April 15
Waking Sleeping Beauty (*****) Don Hahn produced Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, making him as qualified a witness as any to relay the tales of turmoil behind the Walt Disney Animation renaissance that spanned from 1984 to 1994. Between the rich archival footage and candid interviews, it turns out that most magical thing about some of the studio's classics is that they even got made at all. — WG (6:30 p.m., Regal Winter Park; also 7 p.m., April 17 at Enzian Theater)
New Low (**) Florida filmmaker Adam Bowers wears a hangdown, Schleprock expression that could be captivating under the right circumstances, especially when the dark cloud over his head follows him into relationships. Despite Bowers' best efforts to apply that look to this romantic comedy, which he writes, directs and stars in, his use of non-professional actors and tendency to go back to long walk-and-talks instead of graceful transitions between scenes makes his debut here tedious rather than charming. Bowers can write fresh dialogue, however. He just needs a story and actors that can sustain it. — JS (7:30 p.m., Enzian Theater; also 4 p.m., April 17 at Regal Winter Park)
K-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces (****) Takeshi Kaneshiro makes two appearances at the festival this year (including The Warlords), as well as a major role in the recently released on DVD John Woo epic Red Cliff, and every time he strikes me as a Japanese Orlando Bloom. He's perfected the fresh-faced, quiet ass-kicker in battle and puts it to good use in a leading role here as a circus performer who's framed by a mysterious bad guy named K-20 to take the fall for the villain's evil deeds. Rather than accept his fate, Kaneshiro trains to become a superhero in order to take on K-20 himself. Featuring dazzling effects, a propulsive storyline and a traditional good-versus-evil style, the Japanese production feels like the good kind of cheesiness that Spider-Man 3 could have been. — JS (9:30 p.m., Plaza Cinema Café; also 8:30 p.m., April 18 at Regal Winter Park)
