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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.
“17 Again”
Comedy. * 1/2. PG-13. A guy wishes he’d taken a different road and gets that opportunity when he’s transported back to senior year of high school. Now Mike O’Donnell (Zac Efron) is a schoolmate to his kids and way too young to be hanging around his loved but estranged wife. The story is as familiar as it sounds. Director Burr Steers can’t calibrate the edge, which provide plenty of uncomfortable, not so funny moments. But he does capture star Efron’s quasar aura. Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann and Michelle Trachtenberg star. (Kennedy) 102 minutes
“Angels & Demons
Thriller. **. PG-13. Professor Robert Langdon returns to interpret dark signs and obscure symbols in Ron Howard’s latest adaptation of a Dan Brown conspiracy tale. Tom Hanks stars, along with Ayelet Zurer, Ewan McGregor and Armin Mueller-Stahl in a tale that features a dead pope; a murdered physicist; a vengeful secret society called the Illuminati; and a bomb of antimatter pulsing beneath Vatican City. With dialog that is often exposition, “Angels & Demons” might well be the most expensive audio book ever. (Kennedy) 138 minutes
“The Brothers Bloom”
Con-Man Romp. ***. PG-13. Writer-director Rian Johnson returns with a film nearly as idiosyncratic as “Brick,” his heralded neo-noir debut set in a high-school atmosphere. Part con-man romp, part screwball comedy, this adventure follows brothers Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody) as they reel in their last mark, Penelope. The rub? Bloom is falling for the eccentric. The story’s as willfully wrought as Stephen’s cons without becoming precious. Weisz is warm and disarmingly vivacious as the mark who thinks being a con artist would be a lark. Rinko Kukuchi stars along with Maximilian Schell and Robbie Coltrane. (Kennedy) 109 minutes
“Earth”
Eco-doc. ***. G. If Disneynature’s first feature seems like a much abridged version of “Planet Earth,” that’s because there’s talent overlap with the celebrated BBC series, starting with directors Alastair Motherwell and Mark Linfield. “Earth” follows a year in the life of three animal families (polar bears, humpback whales and elephants). There are plenty of magnificent close-ups, aerials, slo-mo and time-lapsed footage of other animal kingdom denizens. James Earl Jones lends his rich baritone to the at-times overly didactic script. (Kennedy) 90 minutes
“Every Little Step”
Documentary. *** 1/2. PG-13. A terrific, moving look at the making of “A Chorus Line,” both Michael Bennett’s original production and the 2006 Broadway revival. Directors James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo follow the audition process for the revivial with agility and tender intelligence. And the movie soothes post “American Idol” partum blues even as it drills deep into the wonder of a singular sensation. (Kennedy) 96 minutes
“Fighting”
Drama. ***. PG-13. Guilt meet pleasure. Director-cowriter Dito Montiel’s popcorn nod to grittier ’70s films stars lovely brute Channing Tatum as a street fighter with heart and Terrence Howard as his hustler-mentor. Keep an eye open for Zulay Henao, who plays the love interest. Watch as Altagarcia Guzmán nearly steals the whole rough-and-tender show as a compact, straight-talking grandmother. (Kennedy) 104 minutes
“Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”
Romantic Comedy. ** 1/2. PG-13. “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” with Matthew McConaughey as Connor Mead, a won’t-commit heel of a fashion photographer, who goes through supermodels the way banks go through stimulus money. He’s so oversexed and overbooked that he has to break up “in bulk” — three women dumped by conference call. But the wedding of his brother drags Connor Mead back to the family estate, back to where he learned his womanizing ways from his late Uncle Wayne, back to the girl he let get away. Jennifer Garner is perfectly cast as Connor’s first love, the one he fled because she’s on to him. (Roger Moore, Orlano Sentinel) 115 minutes
“The Girlfriend Experience”
Drama. **. R. Part of the through-the-looking-glass quality of director Steven Soderbergh’s latest comes because he cast porn star Sasha Grey as the high-end escort who offers her monied clients the illusion of the title. Set in New York City, in the recent past of 2008, the movie teases notions of consumer culture: who buys, who sells, and, chastely, what’s obscene. It’s intriguing territory. Grey is believable playing a woman who is — necessarily — professionally armored. Less clear is whether the flat affect belongs to the character Chelsea or the actress. Chris Santos’ fares better as her “real” boyfriend, a personal trainer with demanding clients of his own. (Kennedy) 77 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
“Next Day Air”
Comedy. *. R. Approximately 200 f-bombs carpet this unfunny drug comedy about Leo (Donald Faison), a weed-addled delivery man who sets in motion a guns-drawn showdown when he delivers a package of cocaine to the wrong apartment. Faison of “Scrubs” deserves a better. Yasmin Deliz shows the only promise, as Chita, a stand-by-your-hombre girlfriend. Mike Epps, Wood Harris, and Mos Def also star. (Kennedy) 84 minutes
“Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian”
Animated. * 1/2. PG. Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) has to become the sidekick of Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), who has faked his resume to get hired as a security guard and rescue his buddies from “Night at the Museum” (2006). What has happened, see, is that the Museum of Natural History is remodeling. They’re replacing their beloved old exhibits, like Teddy Roosevelt mounted on his horse, with ghastly new interactive media experiences. His friends are doomed to go into storage at the National Archives, part of the Smithsonian Institution. (Roger Ebert) 105 minutes
“Star Trek”
Sci-fi Adventure. *** 1/2. PG-13. J.J. Abrams — a master in his own television universe with “Lost” — has beamed onto screens a prequel worthy of the wit and grit of Gene Roddenberry’s 1960s television series. Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock head a fresh cast of dopplegangers — if not physically, in spirit. Summer’s popcorn pleasures have their official launch with this rousing, goofily moving adventure, set in a time — as much as a space-time defying ride can be — when Kirk and Spock were Starfleet Academy rivals. Also onboard: Karl Urban, Zoë Saldana, and Simon Pegg. Eric Bana brings fine menace to his role as Romulan Nero. (Kennedy) 126 minutes
“Terminator Salvation”
Action Sequel. **. PG-13. The year, 2018. Resistence leader John Connor must decide if a cyborg (who believes he’s human) can be trusted to save the teen who will become the rebel leader’s father. Yes, “Terminator” returns with its space-time tease about past, future and Apocalypse. And the right tensions (about what makes us human) are in this fourth installment, starring the ever grim Christian Bale as Connor. Only director McG and the writers never achieve the sweet combo of humane story, indelible characters and visceral action that made the first two “Terminators” unforgettable. Aussie Sam Worthington plays Marcus, Skynet’s advanced cyborg assassin. (Kennedy) 115 minutes
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”
Comic Book. **. PG-13. Hugh Jackman seems more than willing to make this prequel growl playing the most interesting of X-Men, cigar chomping Logan-Wolverine. Liev Schreiber is at the ready, too, as brother and nemesis, Victor. So what dulls Wolverine’s new “adamantium” claws? An unresolved tension. Like the best comic-book adaptations, the movie wants be taken seriously about issues of violence and ambivalence while relying on the facile tricks of lesser action flicks. (Kennedy) 117 minutes
