‘The Living Sea’ Beguiles; ‘Loser’ Wins Big

Greg MacGillivray’s 37-minute Oscar-nominated “The Living Sea,” which opens today at the Imax Theater in Exposition Park, celebrates the beauty and infinite variety of ocean life while making us realize that the sea is as fragile as it is essential to our very existence. Shrewdly, he’d rather beguile us with an adorable baby otter of a species saved from extinction instead of preach at us with overly familiar images of pollution.

MacGillivray captures the majestic fury of crashing waves and takes us deep beneath the ocean’s surface to explore an exotic world of exquisite, richly colored coral reefs inhabited by the most delicate of creatures, jellyfish, as well as powerful whales. It climaxes in the earthly paradise of the Palau Islands, home to an incredible array of undersea marine life, not far from the Philippines.

Working with skilled writers Roger Holzberg and Tim Cahill, the veteran MacGillivray enlisted Meryl Streep to narrate and Sting to provide some appropriate songs. MacGillivray is a master at bringing style and form to the immense IMAX format, and “The Living Sea” is a glowing gem reminding us of the crucial role of ongoing ocean research and conservation in the life of the planet. As Streep remarks: “We can’t protect what we don’t know.” For show times and information about other IMAX films currently screening: (213) 744-2014.

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Trailer Show: No wonder the Nuart has scheduled its “Trailer Camp” for Friday and Saturday at noon as well as Friday midnight. This compendium of trailers from the ‘60s through the ‘80s should draw laughter from audiences of all ages. Most--but by no means all--of the trailers are movies that are bad or oddball (or both), and most of them would make you want to stay away from them rather than make you want to see them. As someone who reviewed about 80% to 90% of the films they hype, let me assure you that the trailers by and large are lots more fun than the movies themselves.

Assembled by Jenni Olson, the collection is a reminder of what a survivor John Travolta really is. There are a clutch of Travolta trailers: the trailer for “Perfect” reveals just how far from perfection that howler was. The trailer for “Andy Warhol’s ‘Bad’ ” is wittier than the actual picture, whereas a trailer for Pasolini’s “Gospel According to St. Mark,” composed entirely of critics’ ecstatic quotes, oversells this major, exceedingly austere film without giving the audience any idea of what it is like. The collection includes “Can’t Stop the Music” and lots of other camp items, intended or otherwise. “Trailer Camp” is one instance, however, of putting the best first: Russ Meyer’s trailer for “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” is as deliberately outrageous--and well-made--as the Meyer babes-on-bikes classic is itself. (310) 478-6379.

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“Rebel” for the ‘90s: “That’s funny, I didn’t expect to die today,” says Jimmy Ray, 23-year-old small-time, small-town coke dealer, as blood from a gunshot wound spreads over his T-shirt. Kirk Harris, who plays Jimmy in “Loser,” which he wrote and directed, sets up a challenge for himself by beginning his first feature with this moment. From beyond the grave Jimmy recounts the last day and night in his life, in which he emerges as a likable young man who blames no one but himself for his fate. Yet he lets us see how he lost his bearings with a mother who died too young and a brutal alcoholic father (Norman Saleet), an embittered Viet vet, and despite a loving, focused older brother (Jonothan Chaus). With no budget and not much else other than grit and honesty, Harris tries for a “Rebel Without a Cause” for the ‘90s and succeeds better than you could have ever imagined. “Loser” screens Tuesday at noon at the Newport International Film Festival and Thursday at 10 p.m. at the Sunset 5, where it will play thereafter on Fridays and Saturdays at midnight. Newport fest: (714) 851-4654; Sunset 5: (213) 848-3500.

On the Run: Kevin Lynn’s “One Way Out,” which begins a regular engagement Friday at the Grande 4-Plex, is a well-made but much too familiar story of a group of young people, more sinned against than sinning, who end up on the run. Even so, Lynn and a capable cast works up an impressive amount of sympathy for his people, but his picture seems synthetic alongside the less-polished “Loser.” (213) 617-0268.