Puck drops tonight for MSPIFF; "Score: A Hockey Musical" is just one of three opening-night movies at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival.(VARIETY)

Byline: COLIN OVERT; STAFF WRITER; ANDREW PENKALSKI

With a bigger-than-ever slate of 190 features, this year's Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival is a cavalcade of Mosts, Largests, New and Improveds. Opening Thursday at the five-screen St. Anthony Main Theatre, the event is longer than ever -- 22 days.

Fittingly, opening night offers not one but three distinctly different kickoff films.

Former Twin Cities journalist David Carr -- now a media columnist for the New York Times -- will be on hand to present "Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times," which premiered to praise at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

For sports fans there's "Score: A Hockey Musical," a skating-singing extravaganza starring Olivia Newton-John as an overprotective hippie mom whose son (played by Noah Reid, who will introduce the film) wants to scrap on ice. And since it wouldn't be a Minnesota festival without Scandinavian titles, at 8 it's "Troll Hunter," a Norwegian horror-action pseudo-documentary that also was a hit at Sundance.

The latter film wasn't available for review, but we did see the first two:

PAGE ONE: A YEAR INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES

four out of four stars out of four stars

Can today's media ecosystem support ambitious, expensive, rigorous journalism? As the Times struggles to reinvent itself in a world of iPads, extremist commentary, newsroom cuts and Wikileaks, its media columnist David Carr eloquently defends the virtues of old-school reporting in the Internet age. A confirmed skeptic and irrepressible wiseguy, Carr is the battered but unbowed champion of an endangered species -- ass-kicking, name-taking mainstream journalists. His scathing coverage of the Chicago Tribune's ethical/financial meltdown in the hands of takeover artist Sam Zell makes a gripping morality tale of the newspaper industry's painful metamorphosis. This candid documentary is a must-see. (7:30 p.m. Thu. & 9:15 p.m. next Wed.)

COLIN COVERT

SCORE: A HOCKEY MUSICAL

two out of four stars out of four stars

Toronto filmmaker Michael McGowan tells the story of a 17-year-old hockey prodigy, a role that actor Noah Reid nails with lovable naivete. Amid Farley Gordon's struggles with fame, his brutish teammates and his intellectual parents, there is singing aplenty. Sadly, the songbook is full of broken verses and bland instrumentals, and Olivia Newton-John, as Gordon's mother, is underutilized, moaning empty lines like, "I'm so sad I can't even cry." Still, this shticky concoction drips with heart and humor. (7:45 p.m. Thu. & 7:30 p.m. Fri.)

ANDREW PENKALSKI

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

When: April 14-May 5.

Where: St. Anthony Main Theatre, 115 SE. Main St., Mpls.

Tickets: $9-$11 for most films; $6 for ages 12 and under; discount passes available.

Info: www.mspfilmfest.org.

Party tent: Mingle with visiting filmmakers and cinephiles all weekend at the Festival Central pavilion, across from St. Anthony Main. It opens at noon, with a cash bar beginning at 5 p.m. and no charge for admission until nightly parties at 9. Headlining tonight's gala is jazz and R&B singer Charmin Michelle ($25).

SEE OUR GUIDE

to the festival, with movie trailers and 70-plus reviews, at www.vita.mn/mspiff.