The following are movie reviews of "Hotel Rwanda," "The Aviator," "Closer," "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou," "Ocean's Twelve," and "William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice."

'Hotel Rwanda' testifies to courage, hope

"Hotel Rwanda" (United Artists) is, at times, hard to watch, but it is even harder to forget.

The film tells the inspiring real-life story of Paul Rusesabagina (portrayed in an Oscar-worthy performance by Don Cheadle), an "ordinary" man who, at great personal risk, saved the lives of thousands of his countrymen during the nightmarish days of the Rwandan genocide.

Well-written, directed and acted, the emotionally riveting, profoundly moral movie deals with an extremely dark chapter of history, but is a powerful testament to hope, courage and the nobility of the human spirit.

Set in 1994, the film tells the back story of the Rwandan conflict with effective economy. Following the assassination of Rwanda's president in a suspicious plane crash, age-old tribal tensions between the nation's indigenous Tutsi and Hutu peoples boil over, as frenzied mobs of machete-wielding Hutu militants -- incited by inflammatory local radio broadcasts -- erupt into orgies of genocidal violence. Fueled by ethnic hatred of their Tutsi neighbors, whom they disdain as "cockroaches," roaming Hutu militias known as the Interahamwe systematically massacre more than a million Tutsis in little over 100 days.

Well-respected and level-headed, Rusesabagina is the manager of the four-star Belgian-owned Hotel Mille Collines in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. A Hutu himself, he opens the hotel's doors to Tutsi refugees and moderate Hutus, offering them sanctuary from the wholesale slaughter taking place outside. He starts off by sheltering just family and close friends -- including his Tutsi wife (Sophie Okonedo) and three children -- but the number of those flocking to the tenuous safe haven of his hotel-style Noah's Ark swells to more than 1,200, among them Tutsi children from a nearby Catholic orphanage.

Echoing the grace-under-pressure pluck and quick-thinking resourcefulness of Oskar Schindler, Rusesabagina -- thrust into the position of reluctant hero -- staves off the escalating fury of the bloodthirsty Interahamwe, buying time and protection with wiles and bribery.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world turns a blind eye to the atrocities, much to the dismay of a Canadian U.N. peacekeeper (Nick Nolte), who watches with disgust as -- in a galling act of organized racism -- white nationals are evacuated with armed European escorts, while he is left with only a skeleton force to protect those left behind.

Rather than sensationalize the butchery occurring outside the walls of the hotel compound, writer-director Terry George keeps his story soberly and intimately focused on the personal heroism of Rusesabagina, resulting in a more emotional than political piece of social conscience filmmaking.

And while some might argue that the movie provides only a superficial treatment of the root causes of the conflict, it does effectively capture -- in a very visceral and unsettling sense -- the madness which unfolds, as well as the fear of those trapped in it. The film does not wallow in the gory or graphic details of the carnage -- conveying the mostly off-screen horrors in the haunted faces of witnesses. There are, however, some disturbing scenes, including one where Rusesabagina's jeep navigates a road paved with human corpses.

In April 2004 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement marking the 10th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, calling it "a blow to heart and soul of humanity" and challenging the international community to face up to its moral failure to act to stop the killing. Perhaps, in some small way, this film is a first step.

Due to disturbing violence and images of mass slaughter, fleeting shadowy background nudity and some brief rough language, 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.

The Aviator (Miramax)
Absorbing and entertaining epic detailing the dramatic glory days of legendary billionaire Howard Hughes, in his myriad roles as aviation innovator and visionary, daredevil pilot, Hollywood producer and airline tycoon, while charting his well-publicized relationships with Katharine Hepburn and Ava Gardner, and ultimately his appearance before the Senate on charges of defrauding the public through wartime airplane contracts. This film is a career highpoint for both director Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio, who is onscreen almost every minute and gives a highly charismatic performance; and the supporting cast is mostly first-rate. A smattering of profanity and rough language, implied sexual situations, a violent plane crash and brief rear nudity. Ratings: A-III (PG-13)

Closer (Columbia)
Talky, occasionally sluggish adaptation of Patrick Marber's West End and Broadway stage hit about the shifting romantic and amoral entanglements among two couples (Jude Law and Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen) in London. Over-the-years narrative explores the foibles of human relationships, and how love evolves from the excitement of first meeting to myriad lies and betrayals, with first-rate performances and direction (by Mike Nichols) though none of the characters is particularly likable, and while there is virtually no sexual activity, except for risque gyrating by Portman's skimpily dressed character (an ex-stripper), the sex talk is as graphic and shocking in its bluntness as it was onstage. Much gratuitously rough and sexually explicit language, a suggestive striptease, partial nudity, freewheeling attitude toward sex. Ratings: O (R)

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (Touchstone)
Offbeat tragicomedy about a washed up Jacques Cousteau-like oceanographer (played in delightful deadpan by Bill Murray) who, along with his oddball crew, sets out on an open sea adventure -- which he chronicles on film as part of his latest documentary -- to hunt down the shark that ate his partner, while at the same time coming to terms with a new deckhand (Owen Wilson) who may, or may not, be his long-lost son. Directed by Wes Anderson, this Melvillian revenge could use more wind in its sails, but stays afloat thanks to its cleverly quirky script, imaginatively animated aquatic life and good performances from its eccentric ensemble. Some strong violence, recreational drug use, an implied sexual encounter, an instance of brief gratuitous nudity, much rough and crude language and profanity. Ratings: A-III (R)

Ocean's Twelve (Warner Bros.)
So-so caper film, in the vein of its predecessor, "Ocean's Eleven," with much the same star-studded cast as before (George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon), joined here by Catherine Zeta-Jones and a couple of unbilled surprise cameos, this time with picturesque European locales. The larcenous crew, which has tried to go straight, must pay back entrepreneur Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) from whose Vegas casino they stole $160 million in the first film. They set out after a Faberge egg, while outwitting a master jewel thief (Vincent Cassel). Steven Soderbergh's sequel is agreeable rather than grippingly suspenseful, and the script, by George Nolfi, more genial than truly witty, though there are some mildly surprising twists and turns along the way. Tongue-in-cheek glamorization of robbery, some crude language. Ratings: A-III (PG-13)

William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (Sony Pictures Classics)
Visually rich, if overly somber, adaptation by director Michael Radford of Shakespeare's classic play about Shylock (Al Pacino), a Jewish moneylender in the 16th century who lends the merchant Antonio (Jeremy Irons) a sum of money, and then insists on the contractual "pound of (Antonio's) flesh" when the money cannot be repaid by the promised date. Pacino is in good form and, as in most modern stage productions of the piece, makes Shylock as sympathetic as possible, showing him as deserving of his desired revenge after years of mistreatment by the Christians, while Irons, Joseph Fiennes as the merchant's young friend, Bassanio, for whom the money was really borrowed, and Lynn Collins as Portia, Bassanio's betrothed, who impersonates a male barrister to plead Antonio's case, provide solid support. Some nudity, sexual innuendo. Ratings: A-III (R)

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