Beerfest<$> — The comedy troupe Broken Lizard’s tale of extreme beer drinking plays out like a college kegger that gets off to a bad start but picks up steam as the suds flow. The movie’s dreadful at the outset, without a laugh in sight, but slowly improves as the troupe manages some genuinely funny jokes and sight gags. The five-man team behind the cop spoof Super Troopers again writes and stars: Jay Chandrasekhar (who also directs), Erik Stolhanske, Paul Soter, Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme. The thin plot centres on two brothers (Stolhanske and Soter) who stumble on a secret beer-consumption competition in Munich and enlist three pals (Chandrasekhar, Heffernan and Lemme) for a team to challenge their hated German cousins. Cloris Leachman, Juergen Prochnow and Mo’Nique co-star. R for pervasive crude and sexual content, language, nudity and substance abuse. 112 minutes. Two stars. — David Germain

Idlewild — Let us now praise the men of OutKast for their ambition, if not their aim. The duo have tried to do something unique with this musical drama set in the 1930s. It wildly blends genres and eras and features a high-class cast and heavy visual tricks. The film is extraordinarily imaginative, often stylish and fun — what else would you expect from co-stars and co-producers Andre Benjamin and Antwan A. Patton? — and at times it can even be magical. Ultimately, though, the pervading anachronism is just too jarring. The rich, deep visual texture becomes too overbearing. And the movie feels like it will just never end. The songs in Idlewild (and the recently released accompanying soundtrack disc, which makes you wonder, which came first?) include a mystifying mix of rap, swing, jazz and R&B. Maybe they work when you’re listening to them on your headphones, but on stage, in film form, they come off as strangely inert. And that’s the last word you’d ordinarily use for such a vibrant, dynamic group. Terrence Howard, Ving Rhames, Ben Vereen, Macy Gray and Paula Patton co-star. R for violence, sexuality, nudity and language. 102 minutes. Two stars. — Christy Lemire