WALL*E
*** RATING | “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, a.k.a. 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. G. 1 hour, 37 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants — II
*** RATING | The girls are linked by an usual pair of blue jeans. The embroidered, sequined denims 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. There 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. PG. 1 hour, 51 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
Tropic Thunder”
** 1/2 RATING | The disaster-beset war flick within Ben Stiller’s action comedy is not the only bungle in the jungle taking place when five actors are stranded and believe the cameras are still rolling. No, those aren’t extras. They’re a drug gang. Stiller stars as has-been action hero Tugg Speedman. Jack Black overplays Jeff Portnoy, whose chief complaint is the lack of illicit substances to abuse. As Aussie method actor Kirk Lazarus (who underwent a procedure to make him appear African-American), Robert Downey Jr. seems to be working in a different, better movie. Stiller had the makings of a wry satire about the pampered insularity of Hollywood denizens. Instead he settled for an above-par parody movie with some sub-par gags about disability. R. 1 hour, 47 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
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