Tracy Morgan in "Cop Out"

Cop Out: D
(Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Guillermo Diaz) Partners Jimmy (Willis) and Paul (Morgan) try to get Jimmy’s rare baseball card back from a Mexican drug lord (Diaz) in this labored and awful comedy. Morgan plays his character as a petulant baby, and you will immediately want to punch him in the face. This is the first film Kevin Smith (“Clerks”) has directed that he hasn’t also written, and it shows. At no point is the script sharp, clever, funny, witty, amusing, inspired or original. What a disaster. Rated R.

Shutter Island: B
(Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Patricia Clarkson) In 1954 off the coast of Boston, two federal marshals (DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo) are sent to a hospital for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of Rachel (Emily Mortimer), an inmate who murdered her three children. Director Martin Scorsese (“The Departed” does a great job of creating an eerie mood and atmosphere, but the story is a bit too complex for its own good. Kudos to DiCaprio and the accomplished cast for fine performances all around. Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River”). Rated R.

The Last Station: C+
(Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Paul Giamatti) In his dying days, famed Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (Plummer) debates leaving the rights to his work to his wife (Mirren) or to his loyal followers, called “Tolstoyans.” The Oscar-nominated performances of Mirren and Plummer are strong, but the story feels hollow in that Tolstory doesn’t believe in the ideals of his legions of his followers, and therefore has no real reason to consider giving the rights to them. Rated R.

The Wolfman: C
(Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt) Upon hearing the news that his brother (Simon Merrells) was murdered, actor Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro) returns to his dreary English home and meets his brother’s ex-fiancé (Blunt). His father (Hopkins) warns him to stay inside, but he doesn’t listen and is soon bitten by a werewolf. Bad things happen from there. I know it’s set in 1891 England, but it’s so insistently gloomy that you can’t help but think some sunshine would brighten everyone’s spirits. Alas, the story is a bit all over the place and the action/effects are serviceable but not impressive. Rated R.

Valentine’s Day: D
(Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts) Love is lost, found, hated and embraced in this comedy/drama of intertwining stories set on Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles. It’s trying to be “Love Actually” for Valentine’s Day, but it’s not funny, charming nor cute enough to fulfill its purpose. Rated PG-13.

From Paris With Love: D+
(John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kasia Smutniak) In Paris, an ambassador’s assistant (Meyers) helps an unconventional American spy (Travolta) stop a drug ring, then a terrorist cell. The story is utter nonsense, but the action is good fun and Travolta is a real treat. Rated R.

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