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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.
“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
“Anvil! The Story of Anvil”
Rock Doc. ***1/2. Not Rated. Humiliation is a daily fact of life if you’re a 50-year-old headbanger whose band never made it big. You attract 174 fans to an arena that holds 10,000. Your day job is delivering hot food to public schools in the greater Toronto area. “Anvil!” is one of the sweetest, funniest films I’ve seen this year. Also the loudest and most foulmouthed. (Ty Burr, Boston Globe) 90 minutes
“Away We Go”
Comedy. ** 1/2. R. We have our protagonists — a rootless, pregnant couple feeling their way into the world of adult responsibility on a road trip to scout the best environment in which to raise their child. And yet as the ambivalent pair visit Miami, Montreal and elsewhere in search of their destiny, nothing resembling a fleshed-out movie emerges. While the film is amusing in short bursts and boasts some sharp dialogue, it’s weak on plot and drama. With an excellent Maggie Gyllenhaal, brassy, hare-brained Allison Janney, comedy champs Jeff Daniels and Catherine O’Hara, and John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as the pregnant couple. (Colin Covert, Monneapolis Star Tribune) 97 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
“Drag Me to Hell”
Campy Horror. *** 1/2. PG-13. Christine Brown, a bank loan officer competing against a cutthroat colleague for a promotion. When a strange old woman named Mrs. Ganush putters into the bank begging for an extension on her delinquent mortgage. When turned down the old woman seeks revenge. Before long, Mrs. Ganush has placed a curse on the hapless Christine. Unless our heroine can find a way to pass the curse on to someone else, she will soon be enjoying a one-way ticket to hell. (Christopher Kelly, McClatchy Newspapers) 99 minutes
“Enlighten Up!”
Yoga Documentary. ** 1/2. Not Rated. “Enlighten Up!,” Kate Churchill’s breezy documentary, tastes the 31 flavors of yoga practice. Its subject is Nick Rosen, an affable skeptic who appreciates how yoga concentrates him mentally and physically, but very much doubts that the Downward Dog is the path to spiritual attainment. (Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer) 82 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
“The Hangover”
Guy Comedy. **. R. The three leads aren’t the problem. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis work well off each other as decidely different groomsmen who awake to a trashed villa at Caesars Palace with no memory of the night before and no groom (Justin Bartha). So it’s not the leads who are the problem with this bachelor-party gone awry outing. And Todd Phillips of “Old School” fame directs with visual flair. (Though let’s vote the slo-mo shot of a gang walking toward the camera off the island for a spell.) For all its over-the-top antics — a baby, a tiger, a chicken, oh my — the script feels predictable in its drive to offend. (Kennedy) 105 minutes
“Imagine That”
Family Fare. **. PG. Denver proves an appealing costar in this tale — set and shot here — about a neglectful workaholic who enters his daughter’s fantasy realm and reaps uncanny stock tips. Eddie Murphy mugs too much as financial whiz Evan Danielson. Newcomer Yara Shahadi does better than hold her own as his seven-year old daughter. Thomas Haden Church plays a tiresome dispenser of Native American spirituality as finacial advice. (Kennedy) 107 minutes
“The Land of the Lost”
Adventure. **. PG-13. The title doesn’t refer to Hollywood — though perhaps it should. Will Ferrell stars in this ill-conceived (barely amusing) studio redux of Sid and Marty Krofft’s creaky kids series from the ’70s. This time Dr. Rick Marshall’s co-misadventures aren’t his children, but a can-do scientist (Anna Friel) and an edgy hick (Danny McBride). Lizard-type aliens, an ape-person named Chaka and hungry dinosaurs roam. (Kennedy) 101 minutes
“Little Ashes”
Period Piece. * 1/2. R. The movie, is meant in all seriousness: a swoony, literal-minded period piece about the youthful days and nights of painter Salvador Dali, poet/playwright Federico Garcia Lorca and filmmaker Luis Buñuel. Based on rumors of a physical affair between Dali and Lorca, “Little Ashes” (the title of an early Dali canvas) envisions the young artist arriving at college in 1922. What’s intended to be a daring look at repressed sexuality, three-ways and all, has the dramatic heft of a true-love comic book. (Ty Burr, The Boston Globe) 111 minutes
“My Life in Ruins”
Gal Rom-Com. **. PG—13. Nia Vardalos of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” fame stars in this too slim comedy about Georgia, a tour guide in need a detailed map to happiness. As a cracking-wise tourist, Richard Dreyfuss provides mile markers and plenty of pointed arrows. She’s missing what the often-mentioned Zorba (most joyous of Greeks) would call kefi. Did we mention tour bus driver Poupi? Beneath that pelt is a man (Greek TV star Alexis Georgoulis) dreamed up by romance novels and underambitious chick flicks. (Kennedy) 96 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
“Outrage”
Documentary. ***. PG-13. Documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick is outraged when closeted gay politicians vote against gay marriage, against the right of gays to adopt, and against funding for HIV/AIDS. Despite its title, “Outrage” is calm, riveting and provocative, taking pride in officials who come out and and taking aim at those who remain closeted. (Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer) 90 minutes
“The Proposal”
Romantic Comedy. **. PG-13. Sandra Bullock is chilly, demanding book editor Margaret Tate. Ryan Reynolds plays her overly dedicated assistant, Andrew. When she finds herself about to be deported to Canada, they agree on a fake marriage. To seal the deal they head to Alaska where his parents (Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen) and willy-zany grandma (Betty White) live. Predicatable gaffs and some laughs ensue. Choreographer turned director Anne Fletcher (“17 Dresses”) never gets this tale, with all the diagrammed moves of a dance-step chart, to tango and glide. Evenso, winner Reynolds gets and gives the best lines. (Kennedy) 104 minutes
“Sleep Dealer”
Sci-fi. ***. PG-13. Jacking in to computer consoles and crossing virtual borders for work is a central theme in Alex Rivera’s smart futuristic debut feature set in Mexico. As in the best sci-fi, the future is strange and familiar. Memo Cruz is forced by a tragedy to leave his family and puebla for work at a hi-tech factory. In Tijuana he makes a friend and is unknowingly hunted by a nemesis. Luis Fernando Peña, Leonor Varela, Jacob Vargas deliver warm and troubled performances as three people bound by technology. Partially in Spanish, with English subtitles. Exclusive playing at CinemaLatino and worth the trip. 777 Peoria St., 888-588-CINE (Kennedy) 90 minutes
“Summer Hours”
Family Drama. *** 1/2. Not Rated. If in this season of noisy multiplex fare you yearn for space to hear the lasting truths of cricket whine and bird chirp, human sorrow and hope, see Olivier Assayas’ lovely family drama. Frédéric, Adrienne (Juliette Binoche) and Jérémie must decide what to do about their great uncle’s art collection when their mother dies unexpectedly. More, the trio must decide what will become of their childhood home, a rambling haunt in a village not far from Paris. A drama like this could easily go over the top with the siblings at operatic cross purposes. Instead, with the help of Charles Berling as Frédéric — a brooding, sentimental economist — Assayas celebrates the tender over the contentious. French with English subtitles. (Kennedy) 102 minutes
“The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3”
Action thriller. ***. R. Kinetic director Tony Scott balances his need for speed and flash with fleshed-out drama, making this return to seventies flick “The Taking of the Pelham 1 2 3” the best of his recent outings. Writer Brian Helgeland’s adaptation of John Godey’s rough and raw 1973 novel transforms a heist drama into a dynamic, psychological face-off between John Travolta’s borderline sociopath and Denzel Washington’s decent guy. It’s a tense rivalry of vastly different forces and — as it should be when two actors dig into the muck and grit of their characters — it’s a pleasure to watch. (Kennedy) 106 minutes
“Throw Down Your Heart”
Musical Journey. ** 1/2. Not Rated. The gentle, upbeat documentary “Throw Down Your Heart” chronicles the African pilgrimage of the American banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck in search of the origins of his chosen instrument, which he sheepishly admits is “associated with a white Southern stereotype.” At every stop on a journey that takes him from Uganda to Tanzania to Gambia and finally to Mali, Fleck plays and records with gifted local musicians. (Stephen Holden, The New York Times) 97 minutes
“Up”
Animated. *** 1/2. PG. A codger and a kid take us up-up-and-away in a house carried aloft by balloons in this buoyant tale about aging and adventure, youth and sweet wisdom. Ed Asner and newcomer Jordan Nagai soar as retired balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen and Wilderness Explorer Russell. Directed by Pete Docter, “Up” screens in 35mm and Digital 3D. Regardless the format, it’s the multidimensional storytelling that endears and endures. Bob Peterson (codirector and cowriter) provides howlingly amusing riffs as Dug, a dog with a collar that translates his thoughts into speech. Christopher Plummer also stars. (Kennedy) 96 minutes
“Year One”
Silly Comedy. *. PG-13. The film has shaggy crowds that mill about and human sacrifices in which virgins are pitched into the blazing mouth of a stone ox, and a cheerful turn when the gods more appreciate a high priest than a virgin. Jack Black and Michael Cera were not born to be co-stars. Black was fresh and funny once, a reason then to welcome him in a movie, but here he forgets to act and simply announces his lines. Cera plays shy and uncertain, but then he always does, and here he responds to Black as if Jack were Juno and a source of intimidating wit. (Roger Ebert) 100 minutes
