Below are Mini Reviews from Cineman Syndicate for two movies opening the week of September 21, 2009.

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY. Make no mistake, Michael Moore hates capitalism. He's less clear about what he'd replace it with. Settling on "democracy" proves he's painting with too-wide a conceptual brush, which in turn explains why his latest documentary goes off point so often. America's financial system is an easy target right now and the urge to pile on hard to resist. Moore practically blames former Treasury Secretary and Goldman Sachs head Hank Paulson for Hurricane Katrina. But at least he bashes all the powers that be for the erosion of the middle class and exploitation of Main Street by Wall Street. Plus, his stunts and use of archival footage are as funny as ever. (R) FAIR DOCUMENTARY. Director - Michael Moore; Running Time - 126 mins. (Capsule review by John P. McCarthy)

I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL. Tucker Max -- who has turned his blog about all the loose women he's bedded into a bestselling book and now a movie -- is like a three-year-old screaming naughty words at the top of his lungs. The best reaction is to ignore him. The pretense of a story here has Tucker (played by Matt Czuchry, insufferably smug) dragging his friends (Geoff Stults and Jesse Bradford) to a strip club for a bachelor party. The sporadically funny, not-as-daring-as-it-thinks-it-is summer hit The Hangover seems like it was written by William Shakespeare when compared to these drunken scribblings. They're a waste of celluloid and time. (R) POOR COMEDY. Director - Bob Gosse; Lead - Matt Czuchry; Running Time - 105 minutes. (Capsule review by MaryAnn Johanson)

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