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A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION Robert Altman's best film since the one-two punch of The Player and Short Cuts might at first glance seem like a minor work, an ambling, congenial picture constructed as little more than an opportunity to corral several major talents (Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Lily Tomlin, etc.) and give them a chance to sing songs and tell jokes in a relaxed setting. That the film is inspired by Garrison Keillor's long-running radio show adds to that impression, since the on-air Keillor is the epitome of laid-back, down-home hospitality. Yet for all its levity, the central theme focuses on the specter of Death -- how it hovers around us, how it haunts us, and how it can inform our every move. But the mood isn't depressing; it's bittersweet. And that's only part of the time: When the radio performers are front and center, this is nothing less than a joyous celebration of both Americana and the arts. The final sequence -- a masterpiece of ambiguity -- is simply exquisite, a somber, rueful moment inexorably illustrating that, in death as in life, the show must go on. ****

SUPERMAN RETURNS A viewer would have to go back 28 years to find the motion picture that still ranks as the finest superhero movie ever made. The 1978 version of Superman still holds up beautifully, with dazzling special effects, plenty of heart and spunk, and career performances by Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder as Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Director Bryan Singer (X-Men and X2) has a great affinity for that film, and he pays his respects with a new picture that's neither a remake nor a direct repudiation; instead, he imagines Superman Returns as a continuation of the original saga, a chance to advance the story without radically altering it. Like Christopher Nolan with Batman Begins, Singer has elected to add dramatic heft to a deceptively simple comic-book framework, by spending as much screen time on the characters' mental battles as on the gee-whiz theatrics of Superman's crime-fighting prowess. The script's mixture of melodrama and mirth seems just right, and newcomer Brandon Routh is effective as the Man of Steel and his bumbling alter ego. ***1/2

X-MEN: THE LAST STAND The 2000 hit X-Men, which introduced Marvel's band of mutant outsiders to a wider audience and helped spearhead the current boom in superhero flicks, appealed to fans of the comic book but also offered comfort to anyone who could tap into its obvious symbolic gestures (most equating the fantasy world ostracism of mutants with the real world shunning of homosexuals). Director Bryan Singer returned for 2003's X2, and, bucking the trend, managed to make a follow-up that nearly matched its predecessor. Alas, Singer has fled the series to helm Superman Returns, and Brett Ratner (the Rush Hour duo) and his scripters prove to be shaky replacements. Yet it's a testament to the durability of the original comic created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby that the movie survives this hostile takeover. There are plenty of boneheaded decisions plaguing this action-packed chapter -- too many players, stagnant characterizations -- yet there's also enough of merit to earn it a passing grade. **1/2

OPENS FRIDAY, JULY 7:

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom.