"Dispicable Me"

The Kids Are All Right
(Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo) A lesbian couple (Moore and Bening) faces unforeseen challenges after its teenage children (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) track down their sperm donor biological father (Ruffalo). The story goes in a questionable direction, but writer/director Lisa Cholodenko has nonetheless pulled off a rare feat: She has seamlessly merged the family and parenting issues with those often depicted in a straight couple with teenage children, which is a first for a movie that features such A-list talent. Speaking of which, the performances are phenomenal, particularly Bening – could she please win an Oscar already? Rated R. B+

Ramona and Beezus
(Selena Gomez, Joey King, John Corbett) When their father (Corbett) loses his job, clumsy young Ramona (King) and teenage Beezus (Gomez) try to help the family make ends meet. It’s a wholesome and harmless family film that’s a bit too cutesy and sweet for adults, though there are some amusing moments. In fairness: The ten year-old girl who saw the movie with me said it was “amazing.” So there you have it. Rated G. C+

Inception
(Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard) Dom (DiCaprio) is skilled at extracting information from people’s minds, but he finds trouble when he’s hired to perform “inception,” which means planting an idea in someone’s mind and getting the person to believe it’s his/her original thought. The premise is original and ingenious, and the execution from writer/director Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight”) and cast is pitch perfect. It’s one of the year’s best. Rated PG-13. A

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
(Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina) A centuries-old sorcery battle between Balthazar Blake (Cage) and his arch nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Molina), is about to begin again in Manhattan. This news is both shocking and frightening to Physics geek Dave (Baruchel), who is recruited by Balthazar to end the fight once and for all. The action and visual effects are solid, as expected. But the real charm is the film’s humor and sly references to other movies, including “Star Wars” and “Fantasia.” Rated PG. B

Predators
(Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Topher Grace) When a group of murderers is dropped in a foreign land, its members (Brody, Braga, Grace) must work together to fight off vicious alien monsters. It’s as violent, action-packed and full of testosterone as you’ll expect. And there are some new predators here – in the form of dogs and birds – but too little context is offered for the story to have any meaning. We don’t need much in this regard, but we certainly need more. Rated R. C

La Mission
(Benjamin Bratt, Erika Alexander, Jeremy Ray Valdez) Former inmate and recovering alcoholic Che (Bratt) struggles to put his tough guy, low-rider-building machismo aside after he learns his son (Valdez) is gay. Why the homophobia story is set in San Francisco – the land of Harvey Milk and the Castro District, i.e. a liberal city where homosexuality in generally accepted – I have no idea, but it certainly doesn’t help the tedious and predictable story. Rated R. C

Despicable Me
(Voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand) With his status as the world’s number one super villain at stake, Gru (Carell) adopts three little girls and forces them to help him steal the moon. The movie is cute and charming throughout and has some good action sequences. Better, the 3-D is sharp and often offers three distinct dimensions, which is more than what most 3-D efforts produce. Rated PG. B

The Girl Who Played With Fire (Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre) Framed for three murders she didn’t commit, Lisbeth (Rapace) tries to clear her name as Mikael (Nyqvist) helps her from afar. The sequel to “The Girl Wwith the Dragon Tattoo” keeps the energy and suspense high, and Lisbeth’s story continues to fascinate as we learn more about her past. The third film in Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s “Millenium” trilogy, “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest,” is scheduled for release in October. Rated R. B+

Cyrus (John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill) Divorced loser John (Reilly) really loves Molly (Tomei), but her unusually close relationship with her clingy son (Hill) keeps getting in the way. With the talent involved you may be expecting a comedy (or at least a black comedy), but the laughs are few and far between as Hill plays his role seriously. The problems with the movie go way beyond Hill, though, as it’s all dark and creepy and weird, and never works. Rated R. C

The Last Airbender (Dev Patel, Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz) For years, people with the ability to manipulate earth, air, fire and water have lived in harmony. But with the Fire Nation now waging war against the others, people look to the Avatar (Ringer) – the only one who can “bend” all four elements – for help. Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and based on the Nickelodeon series, this is a dark, dreary children’s film that poorly acted and clumsily plotted. And this is the worst 3-D you’ll ever see. Fitting that it comes with one of the worst movies of the year. Rated PG.  D

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner) Edward (Pattinson) and Jacob (Lautner) join their vampire and werewolf clans to protect their beloved Bella (Stewart) from evil vamp Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard), who’s creating an army of newborns and plans to attack. There are some amusing moments, but bad dialogue and dull direction weigh down the third adaptation of author Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series. Rated PG-13. C

I Am Love (Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini) Emma (Swinton), who long ago married into a wealthy Italian family, finds forbidden love in her adult son’s (Parenti) friend Antonio (Gabbriellini), a chef who cooks his way into her heart. In terms of style, the movie is exceptionally well made by director Luca Guadagnino. Unfortunately the story never quite clicks, largely because we never learn what Antonio sees in Emma. Rated R. B

Grown Ups (Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James) After their old basketball coach dies, five friends (Sandler, Rock, James, Rob Schneider and David Spade) reunite with their families over July 4th weekend. There’s no story, and the five comedians are only occasionally amusing as they constantly try to top one another with one-liners. Rated PG-13. B

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
(Joan Rivers, Kathy Griffin, Don Rickles) This illuminating and insightful documentary follows a year in the life of comedienne Joan Rivers. The plastic surgery jokes and struggling career moments, we expect. What we don’t expect are moments of incredible honesty, Rivers’ tireless work ethic, and how raw, exposed and giving Rivers is as a person and an artist. Rated R. B+

Toy Story 3
(Voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles) With Andy about to go to college, Woody (Hanks), Buzz (Allen) and the rest of the toys find themselves in a day care center that’s more like a prison. Worse, the toddlers play a bit too rough. It may not have the humor of the first two films, but it does have charm and sweetness to spare. Just don’t pay extra money for a 3-D picture that adds little, especially when the standard 2-D is just fine. Rated G.  B

The A-Team
(Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson) When an elite team of Army Rangers is framed for a crime it didn’t commit, the four soldiers go rogue to get to the bottom of the conspiracy. This is how you adapt a TV series for the big screen. Co-writer/director Joe Carnahan (“Smokin’ Aces”) very nicely captures the spirit of the classic ‘80s television show while updating the story with some splendid action sequences. Rated PG-13. B

The Karate Kid
(Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson) A cranky old building super (Chan) teaches a young kid (Smith) kung fu after he moves to China with his single mother (Henson). That’s right: kung fu. There’s no karate at all, actually. I tried to judge this movie on its own merits, really I did. But I couldn’t get the original film out of my head, probably because the two movies are so similar. So if you’ve never seen the original this may be enjoyable. If you have, don’t bother. Rated PG. C

Solitary Man (Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito) Down-on-his-luck car salesman Ben (Douglas) tries to put his life back together by sleeping around and talking his way back into business. It’s interesting to watch Ben freefall and Douglas plays him well, but you never feel sorry for Ben because he doesn’t do much to help himself. And the tone switches from dark comedy to serious too often, leaving an imbalance. Rated R. C+

Please Give (Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall) Antique furniture resellers Kate (Keener) and Alex (Platt) handle the guilt of ripping people off in decidedly different ways: She gives to the homeless and hates herself; he has an affair with the granddaughter (Amanda Peet) of an elderly neighbor. Writer/director Nicole Holofcener (“Lovely and Amazing”) doesn’t quite hit all her intended points, leaving us without much that’s very…likeable. Rated R. C

Get Him to the Greek (Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs) Young record executive Aaron Green (Hill) has 72 hours to bring combustible rock star Aldous Snow (Brand) from London to L.A. to perform a concert. It doesn’t all work – there’s no reason for Aldous to make Aaron’s life this miserable – but the laughs are pretty daring and consistent. Made by many of the same guys who did “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” but not a sequel. Rated R. B

Mother and Child (Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington) Three separate stories loosely connect in this drama about a woman (Bening) who gave up a child for adoption when she was a teenager, that child’s (Watts) life right now, and an African-American woman (Washington) desperate to adopt. The performances are strong, including Samuel L. Jackson in a role in which he doesn’t yell, and overall it’s a moving but imperfect drama that has some interesting things to say. Rated R. B

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley) A rogue prince in ancient Persia (Gyllenhaal) and a usurped princess (Arterton) from a neighboring land must team up to protect a sacred dagger that controls time. It’s based on a video game and the dialogue is terrible, yet somehow director Mike Newell’s (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) film has brains and heart. Combine that with state-of-the-art visual effects and you have the first solid action movie of the summer. Rated PG-13. B

Sex and the City 2: B
(Sarah Jessica Parker, John Corbett, Cynthia Nixon) Facing difficult times at home in New York City, the girls (Parker, Nixon, Kristin Davis and Kim Cattrall) travel to Abu Dhabi, where Carrie bumps into old flame Aidan (Corbett). It’s a bit tedious and some of the jokes are forced, but writer/director Michael Patrick King has taken the franchise from discussing dating to discussing marriage and motherhood, and he always has something interesting to say. Rated R.

Casino Jack and the United States of Money: B
(Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, Ralph Reed) Director Alex Gibney’s searing documentary about disgraced former lobbyist Abramoff shows how someone behind the scenes can heavily influence Congress and all of Washington, D.C. Some sections are a bit tedious and we don’t need Abramoff’s extensive background, but overall this is an alarming look at what really make politics tick, i.e. money, and how easily it corrupts. Rated R.

Shrek Forever After: C+
(Voices of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy) Bored with his domesticated home life, Shrek (Myers) yearns to once again be feared and left alone. And thanks to con-man magician Rumpelstiltskin (voice of Walt Dohrn), Shrek gets to enjoy being an ogre again for a few hours. But soon Shrek learns he’s been tricked into an alternate reality in which he never rescued Fiona (Diaz) from the tower. This isn’t as flat as the third film in the franchise, but the 3-D adds little and it doesn’t come close to the brilliance of the first film. Still, it’s charming and amusing throughout. Rated PG.

Robin Hood: D+
(Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Oscar Isaac) A legend is born as archer Robin Longstride (Crowe) defends the widowed Marian (Blanchett) and her village of Nottingham from the tyrannical King John (Isaac). There are also storylines involving Robin’s childhood, betrayals, love, etc., but this tedious bore of a movie is more about 12th century politics than it is a hero fighting for the everyman. Rated PG-13.

Letters to Juliet: C
(Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, Gael Garcia Bernal) After an aspiring writer (Seyfried) answers a 50 year-old letter about lost love while on vacation in Verona, Italy, she soon finds herself on a road trip trying to find the letter writer’s (Redgrave) one who got away. Nice performances from Seyfried and Redgrave keep the sappy, melodramatic story afloat until it sinks into predictability. Rated PG.

Iron Man 2: C+
(Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow) Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man (Downey Jr.), must fend off the U.S. Senate and a rival weapons manufacturer (Sam Rockwell) who’s hired a presumed-dead Russian physicist (Rourke) to create a suit that would destroy Stark Industries. The action is exhilarating, but the story is all over the place. Not as good as the 2008 original. Rated PG-13.

A Nightmare On Elm Street: C
(Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara) Horror icon Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley) returns to Elm Street to murder teenagers in their sleep, which also kills them in real life. It’s an uninspired and lame attempt to restart the franchise, as the story lacks coherence and Haley takes the role way too seriously. Rated R.

The Back-Up Plan: C+
(Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Loughlin, Michaela Watkins) When an aging single woman (Lopez) meets Mr. Right (O’Loughlin) on the day she’s artificially inseminated, their relationship follows an unusual trajectory. The movie deserves credit for taking an original approach to a romantic comedy, but even a nice performance from Lopez doesn’t make the movie funny enough to fulfill its promise. Rated PG-13.

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