“Bend it Like Beckham”

Already a worldwide box-office phenomenon (thanks partly to a cameo from the titular pinup footballer), “Bend it Like Beckham” stars Parminder Nagra as Jess, a teenaged Indian girl living in London who has aspirations of playing professional soccer.

This greatly concerns her conservative family, especially as Jess’ straight-and-narrow sister prepares for a traditional Indian wedding. The film goes on to mix lowbrow hijinks with subtle social commentary about the place of conservative Eastern morals in a progressive, global culture and is sure to delight regardless of your country or culture, even if you gauchely call the real football “soccer.”

“Bend it Like Beckham” plays at the Orpheum’s Main Theatre tonight at 7:30.

–Nick Marx

“Teenage Hooker Became Killing Machine in DaeHakRoh”

Perhaps the best argument to be made on behalf of this film is that its plot stays true to the title. A quintessential midnight movie, “Teenage Hooker” runs the gamut from revenge thriller to arty experimentalism to campy cheekiness.

Giving a plot summary would be like trying to censor a Michael Moore acceptance speech, but the film promises loads of eye-candy. Normally functioning members of society beware: “Teenage Hooker” will in all likelihood lure cinephiles who haven’t seen the sun in weeks out of their mothers’ basements. Deodorant optional.

“Teenage Hooker Became Killing Machine in DaeHakRoh” plays Friday at 4070 Vilas at 11:30 p.m.

“XX/XY”

Austin Chick’s Wisconsin debut “XX/XY” serves to answer two questions: “What can a Racine native do with his life?” and “What’s the worst that can happen if you have a threesome?”

Proximity of one’s birth to the Apple Holler in Racine, Wis., seems to be inversely proportional to degree of fame one accrues. Mark Ruffalo is defying this assumption. Now an indie-film superstar (after his role in Kenneth Lonnergan’s “You Can Count On Me”), Ruffalo plays Coles in “XX/XY” and is cited by directors as the reason the film was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.

Well, it was either Ruffalo or the strikingly postmodern title, which, before one sees a frame of film, calls into question gender roles and boundaries. When Coles meets Sam (Maya Strange) and Thea (Kathleen Robertson) at a college party, sparks fly and they spend a long, somewhat awkward night together. Eight years and several independent relationships later, they meet again, in the Hamptons, and are sucked back into the original complicated dynamic.

Wherever the centrifugal force lands them, being in “XX/XY,” which is already surrounded by a little industry buzz for being widely shown at film fests, might have the power to propel Ruffalo along a trajectory of big-screen success he is eager to taste after spending most of the ’90s in a torturous cheesy horror-flick phase, including such titles as “Mirror Mirror II: The Raven” and “Mirror Mirror III.”

“XX/XY” plays at Club Majestic tonight at 9:30.

–Christine Lagorio

“The Underground Rock and Roll in China”

And you thought we had a thriving independent music scene in Madison. This documentary goes “underground” to uncover what most of us never knew existed — an independent punk/rock scene in China. Apparently, the scene is alive and well, attracting bands and spectators from around the country to Beijing, the informal headquarters of the movement.

Let’s face it — we all have friends who have started bands in their garages, or we ourselves have done the same. This film should provide an interesting, and different, perspective on how young people on the other side of the world do the same thing.

“The Underground Rock and Roll in China” plays at the Bartell-Drury Theatre Saturday at 11 p.m.

–Molly Webb

“The Weather Underground”

Bill Ayers recently wrote a book about his experiences in the ’60s radical organization The Weather Underground, detailing the group’s actions, beliefs and the repercussions of the group’s actions both for group members and the world in general.

“The Weather Underground” goes a step further and interviews several members of the organization, including Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Mark Rudd, David Gilbert and Brian Flanagan. The film includes federal documents as well, adding a touch of the government’s view to the documentary.

As anti-war activists in the United States begin to organize against the war in Iraq, “The Weather Underground” will undoubtedly provide some valuable history and perspective for protestors and non-protestors alike.

“The Weather Underground” plays at the Orpheum Stage Door Theater Saturday at 9 p.m.

— Molly Webb