Headhunters - 3 1/2 smiles

“Headhunters” is funny, suspenseful, surprising and, best of all, totally engaging. Our charming, sometimes bumbling hero, Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie), at a mere 5 feet 6 inches, fears his height is against him when it comes to holding onto his statuesque wife. Although Roger is Norway’s leading corporate headhunter, he is living way beyond his means. To compensate, he steals expensive art, but his heist of a priceless Rubens places him in the middle of a situation that he doesn’t understand and might not survive.

Director Morten Tyidum pays close attention to character development in this top-notch drama based on a novel written by Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbø. And his cast is excellent. Hennie’s Roger starts out being irritating and arrogant, but by the time the movie comes to an end, you’re rooting for him to overcome the odds stacked against him. As the antagonist, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister if you’re watching Game of Thrones on HBO) seems the more likable one but gradually reveals that he knows more about the dark side of corporate espionage and GPS tracking than a would-be CEO should. And Synnøve Macody Lund, as Roger’s beautiful wife, Diana, proves she’s more than just decoration. “Headhunters” has a lot of grisly violence, graphic nudity and nonstop action and as long as you don’t pause to consider the implausibilities, you’ll like this one. Subtitles. 4/27/12

Chimpanzee - 3 smiles

Although the commentary in “Chimpanzee,” the fourth installment from DisneyNature in its series of documentaries released for Earth Day, is often corny and over-anthropomorphized, the film’s striking visuals and the affectionate hearts of the central characters draws us in. We see how chimpanzees communicate and cooperate, how they use tools and teach one another survival skills, how they use grooming to build community and define their hierarchy. However, this G-rated tale does have a problem. In their efforts to reveal the unexpected story of an orphaned baby chimp adopted by an unrelated male, the baby has to lose his mother first. This is handled discreetly (as is the group of chimps feeding on a smaller monkey), but we see how tenderly the mother cares for her baby and how much he depends on her. More sensitive audience members may find her loss and the baby’s abandonment by the other adults disturbing.

Narrator Tim Allen introduces us to newborn Oscar, whose tiny, wizened face is utterly charming as he begins to explore the world around him. His mother, Isha, cuddles him, feeds him and patiently teaches him how to survive in the jungle. They are part of a tribe led by the alpha male Freddy, who provides protection and leadership. As man encroaches more into their territory, food becomes harder to find. The chimps are threatened by an invasion from a nearby group of hungry chimps with a formidable leader named Scar, who eventually invades Freddy’s territory. Oscar, who finds himself alone, cannot take care of himself so Freddy becomes his adoptive father. But Freddy is so enthralled with his new son that he begins to neglect his job of protecting the group and Scar is waiting for a change to return. Deep within the African rainforest, illuminated by the gentle flow of time-lapse photography, Oscar and Freddy teach us that love, courage and compassion are emotions these chimps clearly understand.  Children will love “Chimpanzee” and so will most adults. 4/22/12

Darling Companion 3 smiles

I liked “Darling Companion.” How could I not when it has an adorable collie-mix at the heart of the story? That said, the heartfelt story, written by Lawrence Kasdan and his wife, Meg and based on an event that happened to them, meanders a little too much. It attempts to explore the complexity of adult relationships, but it mostly hints at the problems and uses Carmen (Ayelet Zurer), the exotic caretaker of a vacation home, to set up the solutions. Diane Keaton is in fine form as Beth, a woman facing an empty nest and an empty marriage and she ably expresses Beth’s suppressed loneliness as well as her big heart. She and Kevin Kline have a convincing chemistry as a long married couple and there is a strong supporting cast. Michael McDonough’s beautiful cinematography bathes the Rocky Mountains and surrounding area (which was really Utah) in burnished oranges and golds.

Beth (Keaton) spies a stray dog on the side of a freeway and takes him to her Denver home with the help of her daughter, Grace (Elizabeth Moss). Her husband, Joseph (Kline), a dedicated surgeon but distant spouse, resists the canine charms of the dog Beth names Freeway. Sam (Jay Ali), the vet who treats Freeway, falls for Grace and they’re married a year later. The wedding is held at Beth and Joseph’s spacious cabin in the Rockies. After the ceremony, a few family members remain, including Joseph’s sister, Penny (Dianne Wiest), her boyfriend, Russell (Richard Jenkins), and Penny’s son, Bryan (Mark Duplass).  When Joseph becomes distracted during a walk through the woods, Freeway runs off, chasing a deer. When Joseph returns home alone, Beth is angered by Joseph’s casual loss of the dog. She and the rest of the family organize a search party while their cabin caretaker Carmen attributes her ability to catch glimpses of Freeway to her gypsy heritage. If you’re a dog lover, you’ll probably like “Darling Companion,” too, although Freeway does disappear for a good portion of the middle of the film. 4/20/12

Mirror, Mirror - 3 smiles

“Mirror, Mirror,” a fluffy mix of slapstick, fractured fairytale and camp that, thankfully, doesn’t take itself too seriously. Directed by Tarsem Singh who has a good eye for visuals but not so much for coherent storytelling, this version of Snow White will probably appeal to girls 7-11. Similarly aged boys might be willing to sit through this movie because of the sporadic action and the slapstick around the seven dwarves … maybe. But the script, written by Melisa Wallack and Jason Keller, doesn’t bring anything significant to the familiar Disney tale other than an update to 2012 sensibilities where Snow White takes an active role in her destiny. The costumes, however, are stunning, especially the animal-themed masked ball outfits with over-the-top headdresses. Lily Collins, daughter of musician Phil, does well in her first big leading role as the lively Snow, revealing good comic timing, but her heavy eyebrows are a constant distraction. However, Julia Roberts as the evil queen is the best thing about this movie. She is self-assured and arch, more funny than scary. Her presence alone gives this movie the coherence that the script lacks.

The Queen narrates the story of Snow’s childhood and she explains that she used a love potion to trick the King into falling in love with her. Unfortunately, the King disappears when Snow White is a child and is presumed dead. From then on, Snow lives under the Queen’s control. The Queen’s toadying servant, Brighton (Nathan Lane), simpers and cowers as he reluctantly does her bidding. Now 18, Snow would like to see more of her kingdom, but the Queen has other plans for her. With the arrival of a handsome prince (Armie Hammer), the Queen sees an opportunity to help the kingdom she’s bankrupted with her extravagant spending by marrying him. We know Snow escapes the death the Queen ordered by hiding in the forest. There she meets up with seven rebel forest dwellers who don’t take well to being called dwarves. There’s Grub (Joe Gnoffo), who loves food, lovesick Half Pint (Mark Povinelli), writer Grimm (Danny Woodburn) and Wolf (Sebastian Saraceno), Butcher (Martin Klebba) and Chuckles (Ronald Lee Clark). Napoleon (Jordan Prentice) is the de facto leader of the group. Not everything in “Mirror, Mirror” works, but for the most part, it’s fun. 4/7/12