The Adventures of Tintin

The Adventures of Tintin - Dir. Steven Spielberg (2011)

Under the pen name Hergé, Belgian illustrator Georges Prosper Remi has become a renowned artist for his long-running comic strip, The Adventures of Tintin. The series was published from 1929 until 1976 and spawned numerous radio plays, theatrical productions, and even a few live-action films. The most faithful adaptation was an animated series that aired on HBO from 1991 to 1992. Though incredibly popular throughout the world, Tintin has yet to garner a strong fanbase in the United States. One American fan, the character did win over is Steven Spielberg, who was unaware of the comics until a critic compared Raiders of the Lost Ark to Tintin. During the 80's, Spielberg got the rights to the original stories and a seal of approval from Hergé himself, but a movie didn't become a reality until now. Spielberg tag teams with Peter Jackson for this big-budget romp that utilizes the latest in motion capture technology to bring to life a script written by Steven Moffat (showrunner for Doctor Who) and the team of Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World). The film is based on three prominent Tintin books, The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, and Red Rackham's Treasure.

The Adventures of Tintin opens with a fantastic title sequence done in the style of Saul Bass and reminiscent of the title sequence to Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. The credits are set to a jazzy score by John Williams and encompass an entire adventure of its own. From there, we meet Tintin (Jamie Bell), an intrepid boy reporter as he gets a portrait done in a busy marketplace. Spielberg cleverly transitions from Hergé's trademark ligne claire (or clear line) style to the 3D mo-cap animation by showing us the artist is Hergé. He hands the old school version to the new interpretation and we are off.

Tintin purchases an intricate model of a 17th-century warship known as the Unicorn. No sooner is it in his possession when an American named Barnaby (Joe Starr) and a sinister collector known as Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine (Daniel Craig) attempt to buy it from Tintin for exorbitant amounts of money. He refuses to sell and soon finds his apartment burglarized and Barnaby murdered on his front doorstep. These events lead Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy on a globe-trotting quest for missing treasure. Along the way, they befriend the blustery Captain Archibald Haddock (Andy Serkis) whose ship has been commandeered by Sakharine and his henchmen. Turns out, Haddock's ancestor was the captain of the original Unicorn before it went down following a battle with the notorious pirate Red Rackham (also played by Craig).

The uncanny valley usually rears its ugly head whenever motion capture is employed. Said valley is the point in which simulated human beings become creepy because they failed to replicate the real thing. While it slips into the valley every now and then, The Adventures of Tintin soars over that unsettling realm. The animation is beautifully rendered and richly detailed with characters that are expressive and smoothly brought to life.

Jamie Bell stars as the plucky reporter, who, ironically, is never seen in front of a typewriter or shown turning in a story. The biggest criticism levied at Tintin is that he is bland. Tintin has always been something of a cipher as Hergé intended for the reader to project themselves onto the protagonist. Hergé wisely surrounded his hero with a colorful cast of supporting characters, the most beloved being Capt. Haddock. He is brought to life by a remarkable performance from Andy Serkis, the Lon Chaney of motion capture. Everything hinges on Haddock because he is the heart of the film and Serkis does not disappoint. He is pitch perfect as the quick tempered and generally soused sea captain, who responds to outrageous situations with nonsensical expressions like, "Blistering barnacles!" And a Tintin adventure wouldn't be complete without the bumbling Scotland Yard detectives Thomson and Thompson played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Yet, the most interesting character in the movie has to be Tintin's wire fox terrier, Snowy. The little pooch isn't just adorable; he's preternaturally intelligent and sometimes smarter than his own master. Snowy gets some of the film's best scenes, such as a chase sequence through city streets and dodging traffic after Tintin is abducted by the villains.

Tintin is marked by several spectacular action sequences. This is Spielberg's first foray into animation and the genre has freed him from physical limitations. The highlight of Tintin is another chase scene with Tintin, Haddock, and Snowy in a motorcycle with sidecar riding through a multi-tiered Moroccan village. Done as a single uninterrupted take, the set piece is one of the year's best as the camera glides through the air while controlled chaos sweeps through the town. Tintin also features a battle at sea that rivals anything in all four Pirates of the Caribbean movies and a large-scale duel involving two construction cranes. Spielberg doesn't forget to add a touch of humor to the proceedings with Looney Tunes-inspired gags and a sly Jaws reference with Tintin's trademark pointy hair serving as the shark's fin.

The Adventures of Tintin isn't the game changer one might expect from Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. It's not deeply nuanced cinema, but it is an exceptionally fun boys' adventure in the way Kingdom of the Crystal Skull should have been. Tintin began its international run in October where it's done gangbusters, but has performed anemically stateside. Still, the numbers are enough to make the sequel (The Calculus Affair?) with Jackson as director a strong possibility.

Rating: *** ½ (*****)

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - Dir. Brad Bird (2011)

Tom Cruise is one of the biggest movie stars in the history of cinema. Yet, his reputation and box office clout have been tarnished by his bizarre behavior. The Tom Cruise publicity machine has been working overtime to restore his standing in the eyes of the public. Will a return to the mega-successful Mission: Impossible franchise rehabilitate Cruise's status? In my opinion, the man can jump on all the couches he wants as long as he keeps making films like Ghost Protocol.

The fourth Mission: Impossible opens with an exciting prison escape as Ethan Hunt (Cruise) breaks out of a Moscow gulag with help from IMF (Impossible Mission Force) agents Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). During his incarceration, another IMF member (Josh Holloway from "Lost") has been murdered while attempting to retrieve launch codes for the Russians' nuclear missiles. As it turns out, the codes have fallen into the hands of sultry French assassin, Sabine Moreau (Léa Seydoux), who is in the employ of Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), a Swedish-born scientist code-named Cobalt. Hendricks genuinely believes all-out nuclear war will benefit mankind in the long run, allowing only the strong to survive.

The IMF team infiltrates the Kremlin in order to retrieve information on Cobalt. Unfortunately, the enemy is several steps ahead as Hendricks alerts the security to IMF's presence, steals a launch device, blows up the Kremlin, and implicates Hunt's team as the culprits. Branded as terrorists, the entire IMF department has been disavowed by the U.S. government. On the run from Russian authorities, Ethan and his team must clear their names and prevent a nuclear holocaust. Joining them as their newest member is Brandt (Jeremy Renner), an intelligence analyst whose combat skills belie those of a mere paper pusher.

Mission: Impossible III took the franchise down a darker path in line with Casino Royale and the Bourne franchise. Ghost Protocol gleefully embraces the over-the-top elements of the spy genre. JJ Abrams, who directed the previous installment, has stayed on as producer and brought on board writers Josh Applebaum and André Nemec from his Alias days to pen the script. Their screenplay seems to have emerged from the 80's since it is packed to the gills with Cold War trappings. There are Russian antagonists, shady villains with generic foreign accents, and the looming threat of all-out nuclear war between the superpowers. The gadgets are all here too. The IMF utilizes high-tech gear such as a contact lens that can transmit visual data, a magnetic levitation suit, not to mention iPads and iPhones. The iconic masks are present as well. What would a Mission: Impossible movie be without a cool mask reveal? A running gag throughout the film is how the team's equipment always seems to malfunction at the most inopportune of times. Even the famous self-destructing message (hidden inside a payphone) needs a good bang to the side to get it started.

Each installment of the Mission: Impossible series has had a different director behind the camera employing his own trademark style. For Ghost Protocol, Tom Cruise went with an unlikely choice in Brad Bird, whose experience has solely been in animation. Bird has helmed The Iron Giant, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles. His skills have translated to live-action with rousing success. Bird has managed to create an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride in a way that not even action maestro John Woo, who directed Mission: Impossible II, could have. Ghost Protocol consists of one unique action sequence after another as Bird takes the audience on a globetrotting adventure from Budapest to Mumbai. You have a foot chase through a blinding sandstorm and a climactic fist fight in the middle of an automated parking garage. Without a doubt, the centerpiece of Ghost Protocol is a spectacular set piece involving Tom Cruise precariously scaling the outside of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It's an amazing stunt that Cruise insisted on doing himself. The sequence was also one of several that were shot in IMAX. Ghost Protocol features approximately thirty minutes of footage shot in the larger format and Bird makes the most of every frame, including the ones featuring the beautiful Paula Patton in a slinky evening gown.

Despite being 49, Cruise is as youthful as ever and slips right back into the role of Ethan Hunt with his usual exuberance. But, Cruise is smart enough to know when to step aside and allow his co-stars to share the spotlight. Indeed, Ghost Protocol is more about teamwork than its predecessors. Simon Pegg is easily one of the film's highlights with his trademark brand of comic relief. Jeremy Renner, who might be groomed to take over the franchise, is a welcome addition. While his castmates play it big, Renner underplays the role of Brandt and gives him a dry sense of humor. Also look for cameos from Tom Wilkinson as the head of IMF and Ving Rhames returning as Luther Stickell.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the epitome of a well-made, big budget blockbuster. The law of diminishing returns is not in effect here as the fourth picture is far and away the best in the series. The extra surcharge is worth it for the IMAX version as Ghost Protocol is gorgeously shot and one of the most fun movie experiences of the year.

Rating: **** (*****)

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - Dir. Guy Ritchie (2011)

In some ways, Warner Brothers' revisionist take on Sherlock Holmes is more faithful to the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Gone are the great detective's stoic manner and meticulous behavior along with the Meerschaum pipe and deerstalker cap that became pervasive from earlier adaptations. However, it's doubtful Doyle ever dreamed of his most famous character karate kicking villains in the chest or dodging machine gun bullets and mortar shells. Indeed, Holmes as played by Robert Downey Jr. is an eccentric man of action, who can solve problems with his fists as well as his mind. But, the powers of deduction aren't as cool looking as CGI explosions.

Ironically, the BBC's modern day version with Benedict Cumberbatch is more in line with the traditional Holmes. Showrunner Steven Moffat and director Paul McGuigan have also found a way to maintain the cerebral tone while also making detective work visually interesting. If whiz-bang effects and big name stars are more your style, then Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is right up your alley. The sequel, once again directed by Guy Ritchie, expands on the formula of the previous film and ups the ante with more action, new characters, and a mystery that takes the heroes outside the confines of London as they travel to France, Germany, and Switzerland.

Since the events of the first film, Sherlock Holmes has been diligently connecting a string of mysterious deaths to Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris), nicknamed the "Napoleon of Crime." The Machiavellian plans of Moriarty involve plunging all of Europe into a world war. At the Moriarty's side is his chief henchman, Col. Sebastian Moran (Paul Anderson), a former military sharpshooter. Holmes's only clue to stop him is a gypsy fortune teller named Simza (Noomi Rapace), whose brother is a member of a terrorist group under the employ of the villainous mastermind. A newlywed Dr. Watson (Jude Law) is unable to enjoy his honeymoon with Mary (Kelly Reilly) as he's dragged along on an adventure that culminates in a showdown at Reichenbach Falls as originally depicted in "The Final Problem."

A Game of Shadows benefits greatly by opening the world of Sherlock Holmes up by bringing in more characters from Doyle's stories. Stephen Fry joins the cast as Sherlock's older brother, Mycroft, who happens to be even smarter and more eccentric. Fry, a noted Holmes enthusiast, is perfectly cast as Mycroft complimenting Downey's manic performance with a hoity attitude and wry wit. Then, there's Jared Harris, who turns in a menacing performance as Moriarty without going over the top.

Noomi Rapace is one of two stars from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, along with leading man Michael Nyqvist (in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), making her Hollywood debut just a few days before the release of David Fincher's remake. Unfortunately, her role isn't nearly as compelling as the goth hacker Lisbeth Salander. As the bland Simza, Rapace doesn't have much to do aside from running from peril alongside Downey and Law. She's doesn’t get to verbally spar with Holmes the way Rachel McAdams (who returns briefly) did as Irene Adler. You wish they had given a meatier role to Kelly Reilly.

The screenplay by the husband and wife team of Kieran & Michele Mulroney (who also wrote and directed the little seen indie flick Paper Man) follows the same formula as the first Sherlock Holmes. It's not wildly innovative or particularly clever, but the actors are able to elevate the material. The real problem with A Game of Shadows lies with the hyperactive direction from Guy Ritchie. The director of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch is known for being a filmmaker who is more style than substance. This is never more apparent than a muddled action sequence involving the heroes fleeing through a forest while chased by German soldiers. Ritchie changes speeds on a dime, going from fast to slow motion. He zooms into the barrel of a rifle and follows the bullet's trajectory. The camera never stays in one place long enough for the audience to figure out what the hell is happening. A Game of Shadows does feature better action scenes such as Holmes and Watson battling Moriarty's men on a speeding train and a unique take on Holmes' pre-visualization before a fistfight against his archnemesis.

Despite some messy direction from Guy Ritchie, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is actually an improvement on its progenitor. The superior sequel largely succeeds due to the presence of a formidable villain, higher stakes, bigger set pieces, and the chemistry between its leads. Downey and Law have transformed the Sherlock Holmes series into a Victorian-era buddy action/comedy.

Rating: *** ½ (*****)

The Descendants

The Descendants - Dir. Alexander Payne (2011)

Alexander Payne has a knack for spinning tales about middle age malaise and disillusionment. His high school comedy, Election, followed Matthew Broderick as a failed variation of Ferris Bueller desperately trying to sabotage the campaign efforts of Type A personality Tracy Flick (played by Reese Witherspoon). In Sideways, Payne followed Paul Giamatti as a stagnant writer confronting his own misery and loneliness on a trip through wine country with his adulterous best friend. Payne pushed these themes even further with what may be his best work yet in About Schmidt, he showed that things don't get any easier during the twilight years. And they don't get better in the idyllic island of Hawaii, according to The Descendants, Payne's newest film based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings and adapted by Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash, who plays Dean Pelton on NBC's Community.

George Clooney stars as the appropriately named Matt King, a lawyer whose family is descended from King Kamehameha and the first white settlers in the fiftieth state. They own one of the largest tracts of unspoiled land in Hawaii and Matt must ultimately decide on its fate. Most of his cousins (headed up by Beau Bridges) are pushing for a lucrative deal with a local developer while others prefer not to sell. This sandy beach property is the least of Matt's problems.

His wife, Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie), has been left in a vegetative coma following a tragic water skiing accident. The doctors inform Matt that Elizabeth will not improve and they must honor her living will by removing her from life support. A self-described "back-up parent," Matt is forced to deal with two daughters he has absolutely no way of connecting with. His youngest, Scottie (Amara Miller), has eccentric tendencies and constantly curses. His eldest, Alexandra (Shailene Woodley), is a defiant teenager sent off to boarding school to curb her wild ways. Alexandra confesses to her oblivious father that mom was cheating on him. A road trip to inform family and friends about Elizabeth's impending death becomes a cathartic search as Matt and Alexandra look to confront her lover, a real estate agent named Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard).

The Descendants depicts a different side of Hawaii from the picturesque tourist traps seen on Hawaii Five-0. Payne prefers sterile office buildings and languid suburban neighborhoods to white sands and tiki torches. He sets the mood in the opening voice-over narration in which George Clooney declares, "Paradise can go fuck itself." Just as he defies our expectations of the locales, Payne also defies our expectations of certain characters and standard situations. Tagging along with the King family is Alexandra's friend, Sid (Nick Krause), a mish-mash of every stoner and sun-baked surfer stereotype imaginable. Yet, he turns out to not be as dumb as everyone thinks and shares a rather profound moment with Matt.

As the lead character, Clooney carries a heavy amount of baggage. He is George Clooney, after all. He can't play a sad sack that way Paul Giamatti or Philip Seymour Hoffman can, but Clooney brings an aura of weariness to the role that recalls his performance in Up in the Air. It's unfortunate that his character is so underwritten and overshadowed by the supporting characters. Clooney's young co-stars, Shailene Woodley (from ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager) and Amara Miller are both good while the usually comedic Judy Greer gets to stretch her dramatic muscles as Brian's oblivious wife. But, it is Robert Forster who commands the film as Matt's father-in-law, an ornery old timer, who lambastes Matt and Alexandra while overlooking (either knowingly or unknowingly) his own daughter's infidelity.

The weakest element of The Descendants is the superfluous narration that bogs down the first act and trails off as the movie progresses. The narration serves purely to explain emotions and subplots that are exceedingly apparent to the audience.

Visually, The Descendants represents a high point for Alexander Payne as a director. It's undoubtedly his best looking and most maturely handled work as a filmmaker. Payne does his usual blend of tear jerking drama, low-key humor and broadly played comedy. Yet, The Descendants stands as one of Payne's lesser pictures, one that isn't nearly as compelling as Election, About Schmidt or Sideways. It's a middle of the road crowd pleaser sure to impress the easily wowed awards voters.

Rating: ** ½ (*****)

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame - Dir. Tsui Hark (2010)

Tsui Hark is widely regarded as the Steven Spielberg of Hong Kong cinema. As a writer, director, and producer, Hark has become one of the most prolific filmmakers in Asia. His directorial efforts include Once Upon a Time in China and Peking Opera Blues, two of the finest martial arts films ever made. As a producer, he has worked on some of John Woo's classics including A Better Tomorrow and The Killer. Hark has even spearheaded the use of Hollywood-style special effects with Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain. Sadly, Hark's ill-fated attempt to break into Hollywood itself resulted in the abysmal Double Team starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dennis Rodman, a pairing no one wanted to see.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame is one of Hark's latest pictures, originally released in China in 2010 before receiving a limited run in the U.S. Shot on a budget of $20 million, Detective Dee is very much in the vein of Zu Warriors as it mixes traditional wuxia fight sequences with modern special effects.

Andy Lau stars as a fictional version of Di Renjie, an official during the Tang Dynasty, who became the protagonist in a series of detective novels by Dutch author Robert van Gulik. As portrayed by Lau, Dee is both a man of action and an analytical sleuth, much like Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes. The Mystery of the Phantom Flame is set in year 690AD as Wu Zeitan (Carina Lau) is about to be crowned Empress of China and the first female ruler. Her coronation is threatened when two high-ranking officials die of spontaneous combustion. These horrific and inexplicable deaths lead the Empress to reinstate Detective Dee, who has been exiled for speaking out against her. Not entirely trusting of Dee, the Empress teams him with one her most loyal handmaiden, Jing'er (Li Bingbing), and an albino officer named Donglai (Deng Chao).

Detective Dee features some spectacular visuals as Hark and his team have crafted a stylized recreation of ancient China. The highlight is a massive iron Buddha standing watch over the royal palace. The action choreography was done by Sammo Hung and the over-the-top fight scenes are reminiscent Ching Siu-Tung, who directed two Hark productions in The Swordsman and A Chinese Ghost Story. One of the film's coolest fights finds all three protagonists battling the mystical Imperial Chaplain in a spooky underground city. The robed Chaplain actually splits off his sleeves which are able to fight independently. There's also a thrilling sequence during the climax involving a series of pulleys and ropes that work as an early elevator.

Not all the fight scenes work. In the film's goofiest moment, Dee is forced to battle a pack of mind-controlled deer. Nothing like watching Andy Lau punch Bambi in the face to make your day. The deer also represent the movie's most poorly rendered CGI. When the killer's hapless victims burst into flame, their immolated bodies look fake as well.

The plot isn't exactly a tense and complex puzzle. The twists and turns in the story feel more like they were made up on the spot. By the time the third act rolls around, Detective Dee has descended into a series of confused revelations and hokey elements.

Andy Lau turns in a solid performance as Detective Dee though the role isn't too taxing on his acting skills. Both of the lovely starlets, Carina Lau and Li Bingbing, are good and aren't there as just eye candy. But, the best performance has to go to the other Tony Leung, Tony Leung Ka Fai (Election) as a former comrade of Dee's who is in charge of the Buddha construction.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame won't go down as one of Tsui Hark's masterpieces. It has a lot of the same shoddy special effects and nonsensical storytelling that made Legend of Zu such a mess. Yet, the unique action and strong cast might be enough to interest diehard Hong Kong action fans.

Rating: ** (*****)

The Debt

The Debt - Dir. John Madden (2011)

The Debt is a slick Hollywood remake of a little seen Israeli film called Ha-Hov, which was released in 2007. A throwback to the Cold War thrillers of the 1970’s, The Debt follows the lives of three Mossad agents on a secret mission to apprehend a Nazi war criminal.

In 1965, David Peretz (Sam Worthington) and Stephan Gold (Marton Csokas) are deep undercover in East Berlin and tasked by Mossad with finding the fugitive Dieter Vogel (Jesper Christensen), whose sadistic human experiments earned him infamy as “The Surgeon of Birkenau.” Learning that Vogel has been living in anonymity as a gynecologist, they are joined by Rachel Singer (Jessica Chastain), a young translator on her first field mission. Posing as David’s wife, Singer visits Vogel’s office to capture him, but their plan to spirit him into West Berlin goes awry. Now, the agents are forced to hold up in a rundown flat with their sadistic prisoner.

In 1997, David, Stephan, and Rachel are now played by Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, and Helen Mirren. All three are heralded as national heroes, despite the obvious emotional fallout. Rachel is singled out for killing Vogel when he tried to escape custody. Stephan married and divorced Rachel while rising to a high-ranking position within Mossad. David, meanwhile, has been traveling off the grid for years. The trio is supposed to be reunited in honor of the publication of a book about the mission by Rachel’s daughter. The celebration comes to a screeching halt when David finally resurfaces only to commit suicide by stepping in front of a truck.

The narrative progresses between two parallel storylines set in two time periods. The mystery of what really happened on that ill-fated mission slowly unravels piece by piece thanks to the workmanlike direction from John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) and the script by Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and the team of Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman (Stardust, Kick-Ass). The early scenes set in East Berlin are fraught with tension, especially the uneasy moments where Rachel must be examined by a man obviously inspired by real-life Nazi butcher Josef Mengele. The tension rises during a tightly crafted sequence at a train stop where the protagonists attempt to smuggle their prey across the border. When that fails, they are forced to guard Vogel in their flat until a contingency plan is put together. There, Vogel plays mind games with the nervous agents, taunting them and the loved ones they lost in the Holocaust. Exacerbating the already edgy Israelis is the simmering love triangle revolving around Rachel, David, and Stephan. It's obvious a romance would happen with Rachel being the sole woman between two lonely men.

However, The Debt loses its way in the third act with a resolution that stinks of the studio demanding an ending that wraps everything up in a neat, little bow. These final moments lack the power that the rest of the film had.

Rather than utilizing copious amounts of makeup, the filmmakers cast two sets of actors to play the younger and older characters. On the plus side, we don't have to deal with unconvincing putty jobs like the recently released J. Edgar. The drawback is making sure the actors resemble one another. While Jessica Chastain could pass for Helen Mirren, their male counterparts don't match up quite right. Marton Csokas actually looks more like a young Ciaran Hinds than he does a young Tom Wilkinson who could pass for an older Sam Worthington if you squint your eyes just right. Still, each man gives a good performance though the film is largely commanded by Chastain and the ever-regal Mirren. The omnipresent Chastain has broken through this year with acclaimed turns in arthouse titles like The Tree of Life and Take Shelter as well as the highly successful The Help. The Debt features another winning performance from Chastain as the vulnerable Rachel with Mirren adding an extra layer of weariness for her scenes. Jesper Christensen, best known as Mr. White in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, really ups the creepy factor as the movie's sneering and remorseless villain.

The Debt almost feels like a comment on Jewish guilt and self-loathing. While it's doubtful that was anybody's intention, those themes feel like their bubbling underneath the surface. The Debt is a slightly pedestrian, but competently made thriller that stands in the shadow of Steven Spielberg's far superior Munich.

Rating: ** (*****)

The Muppets

The Muppets - Dir. James Bobin (2011)

It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights
It's time to meet the Muppets
On the Muppet Show tonight.

When Jason Segel met with Disney executives about making a new Muppet movie, they thought he was joking. Segel's life-long love for the characters shined through in the Dracula-themed musical from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Segel and Marshall director Nicholas Stoller co-wrote this revival of the franchise that attempts to introduce the Muppets to a whole new audience.

Gary (Segel) and his twin brother Walter (voiced by Peter Linz) have lived all their lives in the happy Midwest burg of Smalltown, USA. Never mind the fact that Gary is a human and Walter is a puppet. Gary and his girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams), are planning a trip to Hollywood. The romantic trip for two becomes a three's a company situation when Gary invites diehard Muppet fan Walter along to see the Muppets Studio. They are saddened to see it has been abandoned and left in disrepair. Walter is even more shocked when he overhears evil tycoon Tex Richman plans to tear down it down and drill for oil.

Walter, Gary, and Mary convince Kermit the Frog to reunite the Muppets and put on a show in order to save the studio. No easy task as everyone has gone their separate ways. Miss Piggy is living in Paris as the editor-in-chief for the French edition of Vogue. Gonzo is a successful manufacturer of bathroom fixtures, Fozzie plays with a tribute band called the Moopets, and Animal is in anger management.

While Segel should be commended for ushering in the return of the Muppets, the movie does get sidetracked by the human characters played by him and Adams. Both tackle their roles with an endearing earnestness, but the movie is called The Muppets for a reason. The complications in the romance between Gary and Mary aren't nearly as interesting as the on-again/off-again love story between Kermit and Miss Piggy. At times, Walter feels like a bland fan-fiction character that's being forced on the public, but his innocent charm is all that saves him from being a major annoyance.

Nitpicks aside, The Muppets is a witty and joyous picture strengthened by infectious musical numbers and clever meta-textual humor. The characters break the fourth wall on numerous occasions with jokes about montages and traveling by map ala Indiana Jones. Segel and Stoller's screenplay pays service to older fans with several references to The Muppet Movie, such as Sweetums appearance at the car dealership and Kermit's "standard rich and famous" contract. Segel also utilizes all the popular Muppets like Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, and the Swedish Chef and even some of the obscure ones like Lew Zealand and Uncle Deadly.

The new music of The Muppets won't stand the test of time the way "Rainbow Connection" has, but they are energetic and irreverent thanks to the supervision of Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords. Conchords' director James Bobin also helmed the film. The opening number, "Life's a Happy Song," sets the stage for the rest of the movie with its old-fashioned, Music Man-style feel. The soundtrack also features the forlorn "Pictures in My Head" and the disco flavored "Me Party" sung by Miss Piggy and the delightful Amy Adams. There's also the bizarre experience of watching Chris Cooper rap about his villainous scheme with "Let's Talk About Me." They are bolstered by Muppet infused covers like a barbershop take on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and a version of Cee-Lo Green's "F*ck You" sung by chickens ("Cluck You?"). Without a doubt, the number the best song on the soundtrack is the existential ballad, "Man or Muppet?" with a surprise cameo that received a rousing reaction from my audience.

Speaking of cameos, in grand Muppet tradition, The Muppets is littered with cameos that include Mickey Rooney, Zach Galifianakis, Neil Patrick Harris, and Sarah Silverman with James Carville as the most random. Some of the better cameos were Alan Arkin as a sardonic tour guide, Dave Grohl as the Moopets' drummer, and Emily Blunt essentially reprising her role from The Devil Wears Prada. Even more cameos from folks like Lady Gaga, Danny Trejo, and Ricky Gervais were left on the cutting room floor.

Despite a few minor quibbles, The Muppets is one of the most joyous cinematic experiences of the year. After modern missteps like Muppets from Space and the made-for-TV The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, Segel's Muppets puts Jim Henson's beloved creations on the right track and hearkens back to the heyday of The Muppet Movie and The Muppets Take Manhattan.

Rating: *** (*****)

One Day

One Day - Dir. Lone Scherfig (2011)

Love stories don't always have happy endings. That's certainly true in movies as many tragic romances have gone down in cinematic history. Sometimes tragedy strikes as in the case of Love Story where a pining Ryan O'Neal falls head over heels for a terminally ill Ali McGraw. Then, there are films like Casablanca and Brief Encounter where the protagonists ultimately don't end up together. One Day is a little bit of both. Boy meets girl. They hem and haw for years and just when you think they might find happiness, it winds up being a conclusion a little more bittersweet than expected.

Novelist David Nicholls adapted the screenplay for One Day based on his 2009 novel of the same name. The story begins on July 15, 1988 during the graduation of Dexter Mayhew (Jim Sturgess) and Emma Morley (Anne Hathaway) from the University of Edinburgh. Dex is a smooth and handsome lad from a well-to-do family while Emma isn't quite as posh. She wears floral print dresses with black boots and completes the coffee house chic personality by listening to Tracy Chapman. She undoubtedly has Lisa Loeb and the Indigo Girls in her collection. Despite their differences, they spend the night together. While the attraction is obvious, Dex and Emma decide to remain friends. From then on, the film drops the audience into their lives on the anniversary of their first meeting.

As the years progress, the handsome Dex climbs the ladder of success as a famous television personality. When he's not interviewing celebrities, he's bedding a variety of vapid beauties. Meanwhile, Emma is stuck in a dead-end waitressing job at a Mexican restaurant and begins a relationship with the awkward Ian (Rafe Spall), a wannabe stand-up comic who isn't very funny. Time marches on and Dex's career begins crumbling as he falls deeper into his addictions to drug and alcohol. Meanwhile, Emma goes from being a teacher to living in France as a successful writer of children's books. During these scenes, Hathaway sports a short hairdo and a pair of big sunglasses that make her look like Audrey Hepburn. Throughout it all, Dex and Emma's friendship remains as turbulent as their personal lives as they hug and laugh then fight and cry.

Director Lone Scherfig is no stranger to love stories. Her debut picture, Italian for Beginners, is easily the most accessible entry in the Dogme 95 movement and her most successful work, An Education, probably won't get many viewings on Valentine's Day. Scherfig directs One Day with a sure hand and crafts a gorgeous looking movie with help from cinematographer Benoit Delhomme, who also shot The Proposition and Tsai Ming-liang's What Time Is It There? But, the impeccable visuals cannot cover up the lack of compelling characters and thin narrative.

The gimmick of the plot revolving around a specific day makes for an intriguing concept. It's one that has the potential to lift One Day above the treacle that the Hollywood rom-com machine generally churns out. However, the concept never amounts to anything significant and makes the entire effort feel like a warmed over When Harry Met Sally. Part of the problem is that there is never a clear obstacle in the way of their romance. Dex and Emma aren't separated by an insurmountable distance or societal morays. They just don't admit their feelings for one another. The longer this goes on, the more annoying they become and the less invested we become in seeing them get together.

Much has been made in other reviews about Anne Hathaway's British accent. It's stronger than the shakier attempts of Natalie Portman or Renee Zellweger, but it's not the least bit convincing. It is obvious Hathaway was chosen over an English actress for her marketability. Rafe Spall, the son of Timothy Spall, has some good moments as the sweet-natured and nebbish Ian. There are also good performances from Ken Stott and Patricia Clarkson as Dex's parents, even if they have limited screen time.

One Day may appeal to deeply romantic souls, but this cold-hearted critic found it to be a shallow and sappy experience. This is a film about pretty, yet empty-headed, people and filled with weak attempts at witty banter.

Rating: * ½ (*****)

Sarah's Key

Sarah's Key - Dir. Gilles Paquet-Brenner (2010)

Sarah's Key revolves around a little known atrocity committed during World War II known as the Vel d'Hiv Roundup. On July 16 and 17 of 1942, French police and officials of the Vichy government, under orders from the Nazi regime, enacted a mass arrest of over 13,000 Jews living in Paris. Most of them were women and children. These Jews were initially interred at the Vel d'Hiv stadium without the use of bathrooms and under tremendous heat as all windows were blocked to prevent escape. Nearly two-thirds of the prisoners were eventually sent to Auschwitz. Sarah's Key, an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Tatiana de Rosnay, serves as a reminder of these tragic events and their lasting effects on the France of today. Much like The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, it looks at the Holocaust through a child's point-of-view.

Kristin Scott Thomas stars as Julia Jarmond, an American journalist living in Paris with her French husband, Bertrand Tezac (Frederic Pierrot). She learns that the apartment her in-laws have owned for decades came into their possession soon after the Vel d'Hiv Roundup. She sets out to discover how the Tezacs got the place and who the tenants were before them. Julia's investigations uncover the harrowing story of a young girl named Sarah Starzynski (Mélusine Mayance).

In 1942, the police take Sarah and her family into custody. In a panic, Sarah locks her little brother, Michele (Paul Mercier), in a hidden closet and tells him to stay there until she comes back. Sarah and her parents are sent first to Vel d'Hiv then to a deportation camp in Beaune-la-Rolande where the adults and children are separated. Sarah manages to escape thanks to a sympathetic police officer and seeks refuge with an elderly couple in the countryside. All the while she is desperate to return to Paris to rescue Michele.

The two stories of Sarah and Julia run parallel to each other, but neither meshes with the other. Sarah's portion of the film stands as its most effective thanks to the heartbreaking performances by Mélusine Mayance and Charlotte Poutrel, who plays the adult Sarah. While Kristin Scott Thomas gives a strong performance, her segments come off as preachy and hollow. Julia's search for the truth about Sarah is meant to symbolize the impact of the Roundup. Many are unaware of the events, others warn her not to stir things up, and a few react with angry denial. One coworker is quick to condemn those that stood by to which Julia refutes with "What would you have done?"

In addition, Julia discovers she is pregnant and must decide if she should to keep the baby when her husband staunchly declares he doesn't want it. To really drive the point him, director Gilles Paquet-Brenner dissolves from an overhead shot of Sarah lying in a fetal position to a newly pregnant Julia. Brenner also tries too hard with the score as ominous music blares to the hilt as detainees are herded off a bus.

The two time periods of Sarah's Key don't always gel together and Julia's world of trendy magazine offices and iPhones feels trivial next to the plight of Sarah. Still, it's a fine film that tugs at the heart strings, despite mistakenly tackling its subject matter with a clinical and didactic approach.

Rating: ** (*****)

Hugo

Hugo - Dir. Martin Scorsese (2011)

Martin Scorsese has become synonymous with crime films and gritty urban dramas. When he has ventured outside his wheelhouse, it was to make pictures like The Age of Innocence or The Last Temptation of Christ. Needless to say, Scorsese is one of the last names you’d expect to direct a children’s movie, let alone one shot in 3D. But, he does just that with Hugo, based on the illustrated novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick.

Set in post-WWI Paris, the film follows an orphaned boy named Hugo (Asa Butterfield), whose father (Jude Law) died in a museum fire. Hugo was sent to live with his alcoholic uncle (Ray Winstone), who worked at the Montparnasse train station. There, Hugo was taught how to maintain the clocks until his uncle’s disappearance. On his own, he survives by stealing food and avoiding the Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen). One of Hugo’s few possessions is a mechanical man left abandoned in his father’s museum, which they attempted to restore before his death. It has the ability to write and once repaired, Hugo hopes it will lead to some message from his dad. In order to do so, he steals parts from a toy store run by a man referred to by his granddaughter Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz) as Papa George (Ben Kingsley).

Spoiler alert.

I knew almost nothing about Hugo aside from a trailer depicting a boy living in a train station where something vaguely magical happens. That is where the film seems to head in the first act until Hugo learns Papa George is actually Georges Méliès. The former stage magician saw the potential in this newfangled contraption known as the movie camera. Méliès was the first to create elaborate sets and special effects in his pictures. He was the first to make fantasy and sci-fi movies. Méliès could even be considered one of the earliest victims of piracy as Thomas Edison exhibited his most famous film, A Trip to the Moon, in the States without giving Méliès a dime. Méliès made close to 500 silent pictures, but the majority has been lost over time. As depicted in Hugo, his studio eventually went bankrupt and most of his film reels were recycled into boot heels. The real-life Méliès really did work as a toy salesman in the Montparnasse station though he never met an ingenuous boy. Together, they forge an unlikely friendship as kindred souls lost in the clockwork machinery of a modernizing society.

Hugo acts as a love letter to early cinema and an impassioned plea for film preservation. Isabelle, who has never seen a movie, is introduced to the medium by Hugo with wide-eyed wonder. Together, they learn everything they can about Papa George and try to repair fix his broken spirit as Hugo has been doing with his automaton. Through Hugo and Isabelle, Scorsese looks to introduce a new audience to silent film. He makes sure to sprinkle in plenty of references to many of the most renowned works, such as Harold Lloyd's famous clock hanging sequence from Safety Last. This is when Hugo really shines, but it takes a while to get there. With a runtime of over two hours, Hugo is about twenty minutes too long with a first half that is meandering and unsure.

The train station becomes Hugo's movie screen as he observes the lives of the other workers in the station, such as the awkward flirtations between an elderly couple played by Richard Griffiths and Frances de la Tour as well as the one between the Inspector and a flower girl (Emily Mortimer). This is when Hugo gets bogged down with subplots that don't really add anything to the overall narrative. The Inspector himself is portrayed alternately as a foreboding villain and bumbling comic relief. Though he's played wonderfully by Sacha Baron Cohen, Scorsese never strikes the right tone for the character. Scorsese may have mastered many aspects of filmmaking, but physical comedy isn't one of them and most of the slapstick gags and wacky chases fall flat.

Visually, Hugo is nothing short of a masterpiece. Scorsese has immaculately crafted the world of Hugo with long-time collaborators like cinematographer Robert Richardson, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, and production designer Dante Ferretti. Scorsese's vision is so detailed that he even throws in background cameos by actors resembling James Joyce and Django Reinhardt. The movie's opening tracking shot that glides through the station platform and inside the clock tower will immediately bring to mind the iconic tracking shot from Goodfellas. Scorsese also makes better use of the 3D process than any other film aside from Coraline or Cave of Forgotten Dreams, even if it isn't essential to tell the story. He has created an immersive environment with a clear range and depth of field while adding a sense of wonder to all the moving gears and machinery. Even some of the subtler moments are given a little extra oomph thanks to the 3D, such as a sequence in which Sacha Baron Cohen's enormous head emerges from the screen to symbolize how the Inspector has grown a new awareness of the happenings around him. There's also something very strange about watching A Trip to the Moon in 3D.

Chloe Grace Moretz adds another fine performance to her resume as Isabelle and she often overshadows Asa Butterfield as the titular lead. The adults are all great with Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, and Michael Stuhlbarg as a film historian (and Scorsese's stand-in) all rounding out the excellent ensemble. However, the film lives and dies by the commanding and heartfelt performances from Ben Kingsley as Georges Méliès and Helen McCrory (better known as Narcissa Malfoy) as his wife Jeanne.

Hugo has received glowing reviews from many critics. Unfortunately, I don't share the same love for the film, which I found to be moving, yet uneven and overlong. As a tribute to silent cinema, Hugo, might have appeal more to adults and cinephiles than children.

Rating: ** ½ (*****)

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World - Dir. Robert Rodriguez (2011)

Robert Rodriguez has made his name as an innovative and visually inventive director in the action genre. He exploded onto the scene with the ultra-low budget El Mariachi before moving on to blockbusters like Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Sin City. In between his R-rated pictures, Rodriguez has helmed the kid-friendly series of Spy Kids movies. It's not too surprising considering Rodriguez is the father of five boys.

It made sense that the third movie, Spy Kids: Game Over, would launch the franchise into 3D. Eight years later, the fourth entry, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World was advertised as being presented in 4D. Time is considered to be the fourth dimension and while it plays a large role in the film, the 4D also referred to Aroma-Scope, Rodriguez's attempt to bring back Smell-O-Vision. Audience members were given scratch 'n' sniff cards, along with their 3D glasses, which gave them a whiff of scents like bubblegum, bacon, and chocolate. Perhaps, Spy Kids 5D will see the return of William Castle's "Tingler" gimmick where theaters are equipped with electrified seats. The following review is for the plain, old 2D version of Spy Kids.

Jessica Alba stars as Marissa Wilson, the top agent for the OSS, the Organization of Super-Spies. In her final mission before retirement, Marissa tracks down and captures Tick Tock, a villain who uses weapons that can temporarily freeze people in time. Why is she retiring? Because she's nine months pregnant and goes into labor while battling Tick Tock's henchmen. Rodriguez was inspired to make the movie after watching Alba change diapers on the set of Machete.

Marissa faces all new challenges as a happy homemaker. Her husband, Wilbur (Joel McHale), spends all his time working on his new reality show, Spy Hunters, where he fruitlessly searches for spies hiding in society. Her step-children, Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook), can't stand her and are always pulling messy pranks on her.

Marissa is called back into action by her superior, Danger D'Amo (Jeremy Piven), when a new supervillain known as the Timekeeper begins stealing time. This causes the days to flow faster than normal. The Timekeeper's next move is to activate the Armageddon Device and the only thing that can stop it is a gem called the Chrono Sapphire. As it turns out, Marissa gave it to Rebecca as a gift. Thus, the kids are dragged into the mission and teamed with the original Spy Kids, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara), who are all grown up. They receive help from a robotic attack dog named Argonaut (voiced by Ricky Gervais).

Spy Kids unfolds at a fast and furious pace, which is perfect for anyone who might have the attention span of a goldfish. It's a cinematic sugar rush; all candy colored and powered by hefty amounts of caffeinated cola. The youngsters will be entertained, but older folks might get a headache. The plot doesn't make a lick of sense and is bogged down by blunt messages about the importance of family. There's a disturbing amount of scatological humor with jokes about dog poop and farts. The heroes also incapacitate the bad guys with a dirty diaper and a bag of vomit. Joel McHale and Ricky Gervais are talented comedians, but neither man is given strong enough material to elicit even a modest chuckle. All the Time in the World also could have used the presence of past stars like Carla Gugino, Cheech Marin, and Danny Trejo (who only appears in a quick one scene cameo).

It's ironic that the theme of Spy Kids: All the Time in the World is about living in the present and not dwelling on the past. The Weinstein Company has been cannibalizing their own past in an effort to resurrect their successful franchises to grab some quick cash. I don't know if anyone was truly clamoring for another Spy Kids movie and after watching this latest one, it's doubtful their minds were changed. All the Time in the World is the definition of junk food cinema, a movie lacking in substance and not at all healthy for consumption.

Rating: * ½ (*****)

Beginners

Beginners - Dir. Mike Mills (2011)

Beginners is a semi-autobiographical film from writer/director Mike Mills and based on his experiences with his father, who came out as a gay man at the age of 75 before dying of cancer five years later.

Standing in for Mills is Ewan McGregor, who stars as Oliver Fields, a graphic designer still coming to grips with the death of his father, Hal (Christopher Plummer). Oliver's parents entered into a marriage of convenience in the 1950's with Hal as a closeted homosexual and his wife, Georgia (Mary Kay Keller), a Jew. Both maintained appearances in order to move about in high society. They stayed together for nearly fifty years until Georgia's death. Five months later, Hal reveals to his son that he is gay and finds a renewed zest for life. Hal embraces gay culture by going clubbing, starting letter campaigns in support of gay-friendly politicians, and hosting movie nights where they watch The Times of Harvey Milk.

Beginners is told through three points in time. We see flashbacks to Oliver's unique childhood with his free-spirited mother as well as his relationship with his father as he battles terminal cancer. In the present, a melancholy Oliver falls in love with a beautiful French actress named Anna (Mélanie Laurent). The two meet in the cutest of all meet cutes. Oliver dresses as Sigmund Freud for a Halloween party where he dispenses in-character advice to other party-goers. Anna, dressed as communist spy Julius Rosenberg, lays on the couch next and communicates entirely through a notepad due to a case of laryngitis.

On a surface level, Beginners has all the quirky trappings of hipster cinema. Oliver and Anna engage in French New Wave inspired dates that involve roller skating through the lobby of a ritzy hotel and creating graffiti art during the late hours of the night. When Oliver learns his dad has a tumor in his lungs the size of a quarter, Mills cuts to a quarter followed by twenty five cents worth of pennies, nickels, and dimes. Oliver also inherits Hal's dog, a scruffy little Jack Russell terrier named Arthur, who communicates through subtitles like "I can understand up to 150 words, but I can't talk." Mills pushes the boundaries into being self-consciously cool from time to time. However, Beginners has a genuine soul not found in its insufferably twee brethren. The films of Mills' wife, Miranda July, come to mind.

Beginners finds a delicate balance between sorrow and joy. While some scenes could only happen in a movie, the dialogue is sharp and never feels phony. The performances from the lead actors are wonderful with Ewan McGregor headlining the movie with an understated turn. Mélanie Laurent brings a graceful beauty and soulfulness to her character and never devolves into the archetype of manic pixie dream girl. Christopher Plummer will likely earn an Oscar nomination for his whimsical performance as Oliver's elderly father.

Rating: *** (*****)

Larry Crowne

Larry Crowne - Dir. Tom Hanks (2011)

Tom Hanks has earned his reputation as an all-around nice guy and one of the most likeable actors in Hollywood. Hanks brings every ounce of that likeability for Larry Crowne, which marks his second film as a director following his debut behind the camera with 1996's That Thing You Do!

Hanks stars as the titular Larry Crowne, a mid-level employee for U-Mart, a big-box retailer resembling Target. Larry enlisted in the Navy straight out of high school and never went to college. This lack of higher education is cited as the primary reason for his lack of promotion into upper management. Since he can no longer advance any further, U-Mart executives decide to fire him despite years of exemplar service.

Larry finds himself in an all too familiar situation as a divorced, middle-aged man who is now unemployed and saddled with a mortgage he can no longer afford. Left with few options, Larry decides to enroll in community college. Thus begins a series of life-changing events for our affable protagonist.

First, he trades in his gas-guzzling SUV for a sporty scooter and befriends the cute and free-spirited Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who renames him "Lance Corona" and recruits him into her scooter gang. She even gives Larry a makeover, giving him a new hairdo and ditching his dorky polo shirts for a hip leather jacket. Next, Larry signs up for a morning class on informal speaking taught by the disillusioned Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts). Not only has she lost her passion for academia, but she also deals with a husband (Bryan Cranston), who considers posting on internet message boards as creating a beachhead in new media. He also surfs for porn, but since this is a PG-13 movie, the women are fully clothed.

In addition to directing, producing, and starring in Larry Crowne, Tom Hanks co-wrote the script with Nia Vardalos, whose My Big Fat Greek Wedding was championed by Hanks and wife Rita Wilson. Vardalos has yet to recapture the same success and the middling response to the clichéd Larry Crowne won't change that. The way in which the film offers sitcom solutions to complex issues borders on condescension. Is a degree from a community college really going to protect someone from the economic downturn? I know people with Master's degrees who are still having a rough time in the job market. How does Larry Crowne still manage to stay afloat in Los Angeles while working as a part-time short order cook? Sometimes Crowne comes off more as a man going through a mid-life crisis when he's wearing a leather jacket and wallet chain.

Larry Crowne was released the same weekend as Transformers: Dark of the Moon. It certainly serves its purpose as counter-programming to the hordes of loud, effects heavy blockbusters. Hanks and Roberts (who gets more beautiful with age) have a winning chemistry together and there are some fun performances from Taraji P. Henson and Rami Malek as an annoyingly dim classmate. Without a doubt, the best thing in the movie is George Takei as an eccentric economics professor. The boisterous Takei steals every one of his scenes. I wouldn't want to see Larry Crowne 2, but I'd readily shell out twelve bucks to see a spin-off starring the former Mr. Sulu.

It's obvious Larry Crowne was meant as a soothing salve on the gaping wounds caused by the financial collapse with Hanks serving as a modern day Frank Capra or Preston Sturges. Sadly, Hanks is unable to capture the heart and wit of those cinematic masters. It is simply populist pabulum with a tone as affable and easy-going as its leading man.

Rating: ** (*****)

13

13 - Dir. Géla Babluani (2011)

Remakes happen all the time. On occasion, those remakes will be helmed by the director of the original movie. Cecil B. DeMille first made The Ten Commandments as a silent film in 1923 before his more iconic version in 1956 with Charlton Heston. Alfred Hitchcock did the same with The Man Who Knew Too Much, which he originally directed in 1934 then remade in 1956 as well. Both directors were more experienced and polished the second time around and the remakes have become more renowned than their predecessors. Those may be exceptions to the rule. More often than not, the remake is considered a lesser picture compared to the original. Michael Haneke's Funny Games is a prime example though I'm not a fan of either version. The Pang Brothers' Bangkok Dangerous, which featured the unique concept of a hitman who was deaf. For the American remake starring Nicolas Cage, the lead was no longer deaf and the results were met with derision. This brings us to 13, a remake of 13 Tzameti, both of which were directed by Georgian-French filmmaker Géla Babluani.

Vince Ferro (Sam Riley) is an electrician whose family is drowning in debt. They are unable to make mortgage payments on their home and Vince's father requires expensive medical care. He overhears his employer discuss a lucrative opportunity after receiving a mysterious envelope. When said employer overdoses on heroin, Vince steals the letter and follows the byzantine instructions while unknowingly eluding the police.

Vince is taken to a ritzy mansion in the countryside and is shocked to learn he has become a participant (number 13) in a high stakes game of Russian roulette. The contestants are given a single bullet then stand in a circle and forced to aim a gun at the back of the next man's head. The survivors are given one more bullet with each successive round. The final round is a face to face duel between the last men standing. All the while, gangsters and wealthy ne'er do wells bet millions of dollars on who will live and die.

The majority of the competitors remain anonymous, but the narrative does delve into the back stories of two others. Mickey Rourke plays Jefferson, an American locked up in a Mexican prison after a heist who is shanghaied into the game. Ray Winstone is Ronald, who won last year's tournament and is checked out of a mental hospital by his brother, Jasper (Jason Statham).

Released in 2005, the original 13 was a minimalist noir shot in stark black and white. Babluani's film was a prescient parable about the wealthy elite exploiting the middle and lower classes. His remake is little more than empty imitation. For a movie where the stakes are life and death, 13 surprisingly lacks any tension. The original had a genuine sense of claustrophobia and you could almost smell the sweat on the brows of the players. Here, you just want the movie to hurry up and get on with it. Meanwhile, the histories of Jefferson and Ronald are dropped clumsily into the story. While Ronald and Jasper play relevant roles in the third act, Jefferson's didn't even need to be there.

13 has a stellar cast in its favor. Sam Riley, who was impressive as doomed Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in Control, gives a strong performance as Vince. There are also solid turns from Rourke, Winston, Jason Statham, Michael Shannon as the emcee, Ben Gazzara as a dapper gambler, Alexander Skarsgard as Vince's handler, and David Zayas as a police detective. The worst performance, however, comes from rapper Curtis "50 Cent' Jackson, who might want to spend some money on acting lessons after his embarrassingly wooden turn here.

Despite an ensemble cast of name actors, 13 sat on the shelves for over a year before being released directly to video. 13 isn't so much a bad movie as it is a bland one where everyone involved seem to be going through the motions.

Rating: * ½ (*****)

The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers - Dir. Paul W.S. Anderson (2011)

Paul W.S. Anderson is a name feared by all right-thinking film critics. Much like Michael Bay, M. Night Shyamalan, and Uwe Boll, when Anderson's name appears in the credits, nothing good can come of it. Anderson takes time away from video game adaptations for The Three Musketeers, in which he turns Alexandre Dumas's seminal swashbuckling adventure into a garish and modernized thrill ride.

The story begins in Venice with Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Aramis (Luke Evans), and Porthos (Ray Stevenson) breaking into the vault of Leonardo da Vinci in order to steal blueprints for an airship. They are betrayed by Athos's paramour, Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich), who steals the plans for Lord Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) in order to build a fleet of flying war machines.

A year later, the Musketeers are now living in disgrace. Athos has become a drunkard, Aramis is relegated to being a glorified meter maid, and Porthos lives off richer women. Along comes the hotshot D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman) who hopes to follow in his father's footsteps as a Musketeer. They band together and uncover a plot by Cardinal Richelieu (Christoph Waltz) and Milady to plunge France into war against England by fabricating an illicit affair between Buckingham and the Queen (Juno Temple).

The Three Musketeers lives up to the reputation of its director as a mindless spectacle that is light on intelligence and heavy on action. There's plenty of lavishly choreographed swordfights such as when the Musketeers face the Cardinal's guards with the odds ten to one. These clashes are broken up with slow motion flourishes in the vein of Zack Snyder or the Wachowskis. Anderson's wife, Milla Jovovich, gets her chance to shine once again performing Resident Evil-style stunts while wearing ornate 17th century gowns and tight corsets. Her Milady is part-Mata Hari and part-ninja assassin. It's all so ludicrous, but the movie is pushed into absurd boundaries when a steampunk element is introduced through the use of flying pirate ships armed with turrets and flamethrowers. And just when all this action builds to a crescendo, it sinks like the Hindenburg thanks to a non-ending that shamelessly sets up a sequel.

Matthew Macfadyen and Luke Evans give solid performances as Athos and Aramis while Ray Stevenson follows Thor by once again playing the boisterous member of a trio of warriors. Logan Lerman is far too white bread to leave any impression as D'Artagnan and his romance with Gabriella Wilde as one of the Queen's ladies in waiting is equally bland. Christoph Waltz is never given the chance to really shine as one of the movie's many villains. As the Cardinal's henchman, Rochefort, Mads Mikkelsen is easily the best thing in Musketeers, playing a one-eyed man for the third time after Casino Royale and Valhalla Rising. Orlando Bloom is the worst thing in the movie. His attempts at playing an over-the-top bad guy are awful and thoroughly unconvincing.

As he did with Resident Evil: Afterlife, Anderson shot The Three Musketeers in 3D, but the process hardly adds anything to the experience aside from a dimmer picture and the occasional blade pointed at your face.

The Three Musketeers cost $75 million and has so far barely scrapped together $20 million in box office gross. Surely, Summit Entertainment can find better uses for all those piles of Twilight money. Even with a strong ensemble cast, Musketeers can't offer the empty excitement expected of shallow popcorn fare.

Rating: * (*****)

The Change-Up

The Change-Up - Dir. David Dobkin (2011)

2011 has been flush with raunchy, R-rated comedies. Though it received poor reviews, The Hangover Part II was undoubtedly the biggest financial success with a box office gross of over $300 million. Bridesmaids was more critically accepted and one of the better films of the year. There were also plenty of also-rans like Bad Teacher, Horrible Bosses, Friends with Benefits, and Hall Pass. Then, there's The Change-Up which takes a low-brow, Judd Apatow-style approach to that 80's staple – the body switch movie. Think Freaky Friday and Vice Versa with plenty of dick and poop jokes.

Dave Lockwood (Jason Bateman) is a workaholic lawyer with a loving wife, Jamie (Leslie Mann), and three kids. When he's not putting in long hours at the office and bucking for a promotion, Dave is up in the wee hours of the morning changing diapers and heating formula. His best friend, Mitch Planko (Ryan Reynolds), has no such responsibilities. As a wannabe actor, Mitch spends his days smoking pot, playing video games, and having kinky sex with a steady stream of loose women. After a night at the bar, the two of them piss into a fountain while idly wishing they had each others' lives.

The next morning, Dave and Mitch are shocked to discover they've switched bodies. To make matters worse, the magical fountain has been removed and lost in a sea of bureaucracy. They must make the most of their strange situation until they can find a way to switch back. Mitch is in way over his head taking care of a family while negotiating a multi-million dollar merger. On the other hand, Dave enjoys his new freedom as a carefree bachelor. There's even the possibility of a dalliance with his gorgeous assistant, Sabrina (Olivia Wilde). Is it really cheating if you're in someone else's body?

Don't expect The Change-Up to intelligently deal with high-falutin' questions of morality. Its primary concern is revealed during an opening scene featuring a baby's undulating sphincter followed by a shot of Jason Bateman getting a mouthful of projectile feces. The scatological humor is a recurring theme in The Change-Up with another gag involving Leslie Mann making a very noisy bowel movement and Ryan Reynolds being forced to stick his thumb up a woman's butthole during a making of a "lorno" (a light porno). The woman, by the way, is played by Taafe O'Connell, the scream queen best known for being raped by a giant worm in the Roger Corman production, Galaxy of Terror. I'm no prude. I enjoy good toilet humor every now and then, but the gross-out gags of The Change-Up wear thin real quick.

If an R-rated comedy can't offer up a few decent chuckles, you can at least expect some quality nudity, but The Change-Up isn't even able to do that. While we do see several actresses in various states of undress (including Leslie Mann), those breasts were all done through prosthetics or CGI. Those delightfully digital nipples may be fool many, but later effects depicting toddlers juggling kitchen knives and banging their heads against a crib are thoroughly unconvincing.

One reason why a film like Freaky Friday works is because there is a drastic difference between the two protagonists who have switched, Barbara Harris changing with a teenaged Jodie Foster or Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in the remake. There isn't a lot to separate Bateman and Reynolds, especially since their acting styles and deliveries aren't far from each other. Bateman gets a little more to do than simply play the straight man, but Reynolds runs through his usual wisecracking persona throughout. Alan Arkin is completely wasted in a throwaway role as Mitch's disappointed dad. Olivia Wilde provides some of the film's few bright spots just by being cool and insanely hot.

You'd think Michael Bluth switching bodies with the Green Lantern would be more fun. "The Change-Up" had a lot of potential as it starred two proven comedic actors in Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds. It was helmed by David Dobkin, the director of "Wedding Crashers," and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who also penned "The Hangover" movies. Unfortunately, everyone goes through the motions. The results are a movie that is lazy, puerile, and ultimately forgettable.

Rating: * ½ (*****)

The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker - Dir. Andrei Konchalovskiy (2010)

As a film critic, I am blessed to be able to review and discuss so many great films. The trade off is that I am often forced to sit through some truly terrible ones. But, never have I run into a movie so horrible that it actually made me question my choice to become a critic. Never until The Nutcracker, a movie so wretched that it not only made me question my career choices, but made me question the very purpose of my life. Yes, the sheer horrendousness of The Nutcracker actually shook me on an existential level.

Filmmaker Andrey Konchalovskiy has had a long and varied career. He co-wrote the screenplay for Andrei Rublev with the great Andrei Tarkovsky along with directing films like Runaway Train and Tango & Cash. Okay, so they all can't be winners. Still, Tango & Cash is a cinematic classic compared to The Nutcracker: The Untold Story, a decades old dream project of Konchalovskiy's. These dreams must have come after imbibing of too much egg nog and fruitcake. Konchalovskiy and co-writer Chris Solimine adapted their script from Tchaikovsky's famed ballet and E.T.A. Hoffman's original story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, which inspired it. There are also Nazis because everything is improved with the addition of Nazis.

The film is set in Vienna during the 1940's with young Mary (Elle Fanning) looking forward to spending Christmas with her family. Those hopes are dashed when her parents (Richard E. Grant and the director's wife, Yuliya Vysotskaya) plan to attend a lavish party with all the other bluebloods. She is further irritated by her younger brother, Max (Aaron Michael Drozin), when he callously breaks her toys. The holiday picks up when the children are visited by their eccentric Uncle Albert Einstein (Nathan Lane), who gifts Mary with a wooden nutcracker. Later that night, Mary is shocked when the Nutcracker (voiced by Shirley Henderson) comes to life. It turns out the Nutcracker, calling himself N.C., is really a prince who was transformed and banished from his land by the evil Rat King (John Turturro) and his goose-stepping minions. Together, Mary and N.C. embark on a quest to break the curse and liberate the prince's kingdom.

Konchalovskiy's production is a nightmarish melding of musical and dance while blatantly stealing from other fantasy works like The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. Another character, a dreadlocked drummer boy named Sticks (Africa Nile), looks like he wandered away from the cast of Stomp. The second-rate Terry Gilliam style set designs and special effects range from downright laughable to ugly eyesores. There is absolutely no sense of grandeur. There's no sense of grace to the few dance numbers in the picture. The first is an approximation of the "Waltz of the Snowflakes" with Elle Fanning twirling around with snow fairies in front of some atrocious green screen work. Later, we get John Turturro effeminately prancing around before electrocuting a shark inside an aquarium tank in a random reference to contemporary artist Damien Hirst's The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. I suppose the audience is supposed to think Konchalovskiy is incredibly cultured and intelligent for throwing this into a kids' movie.

The one good thing The Nutcracker has going for it are the renowned compositions by Tchaikovsky. Unfortunately, Konchalovskiy finds a way to ruin those by drowning them out with inane lyrics by Tim Rice, who has written lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita) and Disney (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King). Don't expect comparable work here, Rice must have pulled stuff out of his ass for a quick paycheck. The music gets off to a rotten start with Nathan Lane and his cartoonish German accent crooning a Mary Poppins-esque ditty about relativity to "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies."

Despite advertising itself as a whimsical fantasy for the whole family, The Nutcracker has enough creepy imagery that parents should be warned. In fact, some adults may also find some of its elements to be disturbing as well. When angered, Turturro's face morphs into a more deformed rat-like visage that instantly reminded me of Large Marge from Pee Wee's Big Adventure. The wooden Nutcracker also has a sinister bent with his bulging, soulless eyes. There's also an unsettling monkey man. I haven't even gotten to how the rats are rounding up all the children's toys and throwing them into a massive crematorium. Talk about poor taste.

The Nutcracker was released into theaters at the end of 2010 around the same time as Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, which also starred Elle Fanning. You might notice she looks a lot younger here. That's because this film went into production in 2007 and set for a release in December of 2009 as The Nutcracker in 3D. However, the post-conversion process was so shoddily done that it was pushed back another year while the $65 million budget ballooned to a ridiculous $90 million.

Even when I have to write a bad review about a picture, I try to be diplomatic about it. I try to find at least one or two redeeming qualities. Alas, there are none aside from the miniscule relief I felt about not having to see this crap in 3D. I cannot hold back the epic levels of hatred I had for Konchalovskiy's The Nutcracker, which has earned a whopping 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. How did anyone possibly think anything about this movie was a good idea?

Rating: DUD

Red State

Red State - Dir. Kevin Smith (2011)

"God doesn't love you…unless you fear him."

Kevin Smith is one of those rare filmmakers who has become a brand name. He has accumulated a devout following who will buy anything that has his name on it. Smith became a poster boy for do-it-yourself cinema with his debut film, Clerks, which spawned a series of R-rated comedies such as Mallrats and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back that found more success on home video than in theaters. His most mature work was undoubtedly Chasing Amy, an unconventional love story that touched upon sex and gender politics.

Red State marks a return to his indie roots following a dismal attempt as a director-for-hire with Cop Out. Smith raised the $4 million budget himself and self-distributed Red State through a series of select screenings paired with Q&A sessions as well as making it available through iTunes, Video on Demand, Netflix, and recently DVD and Blu-Ray. Be forewarned, Red State is not a comedy. Smith steps out of his comfort zone with a film that drifts into the genres of horror and thriller.

Red State begins a lot like a typical Kevin Smith flick with three horny, high school boys graphically discussing sex. Thanks to the internet, Travis (Michael Angarano), Jarod (Kyle Gallner), and Billy-Ray (Nicholas Braun) have reached out to an older woman who wants to have a gangbang with them. That woman turns out to be Sarah Cooper (Melissa Leo), the daughter of Abin Cooper (Michael Parks), leader of a fanatical religious group known as the Five Points Church. The Church has become infamous within their small Midwest community for protesting at funerals and their unwavering hatred of homosexuals. They have lured the teens to their compound and plan to murder them on their altar.

After one of his deputies is killed, the local sheriff (Stephen Root) calls for assistance from the government. Special Agent Keenan (John Goodman) is sent in with an ATF strike force to negotiate the surrender of the Five Pointers. He is shocked when his superiors order a full raid and permission to use deadly force having labeled the zealots as domestic terrorists.

Red State is a drastic departure for Kevin Smith. Not just in terms of subject matter, but in regards to his directorial style. By his own admission, Smith is not a visual filmmaker, preferring to tell his stories through dialogue rather than complex camera movements or ornate shot compositions. Red State is nothing like the visually static films of Smith's past. It has a gritty and dirty look to it with a color palette that runs towards the brown and the gray. As the situation descends into a violent Waco-esque shootout, Smith and cinematographer Dave Klein employ a frantic camera style, but avoid the nauseating shaky cam that has plagued action sequences in this post-Jason Bourne era.

Kevin Smith's way with words is on full display here as Red State is dotted with several clever exchanges including one (in regards to the Coopers' massive cross) between Agent Keenan and his right-hand man played by Kevin Pollak.

"How much do you think a cross like that costs?"
"In dollars or common sense?"

Smith toys with the audience by shifting perspectives from the boys to the religious nuts to the ATF agents. And none of them are particularly sympathetic. The only character that elicits any empathy is Sarah's daughter, Cheyenne (Kerry Bishé), who desperately tries to reason with the ATF and her own family to safeguard the lives of the young children in the compound.

The lack of a strong protagonist isn't a problem though. The problem comes from a litany of characters that are thinly sketched. It's also topped with a rushed plot that never delves any deeper and relies too much on convenience. At first, Keenan reluctantly follows orders to storm the church with guns blazing while his tactical commander adamantly opposes. Later, their roles are switched on a dime with the commander gunning down unarmed people without remorse.

Red State is a sharp stab to the eye of the religious right and an unchecked, authoritarian government. This is a picture marked by strong performances from Melissa Leo, John Goodman and character actors like Kevin Pollak and Stephen Root. However, the film is commanded by a mesmerizing and chilling turn by Michael Parks. Yet, that alone isn't enough to make Red State anything more than a bold, but flawed, experiment.

Rating: ** (*****)

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil - Dir. Eli Craig (2011)

College kids go off on a camping trip in the woods only to find their spring break ruined by a murderous clan of inbred rednecks. That particular plotline and variations on it have become a tried and true staple of the horror genre. Inspired by films like Deliverance, The Hills Have Eyes, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, writer/director Eli Craig (who co-wrote the script with Morgen Jurgenson) cleverly twists the genre conventions with Tucker & Dale vs. Evil which casts the rednecks in a sympathetic light while the vacationing teens play the villains.

Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) are a pair of genial country bumpkins living in rural West Virginia. They've recently purchased a dilapidated cabin in the woods that they hope to renovate into a summer cottage. At the same time, a group of college students set up camp nearby and are immediately creeped out by these odd looking fellas in overalls and mesh trucker caps. One night, perky blonde Allison (Katrina Bowden) is knocked unconscious while skinny dipping and rescued by Tucker and Dale, the latter of whom develops a crush on her. The other teenagers falsely believe Allison has been kidnapped and urged to take action by her boyfriend, Chad (Jesse Moss), who possesses an unnerving hatred for hillbillies.

The kids make a series of bumbling attempts to rescue Allison that lead to their own violent demises. In a scene rivaling Fargo, one boy tries to jump Tucker and accidentally falls into a wood chipper. This leads Tucker and Dale into believing the kids are enacting a suicide pact.

Eli Craig has come up with several inventive and gruesome kills. He also manages to subvert many of the iconic imagery of horror films. When Tucker runs howling through the woods with a chainsaw, it's because he got stung by a swarm of bees. In another scene, Dale awkwardly tries to talk to Allison at a gas station. Told by Tucker to laugh a lot, he cackles maniacally while holding a Grim Reaper scythe and unintentionally frightens the teens.

Genre fans will likely gravitate towards Tucker & Dale due to Alan Tudyk's work on Firefly and Tyler Labine's on Reaper. Tudyk and Labine are hilarious in their roles without turning the characters into southern fried caricatures. They are slightly dim-witted, but not annoyingly stupid. There is also a surprising sweetness to the budding romance between Dale and Allison, played by the gorgeous Katrina Bowden, best known as Cerie, the flighty receptionist on 30 Rock.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil has all the makings of a midnight cult classic. As a fusion of horror and comedy, it stands alongside recent titles like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland.

Rating; *** (*****)

Beautiful Boy

Beautiful Boy - Dir. Shawn Ku (2011)

From Michael Moore's documentary Bowling for Columbine to Gus Van Sant's unsettling Elephant, many films have attempted to tackle the sensitive subject of school shootings. This year, two pictures are examining the consequences and impact these shootings have on the parents of the perpetrator. Lynne Ramsay's adaptation of Lionel Shriver's 2003 novel, We Need to Talk About Kevin, has won rave reviews at Cannes and other film festivals. Though it was released earlier in the year, Beautiful Boy, which was partly inspired by the massacre at Virginia Tech in 2007, has yet to receive similar acclaim.

Michael Sheen and Maria Bello star as Bill and Kate Carroll, a middle class, suburban family with a son, Sam (Kyle Gallner), away at college. Bill and Kate's marriage is on the rocks with the husband growing distant while the wife plans a vacation in a desperate attempt to hold things together. Sam calls his parents one night and obviously seems depressed, but they don't pick up on it and simply tell their son to "study hard." The next morning, Bill and Kate awaken to horrible news that a shooting has occurred at their son's campus. Police detectives arrive on their doorstep and Kate immediately realizes Sam is dead, but the officers have more information to reveal. Sam was the shooter. He murdered 21 of his classmates before turning the gun on himself.

Bill and Kate are shocked and offer no answers to the authorities over what possessed their son to commit this unthinkable act. Unable to even comprehend these turn of events, the grieving parents are ostracized by their community and besieged by reporters with camera crews camping out on their front lawn. They seek refuge with at the home of Bill's brother, Eric (Alan Tudyk), and his wife, Trish (Moon Bloodgood). Kate unhealthily deals with her pain by occupying herself with meaningless house chores and mothering her nephew (Cody Wai-ho Lee), which inevitably irritates Trish. The Carrolls eventually hide out in a motel run by Meat Loaf where they attempt to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives.

Beautiful Boy marks the feature debut of director Shawn Ku, who co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Armbruster. Ku employs a documentary style with numerous close-ups and minimal editing. Rather than cutting from one actor to another during a conversation, Ku commands the camera to swish pan back and forth. At times, the movements are hardly noticeable. At other times, it feels like an unnecessary usage of shaky cam.

The script itself is wrought with melodramatic moments and heavy handed elements. Kate works as a book editor. In one scene, she returns a manuscript to a prospective writer filled with marks by her red pen, which is obviously meant to enforce her image as a controlling perfectionist.

Since Beautiful Boy is a weighty drama, the acting is very showy with plenty of moments for the cast to rage at the top of their lungs or collapse into tears. If you're into that sort of thing, this might be right up your alley. Yet, the film is most effective during its quieter scenes with Michael Sheen delivering an understated performance when called upon. Alan Tudyk, known for his more comedic roles in Firefly and Death at a Funeral, gets the rare chance to flex his dramatic muscles and does a fine job. Kyle Gallner is typecast as the troubled teen, who only appears briefly in the opening and occasionally after that when the news broadcast his maniacal manifesto. One of the saddest scenes finds Sam reading a heartfelt poem that falls on the deaf ears of his apathetic classmates.

Beautiful Boy is the exact opposite of a feel-good movie. This is a tragic story that ultimately comes off as a made-for-TV movie of the week that was made to cash in on recent headlines. It's a well intentioned film that never hits the raw nerve it aims for.

Rating: * ½ (*****)