Monsters vs. Aliens - 2 1/2 smiles

“Monsters vs. Aliens 3D” is a sweet tale with some interesting 3D effects, but it’s nothing more than that. It’s as if directors Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon decided that audiences would be so engaged in watching pieces of comets fly at them that they (the directors) really didn’t have to worry about plot and character development. And lack of plot and character development is the main problem with this movie. Sure, kids will like it. And some of the lines are very funny. But that’s not enough. Susan Murphy (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) is getting ready for her wedding day when a meteor crashes in her vicinity. A substance in the meteor causes her to glow green and then grow until she’s big enough to be called Ginormica. The government arrives and incarcerates her in a prison for monsters, where she meets her future companions. There’s Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), who, in an experiment similar to the one in “The Fly,” became his experiment; The Missing Link (Will Arnett), who resembles the Creature from the Black Lagoon; B.O.B. (Seth Rogan), a gelatinous mound based on the Blob and the silent Insectosaurus, who seems patterned after Godzilla or Mothra. When Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) invades Earth, the President (Stephen Colbert) decides to let the monsters do the fighting.

The plot contradicts itself in telling Susan’s story. She’s a monster by happenstance, not by nature, and she wants to become normal again. At the same time, an underlying theme of the movie says that being monstrous (or different) can be a good thing. And the tension between what Susan wants and the necessity that she be a part of the monster team is not fully developed. In fact, all of the characters are pretty superficial and there’s no meaningful interaction between the good monsters and the bad guy alien that helps to define the characters and enhance the narrative. Even the 3D, disappointing after the opening sequences, doesn’t immerse the audience in a tactile experience like “Coraline.” “Wall-E” still stands as the movie to aspire to, and “Monsters vs. Aliens” doesn’t even come close. 3/28/09

I Love You, Man - 3 1/2 smiles

If there are clear rules of conduct for a romantic relationship, “I Love You, Man” posits that there are also rules for male relationships and these rules can be just as confusing to its participants. This utterly enjoyable ‘bromance’ focuses on Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd), an almost successful Los Angeles real estate agent who’s more comfortable with women than he is with men. But shortly after he asks is girlfriend, Zooey (Rashida Jones) to marry him, he realizes that he doesn’t have any close male friends to be his best man and groomsmen. As Peter’s brother (Andy Samberg), who’s gay and works as a personal trainer, tells him, ‘Hooking up is easy. Making platonic make friends? Not so much.’ After a few disastrous attempts at recruiting new pals, Peter falls into a sort-of friendship with a rather disheveled charmer who shows up at one of his open houses just to eat the free food. Sydney (Jason Segel), Peter’s polar opposite, is an easygoing, schleppy guy, who lives in a tiny bachelor pad, with several televisions, guitars, amps and assorted other guy playthings. Peter is understandably relieved to meet Sydney, whose business card states that he in investments although he seems to spend most of his time loafing around Venice Beach. Sydney can be rude and crude, but he also seems to have a good heart and Peter and Sydney seem to have ‘hit it off.’

Much of the charm of this movie rests with Paul Rudd, an often under-appreciated and under-recognized actor. His timing is perfect as he fumbles around trying to find the appropriate way to communicate with another male. And his timing is perfect. It’s as if he’s invented a new dialect (because Peter doesn’t always know what he’s saying either). Jason Segel is more relaxed and funnier as the co-star than when he has the lead (e.g., "Forgetting Sarah Marshall") and his role allows him to be quirky and idiosyncratic. Also notable are Jon Favreau and J.K. Simmons, who have small roles but get the most out of them. Some of the raunchy material – such as the explanation of what goes on in Sydney’s man cave – is humorous as is Sydney’s attempt to teach Peter about conversations men have with each other. Writer-director John Hamburg’s “I Love You, Man” is a refreshing and delightful comedy. 3/29/09

Duplicity - 2 1/2 smiles

“Duplicity” combines a clever script by Tony Gilroy, who also directs, the acting of charismatic stars Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, and the suspense inherent in a caper film. The complexities of the script may please the mind, but the conclusion, unfortunately, doesn’t please the heart. Gilroy chooses to tell his story not in a straight line, but with many flashbacks. And it is through these flashbacks that we follow the developing romance between former CIA operative Claire Stenwick (Roberts) and former MI-6 agent Ray Koval (Owen), which is filled with double-crosses. It’s apparent that Claire and Ray love each other, but can they trust each other? Ray is an industrial espionage expert working for Equikrom and Claire is a director of security for Equikrom’s rival, Burkett & Randle. However, we soon learn that she is an Equikrom mole and her new ‘handler’ is Ray. Of course, all is not as it seems.

Clive Owen is attractive and his performance believable; Julia Roberts looks lovely and does her work skillfully. Clearly, these roles provide no challenge for capable actors, but the script does require that they deliver convincing repartee. And an added bonus is the performances of Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson as the rival CEOs of competing skin care companies. In order for “Duplicity” to be successful, it must entertain us and it does so most of its two hour running time. Gilroy’s script is smart even as the climax disappoints. 3/21/09

Sin Nombre - 3 1/2 smiles

“Sin Nombre,” written and directed by American Cary Joji Fukunaga in his movie-making debut, is about people making their way across the border into the United States, but it’s also about redemption. Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a Honduran teenager, agrees to accompany the father she never knew she had and her uncle as they make the difficult and dangerous journey north through Mexico. Their destination is New Jersey, where family members await their phone call from somewhere in Texas. When they successfully board a northbound train in the southern state of Chiapas, their paths intersect with Willy (Edgar Flores), a dangerous gangster burdened with grief, guilt and desperation.

For much of the time, “Sin Nombre” (without name) is a road movie, with freight trains carrying unauthorized loads of human cargo. The images are memorable – scores of immigrants perched precariously atop the cars, enduring all kinds of weather as they lumber through Mexico. Adriano Goldman’s camera captures the beauty of the country and contrasts it with the hazardous journey Sayra and Willy are making. Director Fukunaga displays a firm hand with his actors and absolute control of his story. “Sin Nombre” makes no judgments on immigration as a political issue. Clearly, Fukunaga’s purpose is to explore the immigrant experience, which he does with intensity and style. Subtitles. 3/24/09

Knowing - 1 frown

Despite its opening week box office, “Knowing” is going to die a quiet death because of word of mouth. This isn’t the kind of movie people will urge their friends to see. The plot is ridiculous, implausible and full of holes and Nicholas Cage’s acting is mediocre and laughable. And that’s from a Nic Cage fan although I have to wonder about his script selection criteria. Remember "Bangkok Dangerous"?

The plot includes aliens, prescient children, and a solar flare that destroys life as we know it on Earth. Why would you want to spend 2 hours watching Cage’s astrophysicist character decipher a cryptic list of numbers if he’s unable to save the world? And who are those aliens? What does the black pebble have to do with anything? ...... Do we really care? No matter how intriguing the plot may sound, the downer of an ending is so disappointing that you feel cheated. Skip “Knowing” and keep your blood pressure at an acceptable level. 3/20/09

Sunshine Cleaning - 3 smiles

The main reason to see the quirky “Sunshine Cleaning” is its two stars, Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. These actresses play sisters, scarred by the suicide of their mother. Adams’ Rose Lorkowski, the more responsible of the sisters, aspires to be a real estate agent, but works for a conventional cleaning service. She has an illegitimate son, Oscar (Jason Spevack), a bright boy so bored at school that he gets into mischief. Rose is also having an affair with a married man Mac (Steve Zahn), who was her high school sweetheart. The flakier sister Norah (Blunt), recently fired from her job as a waitress, seems content to live with their father, Joe (Alan Arkin) and drift through life. The need to transfer Oscar to a private school spurs Rose’s entrepreneurial spirit and with Mac’s help, she opens her own business, cleaning up crime scenes and places where people have died. With Norah’s reluctant assistance, Rose is soon mopping up blood and brains and, along the way, finding a new sense of self-worth. Rose and Norah get some useful professional advice from a one-armed cleaning store proprietor named Winston (Clifton Collins Jr.). Winton’s missing arm is a source of fascination for Oscar and he becomes a possible romantic interest for Rose by movie’s end.

Amy Adams brings vulnerability and strength to her character, making Rose seem real and sincere and you genuinely care what happens to her. You want her to succeed at her new job and you want her to find happiness (but not with Mac). Emily Blunt’s skill, especially her facial expressions, makes the unreliable Norah a heart-breaking individual. And the journey the sisters take to resolve some of the issues that have stunted their growth makes this movie worthwhile viewing. “Sunshine Cleaning” has been compared to “Little Miss Sunshine” and found wanting. But on its own, this is a bittersweet comedy with a pair of creative and appealing talents. 3/4/09

Echelon Conspiracy - 1 1/2 smiles

“Echelon Conspiracy” is a cautionary tale about the dangers of Big Brother-type computer programs. The plot, however, hinges on events so coincidental and implausible that it’s hard to take the movie seriously. However, if you’re willing to suspend a lot of disbelief and you really want to see a movie, “Echelon Conspiracy” might prove diverting. Max Peterson (Shane West), a computer security expert, travels around the world setting up protection software. After finishing a job in Thailand, he receives a mysterious gift of a state of the art cell phone from an unknown admirer. Then Max starts receiving text messages. The first one advises him to postpone his flight home. He does and the plane he was supposed to be on crashes. New text messages send Max to a casino in the Czech Republic where recommended slot machines and blackjack tables guarantee wins. Unfortunately for Max, his actions draw the attention of the casino’s security chief, John Reed (Edward Burns) as well as FBI agent Dave Grant (Ving Rhames).

It’s interesting how many recognizable names are in the cast – that is, except the lead. Shane West isn’t exactly a household name. Along with Ed Burns and Ving Rhames are Jonathan Pryce as a mysterious billionaire owner of the casino and Martin Sheen, who plays against type as the hawkish head of the NSA. The screenplay by Kevin Elders and Michael Nitsberg throws in a requisite chase scene and a couple of shootouts, all of which are pretty routine. And the ultimate resolution seems like a rip-off of the 1983 Matthew Broderick movie called “War Games” in which Broderick’s character uses the computer’s logic to ultimately save the day. I’m not surprised that “Echelon Conspiracy” arrived in theaters with little or no publicity. 3/3/09

Everlasting Moments - 1 1/2 smiles

Like a Rembrandt painting, “Everlasting Moments,” directed by Jan Troell, is lovely to look at, but I wouldn’t recommend spending 2 hours with it. Written by Niklas Rådström, based on a story about Troell’s wife’s ancestor, “Everlasting Moments” is slow and dull. Maria (Maria Heiskanen) is the wife of an alcoholic dockworker and the mother of seven children, including the narrator Maja (Callin Öhrvall). Husband Sigfrid (Mikael Persbrandt), who loves his children, frequently hits them when he’s drunk and cheats on Maria with other women. Maria wins a camera in a contest, and with the help of a shop owner, discovers a world that enhances her dreary life. You expect Maria to toss out her lout of a husband when she discovers she can earn enough money to support her family with her photography. That she doesn’t aligns with the accepted behavior of 1910, but leaves the viewer dissatisfied.

The main reason to see “Everlasting Moments” is Troell’s cinematography. His images shift from sepia to dreary brown to a warm golden as Maria gains confidence with her skills as a photographer. Her celebration of the common joys and losses of the poor is beautiful. What’s missing from “Everlasting Moments” is a sense of significance. We’ve spent 132 minutes with Maria and we never learn whether her photographs were ever seen by anyone other than her family and friends. Subtitles. 2/25/09

Moscow, Belgium - 3 smiles

If you’re a fan of foreign language films, you know that they do not follow genre formulas typical of American films. So it is with “Moscow, Belgium,” an enjoyable offbeat love story that is emotionally rewarding and quite unique. It also showcases a wonderful performance by Barbara Sarafian, who manages to convey vulnerability, strength, and sensuality that never seem false. The story is set is a middle-class area near Ghent called ‘Mouscou,’ where 41-year-old Matty (Sarafian) works as a postal clerk. Her art teacher husband, Werner (Johan Heidenbergh), has moved out of their apartment and in with a much younger mistress, leaving Matty to care for their three children. While Matty waits for her husband to get over his mid-life crisis, she carries on with her life, her emotional turmoil displayed clearly on her face. After leaving a grocery store early in the film, Matty backs into a truck belonging to Johnny (Jurgen Delnaet) and her emotions explode. She’s so fiery that Johnny, quite smitten, comes to her apartment to fix her car for free and begins a romantic pursuit. Although Matty enjoys Johnny’s attentions, his stability is questionable and Werner may still decide to come home to his family. She wants her life to return to the way it was, doesn’t she?

Although “Moscow, Belgium” fits under the broad category of romantic comedy, it’s really more about Matty’s growth as a person, where she can envision a life without her jerk of a husband. And Serafian’s transformation is startling. She doesn’t ‘get pretty’ in the usual sense; she thaws from the inside out, going from haggard and bland to sensual and alive. By the end of the movie, you’re not sure if Matty has found true love, but you’re sure that she’s happy with the decision she’s made. Subtitles. 3/9/09

Watchmen - 1 smile

“Watchmen” appears to have been made with the Watchmen fan in mind. That is, if you’re familiar with the graphic novel, you’ll have an understanding of the plot and a familiarity with the characters so you’ll get more out of the movie. For those coming to “Watchmen” without knowledge of the source material, like me, will find themselves uninvolved and baffled for most of the 2-hour-and-40-minute running time. Although there are superheroes, they are not the conventional sort and the story has so many flashbacks full of setup and exposition that you wonder if the narrative is ever going to move forward. And the novice viewer will certainly get lost in the numerous time shifts. Set in an alternate 1985 America, costumed superheroes are common and the Doomsday Clock, which measures the tension between the USA and the Soviet Union, moves closer to midnight. When a former colleague is murdered, the masked vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) sets out to find the persons responsible and uncovers a plot to kill and discredit all superheroes. With two exceptions, they are ex-superheroes, having been forced by legislative mandate to remove their costumes and forget their secret identities. This law, however, does not apply to Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), the blue-skinned superman who is the US’s ultimate weapon and most compelling nuclear deterrent. Laurie Jupiter (Malin Akerman), once called Silk Spectre, is Dr. Manhattan’s girlfriend and works as his assistant. Adrien Veidt (Matthew Goode) formerly Ozymandias, a billionaire businessman, works with Dr. Manhattan on a plan to save humanity. Dan Dreiberg (Patrick Wilson), or Night Owl, is trying to adjust to being a plan citizen.

Despite the detailed background information that is provided via flashbacks, the protagonists fail to engage. Those who come to the film with affection for the characters may enjoy the story and the way it unfolds, but those who are new to these gloomy superheroes will wonder if there’s a reason to bother caring. And a needless distraction is the presentation of Richard Nixon, who, in this alternate world, has been elected to his fifth term. The physical resemblance is a caricature of the man, with a cheap-looking prosthetic nose and layers of makeup. Unfortunately, “Watchmen” is an exercise in frustration and disappointment and you’d be better off waiting for the DVD, assuming, of course, that you even want to see it. 3/14/09

Crossing Over - 2 1/2 smiles

“Crossing Over,” with its ensemble cast headed by Harrison Ford, tells a tale of illegal aliens in Los Angeles. Because this is a message movie, director Wayne Kramer uses a heavy hand to manipulate his characters and tug at our heartstrings and he’s only partially successful. Immigrants come from all corners of the world, not just Mexico. There’s Gavin (Jim Sturgess) a British musician who tries to use his Jewish roots to gain permission to stay in the US as an Orthodox holy man; there’s Claire (Alice Eve) an Aussie actress who is promised legal status by Cole (Ray Liotta), an immigrations adjudicator, if she’ll sleep with him whenever he wants; there’s Taslima (Summer Bashil), a 15-year-old Bangladeshi who gets into trouble with the feds after she reads her essay defending the courage of the 9/11 hijackers; and there’s Yong (Justin Chon), a Korean teen who, on the eve of taking his naturalization oath, is lured into a gang and senseless violence. One of the main story lines involves Max Brogan (Harrison Ford), an immigrations officer, who is touched by the plight of a woman he arrests (Alice Braga). Max’s partner, Hamid Baraheri (Cliff Curtis), is dealing with issues in his traditional Iranian family. His father, about to receive his citizenship, is angered and embarrassed by the behavior of his American-born daughter, Zahra (Melody Khazae)

The biggest failing of “Crossing Over” is that it lacks credibility. This is most obvious in the scenes featuring Harrison Ford, whose character is unconvincingly kind-hearted. Ford seems tired and perhaps just too old for this role. Ray Liotta, on the other hand, plays sleaze well. That Cole develops ‘feelings’ for Claire is too much of a script contrivance. Given the nature of their relationship, it’s not remotely believable. The most critical plot machination occurs when Hamid confronts a convenience store robber and gives him a lecture about the evils of crime and the glory of taking the citizenship oath. Only one story has a ring of truth – that of a Middle Eastern family being torn apart because of a high school girl’s lapse of judgment. Kramer manages not only to provide a tragic account of unintended consequences, but offers commentary about how fear-stricken this country has become. Obviously, the current immigration system is broken; but “Crossing Over” isn’t reflective enough to stimulate much thoughtful conversation. 3/6/09

Two Lovers - 2 smiles

“Two Lovers,” a character-based drama, is an exploration of desire with a recognition that romantic love will not always lead to happiness. Leonard Kraditor (Joaquin Phoenix) is a troubled man with a troubled past. In the opening sequence, he jumps off a bridge, but changes his mind about drowning himself once he’s in the water. Recently released from a mental facility, Leonard lives with his mother, Ruth (Isabella Rosselini) and father, Reuben (Moni Moshonov). Ruth demonstrates her concern by badgering Leonard about taking his bipolar medication and acting as his alarm clock each morning while Reuben hovers in the background. However, Leonard views his parents’ anxiety as overprotective and suffocating. Leonard meets Sandra (Vinessa Shaw) when Reuben negotiates to sell the family business to Sandra’s father. Sandra is taken with Leonard, but Leonard is more interested in Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), who has just moved into the apartment building. While agreeing to date Sandra, Leonard pursues Michelle.

Director and co-writer James Gray provides a study in contrasts. Where Sandra gives, Michelle takes. Sandra is available, but Michelle is not. Sandra is reality for Leonard while Michelle is fantasy. And because Leonard and Michelle are both wounded people, it is clear that they would not be happy together. Leonard can barely take care of himself. How can he take care of Michelle? Although Phoenix is convincing as the selfish Leonard, Leonard is not a likeable character, making the 108-minute running time difficult to endure. Paltrow conveys a vulnerability that is at odds with her ‘golden girl’ looks and Shaw is effective as the more unassuming Sandra. The conclusion is bitter sweet because Gray understands that life is often messy, but by the time you get there, do you really care? 2/4/09