Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - 2 1/2 smiles

The less you think about the preposterous script for "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," the more you'll enjoy it. After all, this movie is essentially summer pop corn fare - fluffy, mindless entertainment. The movie opens on Isla Nublar, where all hell broke loose three summers ago. A volcano threatens to destroy life on the island and the powers on Capitol Hill debate whether the dinos deserve to be protected as endangered species or if they should be left to die out. Meanwhile, Clare (Bryce Dallas Howard) gets her chance to save the creatures when Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), partner of the late John Hammond, sends her with a reluctant Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to transport the dinos to a nearby preserve. As Grady says, 'what can go wrong with that?' Along with a  paleo-veterinarian and a computer nerd (Daniella Pineda and Justice Smith), they find themselves working with heavily armed mercenaries led by Ted Levine. Obviously, something suspicious is going on.

Idealism buts heads with greed as our protagonists encounter double crosses, a child put in danger and a menagerie of CG raptors and rexes on the loose. Pratt flexes his brand of heroism mixed with deadpan sarcasm as the screenwriters push absurdity to its breaking point, especially in the final half hour. "Fallen Kingdom" is two pictures in one" an old-fashioned monster movie and a more sophisticated look at what happens when man plays at being God. These two aspects are poorly integrated, resulting in jerky shifts of tone throughout. The brief clip (after some of the credits) promises another sequel, which, depending on your viewpoint, could be a good thing because that would mean the trilogy is finished.

Tag - 1 1/2 smiles

The LA Times had an article the other day bemoaning that there has not been a hit comedy at the box office and that there were hopes that "Tag" would be it (pun intended). After all, "Tag" has an all star cast led by Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Isla Fisher and Jeremy Renner, among others, and a hook of an idea based on ten guys who have played tag for 30 years. Unfortunately, there isn't enough of a story there and the script illustrates that weakness, resulting in a predictable plot that is mostly devoid of humor. The scriptwriters attempt to inject emotion and drama in the last 20 minutes, but everything falls flat. Five friends: Hoagie (Helms), Callahan (Hamm), Randy (Jake Johnson), Sable (Hannibal Buress) and Jerry (Renner) began a tradition in boyhood that they have maintained through the intervening years. Every May is 'tag month' and, despite living in different cities, they travel all over in pursuit of passing on the 'it' mantle to someone else. There are ground rules, but they can be amended. Four of the five are close but Jerry, who has never been tagged, remains aloof, isolated by his untagged status. But, on the occasion of his wedding to Susan (Leslie Bibb), Jerry may be vulnerable.

Some of the early scenes relating their convoluted attempts to tag Jerry and his equally amazing success at avoiding being touched are cute, but with the inertness of the story that follows, these scenes prove to be filler. And Isla Fisher, as Hoagie's wife is shrill and aggressive and about as funny as a soggy piece of toast. Hamm and Renner are suave, but that's not enough. The trailer did a good job of pulling me into the theater. But "Tag" would have made a better documentary.

Oceans 8 - 3 smiles

"Oceans 8" is lots of fun, a heist movie with an all-female cast, one that follows the Ocean's blueprint with a highly decorated cast (three Oscar winners, an Emmy winner and an eight-time Grammy winner) taking down a major score. The film is slick, efficient and clever enough to stay a step or two ahead of the audience. If you're looking for too much more, you should find a different movie. Sandra Bullock is Debbie Ocean, sister to Danny (George Clooney in Steven Soderbergh's three Oceans movies). Debbie is just getting out of prison as the movie opens, and Danny, we learn, has recently died under mysterious circumstances. Not long after Debbie's release she's planning a big job and she first goes to Lou (Cate Blanchett), who plays Brad Pitt to her Clooney. Debbie explains to Lou that she plans to steal a $150 million diamond necklace from the annual Met Gala, the swankiest get together on the social calendar. Lou has her doubts, but she eventually goes along with the plan. They assemble  crew comprised of Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter), a down-on-her-luck fashion designer; Amita (Mindy Kaling), a diamond expert; 9-Ball (Rihanna), hacker; Tammy (Sarah Paulson), fence; Constance (Nora 'Awkwafina" Lum), pickpocket. Their mark is Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway), an actress who will be attending the Gala. The plan is for Rose to design her outfit and to get Cartier to loan her the prize necklace and then swipe it when the time is right, replacing it with an imitation. For their troubles, everyone walks away with a cool $16.5 million.

Director Gary Ross is faithful to Soderbergh's Ocean trilogy and keeps things moving along at a zippy pace. There's not much time for character development although Hathaway's spoiled actress gives her the most to chew on. The heist is pulled off with precision, but there's little sense of danger or failure (a little more tension would have been good). And while James Corden's insurance investigator is sharp, he poses little threat. "Ocean's 8" is a good time and that's why you would see this movie.

Hearts Beat Loud - 3 smiles

"Hearts Beat Loud" refuses to get overly sentimental and that's the main reason (along with the music) to enjoy this movie about a father (Nick Offerman) and his soon-to-be-off-to-college daughter (a wonderful Kersey Clemons). Frank (Offerman) runs a failing vinyl record store in Red Hook, NY and dwells on the music career he almost had. And although his daughter, Sam (Clemons) is a top-notch singer, she wants to be a doctor so she's heading to UCLA. In the few weeks before she leaves, Frank convinces her to collaborate on a few songs, with Frank on guitar and Sam on keyboard and vocals. Having lost Sam's mother 11 years ago in a bike accident, Frank finds himself at loose ends, but they grow closer as they share a genuine love of music.

Director Brett Haley doesn't do enough to service every character, however. We only see a bit of Blythe Danner as Frank's growing forgetful, shoplifting mother and Ted Danson's character is one-note as Frank's pot smoking friend. But Sam's first love, with Rose (Sasha Lane), is tender and bittersweet. The songs by Keegan DeWitt are catchy enough that you could easily understand why the father-daughter combo could catch music fame. "Hearts Beat Loud" is not particularly challenging, but it has a definite comfort quality to it with an ending that seems totally realistic.