'Occupation: Dreamland'

(4 stars)

The much-discussed "Gunner Palace" is set to open in Austin on Friday. "Occupation: Dreamland" treads the same ground but offers more involvement in the lives of the soldiers it portrays. Shot in Fallujah just over a year ago, it spends enough time with its subjects to allow them to open up; what results is less an indictment of war's horrors than a portrait of how America chooses its warriors. We meet men who drifted into the Army after petty crime or half-hearted stabs at community college — and when they reach the end of their service obligation, those who don't want to re-enlist get a lecture: "You aren't ready for the real world," their superiors say, warning them that their mothers won't put up with them and they're likely to be homeless. What we see when these men are in action — a measure of professionalism belied by their backgrounds — contradicts this prediction, but according to "Dreamland," the U.S. military isn't interested in Armies of One who are truly self-sufficient.

7 p.m., Paramount.

'Pucker Up'

(4 stars)

Few documentarians would discourage comparisons to "Spellbound," but "Pucker Up" is particularly inviting of them: Set again in an oddball competitive subculture — this time an international gathering of whistlers — the film has its own array of personalities, some charming, some off-putting. "Pucker" boasts a fascinating look at something many of us do and few of us think about. We see the jaw-dropping tricks of some performers — chirping bird calls, clucks, oodles and "throat whistling" — and get a guided tour of whistling's "golden age." There's a bit of drama as well: The competition that closes the film seems like a minor event at first, but by the end viewers may well find themselves rooting for (or against) one of the fascinating characters.

7:30 p.m., Austin Convention Center.

'Murderball'

(4 stars)

If activist groups were recently outraged about recent films they felt portrayed victims of spinal-cord injuries as unworthy of life, "Murderball" is made to order — proving that quadriplegics can be as ornery, competitive and vicious as their able-bodied peers. A look at the world of wheelchair rugby — a sport where players use gladiator-ready wheelchairs built to withstand crunching impact — this documentary works on two fronts: It helps the rest of us better understand how quadriplegics adjust to their situation, and it recounts a classic sports rivalry, with the USA Paralympics team going up against the Canadians, who are coached by a disgruntled vet of their own team.

10 p.m., Alamo South.