The Wire>

Over the years, the HBO series "The Wire" never got much love from the Emmy voters. Season five (the series finale) wasn't any different. Snubbed again. But critics love it, and it had its share of hard-core fans

Created, produced and primarily written by David Simon, a former police reporter, the crime series turned its attention in season five to Simon's former place of employment - the Baltimore Sun. During the 10-episode season, he took aim at which stories got covered and which didn't. This, of course, goes to the decline of the newspaper business in general - with fewer reporters and a declining profit line.

Meanwhile, the city - like most cities these days - has its own crime and budgetary problems. In this case, city officials try to solve it with the rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul trick, taking money from the police to fund education.

Detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) - who's been in the series since the beginning - has returned to the homicide unit. Angry and frustrated, he tries to divert resources back to the police department by faking evidence to make it appear that a serial killer is targeting homeless men.

Throughout its run, "The Wire" liked to cut to the bone, and that's why it was difficult for some people to warm up to. (I found it unremitting and unrelenting at times.) Season five was no different. Still, if you're looking for a gritty, down and dirty (even depressing) crime series, "The Wire" is your show.

Smart People>

"Smart People" is a reasonably intelligent, modest comedy about a middle-age college English-literature professor, Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid), whose life is reinvigorated and complicated by a fling with a former student (Sarah Jessica Parker) who once had a crush on him and has since grown up into an attractive doctor (the MD type).

The joys of "Smart People," written by Mark Jude Poirier and directed by Noam Murro, are more about its quirky observational humor (especially toward university life) than its plot. A great ensemble cast - including "Juno's" Ellen Page as Lawrence's daughter, Ashton Holmes as his son and Thomas Haden Church as his aging Peter Pan-ish brother - add to the fun.

Brand Upon the Brain!>

Guy Maddin makes films like he was a silent filmmaker somehow plopped down in the modern world and hasn't figured out what to do.

His movies - with black-and-white and silent patches - seem from another world. (Or is that just Canada, where Maddin's from?)

His latest, "Brand Upon the Brain!" is about a character named Guy Maddin who returns to his childhood home only to travel in and out of memories. Weirdly surreal, the film can be fascinating at times; on the other hand, it can seem pretentious and boring.

I can't say I get Maddin. When the great Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel, along with Salvador Dali, brought surrealism to the cinema, they were doing something daring and new. You have to look at Maddin's films with the past in mind, and I sense he's less of a cinematic visionary than a contrarian with a few interesting ideas.

Rob Lowman (818) 713-3687; robert.lowman@dailynews.com

out tuesday>

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