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In the Theater - Movie Previews & Shorts

Todays is : Friday, 21 November 2008

In the Theater - Movie Previews & Shorts

Written by Lisa Miller

Wednesday, 15 August 2007

STARDUST (2007)
* *1/2
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Starring Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Peter O'Toole, Melanie Hill, Ricky Gervais, Jason Flemyng, Rupert Everett, Kate Magowan Paramount/Rated PG-13/Fantasy/130 min

Sometimes fanciful folderol, other times, simply dull, "Stardust" delivers a plethora of daft characters. Lamia, played by bright-eyed Michelle Pfeiffer, single-handedly saves the film from drooling away the last remnants of its smarts. Incapable of appearing stupid, Pfeiffer's gears visibly spin in the role of a witch plotting to regain youth for herself and her two decrepit sisters.

This miracle can only be accomplished by consuming the heart of a fallen star -- as in a heavenly star (else wise a trip to Hollywood would surely do the trick). Such a commodity is a rare prize, but one happens to be available because a celestial body has recently fallen to earth where it has been transformed into human girl, Yvaine (Claire Danes).

Portrayed with a degree of crankiness reflecting her frustration with human beings, Yvaine wears a royal necklace that will determine Stormhold's future ruler. Stormhold's throne is being contested by the three sons left of an original seven, each keen to assume the mantel of recently deceased monarch (Peter O'Toole). During the king's hilarious deathbed scene, he proudly recounts killing his own 12 brothers to gain the throne. So, it is with obvious glee that the king encourages his sons to push tardy Prince Secundus (Rupert Everett) off a cliff-top balcony.

Meanwhile, platinum blonde beauty, Yvaine, knocked unconscious by her heavenly fall, is discovered by Tristan (Charlie Cox), a naive, but sweet-natured youth. Tristan's quest to prove his love to Victoria (Sienna Miller), and complete his pledge to bring her a fallen star, is the most benign of the intrigues surrounding Yvaine. A resident of Stormhold's neighboring, non-magical village, Tristan believes that presenting Yvaine to Victoria will win him her hand in marriage. However, Victoria is a selfish young maiden using Tristan for her own amusement.

Ignorant of her nefarious pursuers, Yvaine bitterly complains about the long walk to Tristan's village, all the while dispensing advice on romance. Because stars are fascinated with human love, Yvaine can Victoria is unworthy of Tristan, but Yvaine is unable to make Tristan see the light.

The three parallel stories: Lamia's attempts to restore her beauty by harvesting Yvaine's heart, the race to recover the necklace by the princes whose murdered, quibbling brothers are now ghosts shadowing their competition, and Tristan's determination to bring Yvaine back to his village, take some unexpected turns.

Much needed humor arises from three of the smaller characters. Robert De Niro stuffs himself into a cancan-dancer's corset as cross-dressing, Captain Shakespeare, Ricky Gervais appears as shady, not-too-bright Ferdy the Fence, and Melanie Hill contributes atmosphere and a sense of menace as gypsy spell caster, Ditchwater Sal.

Beset Lamia, whose beauty is temporarily restored by the last gasp of a long ago fallen star, becomes increasingly, and comically decrepit with each magic bit she performs. Liver spots appear on formerly smooth skin that grows hideously wrinkled, while bald patches invade her once glorious tresses. The princes (dead ones excepted), Captain Shakespeare and Tristan, are all sad sacks reflecting a shocking decline in what passes for fairytale manhood. Initially displaying some sense, Yvaine eventually falls for Tristan, though he's barely one notch above a boy-toy. "Stardust," a fairytale aspiring to an adult audience, deserves dashing heroes at least as bright as its villains. Alas, we laugh with O'Toole's king and Pfeiffer's witch, but can only laugh at everyone else.
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MOVIE PREVIEWS - By Lisa Miller via KXOradio.com

THE INVASION
(2007)
PR: * *1/2
Directed By Oliver Hirschbiegel, James McTeigue
Starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam
Warner Bros./Rated R/Sci-Fi/93 min
This troubled, fourth production based on 1955's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," was largely reshot by James McTeigue because Warner Brothers was unhappy with director Oliver Hirschbiegel's version. The updated story incorporates the space shuttle as unwitting carrier of an alien, body-snatching virus. Moving beyond the pod people birthed by earlier versions, these aliens infect our DNA, completing their takeover as we sleep. Government officials engineer a cover up while scientists work feverishly to find a cure. Nicole Kidman stars as a protective mother of a young boy resistant to the virus. Jeremy Northam plays her infected ex and Daniel Craig appears as her closest friend. The first-rate cast includes Veronica Cartwright in a similar to one she played in the 1978 adaptation.

The Last Legion
(2007)
PR: * *
Directed By Doug Lefler
Starring Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Thomas Sangster, Peter Mullan
The Weinstein Co./Rated PG-13/110 min
Made in the style of a 1950's matinee, this swashbuckler uses CGI sparingly. Coin Firth portrays the leader of a small band of Roman soldiers committed to protecting their young emperor (Thomas Sangster) from invading Goths, led by Odoacer (Mullan). Rome's sole hope for military reinforcements lies in the Ninth Legion of Britannia. While Rome burns, the myth of an enchanted sword, laying the foundation for King Arthur's legend, is born. But audiences, accustomed to splashier, more ambitious productions, may not care.

SUPERBAD
(2007)
CR: * * *1/2
Directed By Greg Mottola
Starring Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse Sony/Rated R/Comedy/112 min
Crude, but outrageously funny, "Superbad," examines the desperation of high school outcasts trying to make time with hot babes. To gain entry to the school's coolest party and access to girls, dweeby seniors, Evan (Cera) and Seth (Hill), must arrive with booze. Their dorky pal, Fogell (Mintz-Plasse), owns a fake Hawaiian ID listing his name as "McLovin." The kids' attempts to purchase liquor bring them to the attention of "Star Wars"-fanatic cops. However, when the boys realize the officers hope to appear hip, they capitalize on this weakness. A raunchy comedy giving its punchlines priority, this one qualifies as "too cool for school."
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MOVIE SHORTS - NOW PLAYING. - By Lisa Miller (EDIT FOR LOCAL DISTRIBUTION)

STARDUST
(2007)
* *1/2
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Starring Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Peter O'Toole
Paramount/Rated PG-13/Fantasy/130 min
Neil Gaiman's novel, a darkly humorous fairytale for grownups, finds its way to the theater. Michelle Pfeiffer steals the show as a witch who consumes the hearts of young women to retain her youth. As Capt. Shakespeare, Robert De Niro commands an airborne pirate ship and performs a girly cancan routine. Son of a witch's slave, young Tristan (Cox), breaches the walls of a supernatural kingdom to capture a falling star for the woman he loves (Miller). The star proves to be a young platinum blonde (Danes) who draws Tristan into a battle between princes (some living, some dead) aspiring to the throne of their deceased father (O'Toole). Funny, blow-by-blow commentary is delivered in black and white depictions of the dead princes.

SKINWALKERS
(2007)
*1/2
Directed by James Isaac
Starring Jason Behr, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra, Scott Anderson, Lyriq Bent, Sarah Carter, Kim Coates
Lionsgate/Rated PG-13/Horror/110 min
Filled with bloodthirsty creatures appearing to be escapees "From Dusk Til Dawn 2," this film stars "Roswell's" Jason Behr attempting to help Rachel (Mitra) protect her son, half-blood,12-year-old Timothy (Matthew Knight), from schemers awaiting the lad's transformation. Expect plenty of fang flashing from black-leather clad bikers during a war between disagreeable blood suckers.

RUSH HOUR 3
(2007)
CR: * *
Directed by Brett Ratner
Starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Max von Sydow, Noemie Lenoir
New Line/Rated PG-13/Comedy/91 min
Perhaps most notable for a cameo by Roman Polanski cameo (he appears as a French cop), this threequel reteams glib detective James Carter (Tucker) with Hong Kong's top investigator, Lee (Chan). The pair are dispatched to Paris where they pose as fashion designers, then climb the Eiffel Tower in pursuit of Chinese gangsters. Though the action set pieces are well-choreographed and excellently lensed, Chan and Tucker fail to resurrect their Yin and Yang chemistry. China's theaters will not be screening chapter three. Rumor has it that unflattering characterizations are to blame.

DADDY DAY CAMP
(2007)
CR: -Bomb-
Directed by Fred Savage
Starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Lochlyn Munro, Richard Gant, Paul Rae
Sony/Rated PG/Comedy/89 min
Charlie, aka Mr. Daddy Day Care (Gooding Jr.), opens a kiddie camp in a scheme to take down a rival camp owner (Lochlyn Munro). With partner Phil (Paul Rae), Charlie purchases run-down Camp Driftwood, oozing methane gas from its outhouse. Customers are a mix of dysfunctional kids, including Charlie's own boy, shy Ben (Spencir Bridges). Prepare for a punishing round of explosions, vomiting, bed wetting, and bowel malfunctions. In an effort to help Ben, Charlie and the boy's stern grandfather (Gant) make peace -- though that doesn't prevent Cuba Gooding Jr. from flushing away what's left of his career.

BRATZ: THE MOVIE
2007
PR: *
Director by Sean McNamara
Starring Paula Abdul, Skyler Shaye, Janel Parrish, Chelsea Staub, Nathalia Ramos, Logan Browning
Lionsgate/Rated PG/Dramadey/95 min
Four incredibly beautiful high school freshman scheme to take down student body president, Meredith (Staub). The reason -- the queen of mean has decreed that best friends, Yasmin, Jade, Sasha and Cloe must split up and join separate cliques. Yet another tween movie declines to give its characters real problems that might overshadow the film's product merchandising and fashion parade.

UNDERDOG
(2007)
PR: * *
Directed by Frederik Du Chau
Starring Peter Dinklage, Jim Belushi, Patrick Warburton, voices of Jason Lee, Amy Adams
Walt Disney/Rated PG/Comedy/84 min
Having accidentally turned an ordinary beagle into a threat when his experiment yielded a superpowered, speaking pooch (voiced by Jason Lee), evil Dr. Simon Barinister (Dinklage) tries to recapture control of Capitol City. None of this explains why regular dogs, such as Underdog's girlfriend, pretty spaniel, Polly Purebread (voice of Amy Adams), or Rottweiler bully, Riff Raff (voice Brad Garrett), are both able to speak. Though it's near impossible to escape the film's omnipresent trailer, Disney has kept the film under wraps. Could the movie really be an underdog? On the flip side, pitting Jason Lee's voice as the canine hero against Dinklage's mad scientist, is potentially brilliant.

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
(2007)
* * *1/2
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Starring Matt Damon, Edgar Ramirez, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Julia Stiles, Albert Finney
Universal/Rated PG-13/Action/114 min
An amnesiac secret agent, Jason Bourne (Damon), refuses to rest until he learns his real identity and finds those who stole his memory. Joan Allen and Julia Stiles return as potential good gals, but the real action sends Bourne chasing answers that chase back, all over the globe. Cars explode equally well in New York, Italy, Paris, London, Moscow, Madrid, and Morocco where street scenes and exotic backgrounds host countless death-defying stunts. Once again, Bourne's training as an expert in detection and evasion are all that keep him alive -- and generate hundreds of millions in box office revenue! You go, Boy!

WHO'S YOUR CADDY?
(2007)
Consensus Rating: *
Directed by Don Michael Paul
Starring Big Boi, Jeffrey Jones, Terry Crews, Susan Ward, Sherri Shepherd
Dimension Films/Rated PG-13/Comedy
Big Boi plays rap mogul, C-Note, in the first mainstream blaxpoitation golf comedy. Snobby Carolina Pines Golf & Country Club refuses to let
African-American C-Note join, so he retaliates by purchasing the estate adjacent the club's 17th hole. Proximity and extortion garner C-Note his membership, but he's hell-on-wheels in a golf cart, arrives for his rounds wearing a kilt and noisily passes clouds of noxious gas. Jeffrey Jones plays the club's hapless president, matching Big Boi both pound for pound, and misfiring gag for gag.

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE
(2007)
* * *
Directed by David Silverman
Voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardly Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Albert Brooks, Minnie Driver, Kelsey Grammar
20th Century Fox/Rated PG-13/Comedy/87 min
The Simpsons take on the environment and the policy of President Schwarzenegger in their leap to the big screen. The EPA encases the family's beloved hometown of Springfield beneath a dome after Homer, and his pet pig, cause an environmental disaster. When the entire town turns against the Simpsons, they try to make a fresh start in Alaska, only to find there's nowhere like home. Baby Maggie utters her first words over the closing credits, a clever ploy 18-years in the making.

I KNOW WHO KILLED ME
(2007)
* 1/2
Directed by Chris Sivertson
Starring Lindsay Lohan, Julia Ormond, Neal McDonough
Sony/Rated R/Thriller
Just before her unexplained disappearance, promising college student, Aubrey (Lohan) pens a story about her imaginary alter ego, Dakota. Days later, Aubrey is found critically wounded along the side of a road. However, the recovering girl insists she is a stripper named Dakota. Deducing she must be Aubrey's twin, Dakota is certain her sister is being tortured by a deranged killer. Though Aubrey's mother (Ormond) believes Dakota is confused, Aubrey's father (McDonough) agrees to join Dakota's rescue effort. Modeled on classic mysteries, the film's success depends upon its resolution, and this one is laughable.

RESCUE DAWN
(2007)
Consensus Rating * * * *
MGM/Rated PG-13/Drama/126 min/
Directed by Werner Herzog
Starring Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies
A powerhouse tale, "Rescue Dawn" is based on the adventures of Dieter Dengler (Bale), a Vietnam POW. Dieter, proud to fight for his adopted USA, is shot down during his first mission and imprisoned in a jungle camp. Here he meets Duane (Zahn), a wise and grizzled POW, and the fervently Christian, Gene (Davies). After learning that their half-starved captors plan to kill the prisoners and torch the camp, Dieter and Duane urgently search for a means of escape. Based on director Werner Herzog's own documentary, "Little Dieter Needs to Fly," the film's journey to triumph became nearly as arduous as Dieter's own.

INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS [limited Opening]
(2007)
CR: * *1/2
Directed by Cherie Nowlan
Starring Brenda Blethyn, Khan Chittenden, Emma Booth, Richard Wilson, Frankie J. Holden,
Warner Independent/Rated R/Comedy/104 min
Jean, a mother and short-order cook in a Sydney cafeteria, attempts to restart her career as a comedian, abandoned 25-years earlier. Jean's (Blethyn) stand-up routine is built around her unusual family life, one that includes her security guard husband's (Holden) determination to become a country music star. Jean leans on her youngest son, Tim (Chittenden), who serves as her chauffeur and provides moral support. Therefore, when Tim falls for Jill (Booth) and considers starting his own business, Jean's efforts turn to maintaining the status quo. This "down under" comedy relies on Blethyn's considerable skills to convey the challenge of becoming who we'd like to be when we feel very much stuck with who we are.

HAIRSPRAY
(2007)
* * 1/2
Directed by Adam Shankman
Starring John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, James Marsden, Amanda Bynes, Zac Efron,
New Line/Rated PG/Musical/107 min.
A retro-musical remaking John Waters's 1988 film (already remade into a Broadway play), "Hairspray" holds the original's high energy style. In the 1960s, Baltimore teen, Tracy (newcomer, Blonsky), dreams of dancing on a local pop music show hosted by sensation, Corny Collins (played by who-knew-he-could-sing Marsden). Plump Tracy beats the odds to land a spot and spearheads an anti segregation battle that is opposed by snooty TV producer, Velma (Michelle Pfeiffer). Queen Latifah, decked out in a brassy blonde 'do, plays a featured pop performer starring in a pair of smashing musical numbers. John Travolta dons fat-lady-drag to play Tracy's meek mom, but the big surprise is the actor's tender chemistry with Tracy's wacky dad (Christopher Walken). Kisses...

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY
(2007)
CR: *
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Ving Rhames
Steve Buscemi, Dan Aykroyd
Universal/Rated PG-13/Comedy/115 min
In order for widowed, Brooklyn firefighter, Larry (James), to receive full insurance benefits, he and confirmed bachelor Chuck (Sandler) must pretend to "go gay," and file as domestic partners. The pair hires an attorney (Biel) to enforce their rights, but Chuck's pretend-ability crumbles when he lusts after their beautiful lawyer. Much like the similarly daft "White Chicks," this movie was made simply because it could be -- and quickly, before Will Ferrell or Steve Carell beat Sandler to the punch. Hefty screen time for costar Kevin James might have saved this bottom feeder. Sadly, it was not to be.

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
(2007)
* * *
Directed by David Yates
Warner Bros./Rated PG-13/Fantasy/138 min
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Gary Oldman, Ralph Fiennes, Imelda Staunton, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter
Growing darker and more ominous, the fifth "Potter" film finds Harry (Radcliffe) battling the dark forces to save his muggle cousin's life. Harry is rescued from Hogwarts expulsion (for prohibited use of magic), by Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Gambon), but, aside from best friends, Hermione and Ron (Watson and Grint), Harry is subsequently shunned by classmates. The Minister of Magic (Robert Hardy) appoints Miss Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) as his Hogwarts proxy. She dresses exclusively in pink, but displays a black heart that thrives on systematically stripping away the school's defenses against evil. Harry and friends organize a secret army as a showdown looms. New characters flood a film that condenses Rowling's 800-page tome into about two hours. The film is exhilarating and exhausting. Sweet dreams.

CAPTIVITY
(2007)
* *
AfterDark Films/Rated R/Horror/85 min
Directed by Roland Joffe
Starring Elisha Cuthbert, Daniel Gillies, Pruitt Taylor Vince
Widely panned as a gratuitous mix of porn and gore, "Captivity" delivers party-girl-model, Jennifer (Cuthbert), into the hands of a demented serial killer. Locked in the killer's basement dungeon, Jennifer is hideously abused, yet befriends the killer's other prisoner, handsome Gary (Gillies). Reportedly recut and reshot to tone down to its "R"-rating, the story provides little relief from acts of shocking cruelty, such as forcing Jennifer to kill her beloved pooch to save her own life. Not nice!

TRANSFORMERS (2007) * * * Paramount-DreamWorks PG-13/Sci-Fi/Dir: Michael Bay (Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Jon Voight, John Turturro) Cool transformer toys become monstrous, shape-shifting aliens waging an apocalyptic war for control of a mystical talisman. High school student Sam (LaBeouf), and galpal Mikaela (Fox), discover that Sam's Camaro is actually a good, Autobot transformer, sent to protect him from the evil Decepticon transformers. The folks at ILM use eye-popping CGI to depict the destructive confrontations between huge robot warriors. Sam and Mikaela, search for Sam's family heirloom, key to achieving an Autobot victory. John Voight appears as the Secretary of Defense while John Turturro leads a squad of anti-alien agents. "Can we go to this one? Please Mom?"

LICENSE TO WED (2007) CR: *1/2 Warner Bros. PG-13/Comedy/Dir: Ken Kwapis (Mandy Moore, John Krasinski, Robin Williams) Dopey engaged couple, Sadie (Moore) and Ben (Krasinski), set themselves up for punishment when they submit to premarital counseling conducted by their minister. He's Reverend Frank (Williams, in another one-note role), a clergyman splitting up betrothed couples for his own amusement. With help from Frank's B&E savvy choirboy (Josh Flitter), the reverend plants a bug in the couple's apartment to listen-in on their worst fears and complaints. Frank designs tasks intended to breakup the dummies, resulting in many a moronic, unfunny sight gag that turn these reasonably hot young stars into the idiots who accepted these roles.

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (2007) * * * Fox PG-13/Action/Dir: Len Wiseman (Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant) Real action for real viewers dismisses CGI in favor of elevator shafts, bad girls (Maggie Q), tunnels, fire escapes, and freeway overpasses. Zwing! Willis bulks up for his return as wisecracking hero John McClane, a disgruntled NYC detective assigned to transport a computer hacker (Long) to Washington. Sounds cushy, but becomes hairy when John and the hacker barely escape high powered assassins. Fleeing for their lives, the pair eventually realize that techno terrorist, Thomas Gabriel (Olyphant), is counting down to global chaos and means to kill the hacker, because the kid knows too much. Kevin Smith does a so-so comic turn as a basement bound whiz. The scene is one of few brief respites between back to back explosions, gunfire and hard surviving.

RATATOUILLE (2007) * * *1/2 Buena Vista G/Animated, Family/Dir: Brad Bird (Brad Garrett, Lou Romano, Patton Oswalt) A rat with gourmet cooking talent, Remy (Oswalt) helps Linguini (Romano) realize his chef's dream. While safely hidden under his Linguini's chef hat, Remy controls the cook's movements by tugging clumps of Linguini's hair. Both halves of this dynamic duo are outcasts. Remy is considered too finicky by his rat pack while Linguini has long been a culinary joke. Chef Skinner (Ian Holm) eyes Linguini's every move when the restaurant receives a make or break visit from the powerful critic, Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole). Disney latches onto another superb offering from Brad Bird and Pixar, who rat-out the studio in a good way.

EVENING (2007) CR: * * Focus Features PG-13/Drama/Dir: Lajos Koltai (Vanessa Redgrave, Toni Collette, Claire Danes) For those preferring to spend the weekend in tears, this multi-generational chick flick offers waterworks aplenty. Redgrave portrays terminally-ill Ann, reflecting upon her upper crust upbringing (Danes plays the young Ann) and the secret she wishes to share with her grown daughters (played by Toni Collette and Redgrave's real-life daughter Natasha Richardson). Flashbacks depict the wedding of Ann's best friend (Meryl Streep, played as a young woman by Streep's real-life daughter, Mamie Gummer). Hopefully, double-doses of nepotism won't confuse the story, though the screen adaptation of Susan Minot's novel is sufficiently somber and depressing to make you miss "Les Miserables."

EVAN ALMIGHTY (2007) * Universal PG/Comedy/Dir: Tom Shadyac (Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham) Freshman congressman, Evan Baxter (Carell), is visited by God (Freeman), who asks the politician to build an ark in this "Bruce Almighty" sequel. Carell, returning from the 2003 original, plays an anchorman making the leap to politician. Though God purchases sufficient acreage for Evan to complete the project, the politician laughs off the idea until paired species of animals follow Evan wherever he goes. While his family wonders if he's gone mad, Evan's Washington staff dismisses him as another politician unable to cut the mustard. Considering the film's weak second half and feeble Internet interest, its box office pow is a surprise.

1408 (2007) * *1/2 Dimension PG-13/Horror/Dir: Mikael Hafstrom (John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack) Author Stephen King works the creepshow magic that keeps his fans riveted. The story invests heavily in Mike (Cusack), a grieving parent working through his loss of faith by debunking reports of paranormal activity. Intrigued by a postcard suggesting he avoid the Dolphin Hotel's room 1408, Mike ignores the hotel manger's (Jackson) admonishment Mike skip this investigation. Once checked in, Mike is overwhelmed by visions of his daughter, and the room's ability to defy the limits of time and space. Mikael Hafstrom's chilly direction is laudable, but Cusack nails Mike's fall from arrogance, sealing the deal.

A MIGHTY HEART (2007) CR: * * *1/2 Paramount R/Drama/Dir: Michael Winterbottom (Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Irfan Khan, Archie Panjabi) It's tough to imagine that Jolie starred in the fluffy, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" a few short years back. Now a humanitarian ambassador, it seems fitting that the actress play Mariane Pearl, wife of journalist Daniel Pearl (Futterman). Pregnant and accompanying her husband on his assignment in Karachi, Pakistan, Mariane worries when her husband fails to return from an interview. She closely follows investigators' attempts to find Daniel and when the worst happens, Mariane is left to reconcile events with her changing world views. A window into the difficulties plaguing the Middle East, Pearl's story highlights the dangers confronting journalists on the front lines.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER (2007) * *1/2 Fox PG/Fantasy/Dir: Tim Story (Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis) While The Invisible Woman (Alba), frets over delays in her wedding to Reed Richards (Gruffudd), three supervillains threaten mankind. The Silver Surfer (liquid metal from The Terminator mold), seeks a showdown with the fab four. Nefarious Dr. Doom steals the Silver Surfer's board, leaving the Surfer unable to battle twister-like entity intending to swallow earth whole. A molecular anomaly causes The Thing (Chiklis) to trade superpowers with The Human Torch (Evans) and the Invisible Woman. No one could blame Chiklis if he bribed the screenwriters for a break from The Thing's 50-lb., orange latex suit, but was Alba paid extra to make her brown eyes blue?

SURF'S UP (2007) * * * Sony PG/Animation/Dir: Ash Brannon, Chris Buck (Shia LaBeouf, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, Jeff Bridges) Cody, a young penguin surfer dude, hops on a whale headed to the Big Z Memorial Surf Off, held at Pen Gu Island. Once there Cody (LaBeouf) falls for comely lifeguard Lani Aliikai (Deschanel), and befriends fellow surfer, Chicken Joe (Heder). However, the fun is interrupted when Cody is nearly killed while trying to best reigning champ, Tank (Bader). Lani rescues Cody and takes him to legendary surfer, Big Z (Bridges), who agrees to teach the lad all about wave riding. Tapping into the penguin craze, "Surf's Up" taps the reality show craze, too. A talking camera crew, voiced by the film's directors, follows Cody's progress, mining interviews with everyone for comic gold.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT THE WORLD'S END (2007) *1/2 Buena Vista PG-13/Dir: Gore Verbinski (Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush) To rescue their friend from the clutches of undead Davey Jones, Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) recruit formidable Captain Barbossa (Rush) to the cause. Soon Sparrow is reinstated among the living, where he takes a series of longwinded meetings with himself. The joke stalls as the film balloons to almost three hours. Bill Nighy returns as part man, part sea creature, Captain Davey Jones, while the impressive cast grows. Chow Yun Fat does a credible swashbuckling turn and Keith Richards shares a real rock star's moves with Depp whose portrayal becomes more and more queer in this spectacular mess tailored to those with ADHD.