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Here are selected minireviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically.
Some reviews originate at other newspapers that do not award star ratings.
“21”
Drama ** PG-13. It isn’t about luck. It’s about calculation. Keep that in mind when thinking about this by-the-numbers adaptation of Ben Mezrich’s much richer bestseller about a group of MIT students who put a hurting on the casinos of Vegas. Jim Sturgess (lovely Jude in “Across the Universe”) is Ben Campbell, a numbers savant and MIT undergrad who can’t make the financial numbers work to get into Harvard Med School, without a full-ride scholarship. Kate Bosworth is Jill the just as bright student who recruites him for professor Micky Rosa’s card-counting sojourns to sin city. For all its high- stakes hand signals and mathematical tricks, “21” becomes a lot more compelling when Kevin Spacey (as the groups leader) and Laurence Fishburne, as a casino security expert, face off in what is more chess match than card game. (Kennedy) 118 minutes
“The Band’s Visit”
Cross-cultural comedy. ***1/2 PG-13. The movie follows the misadventures of Egypt’s Alexandria Ceremonial Police Band as they arrive in an isolated Israeli desert town for a concert. It’s an unlikely place for a show — extremely unlikely, as it turns out. Misdirected at the airport, the band has gone to the wrong locale, and there’s nothing to be done about it since the last bus has already left for the day. This sets up a series of evening encounters between the band members and locals that begins with miscommunication and end with cultural détente. (Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Daily News) 89 minutes
“The Bank Job”
Heist caper. **1/2 R. A solidly built and entertaining Brit B-movie about a heist that goes wrong. And right. It’s an elaborate caper, with odd but oddly believable crooks, compelling villains and loads of swell British slang circa 1971. And the kicker? It really happened. Heist-picture clichés such as the divide-the-loot session, the kidnap and torture of gang members and “the handoff” are managed with aplomb. The film doesn’t cover much ground that 100 years of heist movies haven’t been over before. But as the mistakes and blunders turn deadly, and the outcome grows more and more doubtful we begin to care who lives, who dies and who will end up doing time for “The Bank Job.” (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel) 110 minutes
“Blindsight”
Powerful adventure. *** PG. In Lucy Walker’s stirring adventure documentary, Erik Weihenmayer and Sabriye Tenberken prove that the blind not only can lead the blind, but should. Weihenmayer, a Colorado native, was the first blind person to ascend Everest. No less, extraordinary, Tenberken traveled from Germany to Tibet to found a school for the blind. The two unite to take six Tibetan teens — Kyila, Sonam Bhumtso, Tashi Pasang, Gyenshen, Dachung and Tenzin — on an expedition to Everest’s 23,000-foot Lhakpa Ri peak. It is a complicated sojourn that raises questions about East and West, end point and undertaking. The young people are humbling in their own right, not least because they remind us that the Buddhist culture they’ve been raised in comes with its own hard views of disease and infirmity. (Kennedy) 104 minutes
“CJ7”
Sci-fi comedy. *1/2 PG. Chow plays Ti, an impoverished single dad with a son named Dicky (in one of many gender-bending twists in the movie, the boy is played by a girl). Dicky finds what appears to be a stuffed toy, but it turns out to be a mischievous alien trickster. As Dicky uses his new pal to get back at the bullies at school and to improve his grades. (Chris Hewitt, St. Paul Pioneer Press) 88 minutes
“Counterfeiters”
Holocaust drama. *** Not rated. The film sets a compelling moral dilemma around the story of a counterfeiting ring operated by prisoners in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp north of Berlin during World War II. The film is based on the observations of professional printer Adolf Burger, who was incarcerated at Sachsenhausen along with other Jewish typesetting experts, graphic designers and printers who are set to work reproducing the British pound and the U.S. dollar so that the Nazis can flood the Allies’ economies and continue to finance their war effort. (Connie Ogle, McClatchy Newspapers) 98 minutes
“Drillbit Taylor”
Coming of Age Comedy. ** PG-13. As the titular homeless hustler hired by three McKinley High freshman to be their bodyguard, Owen Wilson often gives the camera something touching to work with. Concave-chested Wade (Nate Hartley) and pudgy pal Ryan (Troy Gentile) are likeable best friends in what feels like a “Superbad” knock-off for the PG-13 set. David Dorfman is Emmit, the geeky minnow even more vulnerable to bullying then Wade and Ryan. Leslie Mann is the teacher taken with Drillbit’s substitute teacher guise. The school’s predators are played by Alex Frost and Josh Peck. Which leads us to a bedeviling problem: Frost’s feral portrayal bullies the comedy. His sociopath really belongs in another movie. (Kennedy) 102 minutes
“Flawless”
Heist film. **1/2 PG-13. There’s nothing swinging about the 1960s London where Demi Moore, as an ambitious diamond company exec named Laura Quinn, finds herself in the engaging, if flawed, “Flawless.” This is a heist picture, a feminist revenge fantasy and an excuse for Michael Caine to re-deploy his Cockney accent as a wily old janitor, “Flawless” finds the actress in sharp, smart business attire, using a mid-Atlantic accent (she’s a U.S. ex-pat, educated at Oxford and long residing in England), and spending her off hours alone in her apartment, having a meal, a cigarette and listening to jazz. (Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer) 100 minutes
“Holly”
Docu-drama. **1/2 R. This well-meaning drama takes place in Phnom Penh’s notorious red-light district, K11, and was designed to promote awareness of child prostitution. The use of authentic Cambodian locations adds immeasurably to the film’s emotional landscape; the filmmakers deserve credit for capturing the physicality of K11 as a suffocating maze of illicit activity. Yet “Holly” never achieves the dramatic clarity it needs to put its human suffering into perspective. (Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times) 113 minutes
“Horton Hears a Who!”
Animated joy. ***1/2 G. It is here! It is here! It is here! Forget those live-action Seuss flicks with their wink-wink, nudge-nudge moments. Jim Carrey, Steve Carell and directors Jimmy Hayward and Steve Marino have given us an animated ride worthy the good doctor. Carrey gives famous pachyderm Horton a truly heroic heart. Carell gives anxiety a funny face as the father of 97 Whos and mayor of the threatened Who-ville. Carol Burnett provides the pot-stirring oratory of Kangeroo. A person is a person no matter how small, indeed. And the filmmakers prove a wonderful film is a wonderful film no matter how G. (Kennedy) 88 minutes
“The Kite Runner”
Literary drama. *** PG-13. The movie adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s much-loved best seller “The Kite Runner” does decent, if sometimes ham-fisted, service to the novel’s troubled characters, surefire themes and evocation of the tragic fate of Afghanistan over the past 20 years. The story breaks down into three basic sections. In 1970s Kabul, privileged Amir (remarkable Afghan child actor Zekiria Ebrahimi) is expert at a game in which kite flyers vie to cut one another’s strings but otherwise is an unassertive wimp. His best friend is the family servant’s son Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada, ditto on the remarkable front), who chases down the fallen kites Amir wins and fights for his pal’s honor. This gets Hassan in trouble with some neighborhood bullies, who mete out a terrible punishment that Amir secretly witnesses. (Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News) 122 minutes
“Leatherheads”
Sports romantic comedy. **1/2 PG-13. Slapstick meets screwball in “Leatherheads,” an amiable valentine to an era of breakneck repartee, bathtub booze and anything-goes gridiron warfare starring George Clooney. The setting is 1925 Duluth, Minn., home base of the Bulldogs, a rough-and-ready pro football team in an era when pay was low, glamour was nil and rulebooks were rarely consulted. Then Princeton football star Carter “The Bullet” Rutherford is enticed to join the teetering Bulldogs for a percentage of the gate, promoting him as the sport’s first superstar. Following Rutherford is Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger), a feisty Chicago Tribune reporter. Clooney, who co-wrote the film (along with Denver’s Rick Reilly), is unabashed in his affection for period Americana and old-school filmmaking, and recreates it with impressive technical polish. (Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune) 114 minutes
“Married Life”
Drama. ***1/2 PG-13. On a rainy, blackened road, Harry Allen gives a stranger a ride. In turn the stranger innocently gives Harry a lethal idea. In Ira Sachs’ wry and wicked drama set in the late 40s, Chris Cooper plays an upstanding man who decides to kill his wife in order to marry is mistress. Incomparable Patricia Clarkson is wife, Pat. Rachel McAdams plays luminous Kay. Pierce Brosnan is terrifcally caddish and observant as Harry’s best friend and our narrator. Given Harry’s intent, “Married Life” could have tipped over into a cynical riff of, well, married life. But with an emotionally, intellectually agile cast and a gift for tart but humane observation the film is entertaining and nearly cruelty free. (Kennedy) 90 minutes
“Nim’s Island”
Fantasy adventure. **1/2 PG. Nim (Abigail Breslin) lives a regular Nim’s Family Robinson life on her own deserted isle in “Nim’s Island,” the reasonably delightful new kids’ fantasy film based on Wendy Orr’s novel. She swings among the trees, spends her days with her pals — a sea lion, a pelican and a lizard — and her nights with her books and her dad, the marine biologist (Gerard Butler). This colorful, winning comedy allows the plucky little girl to fend off rapacious tourists who invade her island as she waits for her shipwrecked dad to return — or her literary hero (Jodie Foster) to come to her rescue. Foster may be at sea when it comes to the comedy (upstaged by a sea lion, a first for her), but she is a perfectly credible agoraphobic. (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel)95 minutes
“The Other Boleyn Girl”
Historical fiction. ** PG-13. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson slip into the lovely dresses of sisters Anne and Mary Boleyn in this tale of sibling rivalry and sisterly connection in the court of Henry VIII. Based on Philippa Gregory’s novel, this latest entry into the Brit monarchy marathon, directed by TV director Justin Chadwick with Eric Bana as a man of carnal appetites and visionary ambition. Portman is the calculating, bold Anne. The chillier Johansson is Mary, her younger, gentler sis. Kristin Scott Thomas plays mother Lady Elizabeth and David Morrissey is aptly unpleasant and calculating as the Duke of Norfork, their uncle. (Kennedy) 110 minutes
“Run, Fatboy, Run”
Romantic comedy. **1/2 PG-13. Impossibly likeable, writer-actor Simon Pegg (“Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”) plays exhaustingly immature Dennis in this minor romantic comedy that marks the capable directorial debut of “Friends'” David Schwimmer. Five years earlier, Dennis jilted his expectant and expecting fiancée (Thandie Newton), now he’s a security guard and dad with visitation rights. He wants more. And in trying to compete with the physically, fiscally superior rival Whit (Hank Azaria) for Libby and his son’s love, he declares he’s going to run the same charity marathon Whit’s entered in. Hence the title. “Run, Fatboy, Run” isn’t going to win any prizes for fresh questions. But it’s just fleet enough to hold its own in the middle of the pack. (Kennedy) 100 minutes
“Semi-Pro”
Sports spoof. *1/2. R. Will Ferrell steps into the leisure suit and afro of Jackie Moon, owner of the fictional ABA hoops team the Flint, Michigan Tropics who must compete for a place in the NBA. Moon made his money with R&B one-hit-wonder, “Love Me Sexy.” Based on the real absorbtion of four ABA teams into the better-known league, “Semi-Pro” embraces the vibrant history of the game. Yet, Ferrell, director Kent Alterman, and screenwriter Scot Armstrong seem content making money with this one-note-blunder that gives a big sloppy kiss to most things ’70s. Woody Harrleson and Andre Benjamin were drafted to the cast roster. Maura Tierney, of “ER” provides adult supervision in an R-rated, powerfully juvenile flick. (Kennedy) 90 minutes
“Shine a Light”
Concert movie. *** PG-13. The Rolling Stones. Martin Scorsese. That combo should have made for the concert film to end ’em all. “Shine a Light” isn’t it (not that there’s such a thing, really). But there’s satisfaction to be had in this dazzling dance of cameras and band, shot at New York City’s Beacon theater on the occasion of Bill Clinton’s 60th birthday. While far superior to 1991’s “At the Max,” the film’s no “Gimme Shelter.” But then, 2008 is not 1969. And if you pull back from the whirlwind that is the Stones in their performance zone, this film says somethings about the zeitgeist and rock n’ roll, about the age of professionalism. You don’t keep a band going, and going, without business stamina and smarts. Mick Jagger remains the band’s energizer sex bomb, with a mouth that predates Angelina Jolie’s pout by three decades. Charlie Watts has aged in ways that make quick sense. His bandmates inspire metaphor, jibes, awe. With a voice less agile than his hips, Jagger is still a force. His gyrating hasn’t become parody. It’s humbling. (Kennedy) 122 minutes
“The Spiderwick Chronicles”
Fantasy. **1/2 PG. Based on Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s children’s books, the movie offers a dazzling array of magical beings and realms for Jared Grace, twin Simon and teen sis Mallory to explore. Directed by Mark Waters, “Spiderwick” combines the magic effects of more robust fantasy franchises with the story of a family under divorce duress without going too dark. Also helping to keep things merrily off-kilter, Martin Short provides the cantankerous voice of the tiny creature Thimbletack. An engaging young actor, Highmore is most convincing as quieter twin Simon. But it’s angry Jared who must grow. “Spiderwick” is modest, not epic. It’s got thrills but is not allegorically deep or daunting like the Harry Potter or Narnia flicks. (Kennedy) 97 minutes
“Stop-Loss”
Soldiers’ stories. *** R. Staff Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) and Sgt. Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) return to Texas after tours of duty in Aghanistan and Iraq. They’re ready to begin their lives anew when King is “stop-lossed.” Not only will the decorated soldier not be getting out, he’s to be redeployed to Iraq. With the help of a life-long friend Michele (Abbie Cornish) — Steve’s fiancee — King goes AWOL. Despite occasional lapses into unneeded melodrama, the film is a well acted excursion into the challenges of coming home. Ciarán Hinds and Linda Emond provide a sturdy foundaton as Kings’ parents. (Kennedy) 112 minutes
“Under the Same Moon”
Immigration drama. *** PG-13. “La Misma Luna” is an emotional and entertaining road picture about a little boy who crosses the Mexican border into the U.S. on a quest to find his mom. She works “without papers” and off the books in Los Angeles. It’s a warm drama that humanizes America’s illegal immigration debate even as it sentimentally stacks the deck in favor of the undocumented. (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel) 109 minutes
