MOVIES
OPENING THIS WEEK
THE BLIND SIDE
PLANET 51
In this animated adventure, an American astronaut (voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) lands on the title sphere and discovers little green people living in fear of alien invaders -- just like him. Jessica Biel, Seann William Scott, Justin Long, Gary Oldman (who's also in the "Christmas Carol" vocal cast) and John Cleese supply the voices; "Shrek's" Joe Stillman scripts. At multiple locations. (126 min.) PG-13; brief violence, drug and sexual references.
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
Set in 1987 Harlem, this acclaimed drama focuses on Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a black teen who's pregnant (for a second time) by her absent father, stuck at home with her angry, abusive mother (Mo'Nique), virtually illiterate -- and determined to find dignity in, and endure, her unendurable situation. Paula Patton, Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz co-star for director Lee Daniels. At multiple locations. (109 min.) R; profanity, violence, sexual abuse.
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON
In the second chapter of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling series, Bella (Kristen Stewart) discovers that the course of true love never does run smooth, especially when her beloved Edward Cullen (teenthrob Robert Pattinson) leaves town with his vampire family rather than endanger her life. Good thing her friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) is still around -- but he's got a deep dark secret all his own. At multiple locations. (130 min.) PG-13; violence and action.
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.
AMELIA
(C+) Earthbound: Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank stars as legendary pilot Amelia Earhart, who in 1937 attempts an around-the-world flight -- but disappears before completing the trip. Richard Gere (as Earhart's ambitious husband) and Ewan McGregor (as her dashing aviator lover) co-star for director Mira Nair ("The Namesake," "Monsoon Wedding") in a handsome but curiously traditional biography of a defiantly untraditional woman. (111 min.) PG; sexual references, profanity, thematic elements, smoking. (C.C.)
ASTRO BOY
(C) In futuristic Metro City, the super-powered title robot (voiced by "Finding Neverland's" Freddie Highmore) battles aliens threatening Earth in this big-screen revamp of the TV cartoon fave. Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane and Bill Nighy also turn up in the vocal cast, but it's the visuals that fall flat. Kids won't care; parents (especially boomers who remember the snappy animé original) should beware. (94 min.) PG; action and peril, brief mild profanity.
THE BOX
(C-) A simple wooden box arrives on the doorstep of a married couple (Cameron Diaz, James Marsden), giving them the chance at a million dollars -- but only, as a mysterious stranger (the great Frank Langella, shamefully treated) explains, at the cost of someone else's life. Writer-director Richard Kelly ("Donnie Darko") delivers a preposterous chiller, based on a short story by the legendary Richard Matheson ("Twilight Zone," "I Am Legend"). Like a magician's prop, this gives the illusion that it's full of stuff -- ideas, portents, clues, meaning -- when it's all but empty. (115 min.) PG-13; thematic elements, violence, disturbing images.
BRIGHT STAR
(A-) A thing of beauty: Oscar-winning writer-director Jane Campion ("The Piano") returns to form with another rich, ravishing period tale, this one an ecstatic couplet to tubercular Romantic poet John Keats (a charming Ben Whishaw) and his muse, Regency fashion plate and seamstress Fannie Brawne (radiant, Oscar-caliber Abbie Cornish). They remain as timely now as they were two centuries ago, and this movie -- intimate as a whisper, immediate as a blush, universal as first love -- positively palpitates with the sensual and the spiritual. (119 min.) PG; thematic elements, sensuality, brief profanity, incidental smoking. (C.C.)
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
(C) Humbug: Charles Dickens' holiday classic gets writer-director Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture animation treatment in a visually impressive adaptation that's utterly uninterested in its characters (led by Jim Carrey's Ebenezer Scrooge and Gary Oldman's Bob Cratchit) as anything more than decorative figures populating a pageant of in-your-face special effects. (Which are especially in-your-face if you see this in 3-D or IMAX 3-D. It's a cruel trick, transforming a heaping helping of holiday cheer into a coldly efficient cinematic thrill ride. (96 min.) PG; scary sequences and images. (C.C.)
CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT
(C) Bill and Ted's Night of the Living Undead: A teen (charisma-challenged Chris Massoglia) and his rowdy pal (Josh Hutcherson) join the title freak show in a disjointed horror comedy based on the popular young-adult book series by Darren Shan that's an anti-"Twilight" geared toward pre-teens who'd rather see more fighting than smooching. But at least John C. Reilly and Willem Dafoe get the chance to sink their fangs into their vampire roles. (108 min.) PG-13; intense supernatural violence and action, disturbing images, thematic elements, profanity.
COCO BEFORE CHANEL
(B) "Amélie's" Audrey Tautou plays Gabrielle Chanel, before she became the famed designer known as Coco, in an elegant portrait of the couturier in the years before she officially opened shop. Maybe it's the subtitles, but director Anne Fontaine ("The Girl From Monaco") seems to have a keener eye for the elements that made Chanel's style than she has an ear for dialogue. Yet she gets a splendid performance from Tautou, who plays Chanel like a time bomb that explodes into a bouquet. In French with English subtitles. (105 min.) PG-13; sexual content, smoking.
COUPLES RETREAT
(C) Trouble in paradise: Four couples (played by, among others, Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Malin Akerman and Jon Favreau) try to sort out their relationship problems amid Bora Bora's tropical splendor in a tepid marriage-renewal comedy that has a decent cast and a few good ideas -- but no clear grasp of what to do with them. (107 min.) PG-13; sexual content, profanity.
DINOSAURS 3D: GIANTS OF PATAGONIA
(B) If you like dinosaurs (and 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.
AN EDUCATION
(A) Head of the class: One of the year's best movies, this smashing coming-of-age drama (set in early-'60s Britain) focuses on a bright, college-bound teen (Carey Mulligan, delivering an Oscar-caliber, star-is-born performance) who becomes involved with a smooth-talking sophisticate (Peter Sarsgaard) almost twice her age. Author Nick Hornby ("High Fidelity," "About a Boy") adapts British journalist Lynn Barber's memoir; he and director Lone Scherfig capture the endless, timeless conflict between book learning and the school of heartbreak with witty, rueful power. (95 min.) PG-13; mature thematic material involving sexual content, smoking. (C.C.)
THE FOURTH KIND
(C) After 40 years of mysterious disappearances in an Alaska town, a psychologist (Milla Jovovich) begins videotaping sessions with traumatized patients -- and discovers disturbing evidence of alien abductions, and a possible federal cover-up. This fact-based, flat-lining thriller serves up a close encounter that buries an interesting idea under a barrage of gimmicky, carnival-like hokum. (98 min.) PG-13; violent/disturbing images, some terror, thematic elements, brief sexuality.
G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA
(D) The elite G.I. Joe fighting force takes on a notorious arms dealer (Christopher Eccleston) and his evil organization. Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sienna Miller and Dennis Quaid lead the starring cast, but the original Hasbro action figures probably would have given livelier performances. Director Stephen Sommers ("The Mummy") isn't interested in them anyway, saving his overkill for the computerized effects -- and the audience members who become collateral damage. (118 min.) PG-13; strong action violence and mayhem.
GOOD HAIR
(B+) Comedian Chris Rock hosts and narrates a documentary look at the beauty, the splendor, the wonder of African-American hair with comments from such notables as Maya Angelou, Nia Long, Eve, Tracie Thoms, Salli Richardson, Salt-n-Pepa and Raven-Symone pondering their weaves, wigs, and extensions -- and their essence. This is no arid anthropological study; Rock's queries are loose and quippy, but his instincts are as sharp as an investigative journalist's, which makes this as much about black identity and self-image as commerce and cosmetics. (95 min.) PG-13; profanity, sexual and drug references.
THE INFORMANT!
(B-) Mr. Clean has dirty hands in this quirky comedy about a corporate Boy Scout, an agribusiness executive (Matt Damon, in another nervy, nimble performance) who helps the FBI expose an international price-fixing scheme -- at the same time he's embezzling millions of dollars from the company. Director Steven Soderbergh's droll take on a sobering story may be clever, but it's a bit too self-consciously stylized to draw real blood. (108 min.) R; profanity. (C.C.)
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
(C+) Nothing exceeds like excess in writer-director Quentin Tarantino's epic World War II "Dirty Dozen"-meets-"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" spoof/homage, set "somewhere in Nazi-occupied France," about a smilingly relentless SS colonel (irresistibly smug Christoph Waltz), Jewish GIs (led by a cartoonishly macho Brad Pitt) collecting Nazi scalps and a young survivor of a Nazi massacre (Mélanie Laurent) running a Paris movie house -- and plotting revenge. Tarantino trademarks galore, from tangy dialogue to gleeful violence, but he'd rather convince us of his brilliance than make a movie that might prove it. (153 min.) R; strong graphic violence, profanity, brief sexual situations. (C.C.)
JULIE & JULIA
(B-) In post-World War II Paris, Julia Child (Meryl Streep) discovers the wonders of French cuisine, while in post-Sept. 11 New York, frustrated writer Julie Powell (Amy Adams) decides to cook her way through Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." This genial two-in-one account from writer-director Nora Ephron ("Sleepless in Seattle") strains to equate its two protagonists' far from equal journeys, yet the contrived concept works better than it has any right to. Even so, this recipe would be a lot better with more Julia and less Julie. (123 min.) PG-13; brief profanity, sexual references. (C.C.)
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN
(D+) A victim of miscarried justice (Gerard Butler) vows to wreak revenge after a plea bargain sets his family's killers free. His No. 1 target: the prosecutor (Jamie Foxx) who engineered the deal. This hapless crime drama provides the sad spectacle of a movie far less intelligent than the one its filmmakers thought they were making. But it's nothing a new script, a new director and a couple of committed actors couldn't fix. (107 min.) R; strong bloody brutal violence and torture, including a scene of rape, pervasive profanity.
THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS
(B-) In Iraq, a gung-ho reporter (a wryly endearing Ewan McGregor) encounters a special forces agent (ace goofball George Clooney, playing a character inspired by real-life Las Vegan John Alexander) who reveals the existence of a secret Army unit employing paranormal powers. Jeff Bridges (in welcome "Lebowski"-lite form) and Kevin Spacey (as a seething, sneering villain) round out the starring cast of this absurdist, likably lightweight wannabe satire that's not quite as smart as it thinks it is, but remains engagingly nutty just the same. (93 min.) R; profanity, drug content, brief nudity. (C.C.)
NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU
(B) Another romantic anthology from the folks who brought you "Paris, Je T'Aime." This time, the directors include Mira Nair, Allen Hughes and Natalie Portman, who also turns up in the cast alongside Bradley Cooper, Shia LaBeouf, Christina Ricci, Robin Wright Penn, Orlando Bloom, Ethan Hawke, Andy Garcia, James Caan and Oscar-winners Julie Christie and Chris Cooper, among (many) others. Their cinematic omnibus ride through Brighton Beach, Central Park, the West Village and Tribeca serves up a dinner of appetizers that turn out to be individually tasty, if not completely satisfying as a whole. (103 min.) R; profanity, sexual content.
9
(B-) Not to be confused with the Broadway musical "Nine" (coming later this year), this animated apocalyptic sci-fi blast, expanded from director Shane Acker's award-winning short, follows the title rag doll (voiced by Elijah Wood) as he takes refuge from a vicious machine. The thin story can't quite measure up to the stylishly haunting visuals, but Acker's definitely a talent to watch. (79 min.) PG-13; violence, scary images.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
(B-) A young couple (Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat) moves into a suburban "starter" house -- one that seems to be occupied by a demonic spirit. Writer-director Oren Peli's micro-budget chiller, expanding from sold-out midnight screenings, mines the unknown (and unknowable), using small moments and virtually no special effects to build a this-is-really-happening vibe. That makes it more fun than most studio horror films. But is it scarier? Only occasionally. (99 min.) R; profanity.
PIRATE RADIO
(B-) When stuffy BBC officials ban rock 'n' roll in the swingin' '60s, DJs take to the high seas and broadcast from offshore, rocking the boat by blasting tunes and raising hell. A dream cast (led by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy and Rhys Ifans as the radio rogues, Kenneth Branagh as the government prude) parties hearty for writer-director Richard Curtis ("Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Love Actually"), but he still hasn't figured out that, cinematically speaking, less is more. This is almost a great soundtrack in search of a movie, but the cast's comic energy keeps it afloat. (135 min.) R; profanity, sexual content including brief nudity. (C.C.)
A SERIOUS MAN
(B+) Seriously funny: Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, multiple Oscar winners for 2007's "No Country for Old Men," return to their own country -- suburban Minnesota, circa 1967 -- for this darkly comic tale about a beleaguered physics professor (Broadway veteran Michael Stuhlbarg) whose seemingly rational life unravels, Job-like, before his eyes. As usual, the Coens blur the line between the serious and the comic with almost sadistic expertise, exploring life's cosmic jokes with deadpan delight. =(105 min.) R; profanity, sexual situations, nudity, brief violence. (C.C.)
SHORTS
(B) A weird Texas town gets even weirder when the local kids find a magical rock -- and the local grown-ups compete to control it -- in a funny, fast-as-lightning fantasy from writer-director Robert Rodriguez (in prime "Spy Kids" mode). This wonderfully offbeat kids' movie has enough smarts for parents too. Kat Dennings, Jon Cryer, Leslie Mann, William H. Macy and James Spader lead the able cast. (89 min.) PG; mild action, rude humor.
THE STEPFATHER
(C-) "Nip/Tuck's" Dylan Walsh takes on the title role (originated by "Lost's" Terry O'Quinn) in this clumsy, virtually bloodless remake of the smart, witty -- and scary-as-hell -- 1987 fave. This one's anything but, as a military school cadet ("Gossip Girl's" Penn Badgley) returns home to find his mother (Sela Ward) sharing her life with the suspiciously solicitous title character. (101 min.) PG-13; intense sequences of violence, disturbing images, mature thematic material, brief sensuality.
THIS IS IT
(B-) An unfinished work about an unfinished life, this behind-the-scenes glimpse of Michael Jackson rehearsing for his planned London comeback concerts serves up tantalizing samples of what might have been -- and poignant reminders of what was. (The real stars are the editors, who with director Kenny Ortega put this together from more than a hundred hours of rehearsal footage.) If you're looking for context or perspective, go elsewhere; the focus remains on Jackson's still-potent charisma and musical legacy. For fans, that's more than enough. (111 min.) PG; suggestive choreography, scary images. (C.C.)
2012
(C-) It's a disaster movie, all right, but what else can you expect from master of disaster Roland Emmerich ("The Day After Tomorrow," "Independence Day")? Once again, the director demonstrates how to blow stuff up real good, putting everyone on Earth on a collision course with oblivion -- including a few plucky souls (led by mavericky Everyman John Cusack and Noble Scientist Chiwetel Ejiofor) who prove humanity's resilience while faceless billions perish. If high-tech digital effects are your thing, you'll adore the destructo-derby spectacle, but those who care about a credible storyline and sympathetic characters, abandon hope all ye who enter here. (158 min.) PG-13; intense disaster sequences, profanity. (C.C.)
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
(B) Let the wild rumpus start: Mischievous 9-year-old Max (the aptly named Max Records) acts out, then runs away to avoid the inevitable punishment, finding refuge with an assortment of squabbling monsters (voiced by, among others, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Cooper and Forest Whitaker). Writer-director Spike Jonze ("Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation") transforms Maurice Sendak's kid-lit classic to suit his own offbeat sensibilities, delivering a melancholy, madcap live-action romp that speaks to the wild child inside us all. (100 min.) PG; mild thematic elements, adventure action, brief profanity. (C.C.)
WHIP IT
(B-) Whip it good: Drew Barrymore makes an on-track directorial debut with this tale of a high school misfit ("Juno's" whip-smart Ellen Page) who finds a new identity as "Babe Ruthless," speed queen of a doormat roller derby team. Real fun -- and real, thanks to a savvy script, on-target performances (especially Marcia Gay Harden's poignant small-town mom) and a sense of actual people living actual lives. (111 min.) PG-13; sexual content including crude dialogue, profanity, drug material. (C.C.)
ZOMBIELAND
(B) It's alive! The zombie comedy, that is, as four hapless travelers (Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) try to survive the ravenous undead as they head for a California amusement park that may (or may not) be ghoul-free. "Zombieland" makes up in laughter what it lacks in screams, and the arch weariness with which it looks out at undead America hides a frisky yet disturbing message: We're closer than we think. (82 min.) R; horror violence/gore, profanity.
