MOVIES
OPENING THIS WEEK
GROWN UPS
High school pals reunite for a Fourth of July tribute to their late basketball coach in this comedy featuring former "Saturday Night Live" teammates Adam Sandler (who co-wrote the script), Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider. Kevin James (Sandler's "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" castmate) completes the starting five; Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, Steve Buscemi and ex-"SNL" faves Maya Rudolph and Tim Meadows co-star. (102 min.) PG-13; crude material including suggestive references, profanity and partial nudity. At multiple locations.
HOLY ROLLERS
The opening-night attraction at this month's Las Vegas Film Festival, this fact-based drama, set in 1990s Brooklyn, focuses on a young Hasidic Jew ("Zombieland's" Jesse Eisenberg) who joins a friend ("The Hangover's" Justin Bartha) in an unlikely pursuit: smuggling Ecstasy from Amsterdam to New York. At Village Square. (89 min.) R; drug use, profanity, brief sexual material.
I'LL BE THERE
This Filipino drama about an estranged father and daughter stars the real-life father-daughter team of Gabby and KC Conception; Jericho Rosales co-stars for director Maryo De Los Reyes. In Tagalog. At Village Square. (130 min.) NR.
KNIGHT AND DAY
An on-the-run secret agent (Tom Cruise) embroils an innocent bystander (Cameron Diaz, Cruise's "Vanilla Sky" co-star) in a web of international intrigue in a light-hearted action romp featuring Peter Sarsgaard, Viola Davis and Paul Dano. James Mangold ("Walk the Line," "3:10 to Yuma") directs. At multiple locations. (110 min.) PG-13; action violence, brief profanity.
MOTHER AND CHILD
A 50-year-old woman (Annette Bening), the daughter she gave up for adoption 35 years earlier (Naomi Watts) and a woman (Kerry Washington) hoping to adopt a child of her own form the heart of this drama from "Nine Lives" writer-director Rodrigo Garcia (son of author Gabriel Garcia Marquez). Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits and Cherry Jones co-star. At Colonnade. (125 min.) R; sexuality, brief nudity, profanity.
SOLITARY MAN
ALREADY IN THEATERS
Movies are rated on a letter-grade scale, from A to F. Opinions by R-J movie critic Carol Cling (C.C.) are indicated by initials. Other opinions are from wire service critics.
THE A-TEAM
(B) Overkill is underrated: In this slam-bang update of the '80s TV fave, framed ex-Army Rangers (Liam Neeson as Hannibal Smith, Bradley Cooper as Templeton "Face" Peck, "District 9's" Sharlto Copley as "Howlin' Mad" Murdoch and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson as B.A. Baracus), try to clear their names, with Army captain Jessica Biel in hot pursuit. Of course it's ridiculously over-the-top, but it's also flat-out fun, with a cheeky sense of humor -- and way more enjoyable than expected, considering the ignominious history of movies inspired by TV shows. (118 min.) PG-13; intense sequences of action and violence, profanity, smoking.
BABIES
(B) Little people, big personalities: French filmmaker Thomas Balmes takes a documentary look at a year in the life, from birth to first baby steps, of four impossibly cute infants -- Ponijao (from Namibia), Bayar (from Mongolia), Mari (from Tokyo) and Hattie (from San Francisco) -- and reveals how much we have in common, despite different families, cultures and countries. If you're not into infants, you're unlikely to like "Babies." Otherwise, you'll be moved nearly to tears by this artful, intimate film's beautiful universality. (79 min.) PG; cultural and maternal nudity throughout.
CITY ISLAND
(B) Everybody's got a secret in this beguiling indie, a slice-of-ethnic-life comedy set in the title Bronx fishing enclave, where a prison guard (a terrific Andy Garcia) with acting aspirations disrupts his already dysfunctional family even further after he brings home a young ex-con ("10,000 BC's" Steven Strait). Julianna Margulies, Alan Arkin, Emily Mortimer, Ezra Miller and Dominik Garcia-Lorido (Andy's daughter) round out the all-aces cast; writer-director Raymond De Felitta ("Two Family House") balances quirky comedy and rueful human truths with heartfelt and infectious charm. (100 min.) PG-13; sexual content, smoking, profanity. (C.C.)
CLASH OF THE TITANS
(C) "Avatar's" hunky, charisma-free Sam Worthington returns in a high-tech revamp of the campy 1981 extravaganza, as Perseus, the human son of Zeus (Liam Neeson), tries to prevent nasty Hades (Ralph Fiennes, having a blast) and his underworld underlings from spreading evil to the heavens -- and Earth. Decent but forgettable digital effects, combined with and a disappointing 3-D conversion, make for a long, joyless slog. (118 min.) PG-13; fantasy action violence, frightening images, brief sensuality.
DATE NIGHT
(B-) On the town: When hapless New Jersey suburbanites (Steve Carell, Tina Fey) venture into Manhattan for a night out, they steal another couple's reservation at an uber-trendy restaurant and find themselves plunged into intrigue and running for their lives. This comic thriller can't quite decide whether it wants to be slapstick or satire when it grows up, but Carell and Fey's terrific chemistry (along with Mark Wahlberg's deadpan self-spoofery as a perpetually shirtless security expert) keep the chuckles coming. (88 min.) PG-13; sexual content, profanity, drug references, violence. (C.C.)
DEATH AT A FUNERAL
(B) Second life: Director Neil LaBute ("In the Company of Men") and an all-star cast (led by Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan and Danny Glover) breathe new life into the 2007 British farce about an extended family coming together for a funeral marred by elaborate hijinks. The key figure connecting both movies is Peter Dinklage, reprising his role as a diminutive mystery guest who shows up with a big secret; his return is a prime reason why "Death at a Funeral" surprisingly deserves resurrection. (92 min.) R; profanity, drug content, sexual humor.
DINOSAURS 3D: GIANTS OF PATAGONIA
(B) If you like dinosaurs (who doesn't?), you'll love this 3-D documentary, which follows paleontologist Rodolfo Coria as he tramps the rugged wilds of southern Argentina, where remains of the largest dinosaurs in the world -- including the 120-foot Argentinosaurus -- have been discovered. The perfect blend of scholarly information and totally cool dinosaurs brought to vivid life. (40 min.) G; scary dinosaurs.
GET HIM TO THE GREEK
(C) This summer's gross-out "Hangover" wannabe reunites "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" scene-stealers Russell Brand and Jonah Hill as, respectively, off-his-rocker rock star Aldous Snow and the low-level record company schlub assigned to escort him from London to a comeback L.A. concert, via New York and (inevitably) Las Vegas. Despite the satirical potential of its rock-music setting and the Brand-Hill team's fart-with-heart humor, this latest model from producer Judd Apatow's bromance assembly line just doesn't have enough laughs to go the distance. (109 min.) R; strong sexual content and drug use, pervasive profanity. (C.C.)
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
(B+) Before Hollywood gets its hands on Stieg Larsson's international best-seller, here's the killer Swedish original (with English subtitles): a gripping thriller about a haunted goth computer hacker (the ferocious Noomi Rapace) who helps an investigative journalist (world-weary Michael Nykvist) solve a 40-year-old mystery. Even with subtitles, what happens is gut-punchingly clear: not pretty, but undeniably compelling. (152 min.) NR; violence and gruesome images, sexual situations, nudity, profanity. (C.C.)
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
(B) Up and away: In this sometimes exhilarating animated romp (especially in 3-D), a scrawny Viking teen wounds, then befriends a dragon he dubs Toothless, discovering that Toothless and his fellow flying terrors aren't so terrifying after all. "She's Out of My League's" Jay Baruchel (Hollywood's nerd du jour) and "Bounty Hunter's" brawny Gerard Butler lead the vocal cast of an adventure that truly soars when human and dragon take to the skies. (98 min.) PG; sequences of intense action and some scary images, brief mild language. (C.C.)
IRON MAN 2
(C+) Billionaire superhero Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) resists sharing his secrets with the military, forging new alliances -- and confronting new enemies, from renegade Russian Ivan Vanko (gleefully rabid Mickey Rourke) to rival munitions maven Justin Hammer (a spectacularly smarmy Sam Rockwell). It's always a kick watching Robert Downey Jr., but this sequel to the 2008 smash isn't nearly as entertaining as its quirky, irresistibly smirky star. It assumes that more is better, but sometimes more turns out to be a bit of a bore. (124 min.) PG-13; intense sci-fi action and violence, profanity. (C.C.)
JONAH HEX
(D+) Nexed: A scarred ex-Confederate gunslinger/bounty hunter (Josh Brolin) gets an offer he can't refuse from U.S. officials: take on, and take out, a bad guy (John Malkovich) about to unleash a doomsday weapon to destroy the U.S., just in time for its centennial. Megan Fox, Aidan Quinn and Will Arnett co-star, to little effect, in an adaptation of the 1970s DC comic book that's so short, and so bad, you cringe at the thought of how awful whatever ended up on the cutting-room floor must be. (80 min.) PG-13; intense sequences of violence and action, disturbing images, sexual content.
JUST WRIGHT
(D+) No slam dunk: A physical therapist (a bland Queen Latifah) falls for the NBA superstar (hip-hop star Common) she's helping recover from a career-threatening injury in an overly familiar "Cinderella" variation overflowing with clichés, contrivances and stock characters. More's the pity, because this cast (Paula Patton, Pam Grier and Phylicia Rashad co-star) and director Sanaa Hamri ("Something New") deserve better. So do we. (111 min.) PG; suggestive material, brief profanity.
THE KARATE KID
(C+) Kung fu hustle: This remake of the beloved 1984 hit moves the action to China, where Detroit 12-year-old Dre Parker (smart-alecky Jaden Smith, son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith) experiences extreme culture clash when the class bully confronts him, until Mr. Han (an admirably restrained Jackie Chan), the maintenance man at his apartment complex, instructs the newcomer in the intricacies of kung fu -- and life. No points for originality, but this handsome revamp follows its crowd-pleasing blueprint with unmistakable confidence. After all, the story still works for audiences -- just not as well as it did before. (135 min.) PG; bullying, martial arts action violence, mild profanity. (C.C.)
KICK-ASS
(B+) Kick in the pants: A geeky teen (Aaron Johnson) reinvents himself as a superhero -- despite his total lack of superpowers -- in a seriously, nastily violent adaptation of Mark Millar's comic book series, which is utterly stolen by Chloe Grace Moretz ("500 Days of Summer") as the masked, purple-wigged 11-year-old vigilante Hit Girl. She embodies the movie's satirical attitude toward the excesses of superhero flicks -- and the very real consequences of Hollywood's slavish devotion to cartoon action. (117 min.) R; strong brutal violence, pervasive profanity, sexual content, nudity and some drug use -- some involving children.
KILLERS
(D+) After a whirlwind vacation romance and marriage, a new bride (Katherine Heigl) returns home to start her life with her husband (Ashton Kutcher) and discovers his past life -- as a spy -- when contract killers come gunning for them. This brain-deadening collision of high concept and low standards reunites Heigl with "Ugly Truth" director Robert Luketic, and the result is just as ugly; whatever germ of an idea exists is quickly killed by witless writing and migraine-inducing direction. (105 min.) PG-13; violent action, sexual material, profanity.
LETTERS TO JULIET
(C) Return to sender: In Verona, Italy, an American tourist ("Dear John's" Amanda Seyfried) finds a 50-year-old letter -- and writes a reply to the once-lovelorn correspondent (Vanessa Redgrave), who arrives, accompanied by her skeptical grandson (Christopher Egan), to search for her long-lost flame (Redgrave's real-life husband, Franco Nero). The scenery's lovely, and so is the graceful Redgrave, but everything else is so gooey and predictable it can't help but turn the movie's potential charm into undeniable smarm. (105 min.) PG; brief rude behavior, profanity, incidental smoking. (C.C.)
MARMADUKE
(D+) Life's just beachy for the title Great Dane (voiced by Owen Wilson) when his family (Lee Pace, Judy Greer) moves from Kansas to sunny Southern California, setting the stage for comic mischief in this live-action romp featuring the voices of (among others) Kiefer Sutherland, George Lopez, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Steve Coogan, Marlon Wayans, Sam Elliott and Stacy Ferguson (better known as Fergie). Despite a clever nugget of an idea -- the dog park as a canine version of high school -- the groan-inducing puns, seriously cheesy green-screen effects and hokey, feel-good ending make this torment for anyone over 7, and they deserve better. (95 min.) PG; rude humor, profanity.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
(C) Play it again, Freddy: In a needless do-over of the long-running horror fave, teens on the title street (Kyle Gallner, Katie Cassidy and Rooney Mara among them) keep having the same killer nightmare -- featuring razor-fingered fiend Freddy Krueger ("Shutter Island's" Jackie Earle Haley, who inherits the role created by Robert Englund). Haley's somebody who can really act -- and be deeply creepy, as evidenced by his Oscar-nominated "Little Children" performance, but here he's smothered by the special-effects makeup, the distorted voice and the cheesy puns. And while a shred of Wes Craven's original concept remains intact, the novelty has long since worn off; what's left is cheap, generic scares. (97 min.) R; strong bloody horror violence, disturbing images, terror, profanity.
PLEASE GIVE
(B+) Writer-director Nicole Holofcener ("Lovely and Amazing," "Friends With Money") reunites with her favorite leading lady, the wonderful Catherine Keener, for an edgy, sharply detailed -- and painfully funny -- social satire of guilt, shame, infidelity, death and Manhattan real estate, as affluent New Yorkers (Keener, Oliver Platt) wait for their ancient neighbor (Ann Guilbert) to die already, so they can expand their apartment into hers. Deep thoughts about shallow people can be trying, but Holofcener's on-target observations and an all-aces cast (including Amanda Peet and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona's" Rebecca Hall as the cranky neighbor's total-opposite granddaughters) keep it all too real. (90 min.) R; sexual content, nudity, profanity. (C.C.)
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
(C) In ancient Arabian-nights territory, the rascally title character (an earnest, pumped-up Jake Gyllenhaal) and a rival princess (ornamental Bond girl Gemma Arterton) run for their lives, hoping to keep a magical dagger from falling into villainous hands. This video game-inspired adventure lumbers rather than rollicks, thanks (or no thanks) to its emphasis on computer-generated effects, extended action sequences and hammy overacting (from, among others, Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina). I want my "Mummy" -- or my "Raiders of the Lost Ark" -- or any of the other, better movies "Prince of Persia" recalls. (116 min.) PG-13; intense sequences of violence and action. (C.C.)
RAAVAN
(B) In this richly atmospheric Bollywood update of the Indian epic "The Ramayana," a bandit leader (Abhishek Bachchan) kidnaps the wife (Aishwarya Rai, Bachchan's real-life spouse) of the cop (Vikram) who killed his sister, only to fall in love with her. Director Mani Ratnam's a talented visual storyteller who directs action crisply and fills the screen with striking images, making this an artful (but not arty) entertainment. In Hindi with English subtitles. (138 min.) NR; stylized violence.
ROBIN HOOD
(B-) Not so very merry: Russell Crowe reunites with "Gladiator" director Ridley Scott for a sweeping, yet not quite stirring, origin tale -- one that doesn't completely scale the heights to which it (and they) aspire. Despite a top-chop cast (including Cate Blanchett as a forceful Marian, William Hurt and Max Von Sydow as noble nobles and Mark Strong and Oscar Isaac as venal villains), Crowe's straight-arrow "Robin Hood" is more like Gladiator (in the) Hood -- a far cry from the impudent, irreverent, irrepressible (and irresistible) rogue of Sherwood Forest we've come to know and love through a century of cinematic derring-do. (140 min.) PG-13; violence, including intense combat sequences, and sexual situations. (C.C.)
THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES
(B) This year's surprise Oscar-winner for best foreign-language film, this drama from Argentina -- part murder mystery, part romance -- focuses on a retired court investigator (Richard Darin) who decides to revisit a rape-murder case that went unsolved 25 years earlier and has haunted him ever since. In the process, he revisits a former colleague (Soledad Villamil), now a judge, who's also haunted him. It's a long and winding road, with a lot going on, but writer-director Juan Jose Campanella ("House," "Law & Order: SVU") shows a sure hand. In Spanish with English subtitles. (129 min.) R; violent images (including a rape scene), graphic nudity, profanity.
SEX AND THE CITY 2
(D) Sex and the pity: Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and BFFs Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristen Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) trade the sidewalks of New York for the sands of Abu Dhabi on an all-expenses-paid luxury jaunt -- but the sudden appearance of Carrie's former flame Aidan (John Corbett) complicates matters for the current Mrs. Big, whose Mr. (Chris Noth) is back home in Manhattan. Smug, self-indulgent and tone-deaf, this trip to nowhere -- except bad-movie hell -- drives a stake through the heart of a once-beloved franchise that deserved a more dignified death. (146 min.) R; strong sexual content, profanity. (C.C.)
SHREK FOREVER AFTER
(C) It's not easy being green: The fourth (and, we hope, final) chapter of the fractured fairy-tale cartoon saga strands the restless title ogre (voiced by Mike Myers) in a twisted version of Far Far Away ruled by the unruly Rumplestiltskin (voiced, with frustrating flatness, by story editor Walt Dohrn). Not the worst "Shrek" sequel (that would be 2007's "Shrek the Third"), this nevertheless confirms that the franchise is long past its sell-by date; even the 3-D effects and the hilarious vocal stylings of Eddie Murphy's Donkey and Antonio Banderas' Puss in Boots aren't bright enough to lighten the prevailing been-there, seen-that mood. (93 min.) PG; mild action, rude humor, brief profanity. (C.C.)
SPLICE
(C+) Two cocky scientists (Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley) defy legal and ethical boundaries to conduct a dangerous experiment -- splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism, with horrifying results. This "Frankenstein"-style chiller from director Vincenzo Natali ("Cypher") is pure potluck -- a pinch of braininess, a bit of gothic terror, a morsel of gross-out horror, a touch of kinky sex fantasy. And while the parts don't always fit that gracefully, the occasional bolts-in-the-neck crudeness is offset by wicked humor, really cool effects and a fair number of genuine scares. (110 min.) R; disturbing elements including strong sexuality, nudity, sci-fi violence, profanity.
TOY STORY 3
(A) The wonderful folks from Pixar ride to the rescue of a bummer movie summer with this more-than-equal second sequel, a delightful kids-of-all-ages animated adventure in which Andy heads off to college and his beloved toys -- led by cowboy Woody and space ranger Buzz -- find a new life at a deceptively sunny day-care center. Voiced by all-star returnees Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack (among others), plus such standout newcomers as Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton and Timothy Dalton, these cartoon characters have vastly more humor, personality, heart -- and substance -- than most live-action counterparts. And, alongside rueful observations about the inevitability of growing up, this "Toy Story" celebrates the inner kid in all of us -- especially the kid who knows, and embraces, the power of imagination. (103 min.) G; all ages. (C.C.)
