plus size maternity fashions childrens photographer Robwrite\'s reviews: My movie madness

plus size maternity fashions childrens photographer Robwrite\'s reviews: My movie madness

On this hub I give you my views on the latest theatrical film releases; the latest DVD/Blue Ray releases, or older films that are only now being shown on cable. I also will review original cable or TV movies. I give a rating of 1 () to 5 () stars. Some of the films Ive reviewed so far areThe Expendables, Get Low; Inception; Valhalla Rising, Predators; The A-Team; Iron Man 2, Kick Ass, Clash of the Titans, Alice in Wonderland, The Green Zone, The Ghost Writer, The Hurt Locker, Precious, Shutter Island, The Wolfman, The Book of Eli, Lovely Bones, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Sherlock Holmes, Avatar, Ninja Assassin, 2012, The Men Who Stare At Goats; The Fourth kind; Paranormal Activity, Astro Boy, Where the Wild Things Are, Surrogates, 9, Zombieland, Capitalism: A love Story; Inglourious Bastards, Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs and more. Ive got over 60 reviews on this hub so far. Others to come. Weekly updates. Enjoy

The EXPENDABLES: For anyone who laments that the day of the macho action star is dead and gone, Sylvester Stallones The Expendables is the answer to your prayers. This is the most manly, testosterone-filled, bicep-bulging flick since The 300. You want guns? Its got guns! You want explosions? Its got explosions. You want fights? Its got fights! You want car chases? Got em! This movie has everything you expect from it. For action film buffs, this one is ultra-high octane, albeit very one dimensional. The film gathers actions stars from the 80s, 90s and even a few of todays tough s. The movie is basically a homage to the pre-CGI days of the cheesy action films when muscle bound action stars bounded across the screen, guns blazing.  Writer/Director Stallone plays Barney Ross (Probably not his real name), the leader of a rugged bunch of bicycle riding mercenaries. His team consists of Christmas (Jason Statham), his knife-throwing best bud; Yin Yang (Jet Li), a martial arts expert; Gunner (Dolph Lundgren) a giant, drug-using man-on-the-edge-of-a-breakdown; Caesar (NFL star Terry Crew) who loves his guns; and Toll Road (UFC fighter Randy Couture) who is in therapy for anger management. They hang around in a garage they share with their semi-retired old comrade Tool (Mickey Rourke of The Wrestler), a philosophical tattoo artist.  The movie starts off with a bang, when Ross and his Expendables rescue some hostages from modern pirates with bad accents and worse dialogue. The bloody violence is set in stone from here on in. And audiences wouldnt expect anything less. Brief cameos by Stallones Planet Hollywood partners Bruce Willis and the Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger (Arnolds cameo is actually pointless to the plot) add some knowingly satiric humor to the proceedings. Willis as Mr. Church (Another alias) sends the Expendables to some generic South American country to overthrow the evil general who has just staged a coup (David Zayas) and the even more evil Munroe (Eric Roberts), a rogue CIA agent who is pulling the puppet Generals strings. Munroe has a formidable bodyguard/henchman appropriately named Paine (Played by former wrestling superstar Stone Cold Steve Austin.) The resistance forces in the miscellaneous country seems to consist solely of the Generals spirited, moral daughter Sandra (Giselle Itie) who helps Ross out on his fight visit to the little country. Ross had washed his hands of the whole mess but after learning she is captured (The scenes of a woman being water-boarded are unexpectedly intense and hard to watch) he decides to return and rescue her. (Ross seems to be more interested in being Sandras Knight-in-shining-armor than any overt sexual interest. The most they exchange is a hug.) His fellow soldiers-of-fortune accompany their leader, which leads to the big slam-bang-boom finale; an epic of action film excess. There is plenty of action to spare, but the biggest disappointment here is the use of the notorious and seemingly inescapable Unsteady-Cam. All the fights scenes are spoiled by this ubiquitous new filming style which consists of close-ups, quick edits and shaky camera movement. The result is meant to give the illusion of the confusion of an actual fight but on film it merely comes across as disorienting. Its disappointing that Stallone, a child of 80s film-making, would choose to use the increasingly unpopular modern style of distracting Unsteady-Cam shots. It ruins many scenes that would otherwise be exciting. The fight scene between Li and Lungren is spoiled by this. There isnt much plot here and it isnt necessary. The focus is on the combat and mayhem, of which there is plenty. The characters are mostly one dimensional. Christmas gets a subplot about his ex-girlfriend (Sexy Charisma Carpenter from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) who hooks up with an abusive jerk, leading Christmas to bring down some payback for his lady fair. There are some amusing scenes with Jet Li, mocking his lack of physical stature in relation to the others. Rourke has a memorable scene where he gives a monologue about how men in this profession lose their souls. And Dolph Lundgren is a scene-stealer as the violent and divided giant Gunner. There is lots of banter, although none of it is as on-the-nose as Stallones priceless line to Schwarzenegger early on. The film follows the in footsteps of films like The Dirty Dozen or the Seven Samurai, with its focus on a unit of warriors for hire fighting against an army. Its hard to say whether or not The Expendables is Stallones attempt to recapture past glory or to distance himself from modern action films by creating this nostalgic action epic. GET LOW (Three Stars)GET LOW: The best and worst thing about Get Low is that its all about the performances. The plot and the directing are nothing special. The characters seem to be cut-and-paste clichés of past characters who the two lead actors have often portrayed in the past. The only thing that really makes this worth the trip to the theater is the top-notch performances by Robert Duvall and Bill Murray. In this case, thats just enough. Director Aaron Schneider was very smart to cast Robert Duvall in the main role. Duvall is one of the most iconic and talented actors working today. He can take even a poorly written role and make it credible. The character of Felix Bush in Get Low needs an actor like Duvall to make it work. Bush is a cross between an old, clichéd movie Hillbilly and some sort of folk tale image like Rip Van Winkle. He is ornery and cantankerous, with a long and tangled beard that would make ZZ Top laugh. Bush shoots at trespassers and his only friend is a mule. He borders on being preposterous. But that doesnt matter, as long as Duvall is the one playing him. Duvall makes us believe that this outrageous hermit could logically exist somewhere deep in the hills. The story begins with a big teaser. A house is burning and the soul survivor escapes, running panicked into the woods. Who is this survivor and how does the scene connect to the rest of the film? Thats the hook whereby director Schneider and writers Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell hope to keep us interested. As it turns out, it isnt enough, but thats Okay. Duvall and Murray carry the film. We cut to 40 years later, in depression era Tennessee, where Felix Bush (Duvall) has been living as a semi-legendary backwoods hermit. Lots of stories have sprung up around the mysterious mountain man and none of them are flattering. No one in the nearby town knows much of anything about him but everyone hates him regardless. If they cant get to know the man, they believe the rumors. One day, Bush is informed by a minister (Gerald McRaney) that an old friend from his youth has died. After paying a visit to the grave, Bush comes up with an idea. He rides his mule and buggy into town, gathering stares from everyone, and surprises local mortician Frank Quinn (Murray) with his scheme. Bush is preparing to get low and wants to have a funeral while he is still alive. Bush wants his funeral to be a grand send-off and insists that everyone in town come, so they can all tell the stories they have heard about him. He wants to personally listen to all the tall tales that have developed around him before he finally reveals the truth about his self-imposed exile. In order to motivate the townspeople to attend his funeral, he promises to raffle off the vast and valuable acres of land hes lived alone on for so long. The morticians young assistant Buddy (Lucas Black) is stunned by the proposal but the shrewd and opportunistic Quinn can only see the wad of money which Bush is offering for his services. Quinn has no hesitation about taking the money, despite not being sure he can deliver on all his promises. Buddy is assigned to be Bushs babysitter, following him around and seeing that Bush has everything he needs to keep him happy. Despite Bushs loner nature, he begins to like young Buddy and slowly bits of Bushs past start coming to light. Buddy realizes there is a tragic secret in Bushs past that he wants to confess for before he dies. Murray plays Quinn as a comical yet cunning creep, who borders on being unscrupulous but never completely crosses the line into bad territory. He has an oily charm that makes his self serving endeavors forgivable. Murray laces Quinn with the same sarcastic wit and unfounded bluster that so many of his previous characters have displayed. Buddy is a bland character and Black is not a strong enough actor to hold his own on screen with the likes of Duvall. Sissy Spacek has an underwritten role as Mattie, an old flame who comes back into Bushs life in his last days. The big resolution, when it finally comes, is not all that interesting or shocking. It wasnt really worth the wait. But never fear. Duvall and Murray are here to entertain us. As the movie goes on, you forget about the story and just enjoy watching a great actor and a great comedian share the screen. They make an otherwise unexceptional film worth watching. New On DVD/Blu-RayCLASH OF THE ANS + (Two and a half stars)CLASH OF THE ANS: The Kraken is re-released after almost 30 years in this tepid remake of the 1981 sword-and-sorcery cult favorite Clash of the Titans. The original film was a mediocre but well-loved epic, starring Laurence Oliver and Harry Hamlin, graced with stop-motion special effects by the legendary Ray Harryhausen. The remake covers much of the same ground but takes a number of turns away from the course of the original.The film begins with men declaring war on the Gods of Olympus. The downtrodden humans have decided that the Gods are not running things to their satisfaction. They tear down a statue of Zeus and vow to battle the meddling deities. This, naturally, does not sit well with the real Zeus (Played by the very busy Liam Neeson) who feels betrayed by the humans he created. Zeus is persuaded by his bitter, scheming brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes, who seems to still be playing Lord Voldemort) to force the humans to remember their place, which is on their knees as far as Hades is concerned. Hades is put in charge of the Gods offensive against the mortals, and he wastes no time in racking up the casualties.A unexpected hero arises in the form of Perseus (Sam Worthington), who is the adopted son of a kindly fisherman (Pete Postlethwaite). We learn that Perseus is the demi-God son of Zeus, who sired a son on one of his many deceitful visits in disguise into the bed of mortal women. Perseus mother is killed when her husband Acrisius becomes enraged by his wifes supposed infidelity, which leads him to set mother and child adrift on the stormy sea to die. Mom does die but Perseus half-God nature allowed him to survive until the fisherman found him. As for Acrisius, he is mutated by Zeus into the monstrous Calibos.When Hades attacks humankind, Perseus adopted family are among the first victims, making Perseus vehemently anti-God. He vows revenge against Hades. Circumstances bring him to the city of Argos, when he meets the royal family, including exotic princess Andromeda. (Alexa Davalos) When the royals insult the Gods, Hades appears and threatens to destroy the city unless the people of Argos show their dedication and supplication by sacrificing Andromeda to the Kraken on the coming lunar eclipse. Perseus wants to strike back against the Gods and to find a way to destroy Hades. He gets some help from a beautiful mystic being named Io (Gemma Arterton) who has looked after him since birth like a guardian angel and now offers to help him on his quest for revenge. With some help from an honor guard supplied by the king of Argos, Perseus and his allies begin a quest to find a way to destroy the Kraken and Hades.Along the way, Perseus and company meet witches, Djinns and Charon the ferryman of Hell. They battle giant scorpions, born from the blood of Calibos, who has been given great strength by Hades to act as his assassin. In one of the silliest scenes, the Djinn tame the giant scorpions to act as pack animals so the heroes can ride them. The best sequences of the film is the battle with Medusa, who kicks some tail, using her own snake-like tail. She is a fabulous FX creation and her battle with Perseus and his warriors is a highlight. The big finale, of course, is the long awaited arrival of the massive Kraken. Looking like a cross between the Cloverfield monster and the Rancor from Return of the Jedi, the impressive monster makes an intimidating arrival, acting as Hades ultimate weapon. Andromeda is offered to the monster like Fay Wray was offered to King Kong. Can Perseus stop the leviathan, or will Andromeda be sacrificed? Like the 1981 version, the plot is a piecemeal affair, stabled together. There are numerous differences between the new and the original version, most notably the absence of a romance between Perseus and Andromeda. The love story between the hero and the princess was the heart of the first version, but not here. Perseus is motivated by revenge here, not love. Andromeda actually gets very little screen time in the remake. In her place, Io steps in as the new leading lady and love interest for Perseus.Several plot elements of the original movie are shoe-horned into this film, more out of a desire to include as much of the 1981 film version as possible, rather than for any plot necessity. For instance, Pegasus, who pops into the film conveniently at certain points, but seems disconnected to the rest of the story. There is a funny moment that pays tribute (Or rather lampoons) the annoying owl Boo-bo from the first film.Naturally, visual effects have evolved in the last 30 years and this film is visually very impressive. In theaters, it was converted to 3-D which was rather pointless because it wasnt designed to be a thrown-things-at-the-screen 3-D film. The performances are decent but none of them really stand out, not even from excellent actors like Neeson and Fiennes (Who last shared the screen in the Oscar winning drama Schindlers List.) The monsters make the movie, especially Medusa and the Kraken, who are worth the price of admission alone.VALHALLA RISING (3 stars)VALHALLA RISING: In the kingdom of blind men, the one-eyed man is king, goes the old proverb. That seems to be the case in this story of a bestial Viking slave whose survival skills see him through the numerous obstacles of a menacing, primitive world. Directed by Denmarks Nicolas Winding Refn, who made a name for himself with his Pusher series, this is an odd bit of cinema which is hard to classify into a genre. Dont let yourself be fooled into thinking this is an action-filled hack-and-slash film about Vikings constantly at war. Its not. This is a rather contemplative film, filled with hallucinatory images and long stretches of Ingmar Bergman-like scenes consisting of silent musings on mortality and religious faith. There are fight scenes, to be sure, and they are quite brutal. But these fights are few and far between. This isnt Beowulf. To say the film moves slowly and deliberately would be an understatement. The movie creeps along at a glacial pace, the camera hovering lovingly on images in an almost indolent manner. Filmed in Scotland, the cinematography is excellent, capturing the feeling of lonely isolation and primal beauty. The story is broken into four chapters, each one focusing on a different phase of the characters journey. The story takes place after the Vikings devastating defeat at the battle of StamfordBridge, and the death of former Viking leader Henry Harota. The once mighty Vikings were in decline. They were being hunted down (In what was called the Baltic Crusades) and Christianity was spreading, replacing the belief in Odin and the old Gods the Viking worshipped. Christian crusaders were exterminating the once feared Scandinavian warriors, while many Vikings were converting to the Christian religion and turning against their former fellow warriors. The last of the Vikings were under siege. Our main character is a savage Viking slave known only as One-Eye (Mads Mikkelsen, best known to American audiences as Le Chiffre in Casino Royal) used by his Viking Master Barde (Alexander Morton, best known as Golly in the British TV series Monarch of the Glen) as a gladiator in cruel life-and-death battles which are the equivalent of human cock fighting. One-Eye is described as having come up from Hell, and he fights like it. One-Eye wins money for Barde, which the clever Viking Chief uses to appease the Christians hunting him. One day the opportunity for escape arrives and One-Eye turns on his captors, gaining his freedom. He flees along with another slave; a young boy named Are (Maarten Stevenson), who is the only person ever to show One-Eye a modicum of decency. As they travel together, Are becomes the voice for the silent One-Eye, who is either mute or simply unwilling to speak a word. One-Eye becomes Ares protector, creating a strange, symbiotic relationship between the two. One-Eye becomes similar to Clint Eastwoods character in Sergio Leones The-man-with-no-name trilogy, or the wandering, nameless Samurai of Kurasawas Yojimbo, trekking across the countryside and looking menacing, with no real destination in mind. He begins to have trippy visions, all of which are rendered in an eerie blood-red hue. What are these visions trying to tell him? The escaped slaves come across of group of converted former Vikings who are now on a sacred crusade to reach the Holy Land in Palestine. The Christian crew ask One-Eye to join them, thinking his formidable battle prowess would be of inestimable help during their pilgrimage. There is an interminably lengthy sequence in a longship, lost in the fog, where the passengers fear they are cursed and that One-Eyes presence has caused them to take a wrong turn into hell. Its a tense sequence but it goes on far too long. When the fog clears, our crusaders realize that they did indeed make a wrong turn but it wasnt into Hell. It was the same wrong turn Columbus made, and they find themselves in a green new world which is too new yet to be called the New World. At this point, the film becomes strongly reminiscent of Werner Herzogs classic Aguirre: The Wrath of God, with the voyagers suffering from increasing insanity, due to their isolation and alienation from each other. And covert assaults by the unseen indigenous population dont help matters. Valhalla in Scandinavian mythology is where the old Gods go when they die. This film takes place at a time when Viking culture was dying out, as were their beliefs. One-Eye is a metaphor for Odin, the one-eyed warrior king of Asgard who suffered on Earth to attain enlightenment (hanging Christ-like pinned to a tree) and returns to the heavens to lead his people. Late in Valhalla Rising, the remaining crusaders begin to follow One-Eye, feeling that he knows something they dont. Does he, or is he just going insane? Valhalla Rising may be too slow and for action film lovers and too gory for people expecting a cerebral art-house film. Its definitely hard to characterize and wont be a big financial hit but it is a unique bit of experimental cinema. INCEPTION (4 STARS)INCEPTION: At a time when Hollywood is often justifiably criticized for its lack of original ideas (relying on sequels, remakes and TV adaptations) and lack of courage regarding its unwillingness to experiment with unique, out-of-the-box, concepts; its refreshing to have a film come along that makes the attempt to be innovative and cerebral. Its not completely successful in doing so, but regardless of that, the attempt is laudable and the film is entertaining. Inception gets an A for effort. Many will notice that Inception has quite a bit in common with the recent Shutter Island. (The same star; the way the film toys with the concept of reality), although the basic blueprint of Inception is a cross between Dreamscape (1984) and The Matrix Trilogy. It also has elements of a typical heist film, like Oceans 11, or an episode of the TV series Leverage.If these elements sound reconcilable with each other, be assured that they blend together seamlessly here, thanks to the director.Although this is a very good film, it will get far more praise than it actually merits because it was written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Insomnia, the Prestige, Batman Begins) who is still riding highfrom his mega-success with the over-rated Dark Knight, and is still worshipped as the man who can do no wrong by many impressionable fans. But regardless of that, Nolan has put together a clever and well crafted bit of cinema.Nolan has already played with reality and perception in his well regarded Momento (2000), which was a trial-run for this film. After the urban grittiness of his Batman films, this is a welcome return to more imaginative and conceptual subject matter.The plot, which is being called by some mind-bending and brain teasing is actually fairly straight forward. Inception gives us a modern else-world, similar to our own, where the technology exists to enter into peoples minds and extract information. Dream invasion has become the equivalent of identity theft.Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the best in the thought-invasion field, hiring himself and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) out as thought-theft mercenaries, during a period of legal exile from his native United States. Cobb was forced to flee the US after being wrongly convicted of a crime, and seeks a way to expunge his record and return to his two children.He gets his opportunity when he is hired my powerful Japanese businessman Saito (Ken Wananabe) to do a tricky reverse job--to put a thought into the mind of Saitos competitor Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) which will ruin Fischer. Saito promises Cobb that he has the clout to clear Cobbs name and reunite him with his kids. Cobb naturally agrees.Cobb and Arthur begin recruiting their team which includes; forger and grifter Eames (Tom Hardy) who has mastered shape-shifting in dreams world and can therefore impersonate anyone in a dream; Yusef (Dileep Rao) a chemist whos job it is to keep the thought-invaders and their victim asleep for the exact amount of time and no longer; and young prodigy Ariadne (Ellen Page), a disciple of Cobbs father-in-law Miles (The great Michael Caine, whos screen presence is so big, he always seems to have a larger role than he really does) who originally taught the technique to Cobb. Ellens job is to be an Architect. A dream Architect has the knack for creating a stable and detailed virtual reality inside someones mind, which will act as the milieu for the mind-theft to take place. The manufactured dreamscape is also a mind-maze, where Cobb and his team can lurk and operate, until they are ready to extract or implant a thought. Ellen has unusually strong control over her world, and can twist her replica of the city of Paris, folding it in two like a beach chair. Its Ellen who realizes that Cobb--whos job it is to mentally populate the dream cities with imaginary citizenry--is carrying a deep, distracting psychological burden which endangers the mission and the lives of the team. And who is the mysterious Mal (Marion Cotillard) who constantly pops up and sabotages Cobbs efforts? The answer to that is the emotional heart of the film, and the set-up for the ambiguous ending.The special effects for Inception are top-notch, and unlike most films, every big-budget bit of visual magic has a purpose for the plot. There are no extraneous or gratuitous bits of FX here. Its all necessary. Strong performances by the heavyweight cast--DiCaprio, Wananabe, Page, Murphy, Caine, along with Pete Postelthwaite and Tom Berenger--make this more than just a film with a good gimmick. The A-list cast shines, even through the weaknesses in the script.There two major flaws with Inception that keep it from being a masterpiece. One is that none of the characters except for Cobb have a story arc. Despite the excellent actors, the film is populated by undefined figures who exist to support Cobbs journey. The other problem is that Nolan gives into the usual temptation to turn the conclusion of the film into a frenetic action sequence, rather than trusting the story itself to engross the audience. (Is there some rule that every film must end in an action sequence?)But despite these few flaws, and the fact that its cinematic inspirations are obvious, Inception is an overall excellent film experience. Bravo to anyone to tries to make a film which is not a cookie-cutter cliche. Inception is both innovative and entertaining.PREDATORS (3 Stars)PREDATORS: The Predators dont need no stinkin aliens! In fact, the Alien vs. Predator cross-overs have been dragging our predatory protagonists down. The Predators are a lot more fun on their own. Happily, the latest installment in the Predator series makes no mention of their frequent acid-blooded opponents. This new entry, directed by Nimrod Antal (Kontroll,Vacancy, Armored) and produced by Robert Rodriquez (From Dust Till Dawn, Sin City, Grindhouse) is a direct sequel to the 1987 original, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers and Jesse Ventura. And its probably the best installment in the franchise since then. The film, written by Alex Litvak and Michael Finch from a plot by Rodriquez, flips the premise of the first movie. Instead of them coming here to hunt us, they bring us to them so they can stalk us on their home turf. The Predators are back in the jungle, as we first saw them 23 years. But this isnt the same South American jungle where they battled Arnold. Its an extraterrestrial game preserve where the Predators deposit specially chosen prey who they hope will prove a challenge. Its like The Most Dangerous Game, except that the hunters are from outer space.In this case, the prey are some of the most formidable killers on Earth. In fact, the title Predators refers as much to the displaced humans as it does to the predatory monsters. The alpha male and nominal leader of the humans is the bitter, gruff-voiced soldier of fortune Royce (Adrien Brody, who has reinvented himself as an action hero), who makes all the requisite deductions which serve as exposition for the audience. Royce doesnt want to be the leader of the pack, but regardless of his efforts to avoid the responsibility, circumstances force him into a reluctant position of field Captain for the gang who can shoot well. Along with Royce, we have Israeli commando Isabelle (Alice Braga); Russian spetsnaz combat operative Nikoli (Oleg Taktarov); serial killer Stans (Walton Goggins); Japanese Yakuza hitman Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien); Cuchillo (Danny Trejo) of the Mexican drug cartels; and from Africa, we have soldier/hunter Mombasa (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali). Rounding out the mismatched but very deadly octet is Dr. Edwin (Topher Grace), a panicky physician who seems very out of place among the worlds deadliest warriors. The action starts immediately, as the film begins with our human heroes literally falling from the sky. One minute they are on Earth and the next thing they know, they are plummeting toward a sudden stop, with only an alien parachute to stop their freefall, if they can just figure out how to open it before they abruptly meet the ground. One of the abducted earthmen fails this particular test and ends up a splotch on the alien terrain. The rest reluctantly join forces. They soon find a bunch of empty cages which indicate that something else has recently been released onto the game preserve aside from themselves. Not long after that, they are attacked by a pack of large, spiked beasts looking for lunch. Sadly for the humans, these creatures are not the scariest things on the planet. The Predators arrive halfway through the film. This time around, we get two different species of Predators engaged in clan wars. We have the return of the classic 1987 Predator, plus a trio of new, larger cousins; Tracker, Falconer and Berserker. Were told the updated Predators are like wolves are to dogs. Fans of the classic Predator may not like how the old school clan gets manhandled here. Laurence Fishburne pops up as Noland; a ragged, crazed survivor of a previous hunt, whos been hiding from the Predators for 10 years. Fishburne gives a somewhat comical performance, meant to parody Marlon Brandos Col. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now. He serves mostly as a form of exposition to explain the details of the Predator clan war. Exposition is squeezed in however the writers can think to insert it. For those unfamiliar with the original film, Isabelle conveniently knows the details of the 1987 adventure and obligingly recaps the story for any newbies. One problem with the film is that the audience is always way ahead of the characters. The stranded warriors spend most of the film trying to discover the why and where of their current dilemma. The viewer knows from the beginning who brought them there and why. There are also subtle hints in the script that the humans were brought to PredatorPark due to some karmic justice, due to their lives of violence and death. The new Predators are impressively large but they seem to lack the formidable speed and strategy of the lone 87 Predator, and are easier to kill. Its a recurring cinematic rule that the more monsters you have in a film, they easier they are to defeat. The titular creature in Alien terrorized the ships crew alone, whereas in the sequels, Aliens were picked off by the dozen and made up for their lack of formidability in numbers. The same rule applies for the Predators. The plot is serviceable, giving viewers exactly what they expect. The performances are adequate. The newly buffed Brody, whose career has taken an unexpected trajectory since his Oscar winning turn in The Pianist, lends credibility to the proceedings. His throaty delivery sounds like Christian Bale in Dark Knight. Topher Grace adds some humor as the odd-man-out with a secret Edwin. (A misfired attempt at humor comes when Stans jokes about how hes missing Earth because there are no women to rape on Predator Planet) Predators is full of action and there are some suspenseful moments. The Seven Samurai styled grouping of warriors, combine with the return to the jungle setting, makes the film very reminiscent of the original, with Brody as a worthy successor to the Governator. THE A-TEAM (3 Stars)THE A-TEAM: There are times when overkill is under-rated, says one of the films main characters. That seems to be the philosophy of director Joe Carnahan, who spares no stunt or explosion. This wont win any awards but if youre in the mood for two hours of non-stop action, youll get your moneys worth with The A-Team. Based on the hugely popular 1980s TV series starring George Peppard and Mr. T, the film amps up the action quotient to the nth degree and provides the viewer with a frenetic series of slam-bang chase and fight sequences. The scenes range from amusingly silly to absolutely ridiculous (such as when the A-Team bails out of an exploding airplane in a tank with a parachute attached to it and battle attacking fighters on the way down) and no one gets seriously hurt. The bloodless violence was one of the hallmarks of the original TV series, as well. The first two thirds of the film are the best. It starts with individual introductions to our titular quartet. Col. John Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson) is a military strategist who specializes in the ridiculous. Lt. Faceman Peck (Bradley Cooper, whos the real focus of the film) is a suave rogue who can charm any woman and has the ability to procure contraband of any type, even while in prison. Corporal Bosco B.A. Baracus (Quinton Rampage Jackson) is the muscular wheelman of the group. Capt. H.M. Howling Mad Murdock (Played by a scene stealing Sharlto Copley)is the teams mad-as-a-hatter ace pilot. They are all Army Rangers. We see how they got together eight years earlier in Mexico, when Hannibal and Face are on a mission and run into the discharged B.A. and the committed (in a mental institution) Murdock. After their initial adventure, we cut to eight years later, during a troop pull-out from Iraq, when the A-Team has racked up 85 successful covert operations and has developed a reputation for being the best of the best. However, the team is recruited for one final mission by shady CIA operative Lynch (Patrick Wilson) who wants our heroes to retrieve stolen printing plates from Iraqi dissidents before they can print money to fund the enemy army. Hannibal accepts the covert black-op and only two peopleLynch and General Morrison (Gerald McRaney)know that the team is working under orders. The team succeeds, but unfortunately for the formidable foursome, the General is killed and Lynch has vanished into the ether. The A-Team is court-martialed for the thefts and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Of course, you cant keep four good men down and the team soon escapes, determined to find out why they were set up and to clear their names. From this point on, the film never stops for a breath. The team travels the world seeking justice and battling the bad s. All the while, they are pursued by a team of DOD agents, let by Lt. Sosa (Jessica Biel, the only major female character in the film), an old flame of Face, who has some very personal motivations in capturing the fugitive foursome. There isnt much else in the way of plot, but the underlying subtext of the film is about Faces journey from a reckless young man into a leader. At the beginning of the film, Face is chastised by Hannibal for his impetuous actions which almost get them all killed. The paradigm begins to shift as the story develops and Faces independent actions begin to pay-off for the team, despite Hannibals orders to the contrary. Face begins to question the wisdom of his leader (Why didnt you see this coming? Face asks accusingly, when things start to go south for the team) and he finally decides to step up. Eventually, Hannibal surrenders leadership of the team to Face, who masterminds the final confrontation with the bad s. Face even gets to use Hannibals trademark phrase I love it when a plan comes together! The A-Team has lots of little treats for fans of the old show. B.A. has the words Pity and fool tattooed on his hands; the black van; B.A.s fear of flying, necessitating that his partners sedate him to get him on a plan. The only thing missing is Hannibals penchant for using disguises. Quinton Jackson portrays a kindlier version of B.A., lacking the growling hostility that made Mt.T so popular. Copley steals almost every scene hes in with his over-the-top performance. Neeson, who has reinvented himself as an action hero in recent years, is authoritative as Hannibal but he lacks the playfulness and humor that Peppard brought to the role. Coopers Faceman Peck is the pivotal character of the film. The final third of the film focuses so much on him that it reduces the presence of the others in the last act, which is to the detriment of the overall film. Basically, the A-team is simple fun, replacing plot with pyrotechnics. Fans of the old show may or may not like this adrenaline filled interpretation of an old favorite, but theyll still get a few nostalgic smiles, especially when Copley is on screen. ROBIN HOOD (Two Stars)ROBIN HOOD: We all know that Robin Hood is supposed to rob the rich in order to give to the poor. Well, he doesnt do that here, but if its any consolation, Director Ridley Scotts new film robs the viewers to give money to the studio. This grim, gray retelling of the classic Robin Hood myth makes all the same mistakes that were made in the Kevin Costner version Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, as well as the poorly done King Arthur, starring Clive Owen. It drains all the magic, poetry and pageantry out of a timeless, beloved fable and leaves us with nothing to replace it except the gritty reality of the 12th century. This wouldnt be so bad if the reality were shown was actually entertaining. If the movie gave us a cold hard look at the past which was epic and exciting--such as Gladiator, Braveheart or Rob Roy--it would be worth sucking the magic out of the legend. But Robin Hood isnt exciting. There are, in fact, relatively few action sequences. Nor is there much humor or archery or anything else youd expect from Robin Hood. We just end up with a lot of exposition and a plot which is as historically accurate as something Mel Brooks would have cooked up.In this version Robert Longstride (Russel Crowe) and two of his Merry Men (not called that here) Little John (Kevin Durand) and Will Scarlet (Scott Grimes) are yeomen (or commoners) in King Richards Holy Crusades. When Richard (Danny Houston) falls, Robert and friends ferry his crown back to England. Along the way, Robert comes upon the aftermath of another battle where nobleman Sir Robin Loxley was slain. Robert takes Robins identity and decides to take the knights fallen sword back to his father (Max Von Sydow) in England. But things get complicated when the semi-grieving father Sir Walter asks Robert/Robin to impersonate his late son, otherwise Walter may lose his land. Part of the masquerade is pretending to be married to the late knights widow Lady Marion (Played by the wonderful Cate Blanchett, who is wasted in his film.) This sets the supposedly romantic aspects of the film in motion as the couple argue and insult each other, which is movie semaphore for courtship.After the deceased Kings Crown is handed over to his younger, weaker brother John (Oscar Isaac), his ambitious, evil chamberlain Godfrey (A typecast Mark Strong) becomes the power behind the thrown and immediately becomes corrupt, overtaxing the overworked citizens and setting the stage for the Franco-invasion.Naturally, this sets the heroic Robin into action, along with his two friends, as well as Friar Tuck (Mark Addy) and Marion Warrior Princess, who accedes to the PC rules of film-making by putting on armor and going medieval (literally) on the bad s. The relationship between Robin and Marion is not very well written, rarely rising above a bad Romantic comedy. Crowe and Blanchett have very little chemistry together.Crowes Robin has none of the mirth and charm of earlier versions. Ridley Scott tries to turn him into a fighting political activist instead of a rebellious freedom fighter. Robin becomes the guiding force behind the Magna Carta here.Taking all the nearly fairy tale majesty out of the Robin Hood myth is as foolish a move as when they took the mythology out of the Trojan War in Troy. Scott and Crowe should have learned from Costners dreadful Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves and left well enough alone. They tried to do for Robin Hood was Christopher Nolan did for Batman (re-imagining it as a grim and gritty, reality based tale of gloom and doom) but they fail, leaving the viewer to feel like hes been robbed at arrow-point.IRON MAN 21/2 (3 & a half stars)IRON MAN 2: If you were going to cast someone to play a damaged but cocky hero, you couldnt make a better choice than Robert Downey Jr. Given his history playing similar roles (Sherlock Holmes, Zodiac, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, etc.) and his own well publicized tribulations, Downey was born to play the egotistical, eccentric Tony Stark. Like the 2008 original, Downeys lighthearted, eclectic performance as the titular armored Super Hero is the heart and soul of the film. Possibly the most anticipated film of the year, the bar is set pretty high for Iron Man 2, and for the most part, it lives up to expectations. Although not quite equal to the terrific original, director Jon Favreaus follow-up is still a fun super hero adventure, full of action, effects and well developed characters. And the cast is top notch. We have such talented thespians as Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Don Cheadle, (Hotel Rwanda, Crash), Gwyneth Paltrow, (Shakespeare in Love), Samuel Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) all supporting Downeys excellent leading man turn. Picking up where Iron Man (2008) left off, we find Tony stark seemingly reverted to his narcissistic, party-animal self. Tonys philosophy is to live until he dies, whether its hosting his own version of the Worlds Fair (called Stark Expo) or getting drunk and dancing in his Iron Man armor while surrounded by a bunch of adoring lovelies. However, our hedonistic hero is not quite what he seems. When no one is looking, he monitors his blood with a little device that reads his blood toxicity level. It turns out that he is being contaminated by the very mechanical chest core that keeps him alive. Talk about a no-win situation. Unlike other masked heroes including Spider-Man, Batman and Wolverine, Tony isnt the brooding type. The idea of self pity never occurs to him. He continues his trademark bravado, even while everything is falling apart around him. The government, led by a belligerent Senator (Played by the oddly cast Gary Shandling) wants to take the Iron Man armor away from Stark, and Starks absenteeism is hurting his company, so he turns the reigns over to his assistant/love interest Pepper Potts (Paltrow). Pepper tries to run the corporation and attend to the even more difficult task of keeping the undisciplined Tony in line. The poor girl has her hands full. And, of course, every good super hero needs a good villain or two to put him through his paces. Iron Man 2 delivers two villains, although only one is meant to be taken seriously. Ivan Vanko (Rourke) is a former Soviet scientist whos recently been released from jail after 20 arduous years of imprisonment. He has a deep grudge against Tony Stark, so he builds his own exo-skeleton, equipped with two lethal electric whips and tracks down our hard partying hero. In the films best action sequence, Vanko (AKA Whiplash) storms into the races at Monaco and starts whipping cars in half, including the one belonging to Tony, who has impulsively decided to drive his own vehicle in the race. (Although how Vanko knew Stark would do this is anybodys guess.) The other villain is Starks industrial rival, billionaire Justin Hammer (Rockwell) who wants the secret to Starks armor and recruits Vanko to build him his own army of robotic Iron Man drones. Hammer is an ineffective wanna-be, basically Stark-like. Rockwell plays Hammer as a comedy relief goof, with more money than brains. Hes like a jealous Drago Malfoy stuck in the shadow of Harry Potter. Stark gets some much needed aid from his best friend, Col. Rhodey Rhodes (Cheadle) who gets so tired of trying to get Tony to act like a grown up that he purloins one of Starks many suits of armor and goes into action as the War Machine. Cheadle replaces Terrance Howard, and the role of Rhodey is given a lot more meat for Cheadle to chew on than Howard had. Another new wrinkle in the sequel is the addition of gorgeous Scarlett Johanson as Natalie Rushman, the efficient member of Starks legal department. But Natalie, AKA Natasha Romanoff, is actually a trained super-spy called the Black Widow whos been sent by the enigmatic Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson), the head of a top secret government organization. Fury has plans for Stark that lay the groundwork for the upcoming Avengers film. Johanson may not be the worlds greatest actress but no one looks better in a skin-tight body suit than she does. Martial Arts never looked so good. The most unique thing about the Iron Man franchise is that the hero is actually more fun out of his super suit than in it. More so than Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker, Tony Stark is the real star of his franchise, even without a costume. Downey is so engrossingly magnetic as the narcissistic Tony Stark that the film is more fun when Stark is bantering with Pepper than when armies of Iron Men are dueling to the death. The plot is fairly standard and some characters (Like Johanson) dont get enough screen time. The action sequences are merely adequate, but despite all that, the talented Downey carries the day. OCEANS(5 Stars)OCEANS: Despite the amazing technical advances made in recent modern films like Avatar, there is nothing quite so breathtakingly glorious as the wonders of the natural world, as this beautifully filmed documentary proves. No special effects designer has ever conceived of stranger sights that the denizens of the seven seas. Using nothing but reality, we are given a treat for the eyes that matches anything ever conceived by the mind of man. To be fair, though, technology did play a hand in bringing us these amazing images. This is not the first documentary about the oceans but its the best and the reason for that is the advancement in digital technology. The deep sea photography is unequaled here, bringing you right into reefs and others aquatic domains where bizarre creatures crawl, swim and nest. We see every fin, claw, tooth and gill with crystal clarity. Bravo to the talented undersea photographers who got shots that leave you asking How in the world did they manage to film that? This is a co-production of Disney and the French Film industry. Coming on the heels of another excellent documentary Earth, directors Jacques Cluzaud and Jacques Perrin (who brought us Winged Migration) have made another in the rare genre of family friendly documentaries. Much like the appealing 2005 documentary March of the Penguins, this is very suitable for children. The violence of the hunter/prey relationship is toned down and there are no scenes of mating. Instead, the cuteness factor is highlighted. Scenes of mother seals snuggling with their young are surefire feel-good moments. The proceedings are narrated by former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, who talks in a soft Mr. Rogers tone, accompanied by orchestral music. The cheerful colors of the oceans belie its dangers. Some scenes of various, multi-hued aquatic residents scurrying about seem almost like a heavily choreographed techni-color musical of the forties. When a bright red clown fish appears, delighted children in the audience shout Nemo! This film covers a wide variety of sea life. Whales; dolphins; crabs; sharks; eels; salmon; tuna and so many others. From the massive Blue Whale, the largest creature in the world, to tiny hermit crabs, the variety of life seems limitless under the sea. Brosnans narration tells us that the oceans have experimented with every possible shape and we get treated to the sight creatures that would be considered the stuff of nightmares on the surface. Take, for example, the Rock Fish who appears to be a craggy stone until its mouth opens to swallow unsuspecting prey. And wait till you get s look at the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse! And there are also those animals who share both the land and the sea, such as turtles, sea birds, seals and polar bears. There is a powerful shot of an iguana lounging on a stone, watching a rocket launch through the distant skies. The narration reminds us that man is the greatest threat to the oceans. Shots of bottom trawling fish caught and killed in nets are quite sad after seeing the creatures enjoying the freedom of the seas. Perhaps the most sadly memorable sight is of a seal examining a discarded, sunken shopping cart. But despite these moments, the film is entertaining, educational and fit for the whole family. The poetic visuals will stay with you long after youve left the theater. KICK-ASS+ (2 and a half stars)KICK-ASS: Its hard to say whether or not Kick-Ass is a good movie, since its actually two movies squeezed into one. Its an awkward fit. Either movie on its own could be entertaining but combine it just becomes two puzzle pieces that dont fit together. The early part of the film, which well call movie # 1, is a clever study of a bullied personality brought up on film and comic books, who insanely decides to become a super-hero but then quickly learns that reality is less kind than fantasy. Movie # 1 deals with Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a Peter Parker-like school nerd who is heavily put upon by bullies, unpopularity and the other little hells that high school inflicts. One day he asks Why dont real people become super-heroes? And motivated by that dim bit of philosophy, he makes the desperate attempt at vindication and glory by putting on a scuba outfit and lurking the streets at night with the intention of fighting crime under the alias Kick-Ass. The wimpy would-be vigilante soon realizes that the need to beat up wrong doers does not translate into the ability to do so. His freshmen effort ends with Kick-Ass getting an ass kicking. Proving resilient, if unable to learn a lesson, he tries again and receives his second beat down. But this time his ineffectual crime-fighting is caught on camera and put on Youtube, where Kick-Ass finds himself an overnight celebrity. Movie # 1 works as a comedic Taxi Driver, about a misguided mind who thinks being a hero will make his unhappy lot worth living. And then we come to movie # 2, an over-the-top Tarantino style action film in the Grindhouse tradition. Movie # two features Nicolas Cage (Finally putting aside his genius-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown routine) as Damon Macready, a framed ex-cop out for vengeance against nefarious mob kingpin Frank DAmico (Mark Strong). Inspired by Kick-Ass, Damon becomes the costumed vigilante Big Daddy. And he has his own ready-made sidekick in his 11 year old daughter Mindy (Chloe Moretz) who becomes Hit-Girl. Trained from birth to fight gangsters, young Hit-Girl becomes a Punisher-like human killing machine, efficiently slaughtering gangsters with great glee and profane banter. There is a serious disconnect between movie # 1 and movie # 2. Movie number one exists in the real world and points out the insanity of someone thinking they could put on a costume and actually fight crime and live to tell about it. It also makes a comment about our fame-starved culture where people are willing to go to any lengths to attain celebrity status as a means of finding meaning in life. Movie # 2, however, exists firmly in the realm of comic books where even a child can put on a mask and easily defeat armies of gun-toting thugs. The successful villain-killing by Big Daddy and Hit-Girl completely contradicts the meaning and message of the Kick-Ass plot. While the graphic combat scenes of movie # 2 are sure to be a crowd pleaser for young action movie fans, they do not belong in the same film as the Kick-Ass plot. Hit-Girl is the center of the controversy around this film. Many feel that seeing a little girl violently dispatch numerous people--and worse, she seems to be enjoying it--is a reprehensible message to send out to other young girls. Maybe it is, or maybe people are over-reacting to the film, but regardless, her presence and actions here are jarringly out-of-place in a movie that is ostensibly a satire on the ridiculousness of the concept of costumes crime fighters. Movie # 2 seems to expect us to cheer and applaud the childs bloody handiwork, while movie # 1 asks us to laugh at the ludicrous concept of anyone in the real world trying to be Batman and Robin. ALICE IN WONDERLAND + (2 and a half stars)ALICE IN WONDERLAND: It doesnt seem possible that combining the timeless Lewis Carroll classic with one of the most innovative filmmakers in the business could lead to something so sadly uninspired as this mediocre effort. Unfortunately, Tim Burtons new Alice in Wonderland is a disconnected muddle of a movie. Tim Burton has rightfully gained the reputation of being one of the most imaginative filmmakers in the industry. When hes on his game, his produces works of genius (Ed Wood; Edward Scissorhands; Big Fish; Beetlejuice; A Nightmare Before Christmas, etc.) but when he is uninspired, he can concoct some real lemons (Mars Attacks, Planet of the Apes, Willie Wonka). There are definitely peaks and Valleys in Burtons work. I hate to say that Alice in Wonderland is a valley but its definitely a downward slope. On the plus side, the movie is as visually brilliant as anything ever done. The sets, effects and CGI character designs are nothing short of brilliant. If you are deaf and not interested in the storyline, youll love his film. However, if youre looking for something deeper, then you should check out one of Burtons better features. The film is a sequel to Lewis Carrolls legendary tale. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is now 19 and has forgotten her original trip to Wonderland, except in dreams. On the day of her engagement party to her incredibly oafish fiancée, Alice sees the white rabbit with the fob watch (Michael Sheen) once again and impulsively follows him down the rabbit hole. She returns to Wonderlandnow called Underlandand has to go through every obstacle as if for the first time, because she still doesnt recall the first trip. Throughout the bulk of the movie, Alice insists she is in a dream. While Alice has been gone, the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter)--Known as the Queen of Hearts in the original story--has exiled her sister the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) to a rather comfortable looking castle on the outskirts of Underland and is running the show solo, using her fearsome Jabberwocky monster, her evil henchman Stayne (Crispin Glover) and her off-with-his-head philosophy. The White Queen and the inhabitants of Underland have gotten hold of one of those plot convenient scrolls that tells the future. The scroll says that Alice will return and slay the Jabberwocky, so the rabbit has been sent to lure our fair haired heroine back. However, her lack of memory makes everyone doubt whether or not they have brought the right Alice back. Alice resumes her travels in Wonderland/Underland, and meets the usual suspects again. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum (Matt Lucas); Absalom the blue caterpillar (Alan Rickman); the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry); the Dormouse (Barbara Windsor); the March Hare (Paul Whitehouse) and the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). While Depp is one of the most versatile actors in the world today, his interpretation of the Mad Hatter is a bit too versatile. He doesnt seem to know what to do with the character so he does everything! Since the Hatter supposed to be mad, Depp clearly feels no constraints about his too-much-is-not-enough portrayal, and Burton gives him free reign here. Depp alternates from manic insanity to cunning charm to sad victim and everything in between. Even his voice constantly alters, from a Scots brogue to a fey lisp, among others. One of the biggest flaws with the film is the epic ending. Why couldnt Burton or writer Linda Woolverton think of a better conclusion than a big action sequence? The final moments are reminiscent of the conclusion to the TwoTowers or Return of the King or the Chronicles of Narnia, all of which ended with armies battling. Why would the peace loving White Queen (who chides one of her subjects for speaking too harshly to a tree) choose to solve Underlands woes by sending her army into a bloody battle? Why does a pacifist even have an army? And why does Alice have to turn into Xena Warrior Princess to save Underland? These and many other questions remain unanswered. For instance, how is it that the Red Queen identifies Alice from a drawing of her hair (Id recognize those golden locks anywhere) but doesnt recognize Alice when they are face-to-face? Dont try to make sense out of it. The Motion Capture effects which give the CGI characters the expressions of the actors are top notch, and Carter steals the show with her amusingly evil interpretation of the Red Queen, but overall, this movie has none of the magic that a movie about Wonderland should have. If you take away the incredible visuals, there is nothing left here but a tedious, uninteresting rehash of a legendary tale. Burton can do so much better than this.THE GREEN ZONE+ (3 & a half stars)THE GREEN ZONE: Following on the heels of the Oscar winning the Hurt Locker, director Paul Greengrass gives us another engrossing Iraq war drama. This one is paints on a grander canvass than Hurt Locker, dealing with one of the greatest ever deceptions pulled on the American public. The story covers the Bush administrations fabrication about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The non-existent weapons were invented as an excuse to go to war and the film deals with the administrations efforts to cover it up by any means necessary. Greengrass film never claims to be an accurate record of events. This is clearly a stylized cinematic interpretation of a true story, not a reenactment. But it has a point of view as clear and passionate as a Michael Moore film. Greengrass, and writer Brian Helgeland, make the case that America was the aggressor in the Iraq war, not the victim, and planned from the start to put a puppet ruler in place of Saddam Hussein, despite the objections of the Iraqis who want to choose their own ruler to succeed Saddam.The instrument used to unriddle the cover-up is Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon), a highly skilled American soldier who has been leading his unit on a series of raids against sites which supposedly house WMDs. In every case, the intelligence is wrong and Millers team comes away with nothing to show for their trouble but egg on their face. Miller comes to believe that the armys intelligence sources should be considered unreliable. This opinion, however, does not endear him to his superiors or to Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear, effectively cast against type) the head of Intelligence in Iraq. Miller finds an ally in Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson) a world weary, veteran CIA operative who is just as suspicious as Miller about the goings on in Iraq. The CIA has been cut out of the loop, in favor of people like Poundstone who were hand picked by the administration. Miller and Brown form an alliance to uncover the truth. Agent Brown advises Poundstone and the others to appoint influential Iraq General Al Rawi (Igal Naor) as the new Iraqi president because hell be accepted by the Iraqis, much more so than a US chosen puppet ruler. Miller believes that only Rawi can prevent an Iraq civil war. What Brown doesnt know is that Rawi is on the administrations hit-list because he is supposedly their information source, code-named Magellan. However, what Rawi really told the US and what the administration wants people to believe is another. Along the way, Miller meets a newswoman named Laurie Dane (Amy Ryan) who is trying to uncover the identity of the mysterious, Magellan. She is being spoon-feed information by Poundstone, allegedly from Magellan, that seems to justify the invasion and the reports of WMDs in Iraq. With Millers help, she comes to realize she is a dupe.Miller also gets some unexpected help from a one-legged Iraqi civilian who likes to be called Freddy. Freddy begins by giving some information to Miller that pays off, and is rewarded with a job as Millers interpreter. Freddys dialogue gives us a patriotic Iraqs view of America and the war.The films conceit of one low ranked soldier uncovering the massive scheme is unrealistic, but thats the nature of film, to create an amalgam of detective and moral conscience who goes from the trenches to the upper echelons in his quest for the truth. Another amalgam is Poundstone, who encapsulates all the sins of the Bush administration in one man.Matt Damon is effective in the leading role, once again playing a man of action who uncovers a conspiracy (Jason Bourne, anyone?) The fighting and chase sequences are sometimes done with a shaky hand-held camera, which is annoying but its a tolerable distraction in an otherwise fine film. Green Zone is sure to press some buttons with Bush supporters, but regardless of that, its still an entertaining combination of political thriller, action film and war drama.

NEW ON BLU RAY/DVD:SHERLOCK HOLMES: Holmes famous catch phrase the Game is Afoot should be replaced by Full-Speed-Ahead in this kinetic adventure film, directed by Ritchie. The cerebral Victorian detective has been transformed by Ritchie into a thrill-seeking action hero. Whereas the literary Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle, would seek solace from boredom between cases by indulging in narcotics, this new Holmes is equally likely to seek out an underground fight club as he is a crack pipe. Thats not to say that this new Holmes (Played by the always watchable Robert Downey Jr.) is lacking in intellect. We naturally get the requisite astute deductions based on trivialities invisible to anyone else. However, this modern Holmes has a Fools-Rush-In-Where-Wise-Men-fear-To-Tread mentality. He rarely thinks things through until after hes waded hip deep into danger and mayhem. Its only when hes face-to-face with impending disaster that his magnificent mind kicks into action and starts plotting his strategy. For instance, when Holmes is going toe-to-toe with an opponent in fisticuffs, his great brain begins to pre-choreograph the battle. We see inside Holmes mind as he anticipates every , lists his enemys weak spots, calculates how long it will take for the bad to fall and how long it will take him to get up again. As soon as hes satisfied with his pre-fight prediction, we see Holmes leap physically into the fray, which invariably ends just as Holmes anticipated. Its as if this version of Holmes needs to be under pressure in order to motivate his amazing deductions. He seems to be more in love with danger than with solving puzzles, as the classic Holes was. Downeys Holmes is much more of a warrior than earlier versions of Holmes. Hes not the type to sit in his room, smoking his pipe until an epiphany hits him. This Holmes has danger as his muse. Its hard to imagine Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce (Who starred in the most popular classic film versions of Holmes and Watson) storming into a room full of armed thugs, carrying nothing but a walking stick and some Nun-chucks, and besting the baddies in a wild brawl. And speaking of Watson, Jude Law makes a very dapper Doctor John Watson, and plays off well against Downeys quirky Holmes. Watson is engaged to be married to Mary Morstan (We dont know where Watson met Mary, since Holmes is only introduced to her after Watson has decided to marry her. Watson clearly didnt meet her in Holmes case The Sign of Four, as Doyle wrote her) who has a very unpleasant introduction to Holmes. Holmes is clearly threatened by Marys relationship with Watson and does his best to sabotage it. (The scene where he uses a fake psychic to predict that Mary will become fat and grow warts is very funny). There is a subtle homo-erotic aspect to the Holmes/Watson relationship that today would be called a bro-mance. (They share clothes. Holmes doesnt like Watsons girlfriend.) But both men have their own love interests. Watson has Mary and Holmes has Irene Adler. Irene (Rachael McAdams) flits in and out of the movie, tantalizing our hero with her feminine wiles. They have a Batman/Catwoman sort of relationship. Holmes is fascinated by Irene since shes the only one who has ever outwitted him (As she does several times in this film) while Irene herself is working as the agent of a mysterious enemy, but her feelings for Holmes cause her to waver in her mission. McAdams makes a very pretty Irene (Who Holmes does not refer to as the Woman, the way he did in the Doyle cannon.) Andas you might expectshe has the requite scene where the pretty girl beats up a couple of large s. The plot: Holmes has captured the evil Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) who is using ritual sacrifices to call up some unnamed evil. Blackwood predicts his own resurrection and sure enough, no sooner has Watson pronounced him dead from hanging than Blackwood is back, up to his old sorcerer tricks again. Its up to Holmes to find out what the resurrected villain is planning before disaster hits England. Unlike the classic Holmes stories where our hero must save one of two lives, here Holmes is saddled with a Fawkes type plot to destroy parliament and also to re-conquer the American colonies. Downeys Holmes often seems more like Hugh Lauries Greg House from House MD. Hes scruffy, witty, sarcastic and always messing up his best friends private life. (As many already know, House was based on Holmes, so Ritchie brings the whole thing full circle by basing the new Holmes on House.) The bantering relationship between Holmes and Watson certainly seems inspired by House and Dr. Wilson. There are lots of little Easter-eggs and inside jokes for fans of previous books and films to catch if theyre paying attention. The standard Sherlockian trademarks are present, such as the disguises and the oft disdainful relationship with the semi-competent Inspector Lestrade. It actually retains more of the Doyle Holmes than the trailers and previews would make it seem. True, it strays very far from the source material and it may be hard for purists to accept Downeys unkempt urban warrior as the same character portrayed by Rathbone or Jeremy Brett. However, if you can overlook the inaccuracies, this is actually a fun action film. Think of it as a Victorian Buddy Cop/ action comedy and purists may enjoy it. As for people who dont know much about the Doyle Holmes, theyll find Downeys man-of-action version a lot of fun. NEW ON DVD/Blu-RAY:THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD+ (3 & a half stars)The Yes Men Fix the World: At a time when anger at the corporate world is at an all-time high, who wouldnt want to see the captains of industry mercilessly mocked? Well, this hilarious documentary about the exploits of a pair of talented pranksters known as the Yes Men spares no effort to turn corporate big shots into unsuspecting punch-lines. However, their elaborate hoaxes are not done merely for the sake of being vindictive. The Yes Men are anti globalization advocates who hope to bring attention to the heartlessness of the corporate mentality and make businesses act more responsibly. Andy Bicklbaum and Mike Bonanno are the titular Yes Men, whove made a name for themselves by irritating the rich and giving laughs to the poor. The duo has set up fake web sites so they can intercept E-mails intended for big companies like Dow Chemicals. The pair of pranksters accept invitations to speaking engagements under the guise of being a representative from the company the message was intended for. Once they have their all-access pass, its time to come up with a ridiculous presentation, such as the Golden Skeleton Risk Assessor which is supposed to calculate the amount of money made vs. the human casualties of the project to determine how many lives can be sacrificed for profit. Bonanno and Bicklbaum interview several finance experts, who proudly defend the economic policies of Milton Freidman, rail against any government restriction on businesses and brag of their role in defeating the Kyoto accords. They dont seem to realize how pompous or unsympathetic they sound. The devious Yes Men add in goofy Green-Screen backgrounds behind their interview subjects to further diminish them. A cleverly comical moment comes when the two Yes Men pose as representatives of Exxon and speak at an energy symposium, introducing their new invention Vavolium, which is supposedly made from the bodies of victims of global climate change and pollution. They even give out faux vavolium candles as they show a mockumentary of a dying janitor who hopes to be made into a vavolium candle after he dies. One of the highlights is when Bicklbaum goes on BBC TV impersonating a spokesman from Dow Chemicals, discussing the 1984 Union Carbide Chemical Plant disaster in BhopalIndia. Dow owned the plant which exploded, killing 3,000 people and causing many thousands of others to have life-long ailments. The people of Bhopal have since remained unsatisfied with the way Dow Chemicals has refused accept responsibility for the tragedy or pay proper financial compensation. Strangely, Dow spent $10 million on an advertising campaign to fix their image but offered less than a million to help the people of Bhopal. On the 20th anniversary of the disaster, Bicklbaum went on British TV to claim that Dow chemicals was belatedly accepting all the blame for the incident and would reimburse the people of Bhopal by selling off shares of the company and donating $12 million to the people affected. Although the stunt was quickly revealed as a hoax, the result was that Dow Chemicals lost $3 billion dollars in less than a half hour during a frantic stock sell-off that followed the faux announcement. The pair also take on the people who profit from the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The Gulf Coast Reconstruction Conference is filled with eager businessmen who see an opportunity in disaster. A good crisis isnt bad they say. Bizarrely, although the conference is supposed to be about helping the victims of Katrina, most of the vendors in attendance offer inventions that have no practical use for the suffering people of New Orleans. They use the conference as a showroom to products they couldnt sell before. The duo pose as representatives of HUD (Housing and Urban Development) to announce that the government is finally going to rebuild the destroyed sections of the city. What they didnt expect is that the Mayor and the Governor would be in attendance. Their proposal is revealed as a stunt before they even leave the room but they get their chance to explain why they did it on local radio. The Yes Men are justifiably accused of giving false hope to the people in Bhopal and New Orleans. The duo goes to these locations personally to talk to the people, to see if the victims were further harmed by the pranks or if they understood the reason elaborate stunts are necessary to bring attention to issues otherwise forgotten or ignored by the media. The documentary is very similar to the work of Michael Moore, the king of rabble rousers. The Yes Men are also well intentioned, as summed up by this line from the film. If a few people on the top can cause all the bad things to happen, why cant the rest of us on the bottom cause good things to happen? THE GHOST WRITER1/2 (3 and a half stars)THE GHOST WRITER: A murder, an isolated house, an unsuspecting visitor, people with hidden agendas and political intrigue; all the pieces are in place for a first-rate mystery/thriller. Well, director Roman Polanski hasnt exactly created a first rate film here, and its certainly not in the class of his best work (Such as his 1974 classic Chinatown) but its still an effective thriller, inspired more by Hitchcock than by Polanskis pervious work. Actually, Ghost Writer is Hitchcock-lite, but in the hands of a first-rate director like Polanski, thats good enough. Ewan McGregor plays a freelance writer who is hired to ghost write the memoirs of an important politician. The films title has a double meaning. His character is never named, nor do we learn anything about him. He admits he has no family and he jumps from freelance writing job to job. He makes no mention of his past. In fact, he introduces himself to the subject of his book saying Im your ghost. Its as if he lives on the world instead of in it. Like a ghost. Ironically, this man who seems to have no connection to the world is hired to ghost write the life story of a man who the whole world is talking about. Former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Well played by Pierce Brosnan, who keeps getting better as he gets older) is writing his memoirs but the results are deathly dull, and his former biographer has recently turned up dead, having drown during a ferry trip. Enter our human Ghost, who was not the first choice of the books editor to take over the job, but fortunately for the Ghost, the publisher (James Belushi, cast effectively in a non-humorous role) thinks that the Ghost can deliver the goods because it takes a Brit to write about a Brit. The Ghost ends up staying at Langs home on Marthas Vineyard, but the timing is pretty bad because Lang has just been accused by his former Foreign Minister of sanctioning water boarding and other torture for Iraqi soldiers during the war. Theres a chance hell have to stand trial at The Hague for War Crimes. Lang stares at the Ghost with cold eyes that seem to be hiding something. He alternates between moods of disarming charm and uncontrolled fits of anger. His wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) is smart and politically savvy, having been Langs main confidant ever since he started his rise back in Cambridge. She has recently become rather bitter because of Langs not-too-well hidden affair with his attractive chief aide Amelia (Kim Cattrrall, once again playing the role of a woman who cant keep her hands off the merchandise) who has become his new advisor. Ruth frequently drops blatant hints about their relationship in front of the Ghost. In fact, everyone in the house seems to have secrets. Even the security team lurks like menacing KGB agents, watching everything. As the Ghost researches his subject, he stumbles on numerous clues left by his late predecessor, who seemed to have discovered something unusual. Our Ghost begins to follow the trail, sensing that theres something bigger going on here than hes been led to believe. He follows the breadcrumbs of the hidden conspiracy, as if the ghost of one writer is communicating with the other (Another twist on the films title.) The film is based on a novel by Robert Harris, and is loaded with political commentary. The Lang character is a not-very-subtle representation of Tony Blair and there are numerous references to the Bush administration (The Secretary of State looks rather like Condi Rice.) Lang is referred to as a pawn of the USA, which many people accused Blair of being. Polanski also uses this film to exorcise some demons. Langs self-imposed exile in America is similar to Polanskis escape to France after his own well publicized legal problems back in the 1970s. The angry people waving placards, condemning Lang as a criminal, were probably not unlike the outraged people who protested against Polanski himself, demanding he be brought to trial. There are several flaws in this film, to be sure. The biggest problem is the Ghost and his sudden determination to uncover this conspiracy. He is presented as a man with no affiliations or convictions. He seems to have a rather lackadaisical attitude toward life and we arent given sufficient motivation for him to risk his life playing Woodward and Bernstein. And final twist in the film isnt particularly shocking or clever. There are some excellent touches here, however, such as the scene where a note is passed from hand-to-hand thought a crowd of unseen faces, finally reaching the villain of the piece. Its a Hitchcockian moment, superbly done by Polanski. Also, its good to see Eli Wallach still performing after all these years, even in a tiny role. Polanski is a talented enough director to avoid the quick-cuts and fake scares that infect many movies in recent years. His camera is always used artfully. Say what you want about Polanski as a man, but he is undeniably an artist of the highest caliber. NEW ON DVD: THE HURT LOCKER+ (Four & a half stars) THE HURT LOCKER: The winner of the 2009 Academy Award for Best Picture, this is an intelligent, suspenseful drama, which is not so much about war about rather about the inner workings of one of the men who does the fighting. Director Kathryn Bigelow (Who became the first woman to ever win a Best Director Oscar for her work on this film) does a wonderful job in recreating the dangers of war torn Iraq, as well as profiling a man who would rather be risking his life than doing anything else. Staff Sergeant William James (Excellently played by Jeremy Renner) is a highly skilled Bomb-Disposal expert who has just been assigned to a new detail on a Baghdad Bomb Squad, replacing his deceased predecessor Sgt. Thompson ( Pierce) who died as the result of a mistake. The team hopes that the new man-in-charge will be extra cautious. Bad luck, because Sgt. James is anything but cautious. Quite the contrary, James is overly bold, supremely confident and often reckless. He disregards safety procedures (Like tossing away his radio or discarding his safety gear while in the process of disarming a bomb.) He has no use for medals or glory. Neither is it jingoistic patriotism that motivates his foolishly heroic actions. He seems to get an adrenaline thrill out of playing chess with death. The Films title The Hurt Locker comes from the poem of the same name. Open the hurt locker and learn how rough men come hunting for souls. The movie opens with the quote War is a drug and James is addicted. The other two central characters are Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and specialist Owen Eldritch (Brian Geraghty). Sanborn is second-in-command of the bomb squad is likes doing things by the book. He feels that if they stick to the usual safety procedures, the likelihood of them getting home alive increases. He begins to resent and even hate Sgt. James ill-considered tactics. Eldritch, on the other hand, is justifiably scared most of the time. He just wants to get out of Iraq alive. Sadly, James doesnt seem to be too worried about the men. He just wants to flirt with danger. One subplot of the film is when James decides to seek revenge for the death of a child he befriended earlier in the film. His efforts lead him into greater danger (Which is probably part of the reason he undertook this quest for vengeance) and ultimately lead to nothing. The whole point of the subplot is to represent that war is pointless. There are many suspenseful bomb diffusing scenes, intensified by the watching figures of Iraqis on rooftops who could be holding a remote control to detonate the bomb or they could be snipers. James team attempts to be his eyes and ears, watching his back, while he tries to stop a bomb from exploding. James is a fascinating character. Hes not a typical action hero by any means and although his actions are undoubtedly heroic, his motives are a different matter. Its not until the end of the film when he goes home to his wife Connie (Played by Evangeline Lilly of Lost) that we find out what really motivates a family man to want to spend time under fire rather than being safe at home. Bigelow does an amazing job delving into Jamess psyche through his actions, rather than words. Here is a man who does something well and only feels alive when hes doing it. War is his drug of choice and he cant quit the habit. Bigelow doesnt condemn or idolize Sgt. James. Hes merely a man in an insane situation who has become so used to the idea that he could die any minute, hes more afraid of silence than of explosions. NEW ON DVD/Blu RAY Precious: The winner of the 2009 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, this is an unrelentingly powerful drama about a girl who has everything going against her, including her own cruel mother. Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, and directed by Lee Daniels (Monsters Ball, the Woodsman, Shadow boxer), Precious is a heartbreaking portrait of someone consistently beaten down by life but who somehow manages to survive. 16 year old Clarice Precious Jones (Wonderfully played by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) is trapped in a nightmarish life of overwhelming sorrow. She is poor, illiterate and abused. She suffers from obesity. She is unpopular. School, for her, consists of hours of mocking torment by other students. She has been raped by her mothers boyfriend, who is also her father and shes pregnant with his second child. Precious is sullen and quietly despairing. She rarely talks and rarely smiles. She gets through each dark day by retreating into the sanctuary of her imagination. Some of her escapist musings are simple, such as the one where her teacher is in love with her, or seeing someone else when she looks in the mirror, but others are creatively elaborate fantasies. The most consistently brutal obstacle of her life is her heartless mother Mary (Excellently played by MoNique, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar). Mary has been so thoroughly and completely defeated by life, that she has nothing left except her anger and her desire to lash out at the only target she hasHer daughter! Not since Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest have we seen such a monstrous mother. Mary can only feel a slight semblance of control in her life when she is snuffing out her daughters few remaining hopes and almost non-existent self esteem. Mary rationalizes her terrorizing of Precious by claiming that that Precious stole her boyfriends affections. Marys belief that rape is an act of affection shows just how twisted she has really become. A light of hope appears on the horizon when Precious gets the opportunity to attend an alternative school called Each One, Teach One. Its here that Precious meets her guardian angel Blue Rain (Paula Patton), a teacher who is the first person to ever see potential in the angst-ridden girl. Rain teaches Precious to read and encourages her to be all that she can be, despite the odds. When Precious is driven out of her unhappy home by the abusive Mary, Rain takes Precious in. Precious wonders how someone she hardly knows can be so kind to her while her own mother treats her like dirt. Precious experiences friendship for the first time when she bonds with the other troubled girls from the alternative school. Each of them is broken in their own way, just as Precious is, but Blue Rain manages to find a tiny flame inside them and ignite it. The first thing she asks each of them is What are you good at? She starts their education from a positive point and leads them uphill from there There is a blissful worship of the power of education here. Learning is seen as the secret weapon to overcoming adversity and breaking through the wall of misery into the bright light of hope. Teachers are the fairy Godmothers who deliver a miraculous method of escape to the downtrodden heroine. When the students learn to write letters on the blackboard, its more inspiring than watching Harry Potter successfully ride a broom for the first time. Blue Rain tells the girls to write in their journals every day, even if they have nothing particular to say. Just their ability to put thoughts to paper is a valuable skill that will carry them to places they couldnt otherwise go. Underneath all the darkness of Geoffrey Fletchers award winning script is a hopeful subtext about the ability of the human spirit to overcome anything. It also serves as a warning of what happens to those who cant. Precious and her mother are opposite sides of the coin. Mary couldnt deal with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and devolved into a cold shadow of a person. Precious, on the other hand, represents survival and overcoming of bleak obstacles of the most monumental magnitude. The cast does an amazing job here. In her first role, Sidibe is heart wrenching as the long suffering Precious. She brings such powerful pathos to the part. And MoNique is the embodiment of someone who is both victim and villain. She deserves her Oscar. The biggest surprise is Mariah Carey who plays the wise and compassion social worker Mrs. Weiss. The deglamourized Carey vindicates herself after Glitter and gives a strong performance. Lenny Kravitz has a small role as a kind male nurse. Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry were involved with this film because of their faith in the project ,and their faith paid off. The combination of the strong cast, thoughtful direction and Oscar winning screenplay makes this one of the cant-miss movies of the year. NEW ON DVD/Blue Ray: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE(3 stars) Where The Wild Things Are: A cherished bit of nostalgia is brought to cinematic life by director Spike Jonze in this family friendly film. Where the Wild Things Are is a full length adaptation of the beloved 1963 childrens book written and drawn by Maurice Sendak. The original picture book is 37 full-panel pages and the whole story consists of only 9 lines. Adapting the timeless classic into a 94 minute film is literally a stretch and others have attempted it but given up. (It has been adapted into an animated cartoon and an lite Opera, however.) Jonze and scriptwriter Dave Eggers manage to pull a workable script out of the brief book and it works for the most part but its not without its share of flaws. The script is fleshed out to give the individual Wild Things distinctive personalities, rather than being generic beasts as in the book. The Wild Things are realized by a combination of costumes, puppetry and some digital enhancements. The creatures are essentially big PuffN Stuff like costumes but the faces are digitally altered to match the expressions of the voice actors. The movie gives young Max (Max Records) more motivation for his tantrum and escape to the world of Wild Things than did Sendaks little tale. In the film, Max is a lonely kid, angered by his sister for not defending him when her friends destroy his snow fort and further distraught when his mom (Catherine Keener) brings home a date (Mark Ruffalo). We previously had some scenes of Max literally laying at his mothers feet, showing the almost Oedipal attachment he has to her (HIs father is mysteriously absent) which explains his extreme over-reaction when Moms date comes for dinner. Max goes wild and actually bites his mom. Confused, angry and a bit ashamed, Max runs away and comes across a boat which he impetuously hops aboard. The little boat sails away and Max is caught in a storm, ending up on the mysterious island of the titular Wild Things. When we first see the Wild Things, one of them is having his own child-like tantrum. Karol (Voice of James Gandolfini) is angry that the Wild she-thing hes sweet on, KW (Lauren Ambrose) has made some new friends and Karol is jealous. It seems like a kids problem, as are most of the dilemmas in this film. Everything here is, after all, a reflection of Maxs anguished psyche. Some of the other Wild Things include wise Douglas (Chris Cooper), doubting Judith (Catherine OHara), hole-digging Ira (Forrest Whittaker) and huge Bull (Michael Berry.) Although the Wild Things initially want to make a quick meal out of the little interloper, he convinces them that he has powers via some imaginative tall tales. The Wild Things are so impressed they decide to make Max their king, hoping that hell fix all the things that are wrong on the island. Can you keep all the sadness out? one WB wonders. Max promises them a magic shield where no sadness can get in. At first, the plan seems to work and the Wild Things enjoy their first night with their new king after he declares it rumpus time and everyone gets to run around like kids without supervision. They all fall sleep together in a big pile, with their king tucked safely in their furry midst. This is basically where the book ends and Max decides to return home. Not so here. In the film, Max tries to be a good king to his people--and create a perfect place for himself--by building a fort where, as Karol puts it, Nothing we dont want to happen, happens. But looking after the unruly lot is harder than Max suspected. He comes to understand how hard it is to be a parent. Good intentions are not always enough and theres no invisible shield to keep the sadness out. As his subjects become more discontented, Max starts to realize that he wants to be a kid again, not a king. The film is a nice look into the mind of a child, much as Sendaks original classic was. Sendak said that he exorcised some personal demons by writing his story, and the film is a revisit to the world as the child might see it. Max is frustrated by the real world and ultimately retreats into a world of Monsters where all his beastly friends act just as child-like as he does. The film is very much centered on the concept of a childs sense of disappointment, both in the real world and in the inability to escape from it. In many ways, the film is a downer. Theres no magic sadness shield and no place where only what we want to happen, happens. The film brings to life that sad moment of realization when we grow to realize that we have to face the world and we cant hide from it in our fantasies, as much as we might want to. Although there are some charming moments, and the Wild Things are wonderful creations (very accurate to the great original artwork) the movie feels rather tedious at points. There are no real highlights and the film meanders along laboring its point. Its not clear who the audience is for this film. Kids today, reared on more kinetic films, might find the leisurely pace boring. Older folk who have fond memories of reading Where the Wild Things Are while growing up will get a nice nostalgiac thrill when the eponymous Wild Things first appear but will likely also find themselves losing interest as the story stretches beyond its literary conclusion. Its a nice adaptation but it would have been better as a short rather than a full length movie. UP IN THE AIR+ (4 & a half stars) UP IN THE AIR:Timing is everything. This is an excellent movie, but what makes it great is that its so appropriately timely. What topic is more heavily on the minds of people today than the subject of heartless corporate downsizing? Director Jason Reitman (Son of Ivan Reitman) takes us inside the conscienceless politics of modern corporate America but shows it through the eyes of a man who loves his work, even though his work is firing people. Ryan Bingham (Wonderfully portrayed by George Clooney) is a specialist in corporate downsizing. He works for an Omaha based firm that provides career transition counseling. This firm hires out people like Ryan to other companies that need to fire workers but who, in Ryans words, Dont have the balls to do it themselves. Hence, Ryan arrives to deliver the bad news to the soon-to-be unemployed. Ryan is a master at softening the (if thats possible) and has a well practiced spiel that tauts unemployment as an opportunity. His repeated refrain is Try not to take this personally but the newly unemployed have trouble not taking termination to heart Ryan has a secondary career as a motivational speaker who gives lectures on how to get rid of the physical and emotional baggage that weighs us down in life. He encourages people to travel light and fast. To move is to live. Ryan loves his job. He sees airports, airplanes and hotels has his real home. He spends 322 days a year travelling, and endures 43 miserable days at home. He has a small, spartan apartment and practically everything he owns can fit into his luggage. On one plane trip, while enjoying the perks of first class travel, Ryan is asked where he lives. He replies Here!.His biggest dream in life is to wrack up 10 million flier miles. Apparently, only six other people have ever reached this plateau and Ryan aims to be the seventh. (More people have walked on the moon he points out.) Ryan is not close to his family and lives a solitary life, which he seems to prefer. However, he crosses path with a kindred spirit in the form of sexy Alex Gohan (Vera Farmiga). She is a fellow road warrior who lives for her job and the glamour of travel. She is impressed by Alexs collection of elite status cards, particularly his Concierge card, which Alex finds very sexy. They become on-and-off lovers, coordinating their travel schedules to arrange rendezvous around the country. Ryan is deliriously happy with his life. But things start to change for Ryan when his boss Craig (Jason Bateman) unceremoniously grounds him. It seems that Craig has hired young, ambitious Natalie Keener (Anna Kendritch) to save the company money. Natalie has come up with a plan to save air fare costs by using video conferencing to fire people remotely, without leaving the office. Craig loves the idea of saving money but Ryan sees it as a threat to the lifestyle he so dearly loves. He cleverly convinces Craig that Natalie needs more personal experience firing before she can supervise a system of remote terminations, so Craig sends Ryan back on the road, along with Natalie, to teach her the subtle aspects of downsizing workers. He also instructs her on the tips to living life on the road, the first of which is to travel light. Her overstuffed luggage is in stark contrast to his neatly packed bag. Ryan convinces Natalie to switch to a more mobile style, and he dumps much of her extraneous baggage, including the pillows she packed. Natalie gets a rude awakening when she has to interact with the people whos lives are being shattered by downsizing. Some yell, some cry, one even threatens suicide. Natalie has a hard time dealing with it. (Natalies idea of firing people via computer comes back to bite her when her fiance breaks up with her via text message.) Ryan seems immune to all this, but is he really? The film deals not only with the weighty issue of corporate downsizing, but also examines the ways that people in modern society use career and technology to shield themselves from the emotional perils of life. We build walls around ourselves by spending more and more time at the office and communicating via e-mail rather than face-to-face. Ryan denies how lonely his life is until the realities of his solitary existence are flashed like neon before his eyes. George Clooney gives a career-best performance here as a man who rationalizes ruining peoples lives as being a public service. He is disarmingly charming at all times. Lovely Vera Farmiga makes a perfect counterpart to Clooney and they have nice chemistry together. Anna Kendrich is touching as the feisty, over-eager Natalie, and she has some funny scenes with Clooney. Several of the performers who portray the sacked employees are, in fact, non-actors who were recently fired in real life. They were hired by Reitman to bring realism to the downsizing scenes. He told them to act just as they did when they were really fired. At the end of the film, we see many of these people again, talking about the difficulties of unemployed life in todays world.The Best Picture buzz for Up in the Air is well deserved. This film has a lot to say. Good movie always do. SHUTTER ISLAND+ (3 & a half stars) SHUTTER ISLAND: Legendary director Martin Scorsese has made many films which were dark and violent but hes never made one that was as ominous and foreboding as Shutter Island. From the opening scene where a ferry shuttles our hero across Boston Harbor to the gloomy titular island, you get the same feeling of impending peril as in Deliverance when the four unsuspecting men start their doomed rafting trip down the river. The tension never lets up. Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, the movie is in many ways a homage to the old Haunted House thrillers that Boris Karloff, Vincent Price and Christopher Lee used to specialize in. But this is a multi-genre film that combines Gothic horror, psychological thriller and detective film noir into one stylish package. Its 1954 and US Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), along with his soft spoken partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) are being ferried to Shutter Island, which houses a mental hospital for the criminally insane called Ashecliffe Hospital. A violent prisoner named Rachel (Emily Mortimer) has escaped. Were told she once killed her three children and now shes performed a Houdini-like escape from her locked cell. When we first see Teddy, its not the typically formidable introduction that a hard-boiled investigator usually gets in movies. Teddy is pale and seasick when he arrives at Shutter Island. The hospital is run by the cordial yet somehow sinister Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) who seems to know more than hes saying. Assisting him is the creepy Dr. Naehring (Max Von Sydow) who may be an ex-Nazi. Teddy is a veteren of World War Two and keeps having flashbacks to the day he participated in liberating the Daschau Concentration Camp and the horrors he found there. Another trauma in Teddys past is that his wife has died tragically. Teddy begins to see vision of a little girl from Daschau who accusingly asks Why didnt you save us?, as well as an apparition of his late wife Dolores (Michelle Williams) giving him enigmatic warnings. Is he hallucinating or is he seeing ghosts or has he been drugged? Its not made clear until late in the film. Teddy is interested in one patient/prisoner in particular, named Laeddis (Elias Koteas). Whats so special about Laeddis? Well, its impossible to say without giving too much of the plot away. Teddy also has strange encounters with two other people. A battered patient named George Noyce (Played by the busy Jackie Earl Haley, best known as Rorschach in Watchmen) and a woman in a cave (Played by the ever-reliable Patricia Clarkson.) What Teddy learns from these two holds the key to the answers he needs. DiCaprio gives his most emotionally complex performance here. Teddy is a flawed and vulnerable hero hiding behind the mask of a tough cop. His growing confusion and desperation is nicely realized by DiCaprio and director Scorsese. This is the fourth time Scorsese and DiCaprio have worked together (The others being Gangs of New York, The Aviator and Best Picture winner The Departed.) and the veteran director continues to bring out the best in DiCaprio. A major theme of this film is guilt. Guilt about war, about crime and about other things that happen to us in our lives. We have to live with the choices we make, good or bad. But some people cant let go of the bad and it perpetually haunts them. Thera are several twists and turns, and the final reveal is the biggest plot twist of all. Its not totally a surprise if youve seen enough similar films but it works regardless, and until the final moments you wont know whether or not to believe what your seeing. Scorsese artfully builds a mood of impending doom. Sometimes it all seems a bit overwrought but he never lets the spooky setting outshine the cast and plot. And he adds in lovely touches like the use of a Mahler symphony and the accurate period details. There are so many little details, visually and verbally, that you may want to see Shutter Island a second time to catch everything you missed the first time. Its one of those films that will benefit from repeated viewings. THE WOLFMAN+(3 & a half stars) THE WOLFMAN: Werewolf films have been a reliable hallmark of the horror movie genre ever since 1941 when the original version of the Wolfmancame out. Although the Wolfman has always lurked in the shadow of those two monster mega-stars Frankenstein and Dracula, he is still a perennial favorite among horror fans. He was last seen in the 2004 monster mash Van Helsing. This latest update by director Joe Johnston does credit to the long, illustrious legend of that hirsute horror icon. The new version manages to beautifully capture the Victorian period and the gloomy isolation of Talbot Estate on the moors. Its similar in feel to the Hound of the Baskervilles but with a more lethal canine menace. With make-up effects by the Oscar winner Rick Baker (Who came to prominence doing Star Wars and has never been topped since) this werewolf is a creatively clever combo of wolf and man. The cast is led by Oscar winners Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. Del Toro plays Lawrence Talbot, a travelling actor who is summoned back to his ancestral home when his brother Ben is violently killed by someone or something. Del Toro is reluctantly reunited with his spooky father Sir John Talbot. (Hopkins.) When we first see Lawrence, he is on stage, performing the burial scene from Hamlet (An appropriate play because of the father/son conflict here) holding the skull of poor Yorick, Its a harbinger of things to come. Lawrence meets the late Bens fiance Gwen Conliff (Emily Blunt), who motivates Lawrence to investigate the real cause of Bens brutal death. The typically superstitious townspeople are convinced that the trained bear belonging to the local gypsies is the culprit. Lawrence is also led to the gypsy camp when he learns that Ben was a frequent visitor there. Unfortunately, Lawrences timing is bad and he arrives at the camp just as the fast-moving, barely glimpsed beast comes to ravage the camp, killing gypsies and non-gypsies alike. Lawrence is bitten and then his troubles really begin. Lawrence is suspected of the killings because he is new in town and once spent time in a mental institution. To solve all this chaos, the town summons professional help. Enter Inspector Aberline (Played by the ubiquitous Hugo Weaving), who headed the search for Jack-the Ripper a few years earlier. (Based on a real person, Johnny Depp played Inspector Aberline in From Hell) Aberline is immediately suspicious of Lawrence. But Lawrence has bigger worries when the full moon rises. He begins a series of savage rampages, notching up a considerable body count. This incarnation of the Wolfmanis partial to tearing heads off. Aberline and the locals make the mistake of locking Lawrence in the insane asylum but--to paraphrase Rorschach--hes not locked in with them; theyre locked in there with him! The moon rises and the padded walls are splattered with blood. Lawrence falls in love with Gwen who is the only one he can rely on during this time of lycanthrope chaos. Gwen tries to help him, unlike his father. A plot twist involving Sir John is the biggest plot difference between this version and the 1941 original. It wont really surprise you and youll see it coming from early in the film but it works regardless. Benicio Del Toro does a great job as the angst-ridden Lawrence, (Originally portrayed by Lon Chaney jr.) a man struggling against his bestial nature. An admitted fan of the classic original, Del Toro is reverential to the source material without being slavish to it. Rick Bakers make-up effects reproduce the hybrid human/wolf from the old Universal studio films, rather then making him basically a large wolf, as most werewolf films in the last few decades (The Howling; An American Werewolf in London; Dog Soldiers; etc.) have chosen to do. The werewolf attacks are more violent and exciting in this one than the old Wolfman film and our lupin star is far faster. Anthony Hopkins plays Sir John as a cross between Severus Snape and the eccentric version of Van Helsing which Hopkins himself portrayed in the 1992 version of Dracula. Hopkins has to be cryptic and creepy yet still deliver some comedy relief moments. While he doesnt portray the same authority and elegance that the great Claud Raines embodied as Sir John in the 1941 version, he still gives an entertaining and sufficiently odd performance. There are some lulls early on and a few unintentional laughs but overall this is an effective horror film that delivers both atmosphere and gore in equal measure. This is a much better remake of an old Universal horror film than Dracula, Frankenstein or the Mummy.

NEW ON DVD/BLU-RAY WATCHMEN: Zack Snyders big-budget adaptation of Alan Moores Magnum Opus is an excellently realized piece of cinema and a long awaited dream for some fans. The Watchmen, written in 1985, is the most award winning Graphic novel in the history of multi-media, and was often thought to be unfilmable. Many directors including Terry Gilliam and Ron Howard had attempted to translate the much loved adventure story to celluloid but gave up. After a wait of over 20 years, fans of the book were thrilled when Snyder (Director of the 300) successfully brought the cult classic to life. The brilliance of the Watchmen book was that it turned the concept of the Super Hero genre on its head and did something with the idea that no one had tried before. The movie manages to capture the idea, albeit in an abridged form. The story deals with how the world would change--and not necessarily for the better--if super heroes were to actually exist among us. The Watchmen deals with the fact that the public fears these costumed beings just as much as it worships them. Theres a fine line between adulation and dread. Especially when the all-power Doctor Manhattan (Billie Crudup) makes his appearance. Doctor Manhattan is so powerful he could destroy the world if he ever had a mind to. And he seems to be drifting farther and farther away from normal humans. What happens if the ultimate weapon loses his humanity? The Soviet Union is so terrified of Doctor Manhattan that theyre considering a pre-emptive nuclear strike against America before Doctor Manhattan comes after them. The public is so intimidated by Manhattan and the others that the government passes a law prohibiting costumed vigilantes, unless they agree to work directly for the President. (Nixon in his fourth term.) The heroes either comply or retire. However, some of the retirees find that a life without purpose--which they found as members of the crime fighting team, the Watchmen--is a life unfulfilled. The only one who seems content with retirement is the super-brilliant and filthy rich Adrian Veidt, AKA Ozymandias. He is working relentlessly on the social problems of the world including creating new power sources to replace fossil fuels. Then one day, ex-super hero Eddie Blake, AKA the Comedian,(Jeffery Dean Morgan) is killed. No one gives his death much thought, since Blake was a sociopathic bully and everyone chalks his murder up to revenge by one of his many old enemies. Everyone, that is, except Rorschach, (Jackie Earl Haley) the only super hero who refused to retire or work for the government. Hes still an independent agent and thus sought by the police. Rorschach has the mind of a film-noir detective and he decides to investigate. He finds some disquieting clues that lead him to believe that Blakes death was not random and that someone is tracking down and eliminating members of the Watchmen. His former best friend and fellow hero Dan Dreiberg, AKA the Nite-Owl (Patrick Wilson) is unconvinced, as is Ozymandais. As for Doctor Manhattan, hes too above-it-all to care. Doctor Manhattans beautiful girlfriend Laurie Jupiter, AKA the Silk Spectre, (Malin Ackerman) is so upset by the way the Doc is changing that she reunites with Dan and an old flame is rekindled. But what will happen if the most powerful man in the world finds out? And when an attempt is made on Ozymandais, it seems that Rorschachs theory is correct. Is someone trying to kill the retired masked men? If so, who? Alan Moores book is so multi-layered that it would be impossible to get it all on screen, even in a 2 hour and 40 minute film like this. (The Directors cut, which is also on sale, is 3 hours.) But Snyder does a credible job of condensing the material. The performances are mostly excellent, particularly, Haley, Crudup and Morgan. (The weakest is by Ackerman who is more eye-candy than an actress.) All in all, a triumph, but probably not for everyones taste. New ON DVD/Blue Ray: TRANSFORMERS 2: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN(2 stars) TRANSFORMERS 2: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN;The titular robotic creatures known as Transformers can change themselves from one thing to another. Its too bad the script of this film couldnt be transformed into something remotely artful or imaginative. Instead, Michael Bay delivers a plethora of fights, explosions and expensive special FX, but very little else. The mega-success of the original Transformers automatically insured that this sequel would be made. Unfortunately, as with many sequels, the film gives us bigger instead of better. Michael Bay does Big-and-Loud very well and if thats what your looking for, Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen delivers with gusto. But if youre a fan of the original animated series or merely a film fan looking for something a tad smarter than Rock em-Sock em robots, youre out of luck. The story revolves once again around young Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBouf) who is off to college, (probably just to get away from his annoying comedy relief parents), not realizing that he has something in his brain that is desperately sought by those evil alien robots the Decepticons. Their leader Megatron (Voice of Hugo Weaving) is back in action, reunited with his ancient mentor, the Fallen (Voice of Tony Todd) who has an audacious plan to destroy the sun. But first they need whats inside Sams head. The ever noble Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and his loyal Autobots have united with the US army to battle Decepticons all over the world (Strangely, the Autobots have not offered their services to any other government, thus requiring the US to send their elite team of alien hunters all over the world to assist Optimus.) But the American government isnt satisfied with the Autobots offer of protection. A typically nasty Presidential Envoy wants the Autobots to leave Earth. (Now theres gratitude for you!) When Optimus is destroyed while protecting Sam, its party time for the bad robots who know that only a Prime robot can stop them. Its left up to a typical college teenager to find a way to revive Optimus and save the world. He is assisted by former agent Simmons (John Tutoro) who is living with his mother now; and by Sams completely idiotic, cowardly roommate Leo (Annoyingly portrayed by Ramon Rodriguez.) and, of course, by Sams gorgeous girlfriend Mikaela. (Played once again by sexy screen siren Megan Fox.) Mikaela is the perfect girlfriend. Not only is she a total knockout, but she also overlooks the fact that she catches Sam in a compromising position with another woman and his unwillingness to use the L word. Not only that, she also doesnt mind that she is constantly dragged into life-and-death situations regarding alien robots. She also fixes cars and trains captured robots to be her obedient servant. (Obviously it must be a male robot.) Talk about a good catch! Kevin Dunn and Julie White reprise their roles as Sams ridiculously silly parents Ron and Judy Witwicky. The scene where mom Judy accidentally gets high and makes a fool of herself on campus is too long and completely pointless. Neither of them is as gratingly annoying as roomate Leo, however. He has several crude scenes. In fact, much of the humor in this movie is unnecessarily vulgar, considering that its based on a kids cartoon. The Transformers themselves seem to be nothing more than plot devices here. (A McGuffin is the industry term for an object critical to the plot but which is given very little screen time) The plot and dialogue is carried almost entirely by Sam and the human characters. Megatron gets the most to say, spewing some human-hating villain lines. And an antiquated, reformed Decepticon with an English accent named Jet-Fire gets to do some necessary exposition. Most of the Autobots, such as Ironhide (Voice of Jess Harnell) or Ratchet (Robert Foxworth) have two or three lines. Bumblebee still doesnt talk and uses convenient movie quotes which are strangely being broadcast over the radio to communicate. The only ones who do get a lot to say are, unfortunately the Twins, Skids (Tom Kenny) and Mudflap (Reno Wilson). The Twins have ape-like bodies and speak like rejects from the Def Comedy Jam. Why do these two get more dialogue than the other robots? Apparently Michael Bay thinks racist stereotypes are funny. A better question is why would Optimus bring these two idiots with him to fight a war? The director and script writers seem to have no idea how to get characters from one place to another and use the lamest bits of writing to transport their characters around the world, such as being teleported through a magic circle or having the military throw a government liaison out of a plane so they can covertly slip off to fight the Decpticons. Or when Sam and the Auotbots (disguised as cars) get past border guards without any passports and mostly without any drivers behind the wheel. Youd think that would raise a few eyebrows. There is plenty of action and mayhem for those looking for excitement. The special effects are very good. However, if youre looking for anything more than that, skip this unequal sequel and rent something else. THE BOOK OF ELI+(Two a Half stars) THE BOOK OF ELI: The Post-apocalyptic genre has had its successes (Such as the Mad Max series) and its failures (Remember The Postman?) The Hughs Brothers The Book of Eli falls somewhere in between. There are enough good points to make it entertaining but enough flaws to cause it to fall short of excellence. The good parts are the cast. Denzel Washington has the screen presence to give his man-of-few-words hero Eli the gravitas that the role needs. Gary Oldman, as always, makes a nasty villain (Although hes had his share of good- roles lately, too) and Mila Kunis makes a lovely leading lady. Strong supporting turns from Jennifer Beals, Tom Waits and the uncredited Malcolm McDowell add to the glass-half-full side of the film. The half-empty side, however, is the vagueness and missed opportunities in the plot that leave you asking why when you should be enjoying the film. The story had the potential to be something unique and provocative but it misses its chance by a hair, making it all the more disappointing. The plot revolves around the mysterious Eli (Washington), one of the survivors of a non-specific Apocalypse 30 years earlier. Eli has been walking west across America for 30 years. (He must be lost because people have done it in a year). His prized possession and inspiration is the book his carries with him, wrapped like a baby in blankets. Eli reads his precious book every day, without fail. What is this book and why is Eli so determined to bring it West? Eli comes across something that could generously be considered a town. Here he meets dastardly Carnegie (Oldman), his blind, ill-treated wife Claudia (Beals) and her beautiful daughter Solaras (Who is apparently the only hot babe left in the country.) Carnegie is at first intrigued by Elis fighting abilities and wants to hire him. Yet he soon discovers that Eli has something which Carnegie wants even more. Ever since the apocalypse, Carnegie has been searching for a certain book which has the right words to unite all the scattered towns, under his rule. He wants to use the persuasive narrative of the book to win over the lost and confused dwellers of the wastelands and create an empire for himself. (The book is a weapon! he shouts) He is thrilled to learn that Eli has the last existing copy of this special book. (Which were told several times its Not just a Book!) I wont spoil things by saying what this special Holy Book is, suffice it to say that Eli is a man of Faith, being guided by a voice from above and is possibly protected by a higher power. Not surprisingly, Eli wont part with the book. He manages to escape the poor excuse for a town, with Solaras in tow, to continue his trek West. Carnegie and his main henchman Redridge (Ray Stevenson) are in hot pursuit. Carnegie wants the book and Redridge wants pretty Solaris for himself. The movie has a Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid showdown in a remote cabin, which belongs to two aging but still feisty survivors named George and Martha (Played by Michael Dumbledore Gamon and Frances de la Tour.) There are, in fact, losts of inside jokes for movie lovers here, if you look for them. For instance, when some of Carnegies henchmen bring him a pile of books, one of them is Dracula. Oldman, or course, played Dracula on screen.) Washingtons early peripatetic wanderings are visually reminiscent of the Akira Kurasawa/Toshiro Mifune Samurai classic Yojimbo. There is much talk here about faith and religion, which is interesting since the Hughs Brothers also made a film called From Hell. This one, however, misses the opportunity to address and debate heavier issues. Why is this particular Good Book more valuable than other such religious tomes (which youll see late in the film if your looking)? Wouldnt two intellectuals like Eli and Carnegie actually want to seize the chance for intelligent conversation for the first time in 30 years? Is Eli really protected from On High or is he just lucky? Is he really hearing the voice of God or is he just imagining it? These are subjects that a smarter film might have delved into. Despite the missed opportunities and some silly scenes (Such as when a thugs hand is cut off and his reaction is to ask Whatd you do that for?) the movie does manage to hold your interest. Washington and Oldman make an excellent hero/villain combo. This isnt really a bad movie as long as you dont go in with particularly high expectations. THE LOVELY BONES(3 stars) THE LOVELY BONES: On the surface, the dark subject matter of this film might lead you to believe its either a horror film or a police procedural tale or a weepy melodrama. Actually, its none of those. Director Peter Jackson (Best known for the blockbuster Lord Of The Rings trilogy) uses ingenious visuals to tell us about the life and death and Afterlife of a young girl, tracing her journey from the small town of her birth to the gates of heaven. Based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, the story surrounds the murder and rape of sweet, 14 year old Susie Salmon. (Beautifully played by Sairse Ronan). The movie spares its audience by having the murder take place off screen, obscuring the horror of the event with a clever visual twist. Rape is never explicitly mentioned, only hinted at (Unlike in the novel which is much clearly about what poor Susie went through in her last moment.) Susie is unwilling to pass on to Heaven, because she feels she has unfinished business here on Earth. She watches from her limbo between Heaven and Earth as her parents (Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz) try unsuccessfully to deal with the tragedy. Dad becomes obsessed with finding the killer while mom runs away to work in a southern orchard. Diva-like Grandma (Susan Sarandon) arrives to take care of the two remaining kids while dad Jack tries to solve the crime, continually bothering detective Fenerman (Michael Imperiori) who is the investigator assigned to the case. Susie is encouraged by a friendly spirit to move on but she is too attached to the past. She even watches her high school crush (Reece Ritchie) who she almost shared her first kiss with. (Hes the kind of perfect fantasy boy--good looking, sensitive, classy, well dressed and with an English accent--that seems to have popped out of a teenage romance book) As she observes, she enjoys her private paradise, which continually alters to suit her mood. It takes the form of everything from an idyllic forest to a red carpet party entrance. Dads obsessions cause him to make some unwise moves but he isnt the only one who has suspicious of creepy next-door neighbor George Harvey. Susies sister Lindsey (Rose Mclver) is also on the scent, causing the murderer to target another Salmon sister. Mark Wahlberg does a nice job as the grieving father. Rachel Weisz gets much less to do as the underused character of Susies mother. The great Susan Sarandon is completely wasted here in the comedy relief role of the boozy, overbearing grand-mother who comes to help and causes a series of slapstick I Love Lucy moments. Much better used here is Stanley Tucci who is coldly menacing as the fiend without a conscience who kills and rapes women and children. His smiling, oily entrapment of young Susie is so convincingly done, you just want to choke him. Evil George watches the ramifications of his horrid work from his house across the street, all the while pruning his roses and playing innocent. Saoirse Ronan is a wonderful young actress, having hit the ground running with her oscar-nominated performance in Atonement.She is perfect here as the epitome of a sweet, innocent teenager whose life is tragically cut short, and her narration is melodiously calm with just the right touch of angst. Jackson, mostly known as a fantasy/sci-fi director, does a nice job here but he often seems to be having a hard time balancing the story between the fantasy world of Susies ever-changing afterlife limbo and the small Pennsylvania town where her family tries to deal with their grief. Jackson goes all out on Susies Never-NeverLand but his camera does very little in the real world sequences. He does, however, manage to capture the look and feel of 1970s America effectively, just as the recent film The Box did. In regards to the Afterlife scenes, Peter Jackson is focused mainly on the visuals here. That is both a plus and a minus. On the plus side, the imaginative imagery of Susies private heaven is brilliantly realized. It comes across as a combination of Oz, Avatar, and the cover of a 1970s Rock album. However, on the negative side, Jackson seems more interested in giving us something fascinating to look at rather than something to think about. His conception of heaven tells us very little about Susie, or of any type of theological afterlife. The title Lovely Bones is a metaphor for the way everything in Susies life is ultimately connected, like in that old song Dem Bones (My toe bone is connected to my foot bone. My foot bone is connected to my ankle bone, etc., etc.) The book does a better job in illustrating this than Jackson does in the film. Perhaps if Jackson was less centered on the visual aspects of the film he might have more effectively captured the essence of what Sebold was trying to convey. Instead, the movie seems to be more about a serial killer and his victim than about the web of relationships in the town and the effect the murder has on them. The Lovely Bones is the kind of film that could easily have been very depressing. Yet the colorful, imaginative imagery and the innocent, peaceful tone of Ronans voice, along with the surprisingly uplifting dialog makes this picture into something almost hopeful. The last line sums up the scripts intentions and its a nice thought. THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS(3 stars) THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS:The wild imaginings of Terry Gilliam have taken us to many strange places over the years and so its no surprise that his latest effort is as surreal and fantastic as anything hes ever done. Gilliam loves to create tales that obscure the borders between imagination and reality, as if they were self imposed barriers that could and should be ignored. Hes done this on many films, including Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen and his ill-fated The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (Which is rumored to finally be going back into production) and now again with the story of Doctor Parnassus. At best, Gilliam films tend to be odd and disorganized (Gilliam himself admits hes more comfortable wrestling his way through chaos than he is with a smooth production because it gets his creativity flowing) and this one was struck by such a major setback midway through production that you have to give kudos to Gilliam for managing to make something of out the poor hand he was dealt. He doesnt entirely succeed but its a marvel that he finished the film at all. The big discussion topic that hovers over the production of this film is the sad death of Heath Ledger, who plays the vital role of Tony here. Ledger passed away half-way through shooting, before hed filmed any of the behind-the-mirror fantasy sequences. To complete the film, Gilliam had the clever idea to have celebrity stand-ins replace Ledger for the fantasy sequences, since Tonys appearance is supposed to change every time he goes through the magic mirror. Therefore, Johnny Depp(the best of the three replacements), Jude Law and Colin Farrell substitute for Ledger in three pivotal scenes. Gilliam makes the transition appear rather seamless, which is to his credit. The strange story revolves around ancient Doctor Parnassus (The great Christopher Plummer) who centuries ago won a wager with the devil--here called Mr. Nick (Tom Waits)--for immortality. However, he eventually became sour about this triumph because an eternity of old age and endless wandering is not exactly a victory, especially after he is smitten by a beautiful young woman. But shed never love an old gypsy wanderer. Thus, he makes a second bet with Mr. Nick for youth and increased power. The flip-side of the deal is that the devil gets his first born when she reaches her 16th birthday. Now the widowed Doctor Parnassus is running a small travelling troupe of actors, including his cute daughter Valentina (Lily Cole) who is days away from her sweet 16. Mister Nick, always looking to make things more interesting, offers Parnassus yet another bet. Theyll bet on the souls of five strangers. If Parnassus can use his magic mirror (its never explained where he got it from) to lead 5 souls to redemption in the next two days, Valentina will be spared. But Mr. Nick isnt going to make that easy, constantly trying to trick and mislead the people Parnassus is trying to redeem. (Once a person goes through the magic mirror into the fantasy world called the Imaginarium, they are faced with choices that will decide their ultimate fate.) Enter Tony (Ledger) who the small group of actors rescue when they find him hanging by his neck from a bridge. Tony claims to have amnesia but really doesnt. Whats he hiding? Valentina starts to fall head-over-heels for the charismatic Tony, which causes jealousy on the part of Anton (Andrew Garfield) who has an unrequited crush on Valentina. Parnassuss oldest and most loyal friend Percy (Verne Troyer) doesnt trust Tony either. However, Tony proves to be good for the act when he uses his charm and charisma to bring a larger audience of women to the travelling show, convincing many of them to step into the magic mirror and live out their fantasy. But Tony also comes with baggage. Who are the four Russian men following him? Why was he hung? To make things worse, Antons jealousy of Tony causes Anton to make some imprudent and adolescent moves that create more trouble for Parnassus and the group. The ending of the film gets a bit convoluted and some things arent really explained, (I cant say much about a small pipe that figures into the plot but is never given much explanation) probably due to the lack of Ledgers presence. Gilliam seems to have hobbled the loose ends of the script together has best he could, but as it approaches the end, the loose ends become looser and questions remain unanswered. The cast does an overall good job. Its great to see Plummer still giving strong performances, and Ledger--who has more screen time than you might expect--does a good job as the charming Tony. None of the other characters are particularly interesting except for Mr. Nick. Tom Waits is a scene stealer here, despite having very little on-screen time. His version of the devil is similar to the amiable and mischievous version of Lucifer that Peter Cook portrayed in the original Bedazzled. As always, Gilliams visuals are innovative, original and a treat to behold. There isnt a more visually oriented director out there today than Gilliam, who creates the most wonderfully surreal sets. Like any Gilliam film, it would be unthinkable in the hands of a different director. The shadows of some of his past work are on display here for an keen eye to catch (The scene of the male policemen dancing in skirts seems like something directly lifted from Gilliams Monty Python days.) This movie comes as close as any Gilliam film to being linear, but thats never really the point of a Gilliam film. Gilliam likes to take us into a world where imagination is not reserved for childrens fantasies but is instead the order of the day. Visually, as always, he succeeds. Story-wise, he falls just a hair short.

AVATAR: Writer/Director Jemes Cameron, who has given us such epic bits of cinema as the Terminator, Aliens, the Abyss, and that all-time Box Office champ Titanic, once again delivers a big-budget treat for audiences. Cameron wrote the script for this film several years ago but waited until Special FX technology caught up with his vision before beginning production. Wise move. This film may change the face of cinematic special FX in the future, much the way Star Wars did back in the 70s. Avatar is a revolution in visual FX. Avatar is much like a cross between Surrogates and Dances With Wolves, only with considerably more action. The plot is symbolic of the struggles by any indiginous culture which is beseiged by a technologically superior civlization, such as the Native American Indians or the Aborigine. The blue-skinned alien race in this film has such a reverence for nature that they could easily represent either of those cultures. The Plot: Sometime in the future (Its unclear how far in the future. The weapons are identical to what we have now, but space travel to distant planets has been mastered) humankind has discovered an idyllic planet which they call Pandora (Note the ironic symbolism of the name) which they colonize, since Earth has become so polluted. Pandora is also rich in minerals and ores which the government (Apparantly only the United States has colonized the planet) wants to get their hands on. After the six-year trip to the foliage-filled world, they run into a snag. The indiginous population, known as the Navi, dont want thier forests dispoiled and dont want to relocate. They are a large race of skilled warriors and they are lethal with a bow-and-arrrow. Therefore, the Earth goverment knows that there will be casualties if they try a forced relocation. As a result, they make an attempt to finesse the Navi into agreeing to a peaceful move. Since the planets atmosphere is toxic to humans, Earth scientists come up with an innovative idea. They combine samples of Navi DNA with human DNA to create hybrid Navi (which look exactly like the real Navi, although the Navi can easily tell the difference). These hybrids are called Avatars. Human minds are placed into compatible Avatars (usually the mind of the person who donated his/her DNA) who interact with the natives. The project is headed by brilliant and strong-willed scientist Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) who creates schools on Pandora, educating the Navi in Earth customs, like a misionary. After several years of unsuccessfully trying to convince the Navi to move, the military take over the operation. Overseen by Peter Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) they start using a stick instead of a carrot, and soon enough, hostilities begin between the Earth Marine Corps and the proud NaVi. Enter our hero, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) a former Marine who was crippled in the line of duty. He needs money for spinal surgery and gets an offer he cant refuse. His brother, also a Marine, was killed before he could begin his tour of duty on Pandora. The brother had an Avatar created for him, and since the government doesnt want the high cost of creating the hybrid to go to waste, they enlist Jake, whos DNA is so similar to his brothers that he can bond with the Avatar and help with the relocation of the Navi. They promise Jake that hell have his surgery if he cooperates. Jack loves his new Avatar body because it allows him to run and jump again. No sooner is Jakes mind put into his Avatar than he is separated from the rest of his party and has to manage alone in the hostile environment full of large and dangerous beasts (The giant Rhino with the horn like a hammerhead shark is a great FX creation). Jake is befriended by a Navi woman named Neytiri (Zoe Saldan, who played Uhura in Star Trek) who takes him to her tribal camp. The elders see some potential in Jake to become an avatar of their own (A peaceful messenger between the races) and proceed to teach him about their culture. Fish-out-of-water Jake initially has a tough time adjusting but soon comes to like the Navi and their ways. He comes to revere the green beauty of Pandora and falls in love with Neytiri. His loyalties are divided when fanatic, over-zealous Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) wants Jake to spy for the military and help find the Navis weaknesses. As with most big-budget blockbusters, the final reel is filled with non-stop action. The ruthless Quaritch leads a heavily armed assault on the peaceful Navi, who only have bows-and-arrows. What will Jake do? Whos side will he take? Will he choose the serene beauty of Pandora or will he do his duty to the marines? This film is a spectacular visual feast. The imaginative scenes of the Pandora landscape, as well as the excellent CGi appearance of the Navi, make this movie wonderful to look at. For action lovers, there is plenty of adventure and fighting to quell your tastes. And the plot makes a statement about cultural mistreatment of less advanced people. There is a lot ot enjoy here and Cameron proves once again that hes a master film maker.ME AND ORSON WELLES(3 stars) Orson Welles is one of the legendary figures in film history, but his career really began with his critically acclaimed interpretation of Julius Caesar at the Mercury theater in 1930s New York. Me and Orson Welles based on the novel by Robert Kaplow, tells the story of the making of that famous Shakespearean adaptation through the eyes of a young actor. Richard (Zack Efron) is a college student and aspiring actor who has a chance meeting with stage great Orson Welles (Christian McKay) and surprisingly gets hired for a minor role in Welless highly anticipated new production of Julius Caesar. Zacks good fortune continues when he meets lovely Sonja (Clair Danes) Welless assistant. Romantic sparks begin instantly between them. Richard meets other future show business luminaries, such as the distinguished John Housman (Eddie Marsan, who is miscast but not bad) and Joseph Cotton (Well played by James Tupper.) He meets the rest of the eclectic cast and gets a crash course in how theater is done under Welless all-seeing supervision. Welles is a harsh task-master at the best of times. But now that the opening night of his pet project is coming perilously near, Welles is pushing the cast and crew like slaves. He doesnt bother with people skills and has an inflexible Do-it-my-way-or-get-out-of-my-theater attitude. He does, however, find time for various sexual dalliances with young girls he meets. He has so many secret rendezvous that he has trained his cast and crew to speak in a code that will warn him when his wife is on the premises. To Richards dismay, Welles considers Sonja as part of his vast harem. Sonja doesnt want to dispute Welles because she is hoping hell introduce her to powerful film producer David O Selznick who is preparing to film his soon-to-be masterpiece Gone With The Wind. She wants to be part of it. Richard is angry with her, and also with Welles, but he is reluctant to oppose his boss. Zack Efron is adequate here as a good looking young actor but he is no match for McKay who is wonderfully charismatic as the legendary Welles. He looks, sounds and acts like the real Welles, stealing every scene hes in. Efron is n off the screen every time McKay steps into frame. Clair Danes has little to do other than smile and act as the pretty object of other mens desire. The film is an interesting look at the how a famous play was pulled together at the last minute. And its also a fascinating look at the early days of a show business icon, brilliantly played by McKay. If he continues to do performances this excellent, hell become a major star. NINJA ASSASSIN +(One & a Half stars) NINJA ASSASSIN:Let the bodies hit the floor and the limbs be chopped off. This slaughterhouse of a film delivers on the action, blood and violence, but not much else. Theres very little in the way of character development or even plot. But if you want slam-bang fight scenes, this one has them to spare. The plot, what little there is of it, follows the life of Raizo (Played by Korean pop star Rain) who was taken from the streets as a child and trained over the years to be a Ninja Assassin by the Ozunu clan. He grows to be the Clans deadliest killer. The Ozunu Clan is a secret society which has, for 1,000 years, trained Ninja hitman and hired them out to governments and businesses in exchange for gold. Considered by most to be a myth, the Clan is run by Lord Ozuno (Played by eighties martial arts film star Sho Kosugi.) Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomi Harris) is doing an investigation that leads to the Clan. Defying orders of her superiors she peeks into secret files and learns more than she should. This is bad news for her, because the Clan prefers to remain anonymous. Lord Ozuno sends a team of Ninja led by the lethal Takeshi (Rick Yune) to silence her. She finds a savior in the form of Raizo, who turns his back on the Ozunu Clan because they kill a woman hes sweet on, who he first knew as a sweet orphan girl in his youth and was his only friend. Raizo begins his quest for revenge against the clan and befriends Mika. The two of them go on the run, evading projectile weapons and killing Ninjas sent to eliminate them. Every step of the way, new mayhem is waiting and the blood flows as freely as the severed limbs. Not since the Black Knight scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail have arms and legs been chopped off so casually. This movie is either a tribute or a parody of the 70s & 80s kung fu flicks (often called Chop-Socky films) which made Sho Kosugi famous. There are some inside jokes, such as when our hero is described as looking like someone who belongs in a Boy Band. Theres more then enough action here to appease fans who like to see the fists and feet fly, but if your looking for anything other than martial arts mayhem, look somewhere else. 2012(3 stars) 2012: Once again Ronald Emmerich destroys the world in the ultimate disaster movie. Emmerich, who gave us Independence Day and the Day After Tomorrow pulls all the stops to present the most consistent and vivid images of mass global destruction ever seen. Emmerich spares nothing. The Vatican City, the Eiffel tower, the Statue of Christ the redeemer in Rio, the Washington Monument and the US Capital are all crushed and crumbled. Whole cities are swallowed up by earthquakes. The scenes of the destruction of LA are amazingly well done and probably the highlight of the movie. Also,watching the USS John F. Kennedy carried to land by a Tsunami is very memorable. Emmerich does not skimp on the chaos. If your paying your money to see calamitous destruction, this film delivers and the FX are top notch. The plot is simple enough. Solar flares are beginning to effect the natural balance of the planet and the Earths Crust is shifting. The government knows about it but hides the fact until they can construct a series of incredibly gigantic Arks to house the Most important People when the worst happens. Several people try to warn about the upcoming crisis, including wacky radio show DJ Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson) but these boys-who-cry-wolf are either ignored as loonies are silenced in a fatal way. Scientist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetal Ejiofor) warns the ruthless White House chief of staff Anheuser (Oliver Pratt) that they have less time than they think, and he suddenly finds himself recruited to be science advisor for the President (Danny Glover) and sworn to silence. The governments of the world, who have formed a secret consortium to monitor the crisis and build the Arks, desperately hope they can complete their project and flee to safety in time. The rest of the world is on its own. Anheuser is particularly heartless, feeling no reluctance about leaving multitudes behind so that the chosen survivors--such as the Presidents lovely daughter (Thandie Newton) and a bunch of Billionaires--can have a better chance. The heart of the film follows science fiction writer and part-time chauffeur Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) who begins to piece together hints that things are not well. As with many disaster/action movie heroes, Curtis is a divorced father witha cute daughter, a horrible son, and a beautiful ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet) whos remarried to a bland but harmless fellow named Gordon (Tom McCarthy). When Curtis discovers that crazy Charlie has a map to the hidden site of the Arks--in China--he begins a desperate attempt to get his family there. Things become increasingly more chaotic during their round-the-world trip and they pick up several travelling companions, including an obnoxious Russian billionaire (Zlatko Buric) with two bratty kids and a young trophy wife. Buric is supposed to serve as comedy relief but this doesnt quite work. Visually the movie is spectacular and there are some suspenseful moments. But where it really fails is when it has to deal with the human element. The characters have no depth and are basically the kind of disaster movie cliches that come out of Screenwriting 101. Its a shame to see excellent actors like Cusack, Glover and Platt reduced to cardboard cutouts who can recite the trite dialogue but do nothing with it. Most of the family-in-peril scenes are quite preposterous. Curtis and his clan should have been killed 50 times but always manage to escape by a hair. There are far too many corny scenes meant to be touching or inspiring but only come across as jarringly misplaced. What this movie does well is deliver what the audience is looking for. There are plenty of scenes of worldwide catastrophes. After about a half hour of exposition, its full speEd ahead and welcome to the end of the world. NEW DVD RELEASE. STAR TREK: (3 stars) STAR TREK: When J.J. Abrams (the mastermind behind such TV series as Lost and Alias) announced that This is not your fathers Star Trek he meant it, for good or bad. If your a purist of the classic 1960s series, this film is sure to infuriate you with its disregard for the original. However, if your just looking for an action film, this one delivers some high octane excitement. This latest Star Trek film is a total reboot of the franchise (Created in 1965 by Gene Roddenberry) and yet it also connects to the previous entries in a strange way. Its both a prequel and a re-imagining of the cult classic. The oft used Trek gimmick of Time Travel is employed to both erase and yet acknowledge whats gone before. The plot: A ship from the future (the 24th century) piloted by mad Romulan Nero (Eric Bana) changes the past (the 23rd century) by attacking a Star-ship, whose first office is named George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth). Georges wife (Jennifer Morrison of HOUSE MD) is giving birth to their son James Tiberius Kirk at the same moment papa Kirk sacrifices himself to save his wife, newborn son and his crew. Cut to 10 years later and young James is a juvenile delinquent, rebelling against his step father with petty acts like stealing a 20th century car. Meanwhile, on distant planet Vulcan, young Spock is the half-breed child of a human (Winnona Ryder) and a Vulcan elder (Ben Cross). Hes torn between his two heritages and mocked by the other Vulcan children who think of him as impure and unequal to them. Years later, Kirk (Chris Pine) is the angry young man and wasting his life. He meets Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) an admirer of Kirks dad George who challenges James to become half the man his dad was by joining Star Fleet. Meanwhile, Spock (Well played by Zachary Quinto) offends the Vulcan elders by leaving his planet to enlist in Star Fleet, due to their insulting treatment of his human mother. They consider his human half a disadvantage of birth. Once enrolled in the academy, Jim Kirk makes friends with a surly young medic named Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban) who is fleeing the ramifications of a messy divorce. The two mavericks bond, while Spock becomes the darling of Star Fleet, graduating with honors. Spock and Kirk dont hit it off too well in their first meeting. Spock becomes first officer for Captain Pike aboard the fleet flagship Enterprise. McCoy is also assigned there, as are some other familiar names from Trek past; Pavel Chekov (Anton Yelchin), Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) and talented linguist Uhura (Zoe Saldana). Kirk isnt supposed to be aboard but he manages to slip in when he suspects that the Enterprise is on its way to face the same mysterious ship that killed his father years ago. Lots of action follows. Through a contrived series of events, Spock becomes Captain and Kirk first officer. When Kirk is exiled from the ship after a dispute with Spock, he meets an old Vulcan from the future who is a very familiar face to Trek fans. Leonard Nimoy appears as an elderly version of Spock. What is he doing there? What brought him and the Romulan ship back to the 23rd century? Why is Nero destroying everything? I wont spoil the answers but they connect and yet also cut the ties to the previous franchise. After a chance meeting with engineer Montgomery Scott (Played comically by comedian Simon Pegg) Kirk returns to Enterprise to save the Earth from Nero. Another contrived and unbelievable series of events leads young cadet Kirk to become a Captain in record time. Can Captain Kirk and his motley crew defeat the massive ship from the future and save the Earth? What do you think? This is a lively and kinetic action film but it has little to do with Your fathers Star TreK. The classic show was more socially relevant and thoughtful. This reboot amps up the action quotient to the Nth degree. Theres little emotion involved except from Zachary Quinto, who is ironically playing a character who is supposed to supress his emotions. This Trek film is more Michael Bay than Gene Roddenberry. If your looking for vintage STAR TREK then stay away from this. But if you want some fast paced thrills and stunning FX, this is for you. THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS+(3 & A Half Stars) THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS: More of this is true than you would believe the caption tells us at the outset of this rather bizarre film. Its a clever way of lurking safely between the Based on a true story slogan and total fiction. Its a perfect method for director Grant Heslov and the rest of the crew to make the military seem foolish while simultaneously protecting themselves from any accusations that they made it all up. After all, they never said which parts were true. Some of it was. After all, there really was a war in Iraq. Our possibly true or possibly not story begins with a reporter on a small paper named Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) who is going through a difficult personal dilemma because his beautiful wife has left him for a one-armed man. Burying himself in his work, he interviews a seemingly loony fellow who claims to have been part of a secret government psychic soldier program. He learns about Lyn Cassady, the best of this elite group, and others whos job was to be Super Soldiers. Despite this looneys failure to kill a hamster with his mind, he raises Bob curiosity. Bob, seeking to get far away from his wife and his life, tries to become a correspondent in the Iraq war (Like many men whove had their hearts broken by a woman, I went to war! Bob says) but gets hung up in Kuwait, with nothing to do. There, he coincidentally meets none other than Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Bob, seeking a story, follows Lyn into war torn Iraq on an undisclosed secret mission and together they have some unfortunate experiences in the desert. Bob isnt sure what to make of Lyn, who explains the history of the New Earth warriors, who like to be known as Jedi warriors. (Bob seemingly hasnt seen Star Wars) The New Earth soldiers were led by Colonel Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) an over-aged hippie who thinks its the militarys job to be Wonderful and fight through peaceful means. He organizes his motley crew of supposed psychics who are said to have the ability to locate anyone or anything with their minds and even walk through walls. Bridges portrays Django as if he were reprising his role of the Dude from the Big Lebowski Lyns rival as number one Jedi is Hooper (Kevin Spacey) an unlikeable jerk who manages to oust Django and subvert the New Earth warriors powers toward more lethal goals, such as killing with the mind just by staring at someone. Some unfortunate goats are used for practice. (Hence the title) which leads to something unfortunate that no one expected. The film jumps around in time, Pulp Fiction style, which adds to the overall feel of strangeness that pervades the film. There are some delightfully quirky and humorous scenes, especially by Bridges as the flower-child colonel. The rest of the cast plays it all very straight, and their seriousness makes the silly premise seem even funnier. Based on Jon Ronsons 2004 novel, this is a weird but amusing film. Its hard to say which part of it, if any, is true. But for those who like a good laugh at the militarys expense, theyll enjoy believing that the government indulged in this ridiculous exercise. Imagine a portion of the military budget being devoted to remote viewing and Jedi training. Real or not, this is an entertaining movie, and if you happen to be a psychic, you can watch it by remote viewing without paying the admission fee. NEW DVD RELEASE UP(4 stars) UP: Directors Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson unite to deliver one of the finest and most computer animated films to come along in quite some time. Up deals with weighty issues like age, loneliness and the search for meaning in life. Carl Fredrickson (Voice of Edward Asner) has lived a long life of dreams and plans. Ever since he was a child, admiring the exploits of his explorer hero Charles Muntz, he hoped for a life of adventure. He ended up marrying a nice girl named Ellie and having a quiet life in the suburbs. Now an old man, having recently lost his beloved Ellie, Carl lives alone in his little house. His once quaint and quiet neighborhood has been rebuilt into into a city, with Carls house the last remnant of the old days. One day, Carl decides to fulfill his childhood wish of following Muntz to South America to the lost land where Muntz went to capture a mythical bird beast (His previous claims regarding the existence of the creature were mocked by the scientific community.) Tying a zillion balloons to his house, Carl flies away to the life of adventure he never had. He discovers an unexpected passenger, Russell (voice of Jordan Nagai) a well-meaning boy scout who was on his porch when the house took flight. Carl and Russle share adventures together. They meet a talking dog named Alpha, (Director Peterson) one of a pack of dogs led by Beta (Delroy Lindo) who speak via their special collars. They discover the giant bird, which takes a liking to them and also encounter Carls hero Muntz (Christopher Plummer) who has searched for the bird for years. But Carl soon comes to realize that Muntz is not the man he thought Muntz was. Suddenly, their chances of escaping and saving the big bird seem slim. There are some very issues here, although there is still plenty of silliness for kids to enjoy. And one thing every age has in common is the dream of adventure.

THE BOX: Director Richard Kelly does enjoy serving up his mind bending flicks for the general public to scratch their heads about. Sometimes his surreal films are very effective (as with his cult favorite Donnie Darko) but sometimes he misses the mark, such as with his latest effort, the Box. Not a terrible film but its reach far exceeds its grasp in trying to be simultaneously suspenseful, intelligent and abstract. After a well done beginning that draws the viewer into the moral dilemma of the characters, this Twilight Zone-ish film slips into a jumble of twisted plot threads and strange happenings. The film starts with a look into the lives of school teacher Norma Lewis (Screen siren Cameron Diaz, who is not at her most glamorous here) and her scientist husband Arthur (James Marsden, best known as Cyclops in the X-Men films) who live in the suburbs and have an annoying kid named Walter. Arthur, who works at NASA building special lenses for Space Cameras, has been rejected in his application to be an Astronaut. Also, the Lewis find out that they wont get the hoped for financial aid theyd need to send their son to college. At this point, along comes a man with a million dollars and a strange proposition. A strange box with a big, red button is left on the Lewis doorstep. They naturally dont know what to make of it. Soon, the enigmatic Arlington Steward (Frank Langella) arrives, with his lightning-scarred face and his dapper suits, to offer the Lewis a way out of their financial woes, but with a catch. Hell hand them one million dollars (tax free) if they push the button. However, if they do, someone they dont know will die. Well, what would you do? If the film had just stuck with this Saw-like ethical test as its focus, it would have been more effective. However, at this point, things go all Twisty-Turny on us. The rest of the plot involves a series of murders; the NSA and NASA; the Mars program; kidnapping; mind-control; and a man who got super powers after getting hit by lightning. There are many scenes with groups of people acting like Zombies, hinting at Arlingtons oft-mentioned employers. We even get a scene reminiscent of 2001 as Arthur passes through a vortex made of water, similar to something out of the Abyss. All this, were told, is linked to the greater destiny--or possible end--of the human race. The Box is based on the short story Button, Button by legendary Sci-fi writer Richard Mathison. By extending the story and over-stylizing it, Director Kelly loses the tales focus and creates a meandering film whose parts are greater than the whole. The film moves along like a sloth in mud, and many will find their patience being tested by the glacial pace. One major flaw is that the film doesnt give us a good enough reason for Norma and Arthur to push the button. They are written as decent, likable people. True they have some financial problems, but being passed over for a promotion and not getting financial aid do not seem like sufficient reasons to cause someones death. The Lewis seem to be living a decent lifestyle, with their nice house and fancy car, and we never see the desperation that drives Norma to press the button. Another interesting fact is the Adam and Eve motif of the woman always being the one to initiate the button-induced chaos. Three times in the film we hear or see that the button test was given to some couple, and each time it was the woman who pressed it. This film is Kellys attempt to recapture the surreal magic of Donnie Darko but without the dark humor which made that film so unique. The cast does a pretty good job. Diaz and Marsden are sufficiently sympathetic and Langella is mysterious (although not scary) as Steward. But the direction lets them down by trying too hard to be mind bending and not hard enough to be entertaining. THE FOURTH KIND+(2 & a half Stars) The 4th Kind: Lets start out by making it clear that, despite the shrewd advertising campaign, (The most compelling evidence ever of alien abduction) this film is not based on true life events. Like other films which have claimed to be inspired by actual events (The Blair Witch Project; Fargo; the Texas Chainsaw Massacre) its nothing more than clever promotion for the film. And like those other films, nothing in Writer/Director Olatunde Osunamis low budget offering resembles any real life occurrence. The film uses some imaginative tricks to pass itself off as a documentary. It begins with Milla Jovovich speaking to the camera, introducing herself as an actress playing the part of (the supposedly real) psychiatrist Abigail Taylor. When other recognizable actors appear on screen, a caption pops up to tell us that its an actor playing a role of a (supposedly) real person. (Will PattonActor) To further keep its image as a documentary going, the film inserts footage of sessions by the (supposedly) real Dr. Taylor with her (supposedly) real patients. Sometimes the footage is run together on a split screen, along side the reenactment footage. The actors playing these (supposedly) real people get no screen credit. The film even gives us one of those closing credit updates on the lives of the (supposedly) real characters. The plot involves strange disappearances in the little city of Nome, (It was actually filmed in Bulgaria) nestled so deep in Alaska that you can only get their by air, not road. Recently widowed Dr. Taylor is obsessed with continung her late husbands work, regarding connecting the strands of the unusual occurrences in Nome. She juggles her patients with her role as a single mother of two kids; the bratty Ronnie and the cute Ashley. To make things even harder for Taylor, little Ashley is blind as a result of the trauma of her fathers death. Dr. Taylor is herself under treatment by fellow psychiatrist Abel Campos. (Elias Koteas.) As Dr. Taylor puts her patients under hypnosis, she begins to see a pattern to the madness, beginning with a ubiquitous owl. The patients have violent responses to the mesmeric sessions and Taylor begins to suspect that a greater force is at work here. The film would have been better if it had stuck to the Blair Witch/Paranormal Activity technique of filming the entire movie with a video camera and using unknown actors to portray the unlucky victims. Unfortunately, by making the bulk of the film into reenactments featuring Jovovich, Koteas and Patton, it loses that feeling of realism that made those other films work. ASTRO BOY(3 Stars) ASTRO BOY: Its been a long time in coming, but fans of Osamu Tezukas famous manga (Which debuted in 1952) and the much loved anime series (which followed in 1966) can finally see perennial favorite Astro Boy on the big screen. Despite a production plagued by difficulties, the long awaited adaptation has found its way to the big screen. Director David Bowers has made many changes to the original manga storyline and Astro Boys beginnings are somewhat different here, so purists beware. He also has a slightly altered appearance, although the design is basically the same as in the past. The 3-D CGI effects successfully deliver the kinetic action sequences. Astro Boy begins as a relatively normal, albeit uncommonly brilliant boy named Toby (Voice of Freddie Highmore) who lives in the idyllic Metro City, an advanced wonderland where robots wait on your ever need. Metro City hovers in the sky about the polluted planet Earth, (Whos designs seem to be inspired by Wall-E.) The forgotten ones left behind on the ruined Earth scrounge through the garbage dumped on them by Metro City. Tobys scientist father Doctor Tenma (voice of Nicholas Cage) is so busy building robot warriors for the government that he has no time for little Toby. Tenmas colleague Doctor Elefun (Bill Nighy) has invented a new source of power called Blue Energy that will save the environment of Earth and cause positive Karma all over. But theres a side effect, the unstable Red Energy which will bring about violence and bad Karma. The President of Metro City (Donald Sutherland) whos running for re-election, is trying to start a war with Earth to ensure his 2nd term. (Obviously, this is Bowers commentary on former President George Bush) and attempts to use Red energy to power his mechanical soldiers but they prove uncontrollable. Therefore he wants to confiscate the benign Blue Energy from Elefun to create controllable troops. During the disastrous Red Energy demonstration, little Toby is accidently atomized, leaving his grieving father to lament having spent so little time with his boy. Using his genius at robotics, Tenma creates an android duplicate of his son, equipped with all the state-of-the-art weaponry that Tenma created for the Government robots, and powered by Elefuns blue energy orb. He downloads a copy of Tobys memories into the android (Why exactly he had a computer record of Tobys memories is never made clear) and he recreates a super son. Soon, however, Tenma become disenchanted with his imitation son and decides he doesnt want an android as his heir. He agrees to remove the boys power core and give it to the President for his robots. Toby runs away, and after being ambushed by the military, he ends up on the garbage filled planet Earth. Toby is befriended by a group of scavenger kids, including feisty Cora (Kristen Bell) who dont realize Tobys a mechanical boy. He also meets a rather useless group of robot revolutionaries (reminiscent of the incompetent rebels of The Life of Brian) who give him the nickname Astro. Cora and the human kids work for the Fagin-like inventor Hamegg (Nathan Lane) who uses robots in gladiatorial contests. Can Toby hide his identity from Hamegg and avoid the arena or will the devious inventor see through this pretence and condemn Toby to a life of forced combat? And will the President track Astro down and deactivate him in order to create mechanical troops for a war against the Earth? The climactic showdown with the Red Energy powered giant is a fun treat for action fans. The film as a whole has relatively little action, seeking instead to find a meaningful message of understanding that never quite comes through. Its not entirely successful as an adventure film nor a message film but its sufficiently entertaining none-the-less. SAW 6 + (Two & a half stars) SAW 6: Another Halloween, another entry in the prolific Saw series. The sixth installment of the franchise is a marginal improvement over the claustrophobic previous film but it still suffers from the been-there-done-that feeling that most franchise get caught in beyond the third installment. This time the film picks up where Saw 5 left off, with Special Agent Stahm dead and Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) emerging triumphant, poised to be the successor to the late killer Jigsaw. But Hoffman is pursued by the FBI. Managing to stay one step ahead, he is forced to put events into motion involving the latest unsuspecting torture test subject. But before we get to the new victim, the film gets off to a gory start with a particularly nasty test where two predatory lenders are forced to survive by sacrificing their own flesh (Could Shakespeare have ever predicted that Shylocks famous A pound of Flesh demand from The Merchant of Venice would lead to such a disturbingly bloody scene?) The recurring Saw theme of people being more afraid of death than of suffering is one of the sadistic fascinations of the series. Although original Jigsaw killer John (Tobin Bell) has been kaput since Saw 3, that doesnt stop him from continuing his bloody torments, via means of video taped instructions to others who carry on his work (And there seems to be no shortage of people who want to continue his demented mission.) Johns new target is William, CEO of a Health Insurance company. William has hidden his unfeeling judgments over who should receive medical care behind a charming smile, but now his conscienceless past will return to haunt him and his latest decisions will concern his own life and health. Shawnee Smith is on hand again as Amanda, and Betsy Russel plays Jill, the widow of John the first Jigsaw. Jill receives a mysterious box that contains a big piece of the plot which I wont go into, suffice it to say, she is being set up as Hoffmans competition as the successor of Jigsaw in Saw 7. We get the now traditional Saw flashbacks, that serve to pad out the film and also fill in some background information. In this case, we find out why Jigsaw John has it in for William. The film tries hard to top the gory, graphic violence of the previous films by coming up with more imaginative ways of dispatching the test subjects, rather than cannibalizing previous installments. Still, each murder has the feeling of just-another-day-at-the-office. The preachiest of all the Saw films, this one makes an attempt to be socially and politically relevant by making the victims Sub-prime Mortgage vendors or Health Insurance workers. Its a cleverly timely way of making the test subjects unsympathetic. Even while theyre being tortured, knowing what they do for a living gives the audience that They had it coming vibe. This installment is a small step up in quality for the franchise and it sets up the inevitable Saw 7 but its still a case of going to the well once too often. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (3 stars) PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: Poltergeist meets the Blair Witch Project in this low budget but generally effective little thriller. Filmed in one week, with a shoe-string production cost, director Oren Peli manges to create a suspenseful 90 minutes. The action takes place entirely in one modest home and mostly it uses only two actors. Other characters pop in briefly but the story rests upon the shoulders of the two young stars. It was originally filmed in 2007 but hasnt gotten a wide theatrical release until now. Our spooky story revolves around Katie (Katie Featherston) and her day-trader boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat) who have recently moved into their new suburban home. Strange events start happening and we learn that Katie has been followed by a mysterious presence ever since she was eight years old. When the creepiness starts anew, Micah is more fascinated than frightened and so buys a camera which he hopes will capture events while they are asleep or out of the house. He is excited at the prospect of finding proof of a ghost in the house. Katie, however, has long since grown tired of her supernatural stalker and just wants an end to it. Katie hires a spiritualist (Mark Frederichs) who warns them that their nightly visitor is a demon rather than a ghost. He advises them not to do anything to antagonize the entity until a demonologist can come and exorcize it. However (typically for horror movies) someone doesnt heed the warnings. Micah is obsessed with filming the eerie happenings and he is also far too stubborn to accept help from a demonologist or anyone else. He believes his inability to protect his girlfriend on his own would be an insult to his manhood, so he convinces her to let him handle things in his own inept way. The unseen demon is infuriated by Micahs attempts to protect katie, which include a Ouija board and placing powder on the floor to see if the demon leaves footprints. When all else fails, Micah shouts verbal challenges to the demon, daring it to appear. As youd expect, things begin to escalate and the entity becomes more active. Micah becomes more stupidly stubborn as the film goes on. The more powerless he feels against this supernatural threat, the more blindly determined he is to vanquish this threat without any help and prove his manhood. Katie becomes more frantic as time goes on. She knows that running wont help (the demon always follows her) and its clear that Micahs efforts to help are only making things worse. She seems to be coming close to a total break down. The film has a nice less-is-more quality and were carried through mostly by the anticipation of the next event rather than any grand special effects or excessive gore. Sometimes strange noises and flickering lights can be more effective than flesh eating monsters. Much of the effectiveness of the film will depend on whether or not you like Katie and Micah. Micah becomes increasingly harder to like as time goes on but cute Katie remains sympathetic throughout. She gives the better performance and director Peli wisely misses no opportunity to display her buxom endowments. Micahs wise-cracks sometimes help to break up the somber mood but after a while you want to smack him for being so stupid. They do make a convincingly realistic couple and have some decent chemistry between them. There have been many comparisons between this and the Blair Witch Project (the low budget; being filmed on a video camera; the clever marketing campaigns that proceeded both films; the small cast of unknowns) but this actually works better than TBW because the pay-off is much better. (Actually two endings were filmed. The original 2007 ending was altered on the advice of none other than Steven Speilberg, who saw the earlier version and suggested some changes.) This film may not live up to all the excessive hype so dont go in expecting to have nightmares for weeks. But for the most part its spooky and suspenseful and it delivers some creepy moments. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (3 Stars) Where The Wild Things Are: A cherished bit of nostalgia is brought to cinematic life by director Spike Jonzein this family friendly film. Where the Wild Things Are is a full length adaptation of the beloved 1963 childrens book written and drawn by Maurice Sendak. The original picture book is 37 full-panel pages and the whole story consists of only 9 lines. Adapting the timeless classic into a 94 minute film is literally a stretch and others have attempted it but given up. (It has been adapted into an animated cartoon and an lite Opera, however.) Jonze and scriptwriter Dave Eggers manage to pull a workable script out of the brief book and it works for the most part but its not without its share of flaws. The script is fleshed out to give the individual Wild Things distinctive personalities, rather than being generic beasts as in the book. The Wild Things are realized by a combination of costumes, puppetry and some digital enhancements. The creatures are essentially big PuffN Stuff like costumes but the faces are digitally altered to match the expressions of the voice actors. The movie gives young Max (Max Records) more motivation for his tantrum and escape to the world of Wild Things than did Sendaks little tale. In the film, Max is a lonely kid, angered by his sister for not defending him when her friends destroy his snow fort and further distraught when his mom (Catherine Keener) brings home a date (Mark Ruffalo). We previously had some scenes of Max literally laying at his mothers feet, showing the almost Oedipal attachment he has to her (HIs father is mysteriously absent) which explains his extreme over-reaction when Moms date comes for dinner. Max goes wild and actually bites his mom. Confused, angry and a bit ashamed, Max runs away and comes across a boat which he impetuously hops aboard. The little boat sails away andMaxiscaught in a storm, ending up on the mysterious island of the titular Wild Things. When we first see the Wild Things, one of them is having his own child-like tantrum. Karol (Voice of James Gandolfini) is angry that the Wild she-thing hes sweet on, KW (Lauren Ambrose) has made some new friends and Karol is jealous. It seems like a kids problem, as are most of the dilemmas in this film. Everything here is, after all, a reflection of Maxs anguished psyche. Some of the other Wild Things include wise Douglas (Chris Cooper), doubting Judith (Catherine OHara), hole-digging Ira (Forrest Whittaker) and huge Bull (Michael Berry.) Although the Wild Things initially want to make a quick meal out of the little interloper, he convinces them that he has powers via some imaginative tall tales. The Wild Things are so impressed they decide to make Max their king, hoping that hell fix all the things that are wrong on the island. Can you keep all the sadness out? one WB wonders. Max promises them a magic shield where no sadness can get in. At first, the plan seems to work and the Wild Things enjoy their first night with their new king after he declares it rumpus time and everyone gets to run around like kids without supervision. They all fall sleep together in a big pile, with their king tucked safely in their furry midst. This is basically where the book ends and Max decides to return home. Not so here. In the film, Max tries to be a good king to his people--and create a perfect place for himself--by building a fort where, as Karol puts it, Nothing we dont want to happen, happens. But looking after the unruly lot is harder than Max suspected. He comes to understand how hard it is to be a parent. Good intentions are not always enough and theres no invisible shield to keep the sadness out. As his subjects become more discontented, Max starts to realize that he wants to be a kid again, not a king. The film is a nice look into the mind of a child, much as Sendaks original classic was. Sendak said that he exorcised some personal demons by writing his story, and the film is a revisit to the world as the child might see it. Max is frustrated by the real world and ultimately retreats into a world of Monsters where all his beastly friends act just as child-like as he does. The film is very much centered on the concept of a childs sense of disappointment, both in the real world and in the inability to escape from it. In many ways, the film is a downer. Theres no magic sadness shield and no place where only what we want to happen, happens. The film brings to life that sad moment of realization when we grow to realize that we have to face the world and we cant hide from it in our fantasies, as much as we might want to. Although there are some charming moments, and the Wild Things are wonderful creations (very accurate to the great original artwork) the movie feels rather tedious at points. There are no real highlights andthe film meanders along laboring its point. Its not clear who the audience is for this film. Kids today, reared on more kinetic films, might findtheleisurely pace boring. Older folk who have fond memories of reading Where the Wild Things Are while growing up will get a nice nostalgiacthrill when the eponymous Wild Things first appear but will likely also findthemselveslosing interest as the story stretches beyondits literary conclusion. Its a nice adaptation but it would have been better as a short rather than a full length movie. CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY (4 Stars) Capitalism: A Love Story:Michael Moore is back and up to his old tricks again, playing the rabble-rouser conscience of America. His latest effort is possibly his timeliest, examining our capitalist system at a time when the system seems to be failing us. Love him or hate him, Moore is a lightning rod for discussion and this is definitely a topic that needs to be discussed. Despite his famously left-wing leanings, the film is bi-partisan in assigning blame, accusing every administration since Reagan (including Clinton) for allowing the corporate coup of America. The film starts with a montage of people robbing banks and then switches to interviews with people who have been robbed by banks. We see hard working people who are temporarily down on their luck losing their home because of skyrocketing mortgage rates, high health insurance premiums and other fees that the poor cant afford to pay. One family is ousted from their home without the requisite 30 days notice and had nowhere to go. Another family ended up living in the back of a truck. Theres a funny scene where modern American is compared to ancient Rome (complete with footage from an old movie about the Roman Empire) highlighting the ever growing disparity between rich and poor. Rome was also called a democracy. Moore exposes some little known but highly infuriating corporate practices such as Dead Peasant Insurance. Basically, it means that a big corporation surreptitiously takes out a big life insurance policy on an employee who has a higher than average chance of dying (Due to a dangerous occupation or poor health or age some other reason) and if the person dies, the company can collect a large fee without informing the late employees family or sharing the insurance money. One policy netted a company over a million dollars. The reaction of the widow when she heard about the Dead Peasant policy was heart wrenching. Another bit of maddening information is the confusing concept of Derivatives, which makes the mortgages of American homeowners into collateral in a reckless gamble regarding whether or not the homeowner will fail. Its amazing how much of Wall Street and Capitalism is based on gambling. Moore shows us some scenes of life in the fifties when the American dream seemed genuine andthesystemworked for the people instead of the other way around. Michael Moore pinpoints the Ronald Reagan administration as the beginning of the corporate coup, calling Reagan a corporate spokesman. The deregulations of the Regan era certainly played a part in setting up the current climate. Naturally, there are the trade-mark Moore stunts, like surrounding the AIG building with police tape and trying to make a citizens arrest on the board of directors, but the film works best when it touches on the real issues of whether our rights are being adequately served by the current corporate controlled capitalist system. the scene where Moore and his father visit the site of the GM plant where his father had once worked making spark plugs for over 30 years is very effective. The most effective moment is when we view some previously unseen tapes of FDR asking for a second bill of rights to be initiated, guaranteeing that every American has a right to a job, a place to live, education and health insurance. FDR was in ill health when in instituted this idea and would be dead within a year of his speech so he never managed to accomplish this laudable goal. American life would have been substantially different over the last few decades if hed succeeded. The film covers ground that Moore had warned us about years ago in his early films Roger & Me and the Big One. Although Moore seems to be calling for a revolution, its unlikely that will happen. As the film points out, the public has been very willing to accept this system on the belief that any one of them might become of of the rich upper class themselves. Self interest in the foundation for Capitalism but it shouldnt be for a democracy. ZOMBIELAND(Three stars) Zombieland: The latest zombies-overrun-the-world film (An idea used in Dawn of the dead, Day of the dead, Omega Man, I am Legend and others) is the cleverest Zombie parody since Simon Pegs Shaun of the Dead. Combining the Road Trip/Buddy film with the horror satire genre, Zombieland is a bizarre but funny movie about the remaining human survivors of a world overwhelmed by zombies traveling across the decimated country by car in order to reach a theme park. They pass many dead bodies and occasionally, a reanimated body that wants to eat them. The main character is nerdy Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) an unlikely survivor who has managed to live through the Zombie apocalypse by sticking rigidly to a list of rules gained from watching many Zombie films so he knows what to avoid. The rules are helpfully displayed on screen whenever one of them is referred to. Columbus meets another human survivor, the larger-than-life Tallahassee (Played with over the top zest by Woody Harrelson) who takes great joy in killing zombies, using anything handy as a weapon. Tire irons, car doors, even a banjo. Columbus joins Tallahassee and they begin their odyssey to the promised Disney land. Along the way they meet two girls, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Bresslin), who arent what they seem. The newcomers open up new facets of the two mens personalities. Little Rck becomes a surrogate daughter for Tallahassee andColumbusseesWichita as potential girlfriend material. The four of them bicker across the remnants of America and some amusing banter results. While none of these characters is ever really fleshed out into a realistic 3-dimensional person, they do rise above the usual paper-thin level of zombie-bait clods that generally inhabit films like these. The performances are all very good, especially Harrelson who gives his best performance since No Country for Old Men. And there is an achingly funny cameo by Bill Murray that is destined to be the most remembered moment of this film. Its difficult to make Zombies into interesting villains (Freddy Kruger or Dracula have actual personalities. Zombies just lumber around) and they are basically props in this movie, who exist to be clobbered by Harrelson. They seem more annoyances than actual threats until the climactic scenes when they come in a hoard. But for people who like Zombies, they serve their purpose in this film and they set up a lot of humorous moments. Especially Murrys memorable cameo, which gets the biggest laugh of the film. 9 (3 stars) 9:This expanded version of Shane Ackers acclaimed 10-minute animated short is a well produced but only partially successful effort. Acker made the original 9 in 2006 when he was a student at UCLA and it was highly praised. Now, with the backing of Tim Burton as Producer and an extended script by Susan Pettler, Acker makes his feature film directorial debut with this 90 minute CGI action/sci-fi flick. Although this is computer animated its definitely not aimed at young kids. This is a dark post-apocalyptic scenario about a life-and-death struggle in the ruins of a dead civilization, destroyed in a machine revolution, much like the Terminator films. The cast features the most unusual group of heroes were likely to see on film, voiced by some excellent actors. The story begins when a mechanical rag-doll with binoculars for eyes awakes in a ruined dwelling to find his creator dead. Armed with only a little device he doesnt know the purpose of, the little being known as 9 (because of the letter 9 stamped on his body) wanders out into the devastated landscape of a bombed-out city. 9 (voice of Elijah Wood) doesnt know what to make of the wreckage. Strangely, the city looks more retro than modern, evoking images of post-war Germany. The old film footage we see about the Hitleresque ruler from the pre-armageddon days seems like something out of an old cinema news reel. Despite this old style look, the technology seems futuristic. The contradiction is illustrated by the steampunk look of 9 and the other rag doll men. The confused 9 is befriended by the older, more seasoned mechanic 2 (voice of Martin Landau) who meets a quick end at the hands--or rather jaws--of a robotic dog. Its not clear whether the canine killer is the last of its kind or merely the only one on the prowl in this particular city. Either way, 9 barely escapes and manages to find others of his kind. The rag dolls are led by the stern, fatalistic 1 (Christopher Plummer), assisted by his large henchman 8. Along with them is the one-eyed apprentice mechanic 5 (John C. Reilly). Others soon arrive, including the requisite female warrior woman 7 (Jennifer Connelly); prophetic and slightly mad artist 6 (Crispin Glover); and the silent twins 3 & 4. 9 is braver than the others although he doesnt always think things through. His disastrous attempts to find 2 lead to the coming of the movies main villain, a mechanical creature that seems to come out of the Transformers known only as the Monster. Its a creepy creature with a glowing Red eye although we never really get to see the whole picture. Once the Monster is on the loose, the violence escalates, as do the casualties. Can little 9 lead his tiny group of doll men to victory over the Monster? The key is to find out why the scientist created them and their enemy. The plot leaves out many details, such as why the Monster is hostile toward the mechanical rag dolls, or why 9 came to life so many years after the other rag dolls. But these little details aside, the biggest disappointment of the story is that it fails to fully explore the adversarial relationship between two basically new life forms in the shadow of a holocaust that eliminated their creator. The dialogue consists mostly of fatalistic warnings or brave We-can-do-this speeches. The main impact of the film comes from its visuals. The effects are excellent andthedesigns are truly evocative. The details of the ravaged landscape are wonderfully realized. However, the bland, rusty, dusty look of everything makes it less arresting to the eye than it could be, and the design of the little steampunk rag dolls are all very similar, although each has a specific difference that makes it identifiable. The finale of the film is not all that thrilling and more than a bit vague on details. This is a quirky film with a lot of action and first-rate production values. But beyond the visuals, the story is too derivative of many other post-apocalyptic films. The dark, dour premise isnt suited for kids and it could use a dose of light humor in spots. Not a bad film and intriguing to look at but it gets too caught up in kinetic action and misses some opportunities to be totally original.

Surrogates: A clever speculative sci-fi thriller by director Jonathan Mostow that takes some shots at two of the modern worlds obsessionsLooking good and having the best new gadgets to make our lives easier and entertain us. The best sci-fi stories are the ones that make a commentary on society and Surrogates has a lot to say. The film envisions a time in the not-too-distant future (Judging by the cars and clothes and architecture) when humans have the technology to download their minds into attractive androids known as Surrogates. Originally created for medical reasons, the Surrogates became a trendy luxury and then a commonplace bit of modern life. The Surrogates allow the user to do whatever they want and never have to risk getting hurt. The real humans remain housebound hermits, only experiencing the world while their minds are safely housed inside a Surrogate. The Surrogates are the masterwork of genius Dr. Cantor (James Cromwell) who regrets the way that humans have chosen to substitute actual experience for living by proxy through the Surrogates. Echoing this dissenting voice is the Prophet (Ving Rhames) who is the leader of a Luddite, anti-Surrogate movement called the Dreads. The Dreads live in specialized Non Technology zones, almost like modern Quakers except more heavily armed. Pity the Surrogate who wanders into the Dreads territory. When Doctor Cantors sons Surrogate is destroyed, the son somehow dies at the same time. No one can understand how this fluke occurred except Officer Greer (Played by a wonderfully understated Bruce Willis) who believes that this event is a homicide, not an accident. He and his attractive partner Detective Peters (Rahda Mitchell) investigate, or rather, their Surrogates do. Greer and Peters never actually leave the house. At least, not until Greers Surrogate is destroyed and he has to face the world for the first time in years as a normal, flawed human being who can be hurt or killed. The lack of his Surrogate exacerbates his problems with his wife Maggie (Rosamund Pike) who never leaves her Surrogate, due to a past tragedy that haunts them both. This past event makes the case very personal to Greer, even after the usual (and rather cliched) plot point where the Detective is suspended and decides to continue the case independently. The film is remeniscent of I Robot in many ways. There are one or two nice plot twists and the story as a whole taps into a very plausible future scenario where technology as gone from being intrusive luxuries to indispensable daily tools to being inseparable from us. Surrogate posits the question of where the cut-off point is between what we need and what we should have. Will we get to a point where we dont discriminate between machines and mortal? Its a timely question. The best sci-movies make you think and this one does. PANDORUM: (2 stars) Pandorum: Every sci-fi fan knows that if your trapped in a space ship in unknown territory with no way to leave, theres sure to be something savage on board thats going to chase you and try to eat you. Its the time-tested Alien formula. Well, Pandorum is the latest Monster-in-the-cargo-bay thriller. Directed by christian Alvart, Pandorum starts off as a mystery before it slips into familiar territory. The story starts with two crew members Payton (Dennis Quaid) and Bower (Ben Foster) awaking from suspended animation with no memory of why they are on the ship and what their mission is. Are they alone on board? They are cut off from the rest of the ship but theres a strange noise that makes them uneasy. Foster manages to slip out of the control area via an air duct and investigates the ship. Payton stays on the bridge to use the radio. Foster runs into scattered and terrified members of the crew who react with violent self-preservation instincts. He soon finds out what theyre afraid of. Mutants who look like refugees from the Descent pop up are start chasing everyone. The film becomes much like I am Legend on a space ship. Payton is stilll on the bridge and he meets jittery Off. Gallo (Cam Gigandet) and Payton hopes hell be a source of information but his story isnt the one Payton wanted to hear. The films tital Pandorum comes from a term describing a type of Space madness and we are left to wonder which members of the crew (Or maybe all of them) are going insane and the script moves into Event Horizon territory. The first part of the film is sufficiently tense but once the zombie aliens arrive it starts to become a fairly by-the-numbers affair. There are some twists and turns in the plot at the end regarding sanity and memory, but it all gets a bit lost in the climactic mayhem. The mutant/alien/zombie things look good, especially the child mutant/alien/zombie, but they arent very original monsters. The cast does what they can with the standard run-and-fight script. Quaid, the biggest name in the cast, has the most actual acting to do and he does fine. Pandorum wasnt released in advance for critical reviews, which shows a lack of faith on the Studios part. Basically its a hodge-podge of other, better sci-fi and horror films. Pandorum delivers on a strictly video game style man vs. monsters level, with lost of running and hiding. The Pandrum/madness aspect of the story has less impact on the film than the running. The mutant/monsters plot and the Pandorum plot seem disconnected. Possibly focusing on either one of these plot ideas instead of both would have led to a better, more focused movie.

PONYO ON THE CLIFF: Animation genius Hayao Miyazaki returns after an absence of several years with another family-friendly anime treat. Miyazaki adds to his already impressive body of work with this crowd pleasing fantasy, filled with all the sweetness that fans have come to expect from a Miyazaki film. This movie has a cuteness quotient almost equal to Miyazakis early masterpiece My Neighbor Tortoro. As usual, there is an underlying environmental message, as in most of Miyazakis films. Ponyo is a mystical sea being in the form of a goldfish. (The opening minutes where we see the undersea world and aquatic creatures of every type is one of the most beautiful pieces of animation to come along in years.) Her father is a mortal wizard who gave up life on the surface to marry the feminine spirit of the seven seas. Ponyo and her many sisters are kept on a tight leash by their father who is worried about the balance between the two worlds. He already holds some hatred for the humans for messing it up with their pollution. The willful Ponyo, always yearning for life beyond the limitations her father has placed on her, slips away, rides a jellyfish to the surface and her adventure begins. Getting caught inside a discarded glass bottle, she almost dies but is found ashore and rescued by 5 year old Sosuke who keeps her as a pet, taking her to his house atop a high cliff. Soon, after healing Sosukes cut by licking his finger, Ponyo reveals herself to be more than a mere goldfish. She starts to talk to her human friend and tells him she loves him. Just as the two are developing a special bond, Ponyos Dad comes and drags Ponyo home. But Ponyo will not be denied. She is becoming a powerful mystic. Using one of Dads magic elixirs she transforms herself into a mortal girl, she escapes from dad again--this time bringing all her sisters in the form of huge fish--and reunites with Sosuke. There follows some adorable scenes of the two of them bonding playfully, and Ponyo learning about the surface world as Sosukes kindly mother watches over them both. (Sosukes father is a merchant marine captain, away on a haul.) Unbeknown to Ponyo, she has ruined the delicate balance of nature that Dad had been trying so hard to maintain. Storms and tsunamis follow. Sosuke worries about his dad at sea, and then his mom vanishes while helping out some seniors at the old age home. The town is flooded, except for the house on the cliff where the kids are safe. Ponyo turns a toy boat into a real boat and the two children go on an adventure together across the high waters to find Sosukes mother. Miyazakis Studio Gihbli still draws animation by hand (the only ones left who do) and its a beauty to behold. At its core, this film is about the various bonds of love. Between the two kids; between parent and child. This is the best family film to come out since Wall-E. It may not be Miyazakis best film but its one of his cutest and harmless fun for the whole family. Highly recommended.  

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: This is a fun and fast-paced computer generated adaptation of Ron Barrets popular childrens book . Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller do a very nice job bringing the story to cinematic life, by sticking to the basic plot but expanding it in ways that dont violate the spirit of the original work. Its a kids movie, yes, but s can enjoy it too. Flint Lockwood (voice of Bill Hader) has always been a nerdy outcast but he feels that he has something to offer the world, if he can just find out what exactly that is hes meant to do. Starting from a very young age he became an inventor and hoped to create something that would benefit the world, thus giving his life meaning. However, all his inventions lead to comically bad results, such as flying rats and TVs that run away. His efforts to become respectable make him the town joke. Officer Cal Devereaux (Voice of Mr. T) is especially intolerant of Flint because his constant miscalculations disrupt the whole town. Flints father Tim (voice of James Cann) wants Tim to grow up and work in the family Bait-and-tackle shop. The little Island they live on (located just under the A in Atlantic on maps) is in dire straights. They used to be famous for their shrimps, building a whole industry around it. But that was before a new study declared that shrimp is gross, and thus people stopped eating them. The town economy collapsed and all they have left to eat are those shrimp. The whole town is fed up with shrimp. The ambitious and greedy Mayor Shellbourne (Bruce Campell) wants to reinvigorate the town by opening a shrimp theme park. A news intern named Samantha Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) is sent to cover the story because the network heads dont think its worth sending a real reporter. Sam is smart but she likes to play dumb and enjoys terrible puns. The day of the big opening is ruined when Flints latest experiment--a device that turns water into food--goes berserk, wrecking the theme park and launching itself into the sky. However, the disaster turns into a fortuitous occurrence when it starts raining food onto the hungry town. Flint suddenly becomes the town hero and protege of the manipulative mayor. Sam remains on the island to make her reputation by reporting on the weird weather and soon she and Flint start developing romantic sparks. Everyone is happy except dad Tim who knows that no good will come of this. Hes proven right when giant chunks of food start falling and spaghetti tornados devastate the island. The food storms start spreading across the world. Flint, Sam and a few others take his flying car into the clouds to deactivate the food machine, which is now surrounded by a mountain-sized wall of food, like a giant meatball. Our heroes have to navigate the meat caves and battle killer broiled chickens to stop the inclement food weather before the world is destroyed. Many of the scenes in this film are tributes to famous sequences from other films but in a subtle way. Its designed to be shown in 3-D so there a many objects hurtling towards the camera. The lively final part of the film is lots of fun without being upsetting to kids. The voice talents do a great job and the heart of the book remains intact. This is a lot of fun, not only for kids but for s who are still in touch with their inner child.

Gamer:In a future date some years from this exact moment video games have gone human, with unwilling flesh-and-blood surrogates caught up in the mayhem. The carnage of computer games comes to the streets in this shoot-em-up action flick directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Handled with little style and almost zero characterization, Gamer tells the story of a world where criminals such as our protagonist Kable (Gerald Butler) are plucked off death row and used as live avatars in a living video game. Couch potato users can control the actions of the avatars from the safety of their chair and revel in the blood and violence they instigate with their joy sticks. This is all the work of virtual reality mastermind and resident evil billionaire Ken Castle. (Michael C. Hall.) Kable has a computer chip put in his head and is forced to play in a deadly game titled Slayers, and its well named. In this case, hes controlled by 17 year old Jimmy (Logan Lerman) who puts him through his paces. Kable has only three games to go before his sentence is ended and he begs Jimmy to let him play the game via his own actions, because he fears that these nerdy users will get him killed. His freedom will also allow him to reach his wife, the scantily clad Angie (Amber Valletta who makes good eye candy) who is stuck in a o video game called Society. This is basically Running Man meets Tron, designed to cash in on the popularity of bloody and bullet-filled video games. Directors Neveldine & Taylor vainly attempt to create some satire but fail completely. The movie is basically a series of standard action scenes that have been done much better in other films. Gerald Butler continues to follow a strange and unpredictable career path. Hes been everything from Beowulf to the Phantom of the Opera and he has yet to establish himself as an A-lister. Gamer is not going to help him do that because his mostly monosyllabic character could have been played by anyone. As for the slight plot, it may deliver some high octane action (And even those arent particularly exciting) but otherwise its nothing special.

X-MEN Origins: Wolverine. Given the enormous popularity of the X-Men film franchise, its not a surprise that we have characters from that franchise getting their own spin-offs. Its also not a surprise that Wolverine, the (sort of) main character of the X-Films, (Played once again by Hugh Jackman) as well as the most popular character in the comics, would be the first to star in his own film. What is a surprise, however, is how bad this film is. The popularity of Wolverine in the comics and in film is, quite frankly, a mystery. He is really a rather shallow character who sneers, spouts unfunny jokes and calls people Bub. He seems neither witty nor wise yet fans seems to love his reckless nature and his I-dont-give-a-damn attitude. He has an array of interesting powers, including heightened senses, metal claws and, best of all, the power to heal from any injury, no matter how severe. This last power makes Wolverine quite formidable, since hes basically impossible to kill, but this brings up the question of why the audience should get so invested in his battles. He cant be hurt. Whatever the reason, fans do seem to love the . And Hugh Jackson, an actor who can be quite good in the proper role, seems to be working on auto pilot here, playing Wolverine for the fourth time. As you might guess from the title, the film gives us the lowdown on Wolverines pre-amnesia, pre-X-Men life. He is born with the name Logan, were told, in 1840 in the Canadian North West (Regardless of the fact that there was no Canada until 1867) and had a brother named Victor, who shares his unique gift. After leaving home, the brothers share a series of adventures, quickly growing up into Hugh Jackman and Liev Schrieber. (Strangely, they stop aging when they reach that point.) They fight together in the Civil War, although we never know what vested interest they have in it, except that they love a good fight. Cut to the Vietnam War when Logan and Victor are part of a special unit commanded by the devious Stryker (Danny Houston) who wants to create an ultimate mutant, with the powers of all the others combined. (Brian Cox played an older version of Stryker in the second X-Men film.) Logan quits, sick of the violence and distrusting of Stryker, but we know it wont be that easy. Logan settles down to a quiet life with his girl Kayla (Lynn Collins) but Victor--now called Sabertooth--comes looking for Wolverine and wont take No for an answer, even if that means innocent casualties. Logan and Victor fight it out but Logan loses. Soon, a vengeful Logan volunteers for the experiment that lines his bones with the indestructible element Adamantium. He goes hunting for Victor, along with his new ally Remy LeBeau (the popular character Gambit from the comics). They encounter the mammoth Fred Dukes, AKA the Blob, (Kevin Durrand in fat prosthetics) on the way. This all leads to the big finale with super mutant Wade (Ryan Reynolds) and the series of events that lead to Wolverines amnesia. Schreiber has the best role as the savage Saber-tooth, although his version of the character seems nothing like the earlier Tyler Mane interpretation from the first X-Men. Theres a big cast and lots of action, and Hugh Jackman is a serviceable action hero, but X-Men Origins: Wolverine comes across as just a series of barely related scenarios, designed to give our cast of super powered mutants a chance to fight it out and cause carnage. This film could have been so much better.

Inglorious Basterds: You can never mistake a Quentin Tarantino film. Its a unique entity, hard to fit into any particular genre. Inglorious Basterds is a film about war but like most of Tarantinos work, it defies characterization. This wicked and wild film gives us an alternate version of World War 2 filled with fun, over-the-top characters and implausible events. The story begins with despicable Nazi officer Col. Hans Landa (played with wonderful villainy by Christopher Waltz), who is known as the Jew Hunter, tracking down and killing the family of young Shoshanna. He allows her to live, enjoying watching her run scared into the hills. Years later, an and beautiful Shoshanna (Melanie Laurent) is living under an assumed name and running a movie theater, all the while harboring thoughts of revenge. Meanwhile, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as the Basterds are becoming a thorn in the Nazis sides. Their mission has no real objective except to spread terror among the enemy by savaging as many German officers as possible. Despite the unlikelihood of their survival behind enemy lines, the Basterds succeed gloriously (or inglouriously) in their task. The leader of the group is Lt. Aldo Rain, (Brad Pitt) an odd but efficient southerner who instructs his men that each must collect 100 Nazi scalps. He likes to brand Nazis by carving a swastika in their forehead. Pit plays Rain with a comically bad southern accent but his attempt at Italian is even more hilariously (and intentionally) ridiculous. The Basterds are sent to meet with German movie star Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) who is a double agent for the Allies. Despite the job going horribly wrong, Bridget gives the Basterds information that could end the warA chance to assassinate half the German high command, including Hitler! The main characters--Rain, Shoshanna, Hammersmark and Col. Landa--all collide at a movie premier dedicated to young war hero Frederick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl). Zoller lusts after Shoshanna and that leads to the movie premier being held at her humble theater. After years of planning, she has the elite of the Nazi party in her grasp, including the man she hates most, Col. Landa. Meanwhile, the Basterds are on their way, planning to accomplish a similar mission, with no knowledge that theres already such an attempt in the works. Melanie Laurent is excellent as Shoshanna. She is sultry and calculating, yet also vulnerable and sympathetic. But the real scene stealer here is Waltz as Col. Landa, who creates a delightfully wicked portrayal of a man without conscience and yet oozes charm. Col. Landa is droll, personable and funny, always a step ahead of everyone around him. When his amiable facade disappears, we see the monster underneath the schemer. This is an academy award worthy performance. The movie as a whole mocks standard conventions of film making, as do many of Tarantinos movies and his film-within-a film here probably breaks all the rules they teach at film school. Inglourious Basterds gives us an alternate ending to World War Two that history should have given us. Caricatures of Hitler,Goebbels and other Nazis are present and they only serve to show that Tarantino is deliberately trying to impress on us that this is not a serious look at the war or Hitler. Its just a surreal war/drama/action flick that defies description. And its a good one.

Sorority Row: An unexceptional, by-the-numbers slasher flick, that goes where many films have gone before. Director Stewart Hendlers remake of the little remembered, low budget 1983 horror film the House on Sorority Row is a formulaic school-girls-in-distress story. The recognizable plot is lifted from such films as I Know What You Did Last Summer, Prom Night and even the eerie 1981 supernatural thriller Ghost Story. When a group of sorority sisters attempt an elaborate prank on Garret (Matt OLeary) things go horribly wrong and one of the girls, Meagan (Audrina Partridge) ends up dead. Although sweet Cassidy (Brianna Evigan) wants to do the decent thing and confess, Alpha sister and resident cold-hearted diva Jessica convinces the others to hide the body in a lake. If this all sounds familiar, thats because its been done to death. (Pun intended.) Cut to eight months later and its graduation time--never a safe time in any horror film--and a cloaked killer comes calling, picking the girls off one-by-one, in the sort of violent way weve all come to expect from these type of films. The weapon of choice in this fim is a tire iron. After all, every slasher has to have a trade mark. (Hook, ax, etc.) This movie delivers exactly what the audience will want. It also has some snappy, sharp-tongued, bitchy dialogue between the pretty sorority girls. Most of them have generic personalities and have little do do, although Ellie (Rumor Willis) really comes to life near the end with an Ellen Ripley-like survival instinct. Carrie Fisher (Yes, Princess Leia) has a campy role as house mother Mrs. Crenshaw. Sorority Row wont win any academy awards and storyline wont surprise anyone, nor will the big reveal at the end. But if your in the mood for a standard pretty-young-girls-getting-killed-off one-at-a-time by-a-psycho-slasher film, this one is tailor made.

DISTRICT 9: A well intentioned sci-fi premise goes awry in Neil Blomkamps adaptation of the critically acclaimed sci-fi novel. Peter Jackson (Of Lord of the Rings fame) produced, and its done in a documentary style which is clever, lending a certain feel of realism to its premise. A group of rather ugly aliens ( A mix of a bug and a lobster) are stranded on Earth and are named the Prawns because thats what they look like. These arent cute ET aliens but rather a big, scary looking bunch with attitude. Their ship hovers above Johannesburg (Despite supposedly having no power) and the huddled, hungry alien refugees are brought to Earth by the military and kept on government land, which quickly becomes a shabby Shantytown But they are not welcome here at all. In fact, the people of Johannesburg not only fear them because of their alien nature but also because of the drain on local resources. The Prawns forage in the garbage for food and supplies (they love cat food) and they get rations from the government. (Not due to any benevolence, but rather in the hope of learning how to use the ships weapons.) The camp quickly becomes a prison. Fearing a lethal revolt, the locals have demanded for years that they want the Prawn gone. The government finally agrees to relocate them--albeit to an even worse facility called District 9. (And those are the lucky ones. The rest are used for scientific experiments.) Government middle management lackey Wilkus Van Der Mewre, (Sharlto Copley) a clueless bureaucrat is put in charge of the relocation. He seems either oblivious or merely uncaring regarding the horrible treatment of the Prawn as they are forcibly removed from the only semblance of a home theyve had on this planet. He seems proud to locate trouble makers, hoping it will advance his career. But justice finds Van Der Mewre when he is infected by an alien virus and slowly begins to transform into one of the creatures he had refused to help. He gets a taste of what it feels like to be on the other side of the lash. When his hand turns into a lobster claw, he is able to utilize the Prawn weapon (keyed to alien DNA) and becomes a lab rat for the government. The film has some potential but it degenerates after Van Der Merwe escapes and the story slips into a standard chase film. Its a shame that something which started off with such important social commentary ends in a mess of special FX and gunfire. The films setting in South Africa reveals it as an obvious metaphor for the (thankfully ended) practice of Apartheid. The main characters name is typical for the region, since many of the locals have a Dutch heritage. The name District 9 comes from Capetowns District Six where many of the unwanted Cape Coloreds (as they were called) were forcibly relocated to. Despite the good intentions of the original novel, newcomer Blomkamp and Jackson turn the cinema adaptation into a more shallow piece, about ugly aliens, space weapons and a shoot out finale. They put very little thought into it and turn something meaningful into a mass-market bit of dumbed down popcorn fare.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: The latest entry in the phenomenally popular Harry Potter series has a lot to offer as long as your not a purist of the J. K. Rowlings novels. Director David Yates has put together a visually impressive film that supplies us with the nuts and bolts of the book. If your not too familiar with the literary Potter stories youll probably like Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. But book lovers may be disappointed. Harry Potter (Danial Radcliff) is entering his sixth year at Hogwarts but hes still the Charlie Brown of wizards. Hes the bad luck kid who doesnt quit. As the movie begins, Harry is still in post-combat sulk, after losing his godfather in the previous film. Death Eaters are attacking the wizard and mortal world and Harry is prophesied as the savior against the evil Lord Voltermort, even though the brooding teenager has no idea how. Harrys mentor, the wise and benign Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gamon), headmaster of Hogwarts, arrives to show Hary the next step in the good wizards attempts to destroy Voltermort before he conquers them. Harry is once again dragged into events he wants no part of but has come to realize the futility of resisting his fate. Harry gets an advantage this year from an old spell book that once belonged to the Half-Blood Prince and allows Harry to surpass his peers. He also receives help from his two loyal sidekicks, Hermione (Anna Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) who have stuck by him through all his trial and tribulations. Although the three characters have grown into impressive wizards, the three actors have not, sadly, grown into great thespians. They all come across as rather bland. Drago Malfoy (Tom Felton) is back and has much more to do in this film than in the last few entries in the franchise. He plays a pivotal role in this one. The veteran actors are still in fine form, particularly Alan Rickman who never fails to be both entertaining and revolting as Severus Snape, the most enigmatic of the Potter cast. Helena Bohnam Carter, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane and David Thewlis are all along for the ride, even if they dont get much screen time. We dont get to see Ralph Fiennes as Harrys nemesis Voltermort in this installment but his presence is still felt. Harry also gets a new love interest in this one, when he realizes his feelings for Rons sister Ginny (Bonnie Wright) who hasnt had much to do in the films up till now. Since the characters are growing up (and the cast is passing them) this film shows us more teen relationship stuff than weve had in the earlier entries. Ron, in particular, has girl troubles. A lot happens in this film and Yates does his best to fit it all in and not make the film seem too over-crowded. For the most part, he does a nice job. Loyal fans of the novel will rage about the large amount of scenes and subplots eliminated by Yates for the screen adaptation. And yes, there is a lot missing and book fans will often be disappointed that a particular sequence is absent. But Yates did the best he could in the time allotted. Non book fans should have a lot of fun with this franchise entry. Book fans, just try to enjoy it for what it is. Its not bad.

THE TIME TRAVELERS WIFE: Based on a popular novel, Robert Schwentkes adaptation is a bittersweet love story with an absurd remise, that none-the-less is touching. The actors make up for the preposterous plot with a warm chemistry. Henry (Eric Bana), is an unwilling time traveler. He was apparently born with a genetic anomaly that makes him unstuck in time, randomly leaping into the past or future without warning. To make it worse, his clothes dont travel with him, so whenever and wherever he ends up, hell be there . (Often in the snow.) The heart of the film regards Henrys relationship with Clair (Rachael McAdams). The film depicts a life-long love story that unfolds in a different sequence for each of them. Rachel first meets Henry as a small child when he pops () into her families garden--mercifully hidden by some bushes--and knows her name, which starts her infatuation with him. But from Henrys point-of-view, he first meets her as a grown man when she comes into the library where he works, and starts telling him that they know each other. This disjointed, non-linear romance continues through the years, and she has to deal with his frequent unexpected disappearances. Sometimes an older version of himself will come back to see her and sometimes shell be with a younger Henry. He, in the meantime, goes from making love to his wife to suddenly seeing her as a child playing in the meadow. These are some of the problems they continually face. Even their wedding day is not immune when Henry vanishes, but a coincidental twist of fate (and time) allows Henry to deal with the problem. Although there are far too many scenes of a Henry stealing clothes or money to survive in his new time period, Director Schwentke does a nice job keeping this bizarre scenario from slipping into ridiculousness, and the whole thing somehow manages to remain upbeat and strangely sweet.  

THE X-FILES; I WANT TO BELIEVE: Fans were very excited about this one when they heard that David Duchovny and the gorgeous Gillian Anderson were coming back in the roles that made them famous. Doctor Dana Scully and her partner paranormal in investigation Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) are back in the second big screen adaptation of the popular TV series. Sadly, this one is even duller than the first. The film picks up 5 years after the conclusion of the series, and ex-agent Mulder still in hiding, fleeing trumped up charges leveled against him in the series finale. (The movie doesnt bother with wrapping up the unresolved storyline of the series.) Scully is working in a hospital, when she is approached by desperate FBI agents who ask her to get in touch with Mulder. It seems the FBI needs Mulders para-normal expertise to solve a mystery concerning missing girls and a missing FBI agent. Mulder is pardoned and returns to action, Scully dutifully at his side. The plot involves a pedophile priest who may or may not be getting messages from the almighty that will lead to the missing people. Along the way they encounter murderous Russians, vicious attack dogs and a Doctor Frankenstein-like surgeon. Duchovny and Anderson still have the same screen chemistry that made the X-Files series so much fun but the story meanders along at a snails pace, and nothing much happens until the end, but even the finale is nothing too exciting. The story is written so that non-fans can also get involved in the proceedings without knowing too much about the show but thats not necessarily a good thing. People who arent fans wont be won over by this dull entry in the franchise (which will probably be the last) and the old loyal fans will be wondering why they never resolved the dangling pot threads left when X-Files went off the air. On the positive side, Gillian Anderson is as lovely as ever.  

G-FORCE: Disneys latest offering, directed by Hoyt Yeatman, is an inoffensive but generally weak computer-generated, 3-D farce about a team of secret agent rodents trying to prove their worth to the government, and save the world at the same time. The movie is chock full from beginning to end with visual humor and madcap action. The plot concerns a team of intelligent Guinea pigs (and one mole) who have been trained by a research scientist named Ben (Zack Galifianakis) to act as an anti-terrorist commando unit called G-Force. The unit consists of Darwin, Juarez, Speckles and Blaster. (Voices of Sam Rockwell, Penelope Cruz, Nicholas Cage and Tracy Morgan.) To prove that his rodent research hasnt been a waste of money, Ben sends G-Force to get the goods on the mysterious mastermind behind Saber, who the feds have been after for two years. The wacky mission is a success but things then go bad for the team and they end up on the run and soon are trapped in a pet store with a pair of hamsters. (The flatulent Hurly and the talkative Bucky whos embarrassed about having ferret blood.) They plot to escape the pet shop in a scene reminiscent of Finding Nemo where the fish try to escape the tank. The heroic rodents discover a plan by Saber to take over the world with weaponized household appliances. The rest of the film is just an opportunity for the guinea pigs to play James Bond and save the world. The theme of discovering yourself, as well as coming-of-age are on display here, as in many Disney films but its all been done before and done better. The 3-D effects are excellent and theres a cuteness to the film. Its far from Disneys best work and much of the humorous dialog falls flat. It may be a fun film for kids, but it lacks a certain amount of appeal as well.  

KNOWING: Nicholas Cage once again dusts off his standard, tightly-wound genius on-the-edge role in this poorly done thriller by director Alex Proyas. A clever idea is wasted is a rather dull thriller with a far-fetched ending. Cage plays John Kester, a physics teacher whos son Chandler--along with his class at school--unearth a time capsule buried 50 years before. Most of the kids find cute drawings but Chandler gets a piece of paper consisting of a series of numbers. (Written by an odd, troubled young girl named Lucinda in 1949). Papa John is curious about the numbers and soon figures out that all the early numbers coincide exactly with the dates and coordinates of major disasters, such as the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the devastating Tsunami of 2004. Worse, there are upcoming days listed in the near future. John isnt convinced until the dates and locations predicted do, indeed, see horrible tragedies, such as a plane crash. The very last date on the page indicates the end of the world and its coming soon. John and Chandler are stalked by some mysterious men who seem to have an interest in little Chandler. They find allies in Lara Robinson (The now-grown daughter of Lucinda of originally wrote the prediction codes) and her daughter Abby, who are also being chased by the mystery men. The four of them go on the run to find a place where they can survive the upcoming Armageddon and ditch the men hunting them. The revelation of the identity of the mystery men is quite stupid and the finale of the movie is a weird mix of apocalypse and (supposedly) hope. It fails at both. The acting is mediocre and Cages usual angst-ridden neurotic genius role is wearing thin. I would not recommend this movie.  

BATMAN; THE DARK KNIGHT: A sequel to the hit Batman Begins, this is a fun action movie but sadly the last film that Heath Ledger made before he died. Its too bad, because he is very good in this. Christian Bale is back as Bruce Wayne, the brooding billionaire who dresses like a bat at night and defends Gotham City from violent freaks and maniacs. This time, Batman is pitted against his most dangerous adversary, a psychotic criminal in clown make-up who calls himself the Joker (Wonderfully portrayed by Ledger.) The Joker is a challenge to Batmans logical, detective mind because he has no agenda other than anarchy. Batman just cant seem to figure this loony out. As Alfred the Butler (Michael Caine) puts it, Some people just want to see the world burn! Batman, luckily, has some help. Theres Lucius Fox (played by the ubiquitous Morgan Freeman) president of Bruce Waynes company, who builds all Batmans best gadgets, including the batmobile; And theres also Commissioner Gordon, Batmans ally on the Police Force. Bats gets some extra help from crusading District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) who is trying to bring down organized crime in Gotham. Dent becomes the target of the citys mobster, as well as the Joker. The Joker sets out to destroy both Dent and the Batman, not just physically by psychologically, as well. He wants to corrupt the two brightest lights of Gotham, proving that anarchy is superior to chaos. He does his job well. Bruce/Batman is tortured by doubts while Dent goes through such hell that he ends up forever changed. The talented cast does an excellent job turning a super hero action film into a taut, psychological thriller. Stealing the show is Ledger, who dominates the proceedings as the maniacal Joker. He manages to create a villain who is wonderfully evil and insane! This may be the best portrayal of the Joker ever (All apologies to Jack Nicholson and Caesar Romero.) This is one of the best Batman films ever. Its a lot of fun, even for non-Batfans. THE INCREDIBLE HULK (Three Stars) THE INCREDIBLE HULK: Another super-hero adaptation (There seem to be plenty of those lately.) This one is a semi-sequel to Ang Lees 2002 flop Hulk. (It picks up on some aspects of the fist film but is basically a reboot of the franchise.) This time, Edward Norton plays the tormented scientist Doctor Bruce Banner, a man cursed with a Jekyll & Hyde dilemma that turns him into the 10 foot rampaging green Hulk whenever his adrenaline surges and heart-rate speeds up. Banner has been hiding in South America since the end of the last film, trying to find a cure for his condition. Meanwhile, the military, lead by General Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross (John Hurt) is hunting Banner, hoping to find the secret of his metamorphosis and create and army of huge, green commandos. The man sent by Ross to bring Banner back alive is Emil Bronsky (Tim Roth) who becomes obsessed with the Hulks power. Liv Tyler plays Betty Ross, Banners former girlfriend who is drawn back into Banners tumultuous life. To complicate things, her father is Thunderbolt Ross. She is caught in between the two adversaries. Meanwhile, Bronsky finds a way to mutate himself and gain power like the Hulks. He becomes the Abomination, setting up a monstrous clash of titans, the likes of which hasnt been seen since king Kong slugged it out with Godzilla. This version of the Hulk is better than the Ang Lee version. Edward Norton is always excellent and Tim Roth makes the villain very realistic rather than cartoonish. And watch out for a cameo by Robert Downey Jr., reprising his role from Iron Man. This is a decent adventure film with a good cast. The final battle scene is a hoot. IRON MAN  + (Three & a Half Stars) IRON MAN: Based on the long running, popular comic book created by the legendary Stan Lee, Iron Man is a triumphant film adaptation, one of the best movies of the superhero genre. A powerful performance by Robert Downey Jr. highlights this highly entertaining adventure/sci-fi film. Tony Stark (Downey) is a conceited and frivolous but brilliant weapons manufacturer. He never thinks about the ramifications of his chosen business. But then, while on a visit to Iraq to demonstrate his new missile, Stark is inured (by weapons he built) and captured by terrorists. The inured Stark will only live as long as the electro magnetic pacemaker installed in his chest can keep him alive. He has only a matter of days to meet his captors demands or theyll let him die. They want him to recreate his new missile for them. Stark feigns agreement and asks for specific equipment. He builds a weapon but not what they expect. Stark builds an awesome battle armor and uses it to fight his way to freedom. Once safely back in the states, he designs a more permanent mechanical heart for himself. The whole experience forces him to re-evaluate his misspent life and acknowledge the horror that his weapons have unleashed upon the world. He vows to make up for his past misdeeds. He announces that his company will no longer build weapons. This frightens his stockholders, especially his long-time junior partner Obediah Stane (Jeff Bridges). Stark sets to work building the ultimate suit of battle armor, loaded with weapons that would put a tank to shame. It flies faster than a jet and has computers that would make Bill gates proud. His secrecy makes people think his experiences in Iraq have driven him insane. Only his loyal girl-Friday Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow) has any faith in him. When his armor is completed, Iron Man now wages war against terrorists, especially those who use weapons of his own design. But he has enemies closer to home that hes unaware of. Whos betraying him? Could his partner be selling weapons to terrorists? Downey is perfect as Stark, a man who is forced to face not only his own mortality, but also the guilt from his inhumane legacy. Forget that this movie is based on a comic book. Its an excellent action film with serious undertones.

Kung Fu Panda: Dreamworks gives Disny and Pixar some competition in the computer animated family film genre. Kung Fu Panda is a fun, inoffensive film with a good lesson about looking inward for inspiration instead of outward. Directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson have collected a boatload of famous voice talent to highlight this action filled lark, which pays tribute to the classic films and TV shows about the Martial Arts, such as Kung Fu. The story: A discontented and out of shape Panda named Po, (Voice of Jack Black) raised to be a cook by his adopted bird father Ping (James Hong) loves reading and fantasizing about the Martial Arts. He is excited on the day that ancient grand master turtle Oogway (Randel Duk Kim) is about to announce the identity of the long awaited Dragon Warrior, who will bring lasting peace to the Valley. At a huge ceremony, Oogway studies the contenders for the honored title. These master warriors are known collectively as the Furious Five. Individually they are Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), Crane (David Cross) and Mantis (Seth Roegen). Po accidentally barges in on the proceedings and to everyones shock, the untrained intruder is named by Oogway as the Dragon Warrior. Everyone is stunned and appalled, but no one more-so than sensei Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) who trained the Furious Five for years, hoping that his students would help him erase a sin of the past. He thinks all hope is dashed now that a seemingly incompetent bungler has been assigned the role of protector of the Valley. Elsewhere, an old enemy of the Valley escapes prison. Tai Lung the leopard (Ian McShane) --considered the most powerful warrior--is on his way back to the village, looking for revenge. Shifu tries repeatedly to get Po to quit but that only increases Pos determination to prove that he can be something more than a soup cook in his fathers kitchen. Oogway advises Shifu not to judge Po to quickly. Shifu starts to see the potential in Po and so the short but intense training period begins. But Tai Lung is on his way. Can Shifu turn Po into the Dragon Warrior in time to save the valley from Tai Lung? Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman are excellent as the voices of Po and Shifu. Angelina Jolies sultry tones are effective as Tigress. Real life martial arts legend Jackie Chan doesnt have much to say as Monkey, alas. Ian McShane hisses menacingly as the evil Tai Lung. The film is very entertaining and there are some exciting fight scenes, which wont be too violent for children. Theres a very Buddhist philosophy here, about seeking answers inside yourself rather than looking out for guidance or inspiration. Its a good message and this is a good film.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE: The 2008 Best Picture Oscar this year, Danny Boyles Slumdog Millionaire is a unique film, artistically done and beautifully filmed. It gives us duel images of India. We see the sad, impoverished Indian where Mother Theresa once tended to the sick. But we see it laid side-by-side with the new, shiny modern India. They seem like different worlds. The old India is represented by the Oliver Twist-like life of the young protagonist, and the new India is represented by the popular TV show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. The contrast is striking! The Plot: 20 year old Jamal (Dev Patel) is a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire but is arrested after the first of two tapings on the suspicion that he somehow cheated. They torture him, demanding to know how this uneducated Slumdog from the hellish streets of Mumbai could have made it all the way to the 10 million mark. The bulk of the rest of the movie is a series of flashbacks, where we see the wealth of experience Jamal has had in his short life and how he gained the hard-won knowledge that brought him his recent success. We see Jamals childhood, as he and his older, nastier brother Salim try to survive after their mother is killed for being a Muslim. They live on the mean streets, stealing or begging for a living. They hook up with fellow orphan Latika, who will have a profound effect on Jamals life, as both his strength and his weakness. As the brothers grow, they have many adventures, some light-hearted (as when they pretend to be tour-guides at the Taj Mahal) to dangerous (the Fagin-like thug who takes them in but has diabolical intentions.) Latika is separated from Jamal several times, but he always manages to find her again. She grows up to be a beautiful young girl (played by Frieda Pinto) and his efforts to rescue her from a bad situation with a gangster lead him to enter the Millionaire show. Will the police believe Jamal and release him? If so, can he win the final round of Millionaire or will he lose all the money hes won so far? Can he save Latika from the Gangster? The suspense is maintained throughout by Boyle who controls the time-jumping plot-line with deftness and style.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON:A career-best performance by Brad PItt and some wonderfully artful direction from David Fincher highlight an impressive cinematic treatment of F. Scotts Fitzgeralds novel about a man who ages backwards. Perhaps the real star of the film are the make-up artists who so convincingly create the illusion of aging (and youth-ing) by the films attractive leads. The Framing story concerns a dying, elderly woman (Kate Blanchett) discussing her great, lost love with her daughter (Julia Ormond) during a hurricane. That lost love was, of course, Benjamin Button. Benjamin is born on the eve of the end of WW One (A special time to be born). At the same time, a clock is built by an inventor who lost his son in the war. The clock only runs backwards, reflecting the inventors wish that we could roll back the years and undo the horrors of the war. Benjamin is born as a troll-like, shriveled little creature, with arthritis, bad eyesight, weak bones and all the other problems of a 90 year old man. After his mother dies in childbirth, his distraught, disgusted father abandons the baby at an old-age home, where the boy is taken in and raised by the kindly nurse Queenie who looks after all the old folks at the home. Benjamin is raised (so to speak) along with the elderly who accept him as one of them. To every ones surprise, he seems to be getting stronger and healthier as the years go by. It becomes apparent that he is getting younger. Then Benjamin meets a young child named Daisy, grand-daughter of one of the patients, who he forms a close friendship with. When Benjamin leaves the home to see the world, she asks him to write her every day. He does so. Benjamin has a Forest Gump-like series of adventures over key periods in time, including WW Two. He continues to get younger, and has his share of sexual encounters. But its when he meets the now grown Daisy (played by the beautiful Kate Blanchett) that he realizes who his soulmate is. The relationship looks promising when they are the same age (We met in the middle Daisy says) but how can their love survive when he is getting acne and shes getting wrinkles? What will happen when Benjamin and daughter Caroline are the same age (You cant raise us both Ben ruefully tells Daisy.) Brad Pitt has never been better, (Hes nominated for Best Actor) and Kate Blanchettt is--as always--terrific. And shes never looked lovelier. Taraji Henson is also excellent as Benjamins saintly surrogate mother Queenie. The make-up effects magically transform the actors through the years, and Finchers directing recreates time and place admirably. Although it takes liberties with the Fitzgerald novel, this is still a fine cinematic achievement.  

GRAN TORINO: This film wasnt nominated for anything but it should have been. Clint Eastwood may be 79 years old but he hasnt lost a step in his directorial talent. Gran Torino is his best film since Mystic River. No film-maker does Americana the way Eastwood does. Not flag-waving jingoistic stories but rather stories that look into the heart of the heartland. The protagonist of Gran Torino, a named Walt Kowalski, could be an older version of Dirty Harry or some of the other tough- parts that served Eastwood so well in his youth. This film may, in fact, be Eastwoods way of closing the book on those action heroes hes too old to play now and giving his macho image a finale, touching send-off. As the film begins, Kowalski is recently widowed. Not being close to his children (who want to put him in an old-age home) and shunning the good intentions of the local priest Father Janovich (who promised Walts late wife that hed look after Walt) Walt lives a solitary existence, with only his dog for company. His prized possession is his 1989 Gran Torino which he renovated himself and frequently polishes. To make things even more unpleasant for Walt is that he hates his Korean neighbors. Walt is a Korean war veteran and hes never gotten over the hatred he felt for the Korean people. In recent years, however, his longtime neighbors have either died or moved away and Korean immigrants have been buying up their houses. Walt finds himself surrounded by the race he hates most. He sits on his porch snarling at any Asians he sees, while his American flag proudly waves in the breeze. Things change when Walt--against his better judgment--rescues the neighbors kids from the local gang of street thugs. First teenage boy Thao Lor requires saving and then pretty Sue Lor gets into a situation where Walt saves the day. Soon, to his chagrin, Walt find himself a local hero, and the whole neighborhood is leaving gifts and food on his doorsteps. He is invited to a barbecue which Sue Lor convinces him to attend. To his amazement, Walt slowly comes to realize that he has more in common with these foreign visitors than he ever had with the white neighbors who lived alongside him for decades but remained strangers. Walt becomes a father figure to the kids. But the street gang is still a menace and they not only have Walt but also the two kids in their cross-hairs. Walt faces a conundrum. He wonders if hell be forced to play the hero one last time in his twilight years? Has he still got it in him to be the warrior he once was? Eastwood is at the top of his game here, both as a director and actor. Its a shame he didnt receive a nomination for either, because this is an insightful film and, in a symbolic way, it ends the iconic reign of Eastwood as a macho action hero. This film is an affectionate goodbye to the archetype character that made him a star years ago. The hero may be gone but Eastwood is still a director of inestimable skill.  

DOUBT: John Patrick Shanley wrote and directed this screen adaptation of his award-winning play about how gossip brings down a priest in a 1960s Catholic school. Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is friendly and nurturing to the boys in his parish, especially Donald Miller, the only black child in the school. This hasnt escaped the all-seeing eye of the schools head-nun Sister Aloysius (magnificently portrayed by the ever-talented Merryl Streep) who imagines a sinister intention to the Fathers private meetings with the boy. She asks novice nun Sister James (Amy Adams) to keep and eye on Father Flynn. When Sister James innocently reports something she finds a bit unusual, Sister Aloysius sees it as a justification for suspecting Father Flynn of child molestation. She tries to force him out of the school while hunting for concrete proof of her unsupported theory. She has a meeting with Flynn where she drops not-so-subtle hints about her beliefs. Young Sister James starts to feel guilty for her part in bringing this accusation about. Flynn finally loses his trademark pleasantness and confronts Sister Aloysius in an emotionally charged scene (perfectly played by both Streep and Hoffman). Is Father Flynn guilty or is this a witch hunt by a nun with a personal vendetta? Shanley is deliberately ambiguous in his treatment of the subject and the title says it all. The acting is top notch and Streep may win another Best Actress Oscar for her powerful portrayal of a woman who is ruled by her convictions, even when theres doubt.  

THE WRESTLER: Mickey Roarke makes the comeback of the year (maybe the decade) in Darren Aronofskys moving film about an over-the-hill wrestler. After years of making a series of very poor films, Roarke left Hollywood for several years to try boxing. He career as a pugilist was short-lived and he returned to films, with a strong supporting role in Sin City. Now, in his first starring role in years, Roarke gives the best performance of his career. He embodies the aging grappler perfectly. His years as a boxer no doubt helped him in the role. Roarke plays Randy the Ram Robinson, once the hottest Wrestler in the business and the headliner of the biggest Wrestling events in the country. Now, past his prime and recovering from heart surgery, the Ram is no longer the force he used to be. His once grand career is limited to the small-time wrestling circuit, appearing in school gyms and tiny auditoriums for a small paycheck. He even has to work in a supermarket to supplement his income. His only friends are the local kids who look up to him. He longs for a return to his glory days, even though he knows a body can only take so much. When the opportunity for a high-profile rematch with his former rival comes, he considers returning to the big-time, despite a resurgence of heart problems. The Rams only confident is Cassidy (Marisa Tomei, who brings a lot of heart to the role and who still looks great) a stripper in the club which Randy the Ram frequents. He wants to date her but she has her own code against dating customers. Cassidys story parallels the Rams. As a 40-something stripper, her days as a sex-object are rapidly coming to a close, and she is rejected by some of the men who come to the club looking for very young girls. She doesnt like the job but she needs it because shes a single mother and stripping provides her with the money to support her son and send him to school. While the Ram debates his career options and has a brush with his own mortality, he tries to fix the broken relationship with his daughter Stephanie (Even Rachel Wood, who keeps getting better and better with each film shes in) who resents him for leaving her and her mother. Randy the Ram is a man who can only do one thing and cant imagine himself doing anything else. He needs the roar of the crowd, and feels diminished as a man for being unable to remain the man he was. His pride is even more injured than his worn and scarred body. Aronofskys sensitive direction and Roarkes amazing performance (he is nominated for Best Actor and has a strong chance of winning) lift what could have been a rather standard story of faded dreams, and turns it into a poignant tale of a proud man who is clutching at the embers of a past gone up in smoke.  

SYNECDOCHE, NY: Every once in a while a film comes along which is so insightful about human nature that it is destined to become a classic. This is one of them. Charlie Kaufman, one of the most talented writers in the industry, also directs this brilliantly observant metaphor for life and the way we try to force it into our own vision of what it should be. Why this amazing movie wasnt nominated for anything is beyond me. Perhaps its too complicated and complex. Its one of those films which are ahead of its time. Watching this film is a cerebral experience because it works on different levels. On one level, its the story of a lonely man and his play. On another level, this is an autobiography for the viewer. As you watch this film, you realize that Kaufman made a film that could be about you! The general plot concerns Caden Cotard, (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) a playwright with limited talent, whos marriage is in a rut. His infinitely more talented wife Adele (Catherine Keener) is a successful painter, whose success seems to mock him. His plays are hum-drum, and he is sexually attracted to one of the women he works with, and is in love with another. The three women offer him marriage, sex and love, yet he is unsatisfied because none of them are individually what he wanted. As his wife points out, People will always disappoint you, once you know them long enough. No matter how we try to force the ones we love into the mold we wish them to be, they never became everything we want. Adele is similarly disappointed in Caden and the marriage breaks up, although she never actually tells him. She just goes on vacation and never comes back. (With their daughter in tow.) Caden decides that he needs to do something meaningful and impressive with his life. He decides to write the ultimate play, and spends the rest of his life on the project. He begins building a simulacrum of NY in an impossibly large warehouse, and it grows into an small city where Caden can recreate his life. All his characters are imitations of people he knows, including himself and all the women whove been in his life. As he grows more obsessed, its becomes hard for him--and the viewers of the film--to tell where reality ends and the play begins. He physical ailments grow and multiply; his health is as hard to cure as are his creative troubles. Caden tries very hard over the decades to make his play-lifework out the way he wants it to. He hopes he can control events in the studio but even these events keep going beyond his control, as do the actors, whose private lives shift over into the work and cause problems Caden didnt expect. Even as he ages and people die around him, he tries to get things right. He continues to have epiphanies (I know how to do the play now!) but the solution is never as easy as he hopes. He can only ride out the tide of time and try in vain to create a world where he has control over his life and the lives of those around him. The film is a musing on how life goes for everyone. We try to create a life we want, fighting the obstacles in our way. We hope the people in our lives will act a certain way and we try our little tricks to get them to act the way we want them to but theres no way to control others actions and were frequently disappointed. Time keeps rushing on, no matter how much we try to preserve a vision of life as we think it should be. We want to be the director and star of our own film but even our own story is not totally ours to control. In the end, life will write its own story and we can only follow the script.  

FROST/NIXON: Ron Howard continues to make interesting films about interesting real-life people. This film recreates the famous 1977 interviews (and the events leading up to them) where Richard Nixon finally admitted his culpability in Watergate to the world. This film starts off as a fascinating look at the world of TV media but switches to a tense suspense story. The plot: David Frost (Michael Sheen) is in a career slump. Once having been a star on both British & American television, he has since been reduced to hosting a local talk show on an Australian TV station. He yearns for the success he once had (Theres nothing like success in America Frost sadly states) and looks for a gimmick that will bring him international attention again. He sees an opportunity in the reclusive Richard Nixon, former President of the United States. Nixon (Excellently portrayed by Frank Langella) was pardoned after the Watergate fiasco and never answered for his actions. Many people were furious that Nixon escaped any type of justice and never even apologized for his crimes. Nixon has since been living in a self-imposed exile in a seaside estate in California, surrounded by secret service men. He is rarely seen in public and has not done a single interview since. He privately seeks a way to erase the black mark against him and return to public life. Frost proposes four sit-downs sessions between the two men, where theyll discuss a number of topics, the last of which will be Watergate. Nixon agrees because Frost is seen as a lightweight; a who will toss softball questions at Nixon. Nixon thinks he will be able to control the interview and use it as a way of getting his side of the story out. He hopes that he can convince the American people that his actions were necessary and that hes not a crook. Also, Frost offered him a lot of money for four hours work. As for Frost, he is taking a huge risk with this interview. He cant find people to sponsor him, so he has to beg and borrow the money to buy network time and to pay Nixons exorbitant fee. The only way he can ever repay so much money is if he can get a major network to reimburse him, and to do that, he will have to deliver what he promised them--a public apology and a confession of guilt from the close-mouthed Nixon. If Nixon doesnt come clean, Frost will be financially ruined. The first few session go horribly wrong for Frost, as the experienced Nixon steam-rolls over him with a combination of his powerful presence and well-practiced anecdotes. He has an answer for everything Frost asks. It seems that Frost wont be able to force a confession from the ex-President. What happened in that final interview session is now legendary. The movies follows mostly from Frosts point of view. He is the outsider, the has-been, not taken seriously by anyone. The pressure is on him to succeed or fall. How he slays this mighty giant is gripping cinema, and an important moment not only in TV history but for America as well.  

THE READER: Movies concerning the Holocaust always seem to get great reviews, perhaps because such a weighty subject deserves attention. And while the Reader is not epic on the scale of Schindlers List its still a powerful meditation of the aftereffects of WW2 and the Holocaust. Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes) is reminded of a long ago romance, and flashbacks show us about his youthful dalliance. In post-War Germany, he met a mysterious woman named Hanna Schmidt. (Kate Winslet, who is excellent here.) She teaches young Michael (David Cross) about sex, and he, in return, reads to her. He enjoys the summer dalliance until Hanna one day suddenly vanishes, breaking his heart. A few years later, Michael is in law school and his professor brings Michael and a few other students to the courthouse to witness a trial. To young Michaels dismay and shock, the defendant in the trial is Hanna Schmidt, who is accused of killing 300 Jewish women during the war. Years later, older Michael (Fiennes) finds his fate linked with Hannas once again, and old ghosts of the war and of that magical summer come flooding back. Fiennes gives a nice understated performance but Winslet is extraordinary, and she finally won an overdo academy award for best actress.





TOP GALLERY : maternity swimwear 42d bra, plus size clothing women cc girl bras,