Depending where you are, it's either still cold and dreary early spring, or it's already gotten too hot to do much outside. So why not go see a movie! Lots of things are opening this weekend, ranging from a documentary about a beloved comedian to a Euro-trippy kiddie assassin thriller to a medieval stoner comedy.

American: The Bill Hicks Story

A documentary about legendary, gone-too-soon comedian Bill Hicks is probably an important thing to see! Hicks was an outspoken scary "liberal," liberal in that he liked ideas and discourse and drugs and stuff. He's pretty important! If you like Patton Oswalt, thank Bill Hicks. Same for, like, most of the comedians who have been smart and funny since the late '80s. (NY, LA next week)

Arthur

The unlikable Russell Brand stars in this unlikable looking remake of the likable Dudley Moore classic. Helen Mirren probably had a different picture in mind when she signed up for this, or maybe she just got swept up in that initial Brand mania like so many other people. Ah well. Greta Gerwig, barely in this trailer, is apparently quite charming as the nice love interest, and OK, that magnet joke is a little funny. But that's it! Those are the only nice things I'm going to say. (Wide release)

Ceremony

Rising indie actor Michael Angarano (Snow Angels) stars in this whindie (whimsical indie? no?) about a young man who's in love with Uma Thurman. And Uma Thurman might be in love with him too? Because they dated before? Weeeird. Pushing Daisies cutie Lee Pace is in this as well, though I'm not sure that can make up for this being yet another example of the irksome recent trend of indie movies set at/around free-wheeling wedding parties. Let's put a cork in that, shall we? (Limited)

Exodus Fall

An interesting cast of remember-thems (Dee Wallace, Christopher Atkins, Rosanna Arquette) feature in this well-filmed, if somewhat hokey looking drama about three Texas teens, one of them autistic, fleeing their abusive mom. It's apparently done some rounds on the festival circuit and picked up a few trophies, but there are so many film festivals these days it's hard to tell what matters and what doesn't. I mean, Breckenridge Film Festival? Are we caring about that these days? Hard to say. (LA)

Hanna

Atonement director Joe Wright helms this intriguing looking picture about a little girl assassin (the always interesting Saoirse Ronan) trying to enact vengeance of some kind against a Texas-twanged Cate Blanchett. Cat-and-mouse is played through Finland, funky/dystopic Berlin, and Morocco. Eric Bana and the underemployed Olivia Williams turn up, guns are fired, and weird colors and camera angles are employed. It all looks very exciting, I think. (Wide)

Henry's Crime

The improbable duo of James Caan and Keanu Reeves sta in this little crime indie, also featuring Vera Farmiga, about a lovable loser who wants to rob a bank he already went to jail for robbing. So, you know, it's just one of those little movies. Remember when Keanu was like the guy? Yeah, me neither. (NY, LA next week)

Meek's Cutoff

Michelle Williams reunites with her Wendy and Lucy director Kelly Reichardt (Old Joy) for this mysterious movie about settlers exploring the Oregon Territory in 1845. So it's a movie based on the computer game! Well, no. But it is getting rave reviews and it also features the gravelly voiced wonders Bruce Greenwood and Will Patton, so I reckon it's still worth a watch. Don't caulk the wagon, guys! Always ford. (Limited)

Meet Monica Velour

Kim Cattrall takes her Samantha Jones character about three steps further and turns her into a sad, washed-up old porn star, a goddess of the grainy XXX-rated days before everything went video and internet on us. A teenage fan of hers (perhaps her last fan) seeks her out because he loves her so, and they of course learn things from each other. This ought to keep Cattrall in the public eye until the release of her next film, Sex and the City 3: Samantha's Funeral. (Limited)

Meeting Spencer

Jeffery Tambor stars in this comedy about a playwright trying to produce a play when all anyone wants him to do is produce a musical. Landry from Friday Night Lights is in it, as is Melinda McGraw from Mad Men. So, three actors from critically beloved but relatively little-watched shows star in an indie about theater? This has blockbuster written all over it. (NY)

Soul Surfer

AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, and celebrated actress Carrie Underwood star in this uplifting true story about a surfer girl who got her arm eaten by a shark, but insisted on continuing to surf anyway. Apparently this one's being heavily marketed to Christians, as there's a lot of religion stuff in the movie, so just be aware of that. Not that there's anything wrong with Christian films! Well, except they're all pretty uniformly terrible and preach placating nonsense. Aside from that, there's nothing wrong with them. (Wide)

Your Highness

David Gordon Green continues to have one of moviemaking's more schizophrenic careers, as he directs another stoner comedy, rather than the dreamy indies (All the Real Girls, George Washington, the aforementioned and really worth watching if you liked the former two movies Snow Angels) he first became known for. In this one his North Carolina buddy Danny McBride fucks around in the woods while playing medieval times and lusting after Natalie Portman (this was filmed before Portman had any notion of becoming an Oscar winner). They're joined by James Franco, Justin Theroux, and Zooey Deschanel, plus lots of (intentionally?) bad special effects. Gordon Green does funny well, but man... I kinda wish he'd make another dreamy indie. Don't you? (Wide)