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Short takes on what’s playing in theaters
Unfortunately, scheduling was not kind to me this week, and I was unable to screen any of the new movies opening today. So instead, I offer my capsule reviews of movies at theaters now, many of which I have not previously covered in this space. You might have to travel outside the Dayton area a bit to see a few of these.
Appaloosa
Ed Harris stars in and makes his directorial debut with a western about two lawmen (Harris and Viggo Moretensen) trying to reign in a renegade rancher well played by Jeremy Irons. Renee Zellweger has one of her saucier roles as the woman who comes in between the two men. Harris lets the pacing go slack, so it never builds up quite enough steam, but solid performances keep the movie afloat.
GRADE B-
Body of Lies
Leonardo DiCaprio plays a CIA agent ordered by his diabolical boss (Russell Crowe) to infiltrate terrorist organizations at great personal peril. For a good long while, the movie works quite well as an exciting “diary of an undercover agent,” until it falls apart in the third act with an ending that’s way too pat. It’s a solid effort with strong action scenes, but one expects something more than a boilerplate thriller from director Ridley Scott and writer William Monahan (The Departed) who fared better with the directors’ cut of Kingdom of Heaven.
GRADE: B
Burn After Reading
After being the big Oscar winners with No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers make a hairpin turn into deadpan black comedy with a zany, unpredictable story about the memoirs of a CIA agent that fall into the hands of two gym workers who try to blackmail him for it. The cast made me laugh a lot, particularly George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
GRADE: A-
City of Ember
This adaptation of Jeanne Duprau’s story about two kids striving to lead the way out of an underground city starts well, with some very imaginative visuals courtesy of director Gil Kenan, who made the underrated Monster House. The visual style carries it through the muddled second half, which dissipates the movie’s momentum.
GRADE: B-
Eagle Eye
This paranoid techno thriller about Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan unwittingly working on a sinister mission starts strongly, with a tense air of suspense, but that air quickly dissipates when the plot gets more and more implausible. In the end, it’s essentially a passable update/ripoff of Enemy of the State.
GRADE: B-
Ghost Town
This supernatural story about a stuck-up man who can talk to ghosts didn’t make much of a blip at the box office, and that’s a shame. At its best, it’s a delightful throwback to the kind of frothy comedies of the 1930s and ’40s. It goes on a little too long, but some genuine creativity and engaging performances by Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni make this one a real charmer. It’s this year’s movie that got away.
GRADE: B+
Miracle at St. Anna
Spike Lee’s sprawling World War II epic got more attention for the director’s battle of words with Clint Eastwood than for the movie itself, and that’s a shame. By turns the movie is fascinating, wrenching and profoundly moving. Lee and writer James McBride, who adapted his own novel for the screen, couldn’t bring themselves to edit the story down, so the momentum lags, but at its best, the film is very powerful and well worth seeing.
GRADE: B+
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Billed as “This year’s Juno,” the movie is really more like this year’s After Hours laced with Before Sunrise. The film is too laid back for a would-be madcap romantic comedy, but lead actors Michael Cera and especially Kat Dennings make it engaging, even with the lulls.
GRADE: B
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