"Rampart" and "Joffrey: Mavericks of Dance"

"Rampart" (Millennium): Woody Harrelson has been on a roll since his Oscar-nominated performance in Oren Moverman's "The Messenger." He can also count an outstanding and memorable performance in "Zombieland," as well as a scene-stealing turn as a gay sports editor in "Friends With Benefits," to his recent film credit.

Teaming up again with Moverman (as well as his "The Messenger" co-star Ben Foster), Harrelson plays corrupt LAPD officer and Vietnam vet Dave Brown in "Rampart". Set in 1999 Los Angeles, in the midst of a scandal at the Rampart Community Police Station, "Rampart" focuses on Brown, a borderline chain-smoker, sexual compulsive, violent, socially conservative, racist, homophobic cop, who insists on playing by his own rules.

Busy passing judgment on others, from his fellow police officers to the District Attorney, politicians and Internal Affairs officers, Brown has an unconventional personal life. He remains sexually active with his ex-wives, sisters Barbara (Cynthia Nixon) and Catherine (Anne Heche), who are the mothers of his daughters, young Margaret (Sammy Boyarsy) and teen lesbian Helen (Brie Larson). Even the associations that could potentially be meaningful in his life, that with lawyer Linda (Robin Wright) and retired cop Hartshorn (Ned Beatty), go sour. His most fulfilling interpersonal relationship is with a strung out homeless vet whom Dave calls General (Foster).

Not surprisingly, everything around Dave's unstable life begins to crumble and his downward spiral is rapid. Neither Barbara nor Catherine wants him around anymore. Helen and Margaret don't know what to make of their father. The future of his career is increasingly uncertain. His relationship with Linda grows more volatile. To add insult to injury, Hartshorn betrays him. So when Dave finds himself in a hotel room contemplating suicide it's not all that surprising.

"Rampart" is a relentlessly bleak movie. And even though Dave ranks as one of the most unlikable screen characters in recent memory, Harrelson has found a way to tap into him and allow a dim ray of humanity to shine through. It's an exceptional performance and for that he deserves a shiny merit badge.

(In theaters, February 17, 2012. See local listings for theater and show times.)

"Joffrey: Mavericks of Dance" (Lakeview Films): Directed by Bob Hercules ("Bill T. Jones: A Good Man") and narrated by Mandy Patinkin, "Joffrey: Mavericks of Dance" is a cinematic love letter to the late Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino and the ballet company that they co-created. As a choreographer, Joffrey took the idea of ballet off the pedestal. As critic Hedy Weiss puts it, he stretched the classical vocabulary in a way that was American and modern.

Political and dangerous, brimming with guts and grit, the Joffrey Ballet was renowned for featuring dancers of all heights, from all backgrounds, and not shying away from current events throughout the course of its history. And the Joffrey's history is presented in fascinating detail, beginning with the lifetime partnership between Joffrey and Arpino, who continued to live and work together after their romantic relationship ended in the 1960s.

From the formation of the company in the 1950s and their legendary cross-country tours to their struggles with benefactor and Standard Oil heiress Rebekah Harkness, to their triumphs, including dancing in Afghanistan, Russia and for John F. Kennedy at the White House, as well as relocating from New York to its current home Chicago, the Joffrey earns its "maverick" status. Not without its share of failures and catastrophes, the film doesn't gloss over anything, providing a "warts and all" approach in regards to telling the Joffrey's story.

Through interviews with past and present company members and choreographers, writers, critics and dance historians, as well as breathtaking historical footage, Hercules' "Joffrey: Mavericks of Dance" is a marvelous celebration of dance and the company, now in its 56th year. The film even has the potential to have some people dancing in the aisles. (At the Gene Siskel Film Center on State Street in Chicago, Feb. 18 & 22, 2012.)