Towelhead

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Summer Bishil Review: Yes, that Alan Ball, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of American Beauty, the creator of HBO's Six Feet Under and now True Blood, a sizzling new series about contemporary vampires getting by on synthetic red stuff. Ball, bless him, goes for the real jugular. Towelhead, adapted from Alicia Erian's novel, is Ball's debut as a feature director. And once again he's out there stirring things up. Set at the time of the Gulf War, the movie feeds on shocks, often just for the sake of dropping jaws. Mission accomplished. Jasira (Summer Bishil), a 13-year-old Arab girl, is a child of divorce. Her American mother (Maria Bello) has a lover who shaves Jasira's pubic hair, prompting mom to send daughter off to Houston to live with her strict Lebanese dad, Rifat (Peter Macdissi). Though Rifat is a citizen... Rating: 2 Stars (link)