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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.
“12”
Thriller. ****. PG-13. In “12,” which Director Mikhalkov says is loosely based on the original Sidney Lumet film “12 Angry Men”, the hours inside a makeshift jury room in modern-day Moscow are not wasted, as far more than the murder in question is on the table. Race, class, justice, war, free will, greed, government decay and conspiracy are on the menu. There is an unnerving twist at the end, but for the most part, “12” is magnetic. (Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times) 159 minutes
“Adventureland”
Comedy. **1/2. R. From the director of “Superbad” comes a pretty good comedy. Greg Mottola’s semi-autobiographical film proves he has a feel for the gentle as much as the base. Jesse Eisenberg is James Brennna, a college grad who finds himself working at an amusement park. There he meets misfit proprietors (goofballs Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig), minor celebs like resident hottie Lisa P. and handyman Connell (Ryan Reynolds). He also falls for the coworker he just might lose his virginity to, Em Levin (Kristen Stewart). Every generation has a version (or more) of this story. That said, Martin Starr quietly steals the show and tucks it in his satchel as Joel Schiffman. The sensitive observer sees all and knows much, gifts that do little to protect him from the wounds of bigotry. (Kennedy) 107 minutes
“Duplicity”
Spy Romance. ***. PG-13. Take one superstar. Add a very handsome bloke of a leading fella and a dozen shellgame feints (happening now and in flashback) and you’ve got Tony Gilroy’s highly entertaining second feature. Julia Roberts and Clive Owen are aptly fetching as international spies who go into corporate espionage or “competitive intel” with a scam of their own. Or so it appears. Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson are deliciously combatitive as business rivals vying to bring a wonder product to market. (Kennedy) 125 minutes
“Everlasting Moments”
Drama. ***. Not rated. It opens in 1907 as Maria and Sigge Larsson spin through their wedding dance. She has recently won a Contessa glass-plate camera in a raffle; they joke that he married her to get his hands on the treasure. It is packed away forgotten while they begin their family. Maria yearns for some means of self-expression — she’s the only person who can see the beauty in icicles dangling from a chimney pipe — but feels her first responsibility is to her ever-expanding brood. Maria begins using the camera to take portraits of her children, then the neighbors’ kids, then parades and Scandinavia’s three kings at a summit meeting. Sigge is jealous of her skill and eventually her celebrity. (Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune) 131 minutes
“Fast & Furious”
Auto Action. * 1/2. PG-13. You get your cars that are fast and your characters that are furious. This is an expertly made action film, with special effects are good and the acting is extremely basic. Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) has been in the Dominican Republic for the past six years but now returns to America, where he is a wanted man. Probable charges: vehicular homicide, murder, smuggling, dating an FBI agent’s sister. Reason for return: Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), the girl he loved, has been killed. This provides a scaffolding on which to hang the movie, which involves a series of chase scenes, fights, explosions and sexy women who would like to make themselves available to Toretto, to no avail. He is single-minded. (Roger Ebert, Chicago Tribune) 107 minutes
“Hannah Montana: The Movie”
‘Tween Musical. **. G. “Hannah Montana: The Movie” version of the Disney TV series is made for girls aged 6-14 and no one else. And they’re gonna love it. If you were a 10-year-old girl, you would of course want to be small-town sweetheart Miley Stewart and/or her secret pop-star alter ego, Hannah Montana. Miley Cyrus makes both characters so likably harmless and so attractively accessible, it’s hard not to be charmed. Just try to resist her endless supply of energy and moxie! Even when she gets a little petulant and carried away with her celebrity lifestyle in Los Angeles — which prompts a return to Tennessee for some hometown reprogramming. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) 99 minutes
“Harvard Beats Yale 29-29”
Documentary. ***. Not Rated. Halfway through “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29,” the score is still in the Bulldogs’ favor: Yale 22, Harvard zip. The two teams arrived at Harvard Stadium undefeated. But Yale was ranked 16th in the nation and was the overwhelming favorite. And one of the more impressive things about Kevin Rafferty’s documentary tale of the 1968 match between the Ivy League rivals is that, contrary to giving the store away with the clever title, he only builds curiosity. (Kennedy) 105 minutes
“The Haunting in Connecticut”
Horror. *1/2. PG-13. This latest film fright sinks or swims with the actors. Kyle Gallner makes a very convincing boy-about-to-die; Virginia Madsen is his properly stricken mom; and Martin Donovan, an underused leading man, plays the stressed, guilt-ridden dad well. The title is “Haunting,” not “Stabbing, Hatcheting or Butchered With a Machete in Connecticut,” so it won’t appeal to the hard-core gore crowd. But it has plenty of creep- you-out potential for kids just discovering big-screen horror. (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel) 92 minutes
“I Love You, Man”
Bromantic comedy. ***. R. Poor Peter Klaven. The L.A. real estate agent didn’t know he was so friend deficient till he proposed to Zooey and discovered a dearth of Best Man candidates. Paul Rudd is sweet as the friendship dork who finds a male buddy and mentor — of sorts — in Sydney Fife. Jason Segel is winningly repellent and oddly appealing as the slacker dude who rescues Peter even as he puts his nuptials at risk. With lots of cheeky chatter director John Hamburg’s script deserves its R rating but also earns audiences’ laughter. (Kennedy) 95 minutes
“Knowing”
Sci-Fi Thriller. 1/2. PG-13. Cage plays John Koestler, an MIT astrophysicist whose son comes home with a slip of paper he took from a newly opened time capsule. It’s covered with numbers. And dad starts to see patterns in the number sequence 09112996. He breaks the code, sees other disasters in sync with other numbers. And then he finds the dates of disasters that haven’t happened yet. (Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel) 110 minutes
“Monsters vs. Aliens”
Re-animated B movie. ***. PG. So what if this animated homage to sci-fi, B-movies raids pop culture’s attic for stuff to wow the kids. What it lacks in originality, it nearly makes up for with winking asides and FX pleasures. From the opening scene, the movie’s 3D tricks inspire oohs, ahhs, and whoas. Reese Witherspoon voices bride-to-be Susan Murphy. Irradiated by meteor gunk, she grows just shy of 50 feet tall (wink). At a top secret facility, she meets fellow misfit monsters B.O.B, Missing Link, Dr. Cockroach Ph.D, and a beguiling grub named Insectosaurus. The battle of the title comes when alien Gallaxhar (and his clones) arrive to plunder Earth. The roster of clever voice talent includes Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Hugh Laurie, Rainn Wilson and Stephen Colbert. (Kennedy) 94 minutes
“Observe and Report”
Comedy. *. R. Hankering for a film shot through with contempt for the working man — an anyone else? Writer-director Jody Hill’s unfunny tale of a mall security guard who plays at detective will fit the bill. Usually likeable Seth Rogen is borderline Ronnie Barnhardt. Often winning Anna Faris is a beastly cosmetics counter. Hill aimed to combine “Taxi Driver” with a comedy. He misses. He wounds. Also stars Ray Liotta and Michael Peña. (Kennedy) 82 minutes
“Race to Witch Mountain”
Fantasy. **. PG. Local light AnnaSophia Robb has a key role in this middling adaptation of Alexander Key’s young adult novel “Escape to Witch Mountain.” She plays Sara alongside Alexander Ludwig’s Seth, two extraterrestrials who land in the back seat of Las Vegas taxi driver Jack Bruno. Dwayne Johnson has rock solid appeal as the reluctant, wisecracking hero. Carla Gugino does nimble work as an mildly disgraced astrophysist. But, too much of the action and story unfurls like a hurried primer for action flicks. Even if they don’t know it yet, kids deserve better. (Kennedy) 99 minutes
“Sin Nombre”
Drama. ***1/2. R. Sayra is a young Honduran headed toward a hopeful if unknown future. Casper’s a Mexican gang member eluding a certain, brutal end. The powerful tale of their meeting atop a freight train making its way to the U.S. through Mexico announces the stirring debut of a gifted American filmmaker, Cary Fukunaga. Stars newcomer Edgar Flores, Paulina Gaitan, Kristyan Ferrer and Tenoch Huerta Mejía. In Spanish with English subtitles. Exclusively at the Esquire. (Kennedy) 96 minutes
“Sunshine Cleaning”
Family dramedy. **1/2. R. Yes, this quirky dramedy has much in common with a certain flick with the word “Sunshine” in its title. Evenso, Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are sweetly convincing as somewhat aimless sisters who begin to discover themselves once they launch a crime-scene cleaning business in Albuquerque. Alan Arkin stars as a grandfather of a oddster young’un in this touching journey. Mary Lynn Rajskub and Clifton Collins Jr. give lovely turns as the people the sisters Lorkowski take subtle shines to. (Kennedy) 92 minutes
“Taken”
Action thriller. *1/2. PG-13. Former CIA operative Bryan Mills is a divorced father trying to rebuild a relationship with his teen daughter after years of clandestine absences. His daddy talents may be fledgling but not his more lethal skill set. So pity the Albanian fools that rouse them when they kidnap 17-year-old Kim, a virgin, for the underground sex trade. Directed by Pierre Morel, this thriller has none of the hyper-active charms of his rousing “District B13.” Instead, thanks to the handiwork of writers Luc Besson and Mark Kamen, “Taken” is an exploitation thriller. It seizes the worst the world has to offer (the sex-slave outrages that The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof exposes so brilliantly) to bolster its utterly rote rhythms and payback conclusions. As Mills, Liam Neeson cuts a fine determined figure in a black leather jacket, but he’s decidely glum. And one gets the sense it isn’t merely because his daughter’s been snatched. (Kennedy) 94 minutes
“The Watchmen”
Graphic novel flick. *** R. Writer Alan Moore and illustrator David Gibbons’ heralded 1986 graphic novel arrives on the big screen withtout the famed writer’s credit. More’s the pity. This tale of a group of bitter, marginalized (and targeted) masked heros set in an on-going Cold War could have used Moore’s deeper dystopian chill. Which doesn’t mean director Zack Snyder of “300” fame hasn’t delivered a number of vivid moments. Among them: an assault of a hero named the Comedian scored to Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable.” And Billy Crudup, bathed in blue and bald, hits deep, melancholy notes as Dr. Manhattan, hero and weapon. (Kennedy) 162 minutes
