A feel-good, irony-free celebration of lighter-than-air artistic expression, "Twisted: A Balloonamentary" engages and amuses while offering an up-close view of professional balloon twisters (or, as some prefer to call themselves, balloon artistes) who make a surprisingly comfortable living while doing what they love most -- and delighting other people in the process. Currently aloft in limited theatrical release after floating along the fest circuit, this spirited docu could soar as a niche-market DVD release and, eventually, cable and pubcast fare.

As Steven Soderbergh recently learned, convincingly putting across the character of the Good (Nazi) German onscreen is a fairly hopeless task, and "The Poet" only puts a punctuation mark on the point. A curious departure for vet Canadian schlockmeister Damian Lee, this account of the WWII star-crossed love between a rabbi's daughter and a war-hating Teuton officer wants very much to be taken seriously. This proves impossible, since the script, casting and wartime atmosphere play as pure make-believe, lacking any vitality. After a brief theatrical run, vid and cable will be invaded without anyone noticing.

What seemed, in theory, the least-necessary revival of a bigscreen superhero emerges as perfectly solid summer action fare in “The Incredible Hulk.” Revisiting the character Ang Lee and James Schamus put under a psychological microscope in 2003 to mixed results, Marvel, Universal and several of the same producers have repackaged one of their better-known stable stars in a straightforward actioner that delivers the goods with no unnecessary frills or digressions. Happy to give the intended audience what it wants, this loud and quick-moving production will shake loose ample coin in all markets.

One might charitably describe "The Happening" as a transitional work for M. Night Shyamalan. In an attempted rebound from the critical and commercial calamity of "Lady in the Water," the writer-director has scaled back most of his characteristic touches -- the contorted horror/fantasy mythology, the "gotcha" twist ending, even his trademark cameo -- instead serving up a patchy, uninspired eco-thriller whose R rating (a first for Shyamalan) looks more like a B.O. hindrance than an artistic boon. After an initial bloom of interest, the Fox release will likely wilt quickly in the summer heat.

It seemed like a natural: Redo "Get Smart," the landmark '60s TV spy spoof, with Steve Carell. Who better to update Maxwell Smart -- the idiot-savantish secret agent originated by Don Adams -- than "The Office's" master of disassociative, self-effacing humor? But in the end, a bigscreen version of television's "Get Smart" had issues to address -- the hero was too one-dimensional, the female lead too adoring, the Cold War too over. So helmer Peter Segal's formulaic takeoff is neither fish nor fowl, not quite faithful to the show, but not quite bringing it into the 21st century either. It may ride Carell's star to major B.O., at least initially. But it's nothing you want to take off your shoe and call home about.