Unvarnished 'Che' an ambitious epic

'Che Part 1'

Steven Soderbergh's ambitious two-part biopic of the infamous Argentine freedom fighter won't be topping the box office charts anywhere. It's a lengthy, detailed drama stripped of the usual romanticism and sentiment of standard-issue Hollywood epics. Nonetheless, I found it to be a fascinating peek at the Spartan lifestyle of Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, underplayed with (historically accurate) emotional detachment by Benicio Del Toro. No easy clichés, but a realistic look at the harsh, unglamorous road Che travels while helping Fidel Castro (Demian Bichir) topple Batista in Cuba. Filmed in impressive widescreen with a great train wreck. Rated R, violence. 129 minutes.

Starts today at the Century Centre Cinema in Chicago.

'Che Part 2'

A dramatically shortchanged second half, especially when Che doesn't even show up for almost half an hour. Part 2 squanders the impetus of the first as it charts the fighter's downfall while fighting in Bolivia. Filmed in a narrower format for a documentary feel. Rated R for violence. 128 minutes.

Starts 30 minutes after "Part 1" at the Century Centre, Chicago.

'My Bloody Valentine'

In 1981, I called this horror film "dehumanizing" for using people as "disposable props to be chopped up and thrown away for the sake of providing cheap, visceral thrills." Now comes this remake in 3-D, directed by Patrick "Dracula 2000" Lussier. It's about a nut job dressed in miner's garb who kills people with a pickax. It's no shock that Paramount Pictures is hiding it from critics.

Starts today at local theaters.