Seen and reviewed (Nov. 7)

New films this week:

– “Girl Cut in Two” (not rated), a French romance/thriller starring Ludivine Sagnier.
– “Happy-Go-Lucky” (rated R), British filmmaker Mike Leigh’s latest, a comedy-drama about an eternal optimist.
– “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” (rated PG), a sequel to the 2004 animated comedy hit.
– “Sundance Institute Art House Project 2008 Shorts Collection” (not rated), a compilation of narratives and documentaries from around the world.
– “Role Models” (rated R), a comedy starring Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd as reluctant mentors for troubled youngsters.
– “Soul Men” (rated R), a comedy about reunited soul singers, played by Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac.

The week features two of late comic actor Mac’s final performances. “Soul Men” was not pre-screened for critics locally, but is getting mixed reviews nationally.

His voice is also featured in “Escape 2 Africa,” which basically rehashes the same jokes as the first “Madagascar” movie. Small children may enjoy the goofiness, but it’s nothing special.

Good performances by their female leads — Sagnier and Sally Hawkins, respectively — bail out the inconsistent “Girl Cut in Two” and “Happy-Go-Lucky.” Neither film ends very convincingly or coherently, however.

And while “Role Models” does have quite a few laughs, it’s a bit irresponsible. It is definitely the best of a recent lot of calculated-to-offend comedies (which also included “Sex Drive”).

The week’s best movie is the Sundance shorts collection, which isn’t very family friendly either. Almost all of the nine shorts are interesting enough and could have been expanded to feature length.

Which, if any, of these movies figure into your weekend plans?