“The Day the Earth Stood Still”
** RATING | This retooling of the 1951 sci-fi Cold War allegory for our current woes is a goofy, sentimental riff on humans — our catastrophe-courting foibles, as well as our goodness. Keanu Reeves stars as Klaatu, an E.T. who arrives in a gigantic sphere to a less-than-cordial how-do- you-do. Kathy Bates rams through her lines as the U.S. secretary of defense. Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly plays astrobiologist Helen Benson. A rationalist with a messy relationship to young stepson Jacob (Jaden Smith), she becomes Klaatu’s guide and our representative of human decency. Casting Reeves as the alien whom a surgeon discovers encased in a placental goo makes sense. The actor has a talent for looking like he’s just visiting Earth. And he maintains the pose of being fresh to this planet and his human form throughout. For a too-brief moment, the film looks like it might honor its cheesier 1950s origins while delivering an enviro-parable. In a ravaging soundstage storm, a lone explorer comes across an orb that looks like a cross between a giant marble and a murky crystal ball. What does it portend? Not all we’d have hoped for. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” doesn’t lack heart. If anything, it’s a little too sincere. PG-13. 1 hour, 43 minutes. Lisa Kennedy
“Bedtime Stories”
** RATING | In this family comedy, Adam Sandler plays Skeeter, a hotel maintenance man who gets roped into watching his sister’s kids for a week, although he is ill-equipped for that chore. Skeeter feeds the young ‘uns junk and sends them to bed early with wildly implausible bedtime stories. The next day, however, Skeeter finds the stories coming true. It rains gumballs. Angry dwarfs kick him in the leg. Beautiful damsels require his chivalrous heroics. So, naturally, Skeeter tries to bend the stories to his benefit. PG. 1 hour, 35 minutes. David Frese, McClatchy Newspapers
“Yes Man”
** RATING | This is Jim Carrey’s return to his comedy roots. Too bad the film just taps the surface of those roots. The movie is less of a comedy and more of an endurance test for Carrey. He plays a man with a negative attitude who gets convinced by his friends that he needs to be more positive. He agrees to say yes to every request. That’s a thin premise. Carrey’s not to blame for the film’s failings. He tries. Oh, how he tries. Because the script is so transparently thin, Carrey must resort to mugging and improvising just to mine a few laughs. PG-13. 1 hour, 43 minutes. Rick Bentley, McClatchy Newspapers
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