Short reviews and synopses of current films:
"Avatar"
*** 1/2
Story concerns a scientific/military mission in 2154, mining a distant planet for a treasured mineral. A former Marine uses his own avatar to mingle with the planet's natives and becomes one of them, complicating his mission. Dazzling CG and overall artistry tempers the somewhat simplistic story, with "Avatar" emerging as a marvel. Screening in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D, depending on the theater. PG-13. 161 min. (Dan Bennett, for the North County Times)
"The Book of Eli"
***
Post-apocalyptic action-drama starring Denzel Washington as the title character, making his way west through a barren wasteland of what once was. R. 118 min. (Dan Bennett, for the North County Times)
"Cop Out"
**
Kevin Smith ("Clerks") directs Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan in story of NYC police detectives on the trail of a valuable stolen baseball card belonging to one of the men. Buddy-comedy mixes intended laughs with violence, and talent seems wasted. R. 108 min. (Dan Bennett, for the North County Times)
"The Crazies"
* 1/2
Remake of the George Romero horror film again involves people in a small town going nutso for mysterious reasons, those reasons ultimately leading to bio-experiments gone wrong. "The Crazies" takes too long between its freaky moments, the crazy people are zombies-light and the down time isn't as much about tension-building as time-wasting. The film can't out-freak the original. R. 101 min. (Dan Bennett, for the North County Times)
"Crazy Heart"
*** 1/2
Jeff Bridges stars as Bad Blake, a burned-out country singer making his way, drunkenly, on a tour to nowhere. When he meets a journalist (Maggie Gyllenhall) and her young son, the chance for a new life and some sort of redemption presents itself, but it's a tough road. Another career-topping performance from Bridges in a quiet but emotionally complex ---- and superb ---- character drama. R. 98 min. (Dan Bennett, for the North County Times)
"Creation"
***
Story of Charles Darwin focuses on the man as much the scientist, and how events in his life shaped his pursuit of evolution principles. Real-life husband and wife Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly play Darwin and his wife, struggling with personal tragedy and other events, while pressing forward. Film relies as much on acting and nuance as scientific explanations. PG-13. 108 min. (Dan Bennett, for the North County Times)
"Dear John"
**
John (Channing Tatum) and Savannah (Amanda Seyfried) fall in love in the spring of 2001 and promise their lives to each other. But then 9/11 happens, and John, a Special Forces soldier, has to decide between love and country. The leads click effortlessly during the movie's romance section, but then comes the inevitable loss and disappointment, events that seem overwrought even by Nicholas Sparks' operatic standards (his novel was the basis for the film). PG-13. 102 min. (Glenn Whipp, for the Associated Press)
"The Ghost Writer"
*** 1/2
A modern thriller from director Roman Polanski, based on the novel, the story of a ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) assigned to write the bio of a former British prime minister (Pierce Brosnan). Deadly intrigue intrudes, though, as someone doesn't want this book written, leading the writer on a chilling chase for evidence even as he dodges danger. A good ride. PG-13. 128 min. (Dan Bennett, for the North County Times)
"The Last Station"
***
Well-acted drama tells of the final years in the life of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, who grew a great following with his philosophical leanings, sometimes to the detriment of his theories. More so, the film covers the marriage between Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) and his longtime wife. Cunning and often delightful performances. R. 118 min. (Dan Bennett, for the North County Times)
"Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief"
**
The trouble with this return to youth fantasy by director Chris Columbus, who made the first two "Harry Potter" flicks, is that for every worthwhile moment, there's a clunker merely filling up time, or worse, wasting it. Based on the first book in Rick Riordan's fantasy series, the movie stars Logan Lerman as Percy, a teen who learns he's the demigod son of Poseidon, lord of the sea. PG. 119 min. (David Germain, Associated Press)
"A Single Man"
***
Colin Firth gives a career-defining performance in director Tom Ford's adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's novel about a gay college professor in 1960s England carefully and quietly plotting his suicide after the accidental death of his longtime partner. The former Gucci fashion designer Ford easily transitions to film, showing an eye for detail and style that serves well the period look of the film. 99 min. R. (Associated Press)
"Shutter Island"
**
Martin Scorsese clearly had a ball making this one, which seemingly hurls everything the director knows about filmmaking up on the screen in a blazing, masterful technical triumph. But even with Leonardo DiCaprio leading the superb cast, this crime-and-paranoia thriller is long and wearying ---- brilliantly constructed, obsessively detailed, yet dramatically a piece of pulp schlock that's been overdressed and overstuffed to disguise a ponderous and absurd story. R. 138 min. (David Germain, Associated Press)
"Valentine's Day"
**
Though the skies are often sunny in this mostly contrived rendering of love Los Angeles-style, creativity is cloudy. The film covers the lives and loves of numerous L.A. characters, and how love enchants them, fools them, leaves them heartbroken and prompts their unlikely rejuvenation.The film is an adoring ode to the day itself, a multitude of criss-crossing characters, pawns in overlapping and frequently mushy storylines. That the film manages to have several choice moments amid the vast simplicity helps. With Ashton Kutcher, Julia Roberts. PG-13. 123 min. (Dan Bennett)
"The Wolfman"
* 1/2
With vampires of every kind running around around Hollywood, the big screen is ripe for a new take on werewolves. Yet despite a first-rate cast led by Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt, a classy re-creation of late-Victorian England and commendable respect for Lon Chaney's 1941 original movie, this one's more a yawn than a scream. The remake casts Del Toro as a wayward aristocrat who transforms into a hairy beast after he returns to his ancestral home. Except for Hopkins, who wrings some deviltry out of a pretty silly patriarch's role, the performers are just deadly dull. R. 102 min. (David Germain, Associated Press)
