Here are selected capsule reviews of movies in current release. Information is based on the most up-to-date theater schedules available and subject to change.
Aliens of the Deep (star)(star)1/2
Following 2003’s “Ghosts of the Abyss,” director James Cameron journeys deeper into the ocean, exploring the earth’s volatile crust with NASA scientists. All in all, it’s a fascinating, kid-friendly journey, minus clunky dialogue and on-screen hypothesizing about what Europa’s aliens might look like (predictably, like luminescent aqua-aliens from “The Abyss”). G. 47.–R.E.
The Amityville Horror (star)(star)(star)
The 1979 “The Amityville Horror,” based on the true story of a family terrorized by demonic forces after moving into a home that was the site of a grisly mass-murder, has been remade and is decidedly superior to the original. Directed by Andrew Douglas, the film is a terrific scare show, packing plenty of jolts yet never lingering morbidly over horrific images. R. 1:29.–Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Brothers (star)(star)(star)
When a Danish soldier is missing and presumed dead in Afghanistan, his black-sheep brother (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) steps in to help his family, leading to romantic tension with Michael’s wife (Connie Nielsen). A chilling drama of a fractured family during wartime. R. 1:50.–R.E.
Crash (star)(star)(star)1/2
The feature directorial debut of “Million Dollar Baby” screenwriter Paul Haggis is an intricate, explosive ensemble crime drama set in a modern urban L.A. pressure-cooker of racial and class hatreds. Well-written and acted by a superb cast (Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton), it’s a moving street mural seen through grit-covered glasses. R. 1:47.–M.W.
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (no star rating)
The haunted Father Merrin, spiritually bruised in World War II, finds the bottle cap to hell in a long-buried East African church. Nutball and glacial, but there’s an intelligence under the hoohah. With Stellan Skarsgard, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar, Billy Crawford. Written by William Wisher and Caleb Carr. Directed by Paul Schrader. R. 1:57.–John Anderson, Newsday
Downfall (Der Untergang) (star)(star)(star)(star)
This extraordinarily gripping bio-drama takes us inside Hitler’s bunker during his last 10 days. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel and producer-screenwriter Bernd Eichinger use Hitler secretary Traudl Junge’s eyewitness account, with Alexandra Maria Lara fine as the naive Junge, and Bruno Ganz’s great performance as a mad, vulnerable Hitler heading a brilliant cast and crack production. In German with English subtitles. No MPAA rating (adult, parents cautioned for violence, sensuality and language. 2:28.–M.W.
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (star)(star)(star)1/2
Director Alex Gibney’s film on the collapse of the high-flying Houston energy company, based on the book by Fortune reporters (and here, interviewees) Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind is a powerhouse documentary: a gripping, funny non-fiction movie that pulls scads of high drama and dark comedy out of the rise and fall of Enron, one of the decade’s major corporate crimes. No MPAA rating (adult for language). 1:53.–M.W.
Hitch (star)(star)
In this flashy, cliched romantic comedy, Will Smith plays a romance-savvy dating doctor who runs into troubles with his coaching (of shy Kevin James) and his own love life, wooing hard-case tabloid columnist (Eva Mendes). Most of the good gags are in the trailers, and the strongest chemistry is between Smith and James. Directed by Andy Tennant (“Sweet Home Alabama”). PG-13. 1:57.–M.W.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (star)(star)(star)
Taming author Douglas Adams’ silly sci-fi novels into movie form is like training wild schnauzers in petticoats to water ski. It’s impossible. Even so, Garth Jennings’ lovingly designed and high-spirited comic adaptation still makes you want to catch a ride–even if it can’t always channel Adams’ loony prose. PG. 1:50.–R.E.
House of Wax (star)(star)
Not strictly a remake of Vincent Price’s movie, this “House of Wax” instead re-imagines the franchise, complete with twin brother serial killers who make wax sculptures of their victims. Mostly, our soft-witted heroes scare one another until the first casualty, 53 long minutes into this uninspired, standard horror film. R. 1:26.–R.E.
Ice Princess (star)(star)
All the usual suspects line up in Disney’s entirely predictable and utterly soothing new ice skating flick: bookworm-cum-beauty (Michelle Trachtenberg), disapproving parent (Joan Cusack), popular girl who is dying on the inside (Hayden Panettiere) and her controlling mom (Kim Cattrall). Oh yes, and the dream to skate. G. 1:32.–A.B.
The Interpreter (star)(star)(star)1/2
Sydney Pollack’s new political thriller, shot largely in and around New York’s UN headquarters, is a polished, exciting treat, with beyond-duty’s-call work by stars Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn as a UN interpreter who may have stumbled on an assassination plot and the tormented federal agent protecting her. A full-throttle suspense film that’s also an affecting psychological piece. PG-13. 2:08.–M.W.
Kicking & Screaming (star)(star)1/2
To call “Kicking & Screaming” a Will Ferrell comedy vehicle gives too much credit to its wafer-thin, comedy-by-the-numbers script. It’s Ferrell who is the vehicle, and everyone else is just along for the ride in this marginally effective, but starkly unoriginal “Bad News Bears” on the soccer field. PG. 1:35.–R.E.
Kingdom of Heaven (star)(star)(star)1/2
A movie that dares the heavens and almost wins. Based on a lesser-known episode of the Crusades, Ridley Scott’s revisionist epic treads through a minefield of cultural-political controversies to craft a gargantuan, technologically stunning film: a historical adventure-drama of overwhelming visual grandeur. With Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons. R. 2:25.–M.W.
Kontroll (star)(star)(star)1/2
In this macabre and exciting fantasy-thriller, shot in the Budapest subway system (the world’s second oldest), debuting Hungarian filmmaker Nimrod Antal brilliantly creates a subterranean world of cops, killers and fare cheats, policed by the beleaguered “controllers” or ticket supervisors, overseen by a world-weary Brandoesque malcontent (Sandor Csanyi). A big festival prize-winner from Cannes to Chicago (Grand Prize). In Hungarian, with English subtitles. R. 1:46.–M.W.
Kung Fu Hustle (star)(star)(star)(star)
Hong Kong wunderkind Stephen Chow (who directs, writes and stars) plays Sing, an inept hustler who stirs up trouble in an impoverished Hong Kong enclave of retired kung fu masters. Chow sets his heroes against ascending levels of absurdity and wonder in this astonishing, revolutionary action comedy. R. 1:35.–R.E.
Ladies in Lavender (star)(star)
Judi Dench and Maggie Smith play elderly sisters who discover a young man washed ashore near the village of Cornwall. Set on the cusp of World War II, this film exudes that kind of polite, under-dramatic staging that can either provide insightful examination of society or bore you stiff. PG-13. 1:43.–R.E.
Layer Cake (star)(star)(star)1/2
Daniel Craig plays a London businessman whose trade just happens to be cocaine in Matthew Vaughn’s slick and sophisticated one-last-job crime caper. On the cusp of retirement, Craig must track down the daughter of a crime boss and facilitate the sale of a million ecstasy pills to earn his freedom. No problemo. R. 1:40.–A.B.
The Longest Yard (star)
The Adam Sandlerized remake of the 1974 Burt Reynolds original fails all on its own, irrespective of any comparisons to the cult original. This film is unsure whether it wants to be a comedy or drama, and succeeds only in coming down firmly on the side of loud, loutish ineptitude. PG-13. 1:54.–K.W.
Look at Me (Comme un Image) (star)(star)(star)1/2
A perceptive look at the French literary scene and a psychologically sharp tale of a writer’s family in turmoil, “Look at Me” won the Cannes best screenplay prize for writer-director-star Agnes Jaoui and her ex-husband, co-star Jean-Pierre Bacri. The dialogue is witty, the characterizations keen; “Look at Me” is one of the year’s top foreign imports so far. In French with English subtitles. PG-13. 1:50.–M.W.
Mad Hot Ballroom (star)(star)(star)1/2
A compulsory ballroom dancing course introduced a decade ago in New York City’s public schools becomes a documentary triumph for first-time filmmakers Marilyn Agrelo and Amy Sewell. PG. 1:45.–J.R.
Madagascar (star)(star)
Unlike its pop culture proficient predecessors, DreamWorks’ latest computer animated feature shuns the winks and nods, instead relying wholly on its stars: Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith, as the voices of zoo animals cast out into the wild. But with a far too traditional story, bland humor and characters so actor-specific, there’s little room for imagination. PG. 1:26.–A.B.
Millions (star)(star)(star)1/2
A magical British film about two boys (Alexander Etel and Lewis McGibbon) in a Liverpool suburb, stumbling on piles of money and having their lives radically changed, this Christian fable/fantasy about Mammon and kids is done with wide-eyed wonder, wit and imagination. Director Danny Boyle (“Trainspotting”) and writer Frank Cottrell Boyce (“24 Hour Party People”) shine. PG. 1:37.–M.W.
Mindhunters 1/2(star)
A bunch of young, attractive FBI profilers-in-training get dropped on an abandoned island for a weekend exercise, only to find a killer in their midst. One by one, the agentettes are murdered and the survivors must solve the crime. (Sorry, “Pump up the Volume” fans: Christian Slater is the first to go.) R. 1:45.–A.B.
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (star)1/2
FBI agent Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) gets another makeover, this time to become the new face of the Bureau, traveling the country with her entourage–stylist Joel (Diedrich Bader), hair, makeup and partner Sam Fuller (Regina King), a problem agent with anger management issues. When old pageant pals are kidnapped in Vegas, guess which stiletto-heeled Miss FBI saves the day? PG-13. 1:55.–A.B.
Monster-in-Law (star)(star)
Jane Fonda, absent from the screen for 15 years, makes a stunning comeback of sorts, in a vehicle so shallow it seems ready to collapse under her: as a superstar TV interviewer who goes psycho over her prospective daughter-in-law (Jennifer Lopez) and tries everything to sabotage her. Directed by Robert Luketic (“Legally Blonde”), this is a bouncy movie but not a very smart one. PG-13. 1:40.–M.W.
Robots (star)(star)(star)
A young sparkplug of an inventor, Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor), visits Robot City in search of fame, but instead finds corruption and misfits (Robin Williams, Drew Carey). Wildly inventive and sweetly subversive, even the occasional dent can’t keep animated “Robots” from being a compelling bit of comic clockwork. PG. 1:31.–R.E.
Sahara (star)(star)
Adventurer Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) searches for a Civil War-era, iron-sided Confederate ship in Africa, gets the girl and exhibits an almost genetic predisposition for repeated, serendipitous escapes. Penelope Cruz provides the love interest, and Steve Zahn the laughs, but neither keeps “Sahara’s” teetering stack of improbabilities from sinking it. PG-13. 2:04.–R.E.
Sharks 3D (star)(star)(star)
Jean-Jacques Mantello’s conservation-minded “Sharks 3D” attempts to demystify this aquatic rock star and place it neatly in its post on the food chain. Geoffrey Bateman, who narrates via a curious, death-defying turtle, helps “Sharks” become a kid-friendly environmentalist flick full of visual poetry. No MPAA rating (family). 0:42.–R.E.
Sin City (star)(star)(star)1/2
Frank Miller’s post-“Kiss Me Deadly” comic book world of hard guys, rich degenerates and hookers looks even better as a movie. Co-director-writers Robert Rodriguez and Miller charge up three of Miller’s stories, “That Yellow Bastard,” “The Hard Goodbye” and “The Big Fat Kill,” with a top hard-boiled cast: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen. R. 2:04.–M.W.
Star Wars: Episode III–Revenge of the Sith (star)(star)(star)(star)
“Star Wars: Episode III–Revenge of the Sith,” twists back on itself to end where it began, with all the players and puzzle pieces finally explained. Even though many critics have been rough on the last two “Star Wars,” this one is a smashing success on its own. It’s also the scariest, most exciting. PG-13. 2:20.–M.W.
Unleashed (star)(star)
Jet Li plays an orphan raised by his gangster uncle (Bob Hoskins) as a pit bull, trained to kill, kill, kill when released from his chunky metal dog collar. After escaping his uncle’s grip, Danny is taken in by a kindly, blind pianist (Morgan Freeman) and discovers life, love and laughter. R. 1:43.–A.B.
XXX: State of the Union (star)1/2
How is it possible for a major franchise picture and sequel to the 2002 hit “XXX,” starring Ice Cube (replacing Vin Diesel), Samuel L. Jackson and Willem Dafoeand directed by Lee Tamahori be this howlingly ridiculous? New XXX Cube is sprung from prison to foil a ludicrous U.S. coup d’etat. PG-13. 1:41.–M.W.
