Ryan Gosling in Lars and the Real Girl (MGM)

Generally speaking, dolls usually end up in three types of movies: kiddie films, in which they are cute girlie toys; horror films, in which they're usually possessed by someone's souls and come to life to kill; and gross out comedies, in which they are blow up sex dolls. Lars and the Real Girl (opening Oct. 26 throughout San Diego) strives for something bigger, both in terms of the size of the doll and the type of film it wants to be, which is a sweet romantic comedy.

OK, if you grew up in the '80s, you probably have a vague memory of a goofball comedy called Mannequin, in which Andrew McCarthy created a perfect mannequin (Kim Cattrall) that he falls in love with. So maybe Lars doesn't break genuinely new ground, but it does strive for sweet and low-key comedy rather than revved up brat pack comic giddiness.

Michael Caine and Jude Law square off in Sleuth (Sony Pictures Classics)

How do you remake a film in which the twist is everything? Well in the case of Sleuth (opening Oct. 26 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas) the answer lies in stunt casting and a significant rewrite. Michael Caine returns to Sleuth, but instead of playing the slick seducer taking a rich man's wife as he did in the 1972 film, he plays the cuckholded aging husband, the role that Laurence Olivier had taken in the first film. Now Jude Law takes on the younger mans role in Kenneth Branaghs revisionist take on Anthony Shaffer's play Sleuth.

The premise of the film is this: Famous author Andrew Wyke (Michael Caine) has invited his wife's young lover Milo Tindle (Jude Law) over to discuss a deal. Wyke apparently knows of his wife's affair and would like nothing better than to pass her off to the new lover. But Wyke wants to make sure that his materialistic wife doesn't come back like that proverbial bad penny. So here's the plan: Tindle can pretend to break in and steal some pricey jewels. Wyke will collect the insurance and Tindle will have a nice little nest egg to keep Maguerite happy. If it sounds like there's a catch, there is, but you'll have to see the film to find out what it is.

Bruce Lee lives! Well sort of... Finishing the Game (IFC)

Justin Lin's Finishing the Game opened the San Diego Asian Film Festival earlier this month to a packed house. Now non-fest audiences will have a chance to see Finishing the Game (opening Oct. 26 at Landmark's Ken Cinema) and enjoy its sly look at Hollywood and ethnic identity.

Now before you wince and say, "I don't need a lecture on ethnic identity," take a look at the image of the Bruce Lee chorus line and understand that Justin Lin is not someone who lectures his audiences. Lin is a savvy filmmaker who has worked in both the indie world (Sundance hit Better Luck Tomorrow) and Hollywood (Annapolis, Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift). He knows how to wrap any themes or ideas inside highly entertaining pop packaging. This time out he treats us to an insider's look at Hollywood as he explores the legacy of Hong Kong martial arts superstar Bruce Lee.