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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.
“Brick Lane”
Drama. PG-13. ***1/2. “Brick Lane” begins with a young woman from Bangladesh, whose mother’s suicide causes her father to arrange her marriage with a man now living in London, older than her, whom she has never met. Nazneen is a stunning beauty, 17 when she marries Chanu, who is fat, balding and easily 20 years older. Chanu is not a hateful man. He is not a fountain of warmth and understanding and has few insights into his wife. Karim comes into her life — young, handsome, charming, the delivery man for the unfinished jeans she sews. They fall in love. “Brick Lane” is about characters who have depth and reality, who change and learn, who have genuine feelings. And it keeps on surprising us, right to the end. (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times) 101 minutes
“Brideshead Revisited”
Period drama. ** 1/2. PG-13. Emma Thompson steals the new film version of “Brideshead Revisited.” As Lady Marchmain, the genteel but fierce matriarch of Eveyln Waugh’s story, she projects so much intelligence, resolve and even a touch of malevolence that she towers over the pretty young things with whom she shares the screen. She’s so good that when her character vanishes halfway through, the movie never recovers. Working class Charles comes to visit Brideshead’s reigning son and falls in love with Lady Marchmain’s daughter, a love that endures long after she marries another. (Robert W. Butler, McClatchy Newspapers) 133 minutes
“The Dark Knight”
Superhero action. PG-13. ****. More than any other recent comic-book hero flick, Christopher Nolan’s tour de force sequel provides an enduring, unsettlingly bleak fable of our moment. The theme of the lawman’s reliance on those outside the law to take down those who know not the rule of law beats at the bruised heart of this flick. Christian Bale’s modulated presense as sour billionaire Bruce Wayne/Batman finds competetion in the performances of the late Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart as the Joker and D.A. Harvey Dent. Maggie Gyllenhaal proves a superior Rachel Dawes, Wayne’s beloved who’s fallen for Dent. Ledger’s portrayal of the scarred, face-painted arch-villain is uncanny and kitch-proof, even when he dons a dress. An evil clown has taken the sensitive actor’s place. He’s not a Bozo but an even creepier character than the E-Trade baby springs for. (Kennedy) 152 minutes
“Get Smart”
TV redux. PG-13. ** 1/2. This return to the late ’60s spy-versus-spy series created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry isn’t perfect. But having Steve Carell in the role of Maxwell Smart, newbie CONTROL agent 86, makes it pleasing. Sometimes it’s downright touching. The sensibly handsome comedian plays an ace analyst but bumbling agent to Anne Hathaway’s kick-hiney Agent 99. Carell generously shares the screen with others. They include: Dwayne Johnson as Agent 23, Alan Arkin as The Chief. As gadget engineers, Masi Oka and Nate Torrence prove an affably geeky counterpoint to two agency bullies. Playing for team KAOS: Terence Stamp and Ken Davitian as Siegfried and Shtarker. There’s always been a teasing confusion to the title. Does it mean “nab that agent!” Or “Learn!”? Carell does a nimble job of keeping that tension alive. And Hathaway proves her mettle when she along with Carell deliver a moment that upends the busy pace of the action-comedy for the better. Writers Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember aren’t always in control of the brew of comedy and contemporary anxieties about terrorism. Still, by movie’s end, we can imagine spending some more time with Agents 86 and 99, and liking it. (Kennedy) 111 minutes
“Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson”
Documentary. ***1/2. R. In all the memories gathered together in “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson,” there was one subject conspicuously missing: the fact of the man’s misery. The film finds extraordinary access to the people in his life. This film gathers interviews from a wide and sometimes surprising variety of people (Pat Buchanan, Jimmy Carter, Hells Angel Sonny Barger). It has home movies, old photos, TV footage, voice recordings, excerpts from files about Thompson. It is narrated by Johnny Depp, mostly through readings from Thompson’s work. It is all you could wish for in a doc about the man. But it leaves you wondering: How was it that so many people liked this man who does not seem to have liked himself? (Roger Ebert) 118 minutes
“Hancock”
Superhero action. PG-13. ***1/2. Played with finesse by Will Smith, damaged superhero Hancock shows scant signs of shaking off his bitter moods. The unkempt L.A. denizen is sleeping it off on a bench when a major freeway shootout transpires. Signs of Hancock’s disenchantment range from alcohol abuse to rank personal hygiene to sorry interpersonal skills with regular folk. His don’t-give-a-damn rejoinders tip the movie’s PG-13 rating toward R. A typically clumsy intervention by the super-gifted bum leads to an intervention of a different sort, and sends this action-FX ride in surprisingly humane directions. (Kennedy) 92 minutes
“Hellboy II: the Golden Army”
Comic Book action. ** 1/2. PG-13. What a great character Hellboy is. Comic book writer Mike Mignola created him. Gifted director Guillermo del Toro brought him to the screen in the winning 2004 original and now this sequel. Best of all, though the “Golden Army” script isn’t as perfectly honed, Ron Perlman continues to make the big demon hero (rescued as a kid by a kindly scientist working for the U.S. military) a great guy to spend time with. “The Golden Army” is a sturdy comic-book-inspired outing with a few very amusing asides, including a visit to a troll market. This time, HB, girlfriend Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) face the possibily of an all-out elf-human war when a truce is broken by Prince Nuada. He’s the one with the Edgar Winter hair and the chip on his shoulder toward humans. If succesfully summoned from the depths, the titular army will tilt the balance apocalyptically. Princess Nuala is the kinder, gentler soul and the fabulous Abe honestly falls for her. In the midst of action is some domestic tension, a sweet crush and, this being del Toro (who wrote the screenplay), a great many fantastical faeries and creatures for our freak heroes to take on. The PG-13 “Hellboy” is fun. And it’s unafraid to embrace the schmaltzy. (Kennedy) 110 minutes
“The Incredible Hulk”
Action-adventure. ***. PG-13. Edward Norton as scientist Bruce Banner in the more interesting era in Hulk history — his years on the run, on the road, an oddball odyssey for a man haunted by what happens when he loses his temper, hunted by the military that helped create him. It’s been five years since the “gamma ray poisoning” that turns Banner into the Hulk. He’s been on the run, living off the grid, e-mailing fellow scientists, trying out cures and staying out of the reach of the Army, which wants to clone him as a “super soldier.” The digital Hulk is shown in glimpses, in the dark. The Jekyll-to-Hyde transformation, when it comes, is a doozy. (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel) 114 minutes
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”
Adventure. ** PG-13. Harrison Ford hits the right notes of arch delivery and still agile energy in the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones adventures, which began back in 1981 with “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Too bad writer David Koepp couldn’t sustain the same fleet fun in a story that sends Indy and rebel with a cause Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) to Peru to retrieve a mysterious skull. There’s some charm in the reunion that returns fiesty Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) to the fold. Cate Blanchett plays nemesis the Cold War Soviet. (Kennedy) 122 minutes
“Iron Man”
Popcorn movie. ***1/2. PG-13. If you seek superheroics, find them in Robert Downey Jr.’s turn as Iron Man in the Jon Favreau-directed zing of a flick, based on a Marvel character originally drawn in the early 60s. Downey’s Tony Stark is a high-flying weapons-maker who wisecracks with soldiers and parries and thrusts with a Vanity Fair reporter. Held captive in the caves of Afghanistan, Stark creates a newfangled pacemarker, a suit of armor, and eventually a new persona for himself. Downey’s got super support in Jeff Bridges as his mentor and worse, Gwyneth Paltrow as his gal Friday and Terrence Howard as military liaison and best friend, Col. Rhodes. (Kennedy) 120 minutes
“Journey to the Center of the Earth”
Action/adventure. ** 1/2. PG. Essentially a three-character story, the movie casts Brendan Fraser as absent-minded geologist Trevor Anderson, who forgets his nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) is coming for a visit. Just as Sean arrives, Trevor stumbles on clues left by his brother that lead him to believe Jules Verne’s fantasy novel actually was based on a real journey to the Earth’s center. So he takes the boy along to Iceland to follow his brother’s footsteps to the center of the Earth. They are aided by Hannah, a Icelandic guide. (David Germain, Associated Press) 93 minutes
“Kit Kittredge: An American Girl”
Kid drama. ***1/2. G. “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” is rife with feisty, generous pleasures. Abigail Breslin stars as Kit, a 9-year-old living, observing and typing furiously during the early 1930s. This Cincinnati kid aches to become a reporter. She bursts into the offices of the The Register, articles in hand. The paper’s editor isn’t ready to hire a pint-size freelancer, even one with the instincts and energy of Rosalind Russell’s Hildy Johnson. And, in the spirit of “write what you know,” Kit hits the typewriter. Those familiar with Kit and the American Girl dolls and their well-researched tales should be pleased with this outing. (Kennedy) 100 minutes
“Kung Fu Panda”
Kicking animation. ***1/2. PG. Let us pause for a humble bow to the second “Best Summer Movie So Far.” (And better for the tween and younger set than “Iron Man.”) When “Kung Fu Panda,” starring the voice of Jack Black as Po, isn’t delighting us with CGI visions and lush 2D animation, it’s treating characters with tender affection. Po’s tale of unlikely heroism is at once familiar and fresh. Son of a goose known for his noodles, Po is a martial arts geek, a Kung Fu fan-da who knows all the lore and skills of “the Furious Five” fighters who occupy the temple atop the nearby mountain and train under Dustin Hoffman’s martial arts master Shifu and sage tortoise Oogway (Randall Duk Kim). Angelina Jolie voices Tigress, the most gifted of Shifu’s students, who along characters played by Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, David Cross, and Seth Rogen) hope to fulfill the prophesy of the Dragon Warrior and save the valley from snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane). Instead, an accident of timing in a movie in which “there are no accidents” turns Po into the foretold hero. With loads of laugh lines, “Kung Fu Panda” plays with the ying-yang tension of sincerity and irreverance. But it never shirks a popcorn tenet: kernels of wisdom must be tasty. (Kennedy) 94 minutes
“The Last Mistress”
Erotic drama. *** 1/2. Not rated. In “The Last Mistress,” a passionate and explicit film about sexual obsession, everything pauses for a scene depicting a marriage. It is 1835, in a church in Paris. Vows are exchanged between Ryno de Marigny, a notorious young libertine, and the high-born Hermangarde, whose wealth will be a great comfort to the penniless Ryno. But Ryno seems to be unable to give up his long-term misstress, Vellini. This is an elegant period piece, with all the costumes, carriages, servants, chateaus and mannered behavior we would expect, and then it explodes its decorum. (Roger Ebert) 114 minutes
“Mamma Mia!”
Musical redux. ** 1/2. PG-13. Fans of the ABBA musical will likely bring a happy sense memory of the play with them into the multiplex. That will be all they need to be off and humming along to this story of a daughter on the cusp of marriage, her mother and the three men who may be her father. Those hoping to be wowed by what is a tantalizing, grown-up cast — Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Christine Baranski — are in for choppier waters. But you can’t accuse Streep and Co. of not being super troupers. They sing. They dance. Only too often, it seems like exertion when play should be the thing. Instead theater director Phyllida Lloyd has made “the play the thing.” One of the three creators of the onstage smash, LLoyd has little sense of cinema’s less-is-more powers. Not to say she’s delivered a dud or a dirge. Far from it. It’s just that “Mamma Mia!” feels like a souvenir program: something to revive the feelings you had watching the stage performance. (Kennedy) 108 minutes
“The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”
Tomb Raider redux. **. PG-13. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” the third installment in the kin-of-Indy franchise, finds the son of explorer Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) on his own archaeological dig in China in search of the tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Alex (Luke Ford) is tempting a disaster in digging for him. If the emperor (Jet Li) is revived and his army of terra-cotta warriors called forth, well you know the action-fantasy drill. (Kennedy) 111 minutes
“Pineapple Express”
Action comedy. ***. R. This action comedy finds customer Dale (Seth Rogen) and toasted dealer Saul (James Franco) on the lam from a drug kingpin and his cop accomplice (Gary Cole and Rosie Perez). A process server with a bag of tricks and some odd costumes in the trunk of his car, Dale thought he was just going to deliver a subpoena. Instead he witnesses a gang murder. He panics, tosses his smoldering joint. It’s funny, sad, and very careless. It’s also got a strange joy to it. (Kennedy) 112 minutes
“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”
Young chick flick. ***. PG. The girls are linked by an usual pair of blue jeans. The embroidered, sequined denim fit each girl perfectly. Over the course of a summer, the pants are passed from character to character with powerful effect. This sequel finds the quartet half-heartedly committed to the ritual of the pants and pursuing new goals after their first year of college. Their are no slackers here: Tibby attends New York University, artist Lena goes to Rhode Island School of Design, Blake is studying at Brown and Carmen is a Yalie. But in a film that depends as much on chemistry as individual effort, the sisterhood of the pants remains strong. (Kennedy) 111 minutes
“Space Chimps”
Animated comedy. G. ***. “Chimps,” from the animation studio that gave us “Valiant,” is one of those cartoons parents won’t mind sitting through while little Miss or Mister 8-and-under chuckles at the cute talking primates. And chuckle they will. With adorable critters and icky monsters and oodles of potential toy accessories (to say nothing of a video game tie-in), this movie looks for that sweet spot in every 7-year-old’s heart for chimpanzees and movies about them. And the script manages the occasional wisecrack or movie lovers’ inside joke to keep the grown-ups awake, too. (Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel) 81 minutes.
“Step Brothers”
Schtick. ** 1/2. R. There are some stoopid laughs to be had as Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s alter ids Brennan Huff and Dale Doback go at it in this Adam McKay-directed comedy. The two adult children are forced to live under one roof when their single parents fall in love and marry. A war of blue-language bickering and crude paybacks ensues. When Brennan’s insufferable younger brother (Adam Scott) visits, they finally bond. Turns out the only thing more destructive for their parents’ marriage than their fighting is their new alliance. The sharpest writing comes early when Nancy Huff and Dr. Robert Doback meet at a medical conference and Brennan and Dale get to know-hate each other. Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins bring sweet and frisky energy to their roles as parents confounded by their manboys. What begins as a ridiculous but tenaciously executed conceit — that the comedically in-sync duo must be kin once removed — turns mean spirited. Pitched to the snickering sensibilities of the teen, the movie is rated R. (Kennedy) 95 minutes
“Swing Vote”
Comedy. ***. PG-13. In “Swing Vote,” Joe Average has degenerated into Joe Sixpack. And if we fret about the state of the nation, it’s because guys like Ernie “Bud” Johnson either aren’t voting, or are so clueless when they do that they pick “the fella I’d like to sit and have a beer with.” Kevin Costner stars as Bud, a blue- collar loser who has spent his whole life in Texico, N.M. The one saving grace in his trailer-park life is his daughter, Molly, a bright 11-year-old who is the adult in the family. Bud can’t even be bothered to vote on Election Day, even when Molly needs his ballot receipt for a class project. And wouldn’t you know it, that happens to be the one botched ballot that will decide who will be president. But “Swing Vote” nicely boils down America’s political malaise to one man’s awakening from a Budweiser stupor and seeing the only thing that matters when you don’t pay attention and exercise the franchise on Election Day. You’re letting your kid down. (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel) 110 minutes
“Tell No One”
French thriller. Not rated. *** 1/2. What a terrific pas de deux of withholding and revelation Guillaume Canet’s adaptation of Harlan Coben’s novel (co-written by Philippe Lefebvre) is. The thriller balances a story of upended love with a mystery that wields power till the very end. Eight years after the death of his wife, still-grieving pediatrician Alexandre Beck (Francois Cluzet) comes under suspicion when two bodies are unearthed near the site of wife Margot’s brutal murder. At the same time, Alex receives an anonymous email showing a woman who looks like his wife caught on a surveillance camera. What gives? Cluzet resembles a Gallic Dustin Hoffman circa “Marathon Man” — and not just because he leads the police on a fantastic foot chase. The dark-haired actor has a moving intensity. “Tell No One” is rich with intriguing characters: a thug who dotes on his hemophiliac toddker, a skeptical police shrink, a wealthy senator who employs Alex’s sister. Canet avoids the nighttime hours of noir. Better, he hasn’t much use for femmes fatales, though there is a chilling hitwoman. Marie-Josee Croze does her part to make us yearn for Margot. Kristin Scott-Thomas provides fine ballast as Alex best friend and sister in law. Helene. Nathalie Baye gives a nicely fierce turn as the lawyer Helene hires for Alex. (Kennedy) 125 minutes
“WALL*E”
Animated. ***. G. “Finding Nemo” director Andrew Stanton returns with a vivid and rather dystopian fable set in the future. Little, curious Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class aka WALL*E stacks garbage skyscraper-high centuries after humans have departed for space. When sleek probe EVE arrives in search of vegetation, the lonesome bot falls, hard, then follows. On a cruise-style spaceship, hefty pampered humans could use some shaking up. After a bleak start that might have gotten sci-fi author Philip K. Dick’s seal of approval, “WALL*E” finds its rousing, hopeful groove without ever sacrificing its far-from artificial intelligence. (Kennedy) 97 minutes
“The Wackness”
Romantic comedy. ***. R. Jonathan Levine, the writer-director of “The Wackness,” asks a lot of his viewers. We have to believe that a teenage pot dealer and hip-hop head like Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) would also be a shy virgin. And that Shapiro would be seeing a bong-toking therapist (Ben Kingsley) who charges by the gram rather than the hour. And that these two oddballs would become not only partners in crime but a surrogate father and son. Shapiro also has eyes for Dr. Squires’ sexy, streetwise stepdaughter, Stephanie. (Rafer Guzman, Newsday) 95 minutes
“Wanted”
Frenetic action. **1/2. R. Russian-Kazakh director Timur Bekmambetov makes his English-language debut with guns a blazin’ and bullets a bending’ with this OTT (that means “over-the-top” and is mostly a compliment) action thriller that has more than a little “Matrix” pumping through its veins. Loser Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is loser no more when a gifted assassin named Fox tells him he’s the son of the greatest assassin (just killed) and recruits him for a centuries old society of weavers-assassins (ah those old-fangled hybrid careers) who hunt and dispatch targets whose names are woven by the Loom of Fate. Angelina Jolie’s embrace of her kick-hiney side and Bambetekov’s visual bravado are the draws in this adaptation of a graphic novel series. She’s mesmerizing and he’s not afraid to play with the more absurd gifts of cinema. Morgan Freeman stars as the Fraternity’s head. (Kennedy) 110 minutes
“We Are Together”
Documentary. *** 1/2. PG. “We Are Together” is a documentary about the bright-eyed, golden-voiced children who live at Agape, an orphanage in South Africa. You look at their smiles, witness their optimism and marvel at the harmony of their songs, which they rehearse for a coming trip to England. You’ve seen this sort of thing before, but the film, directed by Paul Taylor, happens to be especially well photographed and the youngsters more winning than most. (Nathan Lee, New York Times) 86 minutes
