tale is old-fashioned in good ways that have to do with solid storytelling, craftsmanship and emotional acuity. Developing an audience will be another matter altogether; its central romantic dynamic would be entirely accessible to a mass audience, but pic's smallish nature and lack of real B.O. names suggest that interest will need to be built among discerning viewers via fest exposure and critical support, leading into gradual platform release by a dedicated distrib.

A single French father and his shy teen daughter discover romance -- and deal with a shift in their own relationship -- during a Swedish summer holiday in modest but wistfully charming comic drama "Grown Ups." Debuting French helmer Anna Novion proves an astute observer of human interactions, catalyzing development of central pair with two supporting characters coming to decisions about their complicated love lives. Spot-on central perf from Gaul star Jean-Pierre Darroussin should give pic traction during autumn rollout in France. Elsewhere, Euro tube seems a good bet.