“Battle: Los Angeles”
** (out of 4)
War is hell. And so is alien invasion. That’s the long and short of “Battle: Los Angeles,” a distillation of war-movie cliches. It builds enough suspenseful tension — especially in its first half — to take it out of contention for the worst L.A.-gets-leveled splatter-rama to make it to the big screen. Aaron Eckhart is Michael Nantz, a staff sergeant who’s just days shy from early retirement. Of course, his Marines might as well be from Hollywood Rent-a-Soldier. As more is revealed and one battle blurs into another, the movie becomes less engaging and less of a movie and more of a first-person shooter game with better acting. PG-13. 1 hour, 56 minutes. Cary Darling, McClatchey Newspapers
“Hall Pass”
* (out of 4)
It is not good to have one’s arms crossed throughout a comedy. It meant, “You can’t make me laugh.” When the African-American male friend, that hapless guys that films like this one lately acquired, says, “This is bull, I’m outta here,” I was jealous. Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis play Rick and Fred, who are married to Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Grace (Christina Applegate). On the advice of their friend Dr. Judy (Joy Behar), the mates give their men an opportunity to stray. And so the dumb is dumbered down. R. 1 hour, 38 minutes. Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post
“Red Riding Hood”
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Catherine Hardwicke tries to transfer her panting, pretty young things, “Twilight”-style, to this werewolf-without-the-vampires fantasy aimed at that magical PG-13 audience. But for all the heaving bosoms, it doesn’t work. Amanda Seyfried has the title role of Valerie, who wears the scarlet hood Grandma (Julie Christie) made for her. A werewolf kills Valerie’s sister. The weak-kneed local priest (Lukas Haas) sends for a specialist: Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), who preaches paranoia: the wolf is among them. But even the reliably hammy Oldman seems lost without better lines to say or scenes to play. PG-13. 2 hours. Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel
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