I Am Number Four - 2 smiles

It seems that movies based on young adult literature have a hidden agenda – that is, to become another hit series like Twilight or Harry Potter. And when you get to the end of “I Am Number Four,” the intent is clear that there’s supposed to be another movie, maybe “We Are Numbers Four and Six, Looking for Number Five.” Essentially, this movie pits good versus evil in the form of nine Loriens and their bodyguards who escape the destruction of their home planet and are being chased by the Mogadorians, who, after they kill the Loriens, plan to wipe out all humans on Earth. The Mogs have already killed numbers one through three and are after number four, John (Alex Pettyfer). The death of number three has put Henry (Timothy Olyphant), John’s guardian, on high alert so he moves John to a new city and a new school. There, John befriends the nerdy Sam (Callan McAuliffe) and falls for artsy Sarah (Dianna Agron), which angers her jealous ex-boyfriend, Mark (Jake Abel). Meanwhile, Number Six (Teresa Palmer) is trying to find John before the Mogs do. Since Michael Bay is involved, you can bet there’s going to be a lot of special effects and things going boom. Oh, there’s also a cute beagle that plays a crucial role in all of this.

Alex Pettyfer, a model turned actor, isn’t much except blond hair and good cheekbones. His face seems frozen in an expression that rarely changes. Agron of “Glee” is even blander although the two look good together. The better actors either make their exits too early, like Olyphant, or appear too late, like Palmer, another Lorien, but one with an obvious Aussie accent and a taste for motorcycles and tight leather. Don’t expect intelligent storytelling and strong character development because there isn’t any. Maybe that’s supposed to happen in the sequel. I liked this movie, but that doesn’t mean it’s well made. After all, I also liked “Plan 9 from Outer Space.” 2/20/11

Unknown - 3 smiles

Although I had figured out the plot twist in “Unknown” from the previews, I found this action thriller, starring Liam Neeson, an engaging, satisfying romp nonetheless. And with director Jaume Collet-Serra at the helm and a supporting cast of formidable talents, including Diane Kruger, Bruno Ganz, Frank Langella, the implausibilities of the script fade into the background and you root for our hero to overcome the odds stacked against him. Neeson plays Martin Harris, a scientist who arrives in Berlin with his wife Liz (January Jones) to attend a global conference on biotechnology. While she’s checking into their hotel, Martin grabs a cab back to the airport to retrieve a briefcase he left behind. On the way, his cab is involved in an accident and Martin wakes up from a coma four days later in the hospital, suffering from memory problems. Martin’s problems increase when he discovers there’s another man claiming to be him (Aidan Quinn) and his wife doesn’t recognize him. After eluding an attempt to kill him, Martin turns to a former secret police agent, a dying old man played with great humor by the scene-stealing Ganz. Martin also enlists the reluctant help of the cabbie (Kruger) who saved him from the initial accident. There are lots of twists and red herrings as well as an Arab prince who might be the target of an assassination plot.

Neeson, always magnetic, lends credibility to his role even when he’s repeating cheesy one-liners. And Langella, in a small but crucial part as a longtime associate of Martin’s, has a memorable, suspense-filled scene with the old Stasi agent. There’s a great adrenalin-pumping car chase with Martin driving both forward and in reverse through the streets of Berlin that culminates with a crash in front of an onrushing streetcar. “Unknown” is a solid B actioner and if you like this kind of movie, you’ll enjoy this one. 2/18/11

Just Go With It - 2 1/2 smiles

I avoid Adam Sandler ‘s movies when he’s being crass and stupid (e.g., I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry), but I’ll venture to those I think there’s a chance that he’s going to play a semi-adult. And the surprising thing about “Just Go With It” is that Jennifer Aniston is also good in this funny romantic comedy. Much of the screenplay borders on farce, but at its heart is the romance of familiarity, of loving someone because you know that person well and are known in return, which is not a premise often explored in your typical rom-com. Sandler plays Danny, a successful Los Angeles plastic surgeon who is crazy about Palmer (Brooklyn Decker), a young woman he meets at a party and lies to her about his marital status. He tells her he is in the process of getting a divorce. But when Palmer wants to meet is soon-to-be ex, Danny turns to his best friend and office assistant, Katherine (Aniston) to help him. From there, the lies snowball into fake kids and a fake new boyfriend for the fake ex-wife and a trip for all of them to Hawaii.

Decker is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model turned actress and, to her credit, gives Palmer a genuine kindheartedness. Nicole Kidman does a surprising turn as a pretentious ‘friend’ who resurfaces in Katherine’s life. And there’s a very funny scene where a man must revive a sick sheep and the sheep is clearly made of rubber. Of course you know how “Just Go With It” is going to end. But, like “No Strings Attached,” half the fun is getting there. 2/11/11

Sanctum - 1 smile

Disappointing – the 3-D effects, the script and the acting. After that, what’s left? “Sanctum” is described as a film ‘from executive producer James Cameron, creator of Titanic and Avatar.’ What that means is, Cameron probably lent writer/director Alister Grierson his name, his expertise in underwater photography and his 3-D digital technology. Nonetheless, I can’t imagine Cameron making a movie this bad. When Grierson isn’t killing off his characters one by one during a cave-exploring expedition gone wrong, he’s filling their mouths with inane dialogue. (‘She’s gone, Josh!’ He’s gone, Dad!’ ‘I’m not wearing the wetsuit off a dead person!’) And beyond a handful of effective underwater scenes, the 3-D photography is distracting with its dark and grainy images.

At the center of “Sanctum” is Frank (Richard Roxburgh), a veteran cave diver. Frank’s son Josh (Rhys Wakefield) obviously has issues with Frank because all he does most of the time is pout. Things start to go wrong in the massive New Guinea cave system they’re exploring when a huge tropical storm hits suddenly, trapping our adventurers in fast-rising water with no way back to the surface. Frank, Josh, Frank’s boss, Carl (Ioan Gruffudd), Carl’s novice-diver girlfriend, Victoria (Alice Parkinson), and Frank’s longtime sidekick George (Dan Wylie) will have to navigate the underwater caves if they hope to escape. By this point, do you care? Avatar this isn’t. I’d wait for “Sanctum” to debut on cable. 2/4/11

Biutiful - 1 1/2 smiles

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “Biutiful” is an unrelenting downer although it made a strong showing in Oscar nominations this year, with a Best Foreign Film nod for the film and a Best Actor nod for Javier Bardem. The title, which comes from the daughter’s misspelling of an English word on her homework, is a steady descent into hell. Barcelona looks dingy and industrial and all of the interiors are gloomy. Every plot thread, and there are many including a police raid on illegal Senegalese immigrants and an illicit homosexual affair between Chinese bosses, gets pushed to the limits of horror. In fact, everything is so miserable that long before the movie ends (it’s two-and-a-half hours long), numbness sets in. Bardem is an exceptional actor and he does his best to create sympathy for Uxbal’s plight. Nonetheless, I just wanted this movie to end.

Uxbal is a hustler who moves around the city, securing work for illegal African and Chinese immigrants for a pair of unscrupulous sweatshop bosses. Uxbal also moonlights as a psychic whom bereaved relatives hire to communicate with the recently deceased. His two school-aged children live with him in a cramped apartment and their mother (Maricel Alvarez), a bipolar ex-addict, drifts in and out of their lives, making promises that she can’t keep. To make matters worse, Uxbal suffers from advanced prostate cancer and has only a few months to live. With “Biutiful,” Inarritu piles on so much misery that you’ll probably want to skip this one. Subtitles. 2/6/11

No Strings Attached - 2 1/2 smiles

When you see a romantic comedy, you go because you like the genre. But ever present is the hope the script will be clever enough to give you a few laughs and a few plot twists and that the actors will have chemistry. Of course you know how it’s going to end, so it’s hard to criticize “No Strings Attached for being predictable. Fortunately, the script by Elizabeth Meriwether is strong on humor – Adam (Ashton Kutcher) tells Emma (Natalie Portman) she eats like a baby dinosaur; Adam’s rival, a self-satisfied doctor, says he’ll win Emma by ‘using big words and saving lives’ and Emma tells Adam, ‘You give me premature ventricular contractions – my heart skips a beat.’ Meriwether has also included delightful supporting characters to surround Adam and Emma – there’s Adam’s insufferable dad (Kevin Kline); Adam’s ex-girlfriend (Ophelia Lovibond) who becomes his father’s girlfriend; a chatty colleague (Lake Bell) who pines for Adam; Emma’s friend and roommate (Greta Gerwig) who marvels when her date opens her car door. And Kutcher and Portman have terrific on-screen chemistry, using their height difference to comedic effect.

Emma is an overworked medical resident who keeps bumping into Adam, a boy she once met at camp, now an aspiring screenwriter overshadowed by his TV-star father. When they eventually hook up, they agree (at her insistence) that it will only be physical. You know from the start (and from Kutcher’s puppy-dog eyes) that he’s not going to be the romantic holdout in this relationship. Kutcher’s Adam is an intelligent, good-hearted hunk who’s genuinely lovable and Portman makes us believe that Emma does really fear that love will cause grief and abandonment. Directed by Ivan Reitman, “No Strings Attached” is an enjoyable rom-com. 1/21/11

The Mechanic - 2 1/2 smiles

If you’re a fan of action flicks, you’ll like “The Mechanic,” a remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson original. Just be aware that it’s also graphically violent. Jason Statham is Arthur Bishop, a professional hit man, working for a mysterious ‘Company.’ Arthur isn’t one for showing his emotions so this is a perfect role for the stoic Statham, but neither does the script challenge Statham to dig a little deeper into his character. Bishop’s mentor and handler is Harry (an effective Donald Sutherland). Things get complicated when their boss, Dean Sanderson (Tony Goldwyn), sharing suspicions that Harry leaked sensitive documents, orders Bishop to kill Harry. Bishop reluctantly complies and out of guilt, takes on Steve (Ben Foster), Harry’s troubled son, as a protégé. Steve proves to be an adept pupil and soon accompanies Bishop on assignments even though the Company hasn’t sanctioned his involvement. Predictably, Bishop discovers Harry’s innocence and he and Steve set out to get Sanderson.

Director Simon West has created a satisfactory action movie although he seems to relish graphic violence, especially the assignment Steve handles on his own; blood flies and bone splinters as Steve is awash in red. And West doesn’t address the ethics of murder for hire although it seems he takes great pains to demonstrate that Arthur’s targets are nasty villains, deserving of death. “The Mechanic” is a vehicle for Jason Statham and to that end, it serves it purpose. It could have been more, but the movie would have lost its mass-audience appeal. 1/30/11