Black Dahlia

THE BLACK DAHLIA -- Universal -- $29.98 In a ruthless one-two punch of Christmas week counter-programming, both of Tuesday's big new releases are macabre melodramas. By far the classier is Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia, based on James Ellroy's fictionalization of the most famous unsolved murder in our criminal history. In 1946, Elizabeth Short, a would-be Hollywood starlet from Medford, Mass., was found disemboweled, cut in two, drained of blood, and with a smile carved into her face.

Jackass Number Two [Paramount] $30 If you love watching a grown man having his backside branded with a hot iron, or sitting naked on an ice sculpture, or being chased down a street by a herd of angry bulls, then the unrated version of Jackass Number Two fits the bill and then some. Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera, Wee Man and the rest of the daredevil crazies from the popular MTV series return in this sketch comedy of bizarre and disgusting stunts. Extras include 29 segments deemed too gross for theaters, 16 deleted scenes, outtakes, a "making of" featurette and commentary with Knoxville, his cohorts and director Jeff Tremaine that sounds as if it were recorded in a locker room.

At one point in The Black Dahlia, the three leads - Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart as hotshot detective pals in the L.A.P.D., and Scarlett Johansson as the woman they love - watch an improbable revival of Paul Leni's The Man Who Laughs, a mad silent-movie masterpiece. Adapted from Victor Hugo's novel, it derives a tingling romantic-masochistic allure from a man with a smile carved as punishment into his face. It's daring for director Brian De Palma to inject this movie into a pop entertainment; The Man Who Laughs, however great it is, remains a factor in mass culture only because Batman creator Bob Kane based the Joker on this woeful laughing man. The Black Dahlia (Universal)

THE BLACK DAHLIA -- Universal -- $29.98 In a ruthless one-two punch of Christmas week counter-programming, both of Tuesday's big new releases are macabre melodramas. By far the classier is Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia, based on James Ellroy's fictionalization of the most famous unsolved murder in our criminal history. In 1946, Elizabeth Short, a would-be Hollywood starlet from Medford, Mass., was found disemboweled, cut in two, drained of blood, and with a smile carved into her face.

John P. St. John, 77, the legendary detective who solved at least 1,000 homicides and pursued the infamous "Black Dahlia" case for 48 years, died Wednesday of complications from pneumonia and pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles.He served 51 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, all but six as a homicide detective, and never fired his gun. He investigated about 1,500 homicide cases before retiring in 1993.He earned his nickname, "Jigsaw," after cracking a case in Griffith Park in which the victim had been dismembered.

Jackass Number Two [Paramount] $30 If you love watching a grown man having his backside branded with a hot iron, or sitting naked on an ice sculpture, or being chased down a street by a herd of angry bulls, then the unrated version of Jackass Number Two fits the bill and then some. Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera, Wee Man and the rest of the daredevil crazies from the popular MTV series return in this sketch comedy of bizarre and disgusting stunts. Extras include 29 segments deemed too gross for theaters, 16 deleted scenes, outtakes, a "making of" featurette and commentary with Knoxville, his cohorts and director Jeff Tremaine that sounds as if it were recorded in a locker room.

WHITE JAZZ.James Ellroy.Knopf.320 pages. $22. "White Jazz" is bebop noir, hard-boiled stream-of-consciousness playing changes on all our accumulated memories and fantasies of the criminal universe, tapping into our collective image-bank fed by movies, literature, and true-crime tabloid exposes. James Ellroy's new novel moves at such a feverishly clipped, telegraphic pace that it may be somewhat impenetrable to the uninitiated. For those who get it, however, it will be clear that he has truly crossed over beyond the "crime novel."

Capsules by Michael Sragow and Chris Kaltenbach. Full reviews at baltimoresun.com/movies. The Black Dahlia -- stars Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett as top cops trying to solve the instantly infamous case of a would-be starlet whose murder seemed to sum up the sick soul of post-World War II L.A. (M.S.) R 121 minutes B- Everyone's Hero -- Young children - especially baseball fans - doubtless will enjoy the animated adventures of a young boy who tries to reunite Babe Ruth with his bat so the Yankees can win the 1932 World Series.

Lizzie Borden took an ax And gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done She gave her father forty-one. There are certain mysteries over time that never seem to lose their appeal. Earlier this summer, I was having dinner with two newspaper colleagues and an author, all three of whom are serious mystery fans, and it wasn't long before the discussion turned to several of the old classics. They and other enthusiasts of the genre never seem to tire of talking or reading about the 1920s disappearance of Judge Joseph F. Crater (never found)

Go See Half Nelson -- This is a portrait of the artist as a junior high history teacher and girls' basketball coach. He's also a coke addict. But the bond he shares with one of his student-players is a sign of life in a blighted urban landscape, and the performances of Ryan Gosling as the teacher and Shareeka Epps as the girl who befriends him will make you feel whole. Sun score: A-. The Black Dahlia -- Top cops Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett try to solve the instantly infamous case of a would-be starlet whose murder seemed to sum up the sick soul of post-World War II L.A. Director Brian De Palma imbues the imagery with an obsessive grandeur even as the narrative falls apart.

Capsules by Michael Sragow and Chris Kaltenbach. Full reviews at baltimoresun.com/movies. All the Kings Men, -- the second movie adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's novel, stars Sean Penn as Warren's Willie Stark, a veiled portrait of Louisiana Gov. Huey Long. The movie fails to capture Stark's electric connection with the voters, or how a democratic mass movement can turn fascistic; it also suffers from flat pacing, a pseudo-literary tone and a total waste of a promising cast. (M.S.) PG-13 128 minutes C- The Black Dahlia -- stars Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart as top cops trying to solve the instantly infamous case of a would-be starlet whose murder seemed to sum up the sick soul of post-World War II L.A. Director Brian De Palma imbues the imagery with an obsessive grandeur even as the narrative falls apart.

Go See Half Nelson -- This is a portrait of the artist as a junior high history teacher and girls' basketball coach. He's also a coke addict. But the bond he shares with one of his student-players is a sign of life in a blighted urban landscape, and the performances of Ryan Gosling as the teacher and Shareeka Epps as the girl who befriends him will make you feel whole. Sun score: A-. The Black Dahlia -- Top cops Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett try to solve the instantly infamous case of a would-be starlet whose murder seemed to sum up the sick soul of post-World War II L.A. Director Brian De Palma imbues the imagery with an obsessive grandeur even as the narrative falls apart.

At one point in The Black Dahlia, the three leads - Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart as hotshot detective pals in the L.A.P.D., and Scarlett Johansson as the woman they love - watch an improbable revival of Paul Leni's The Man Who Laughs, a mad silent-movie masterpiece. Adapted from Victor Hugo's novel, it derives a tingling romantic-masochistic allure from a man with a smile carved as punishment into his face. It's daring for director Brian De Palma to inject this movie into a pop entertainment; The Man Who Laughs, however great it is, remains a factor in mass culture only because Batman creator Bob Kane based the Joker on this woeful laughing man. The Black Dahlia (Universal)

Lizzie Borden took an ax And gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done She gave her father forty-one. There are certain mysteries over time that never seem to lose their appeal. Earlier this summer, I was having dinner with two newspaper colleagues and an author, all three of whom are serious mystery fans, and it wasn't long before the discussion turned to several of the old classics. They and other enthusiasts of the genre never seem to tire of talking or reading about the 1920s disappearance of Judge Joseph F. Crater (never found)

John P. St. John, 77, the legendary detective who solved at least 1,000 homicides and pursued the infamous "Black Dahlia" case for 48 years, died Wednesday of complications from pneumonia and pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles.He served 51 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, all but six as a homicide detective, and never fired his gun. He investigated about 1,500 homicide cases before retiring in 1993.He earned his nickname, "Jigsaw," after cracking a case in Griffith Park in which the victim had been dismembered.

WHITE JAZZ.James Ellroy.Knopf.320 pages. $22. "White Jazz" is bebop noir, hard-boiled stream-of-consciousness playing changes on all our accumulated memories and fantasies of the criminal universe, tapping into our collective image-bank fed by movies, literature, and true-crime tabloid exposes. James Ellroy's new novel moves at such a feverishly clipped, telegraphic pace that it may be somewhat impenetrable to the uninitiated. For those who get it, however, it will be clear that he has truly crossed over beyond the "crime novel."

Merriweather The sounds of many Catch a variety of bands, in cluding As I Lay Dying, In Flames, Trivium, Black Dahlia Murder, Behemoth and the Chariot, at Merriweather Post Pavilion today. Gates open at noon; tickets are $29.50. Mer riweather is on Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia. For tick ets, call 410-547-SEAT or go to ticketmaster.com.