The following are movie reviews of "Wimbledon" and "Cellular."

Wimbledon
An appealing love story, which unfolds against the backdrop of England's famous lawn tennis championship, "Wimbledon" (Universal) offers audience-pleasing truisms about the rat race of winning versus choosing the important things in life. It features a charismatic performance by Paul Bettany in the lead and an appealing one by Kirsten Dunst as the ambitious young woman for whom he falls.

Peter Colt (Bettany), a thirtysomething British tennis pro on a long losing streak, decides to get out of the big league, after playing one last tournament. He feels he's getting older, doesn't care for his rank at 119th best in the world, and feels the pressure from the up-and-coming younger players. In fact, he's already accepted a cushy job as tennis instructor at a posh club run by Ian Frazier (Robert Lindsay).

He encounters a bewitching and ambitious young American player, Lizzie Bradbury (Dunst), who's admired him from afar. They meet cute, when Peter is accidentally given the key to Lizzie's penthouse suite at the swank Dorchester Hotel. Peter catches her in the shower, and though she's covered up behind the frosted glass, he sees enough to know he's smitten.

Lizzie rather forwardly proposes they sleep together, with no strings attached. In short order, they really do fall in love, and suddenly Peter's performance on the court turns into a real winning streak.

Lizzie's father (Sam Neill), who doubles as her coach, opposes the romance because he believes it will throw off his daughter's game. Lizzie herself feels much the same, in spite of her obvious attraction to Peter.

The romance thrives amid an ongoing argument about whether it's acceptable to "fool around" before a game, but Peter's game continues to improve, and Lizzie's is none the worse either. Even his agent (Jon Favreau), who had more or less dropped him, re-enters his life. So too, the long-ago-cooled affection between his parents, Edward and Augusta (those old pros, Bernard Hill and Eleanor Bron), comes to life again. Eventually (wouldn't you know?), Peter must face off on the court against Jake Hammond (Austin Nichols), a younger repellently arrogant player with whom Lizzie once had a fling.

Bettany projects real star quality (his thoughts amusingly and wryly articulated in voiceover) and a decency that's very believable. His tennis moves are completely convincing, as are Dunst's in her relatively few moments on the court.

Director Richard Loncraine has succeeded in re-creating the world of professional tennis, and fashioning a humorous love story, with just the right light touch.

The film is designed in bright cheerful colors, with picturesque London locales which match the lightweight feel of the script. The opening credits delightfully unfold like a tennis match, popping up on each side of the screen in rhythmic succession to the sound of the racket hitting the ball, and the camerawork on the courts, and indeed throughout the film, is first-rate.

The plot is contrived, of course, but the old-fashioned romantic elements (premarital sex notwithstanding), the excitement of the tennis match and the ultimate emphasis on good values make this an audience pleaser, much in the same mold as the same producers' "Notting Hill" and "Bridget Jones's Diary." The film says a lot about unconditional love in all its permutations, and ultimately champions "real" values.

Because of implied sexual situations, sexual innuendo, fleeting rear nudity, some crude language and a brief violent incident, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

-- Harry Forbes

Cellular
Next time you curse your cell phone for losing its signal, remind yourself it's not the end of the world. That's more than Kim Basinger can say in the predictable but entertaining fast-paced thriller, "Cellular" (New Line), in which she plays a woman who -- in the words of Blanche DuBois -- must "rely on the kindness of strangers."

Set in Los Angeles, the story hinges on Jessica Martin (Basinger), a high school science teacher plucked from her tony Brentwood home by a goon squad (led by Jason Statham) for reasons not initially clear to her -- or us. The kidnappers lock her in the attic of their hideout where she somehow manages to patch together a telephone -- smashed to pieces by one of her captors -- and secretly places a random call for help.

Her desperate SOS rings the cell phone of Ryan (Chris Evans), a surfing slacker who naturally thinks it's a prank call. But as Jessica's hushed fear convinces him it is not a joke, Ryan finds himself thrust into a high-stakes race against the clock to save a woman he has never met.

The movie kicks into overdrive when the baddies snatch her young son (Adam Taylor Gordon) and threaten to kill him unless she gives them certain information, about which she is clueless.

The always interesting William H. Macy gets to flex his muscles, showing his rarely seen tough side as a cop who is ready to trade in his badge for a luffa sponge and whose instincts tell him there's something rotten in Brentwood.

Part suspense film, part cell phone commercial, the movie dusts off the old damsel-in-distress formula and gives it a wireless twist.

Larry Cohen, who wrote the screenplay for "Cellular," also penned 2003's "Phone Booth" staring Colin Farrell. Both films deal with protagonists faced with telecommunication dilemmas.

As directed by David R. Ellis, the slim story is full of B-movie thrills, including high-octane car chases and a Santa Monica pier shootout. Breathless through much of the film, Evans is likable enough, but exudes a low-wattage "Baywatch" blandness. Basinger plays huddled quivering well.

Stripped of its frenetic action sequences, "Cellular" is basically a good Samaritan story about an average guy who helps a complete stranger, without wanting a reward. However, in doing the "right" thing, Ryan does several "wrong" things, including carjacking an obnoxious lawyer (he needs the car to save Jessica) and holding up a busy cell phone store at gunpoint because he needs a charger before his cell phone battery dies. Though on the latter count he at least pays for the merchandise once he gets the sales staff's attention.

In the hands of a more capable director, the movie could have been far more involving and intelligent. But taken for what it is, "Cellular" is surprisingly satisfying popcorn fare.

Due to recurring violence, some gore and terror situations, an instance of rough language, a crude gesture and some sexual humor, as well as crass language and profanity, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

-- David DiCerto

Harry Forbes is director and David DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.