Super 8 - 3 1/2 smiles

“Super 8,” written and directed by J. J. Abrams, has strong performances, well-developed characters, a compelling story and genuine thrills. Add J. J. Abrams’ homage to Steven Spielberg and you have a highly entertaining movie. Set in 1979, “Super 8” evokes a time before the invasion of technology (smart phones, YouTube, etc.), a time when making a movie with your friends was a fun thing to do. In this case, six young teenagers find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. They sneak out of their homes at midnight and assemble at a nearby train station to film their zombie movie. There’s Joe Lamb (newcomer Joel Courtney), the film’s makeup and special effects whiz; Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning), the main actress; Charles (Riley Griffiths), the director; Cary (Ryan Lee), the pyromaniac cameraman; Preston (Zach Mills), the lighting technician; and Martin (Gabriel Bosso), the main actor. The filming goes well until disaster strikes. In spectacular fashion, a train derails, throwing debris in all directions and something escapes from one of the boxcars. Almost immediately, the military, led by a sinister Col. Nelec (Noah Emmerich), swarm over the site. The mystery deepens as people disappear, local dogs are found miles away, and car motors and power lines vanish.

At the heart of the story are the relationships among the kids. Charles is the bossy leader although the quiet Joe emerges as the hero and Charles and Joe vie for Alice’s attention. Charles’ hectic but loving family life contrasts with the more contentious relationships between Joe and his police office dad, Jack (Kyle Chandler) and Alice and her father, Louis (Ron Eldard). Joel Courtney’s open face brings innocence to his pivotal role of Joe, who experiences both grief (his mother has recently died) and his first love (a poised Elle Fanning). In Abram’s story, it’s easy to see references to E.T and Close Encounters, Jaws and Jurassic Park. “Super 8” is smart, engaging, suffused with nostalgia and definitely a must-see. And then see again. 6/10/11

Tree of Life - 3 1/2 smiles

“The Tree of Life,” directed by Terrence Malick, is beautifully abstract, leaping around in time and space, making sense here and not so much sense there. It’s like an impressionist painting that looks like a dabs of paint up close, but begins to take some shape when viewed from a distance. The film centers on a family in Waco, Texas, in the 1950s – a stern patriarch (Brad Pitt), his ethereal wife (Jessica Chastain) and their three boisterous young sons. This is Eden before the fall, envisioned as 50s suburbia. At one point, the voiceover narration tells us, ‘There are two ways through life: the way of nature and the way of grace.” Pitt’s father, with his jutting jaw and buzz haircut, is attuned to the natural world that can be both nurturing and brutish while their mother is full of grace. Their eldest son Jack (Hunter McCracken) is wary of his father and often rebellious. One of the three boys will die at 19, an event so shattering that to make sense of it, Malick takes us to the origins of the universe, conjuring bright galaxies. Planets form. Lava erupts. Life begins with cells, plants, invertebrates, and dinosaurs. Then we return to Eden. Woven throughout the film is ongoing questions: Why does misfortune befall good people? How can faith be sustained in the face of tragedy that is, by nature, incomprehensible? What of God? Where do we belong in an uncaring world?

The three central portraits, father, mother, first-born child, are astonishingly vivid, especially since they are not conventional performances. The dialogue is sparse and the script does away with typical plot and conflict. Yet we learn a lot about this family, the repressed anger, the explosive rage and the grief caused by sudden tragedy. Into adulthood, Jack (now played by Sean Penn) continues to wonder what happened to the innocence of childhood, how his mother endured the pain in her life and who was the father that he both loved and hated. “The Tree of Life” is full of powerful images that will stay with you long after you’ve left the theater. But more, “the Tree of Life” ponders some of life’s hardest questions, which will provide endless fodder for discussion and a desire to see it again. 6/3/11

beginners - 4 smiles

“Beginners” is a delightful exploration of love and relationships and it’s not to be missed. With a smart screenplay, creative visual elements and a cute, cute dog, this film’s mixture of sadness, comedy and hope leaves you wanting more. “Beginners” is highly personal for writer/director Mike Mills and loosely based on a series of events that happened a few years ago. Mills’ mother had died and within months his 75-year-old father announced that despite their 44-year marriage, he was gay and intended to spend his remaining time living life to the fullest. Cancer shortened those plans, but not the enthusiasm with which he attacked them. Although this film might be considered bittersweet, it’s not really that sad. And it’s not about being gay or straight, but about the risks one must take for love. It’s about the son understanding the father and the example the father presents. The chemistry among the actors is remarkable, especially between Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent. And if you love dogs, you’re going to love Cosmo, the Jack Russell terrier. According Mills in the Los Angeles Times, ‘The goal was to have the dog part of these people’s lives and part of the relationships. For me the key part is that Oliver doesn’t treat him as someone who is cute or mentally less than himself. He is trying…to understand the dog much like his is trying to understand his father.’ Like the filmmaker, Oliver is a graphic artist and he tries to make sense of his emotions by sketching ‘the history of sadness’ since the birth of the world. These drawings not only enhance the narrative but add a visual depth.

Thirty-eight-year old Oliver (McGregor) tries to make sense of his parents’ marriage, which was not devoid of love but emotionally repressed. Because this is Oliver’s model for love, his relationships haven’t lasted. Oliver’s father, Hal, (an energetic Christopher Plummer), seen in various flashbacks, presents him with a new role model and tries to show his son how valuable each passing moment of life really is. Having inherited his father’s Jack Russell terrier and much confusion and grief, Oliver meets a French actress, Anna (Laurent), who is only in Los Angeles for a while and has issues of her own. She brings Oliver out of his sadness and he falls in love, but which model will he follow? By the end of the film, the title becomes clear: Oliver and Anna are new to relationships. “Beginners” is an intelligent and satisfying movie. See it; you won’t be disappointed. 6/5/11

X-Men: First Class - 2 1/2 smiles

As an origin story, “X-Men: First Class” wasn’t awful; it was good, which just might damn this movie with faint praise. There are plenty of special effects and an attempt to put a new spin on historical events, but there’s not much character development except with Magneto (Michael Fassbender). And it’s obvious with the already hefty 130-minute running time why some of the characters are defined by their abilities rather than their personalities. The most interesting relationship is the one between mentor/pupil – Sebastian Shaw (an effective Kevin Bacon) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), who later becomes Magneto. Fassbender is so compelling that James McAvoy’s Professor X comes off as rather bland, but that’s because this role, too, is underdeveloped.

After a brief opening in a Polish concentration camp during World War II, the movie shifts to 1962, where a young Professor Charles Xavier (McAvoy) is a CIA advisor working with agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne), to assemble a collection of mutants capable of opposing ex-Nazi Sebastian Shaw (Bacon). Xavier’s most powerful ally is Erik (Fassbender), who can control metal. Erik is determined to get Shaw, the man who killed his mother, and he doesn’t care how that comes about. Xavier and Erik also have a philosophical difference: Xavier believes that after Shaw is defeated, humankind and mutantkind can live together peacefully while Erik knows that humans will fear mutants and seek to destroy them. When the movie ends, everyone is in his proper place. Xavier, who has lost the use of his legs, opens a school for mutants while Erik dons Shaw’s helmet and takes some of the mutants with him. “X-Men: First Class” is fast-paced and entertaining; just don’t stop to think about its weaknesses. 6/4/11

King Fu Panda 2 - 3 smiles

With sequels, what you don’t want is one that focuses on a lot of CGI and explosions (Transformers) or gives you more of the same (Hangover). The challenge is to create a meaningful script that either takes the story in a new direction (Fast Five) or further develops the main character. Luckily for us, “Kung Fu Panda 2” is a winning combination of martial arts, humor and action sequences that made the first one successful plus an identity quest for the fuzzy panda hero, Po (voiced by Jack Black). When the movie opens, Po has found his place among the Furious Five, which includes Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogan), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Crane (David Cross) and Viper (Lucy Liu), and he is continuing his training under Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). The group sets out on a mission to foil a group of bad guys terrorizing a local village. The bad guys are after metal needed by their evil master, Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), a peacock, who is building a weapon to conquer the world. Lord Shen happens to fear pandas because a soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh) has predicted that he will be killed by one so Shen sets out to get Po. The narrative also explores how Po ended up as the son of a goose (James Hong). This story, which is told via flashbacks, is a tragic one. It also emphasizes the central theme of accepting oneself along with the concept that family has less to do with genetics and more to do with love and nurturing.

Jack Black once again demonstrates his excellence as a voice actor. His Po is likeable and less cartoonish than some of Black’s live-action characters (e.g. Gulliver). And he is ably supported by a cast of well-known faces. There’s some platonic chemistry between Po and Tigress, but with a reported five sequels for Panda, there are suggestions for a future romance. And Gary Oldman is effective as the malevolent Shen. Because I didn’t see this in 3D, I can’t comment on how the dark 3D lenses affect the clarity and colors of the movie, but I don’t feel I missed anything. Director Jennifer Yuh employs a type of hand-drawn imagery for many of the flashback scenes, giving the film texture and depth. “Kung Fu Panda 2” ends with a direct lead-in to “Kung Fu Panda 3” and if the same care is taken with the second sequel, that will be a good thing. 5/27/11