“The Pink Panther 2”
Steve Martin is back as the bumbling French detective Clouseau. He still hasn’t bothered to learn a faux French accent. The editing doesn’t hide that even the simplest stunts are now done by fellows in snow-white wigs. But this family-friendly farce plays lighter than the first Martin “Panther,” even if Martin himself still doesn’t “get” what made the character funny. The Magna Carta, the Shroud of Turin and a famous Japanese sword have been stolen by The Tornado. An international “dream team” — English (Alfred Molina), Italian (Andy Garcia, actually funny), Japanese (Yuki Matsuzaki) and Indian (Aishwarya Rai) — has been assembled to crack the case. PG. 1 hour, 29 minutes. Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel
“Revolutionary Road”
Director Sam Mendes’ take on Richard Yates’ acclaimed novel set in the 1950s joins a list of recent prestige adaptations that never equal their originals (“Doubt” and “Frost/Nixon”). Golden Globe-winner Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are April and Frank Wheeler, a vivacious couple who move to the Connecticut suburbs, steadily shedding the dreams that attracted them to each other for pretty delusions that threaten to tear them down. When April suggests they up and move to Paris, light streams in. And neighbors and colleagues get nervous. Audiences have grown used to tales of 1950s constraint and suburban agonies. When Yates told the Wheelers’ tale in 1961 it was groundbreaking. His novel endures yet. But despite its delicate, intelligent craft, the drama (screenplay by Justin Haythe) feels false and familiar. R. 1 hour, 59 minutes. Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post
