Movie capsules

by Stephen Whitty, The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 23, 2007, 12:42 PM

AMERICAN TEEN (PG-13; 95 min.)
THREE AND A HALF STARS

A hugely entertaining and deeply moving movie about the simplest of subjects -- senior year for four students in a small, Midwestern town. Filmmaker Nanette Burstein smartly begins the film by picking four modern archetypes: Jock, Nerd, Prom Queen and Emo Girl. She then wins our hearts by showing her subjects confounding every cliche about them, and fighting furiously for their own goals, whether it's an all-important scholarship or just one decent date. Recommended. The film contains underage drinking, strong language and adult situations. (7/25/08) -- S.W.

THE DARK KNIGHT (PG-13; 152 min.)
THREE AND A HALF STARS

Finally, director Christopher Nolan delivers the adventure that "Batman Begins" only prepared us for -- a serious, scary look at a city held hostage to fear, and what that fear does to citizens and their civil liberties. Yet he wraps that political drama in terrific special effects, slam-bang action sequences and high-tech excitement -- and then adds a scarily intense performance by the late Heath Ledger as the abused, anarchic Joker. It's certainly a unique superhero movie -- one that's by turns hugely exhilarating and a little depressing -- and definitely recommended. The film contains strong violence. (7/18/08) -- S.W.

HANCOCK (PG-13; 92 min.)
ONE AND A HALF STARS

Up, up and ... go away. A satire about a superzero hero who drinks heavily and does more harm than good -- until he gets into therapy, and finds a tireless publicist to work for him. It's worked for real-life celebrities, perhaps, but it doesn't work here, and while Will Smith has a good time as the unshaven, stumbling Hancock, the movie -- directed with literal shakiness by Peter Berg -- never succeeds in getting us to join in the fun. The film contains strong language and comic-book violence. (7/1/08) -- S.W.

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (PG-13; 110 min.)
TWO AND A HALF STARS

A serviceable-but-still-slumming entry from the too-good-for-this Guillermo del Toro, here delivering a sequel to his 2004 superhero/demon saga. The makeup is fun, and there are some eyecatching creatures -- particularly a spooky birdman -- who wouldn't have been out of place in the director's "Pan's Labyrinth." But this is still the popcorn-movie efforts of an artist using only half of his talents. The film contains violence. (7/10/08) -- S.W.

KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL (G; 91 min.)
TWO AND A HALF STARS

A slight but modestly satisfying movie built around one of the characters from the doll/book/lifestyle phenomenon, set in the '30s and telling a modestly topical story about economic downturns. As our blond, bland hero, Abigail Breslin is pleasant enough, but the charm of the story comes from its supporting characters, particularly as they're played by veterans like Stanley Tucci, Jane Krakowski and the always delightful Joan Cusack. It's not great cinema, but it's certainly a cut above most of the live-action kids movies being made, and fans of the doll will be probably very happy. The film
contains some mild violence. (6/20/08) -- S.W.

KUNG FU PANDA (PG; 91 min.)
THREE STARS

Jack Black provides the voice for a well-upholstered panda who dreams of being a martial-arts warrior -- and, thanks to a prophecy, and an emergency, finds himself forced into battle with the land's most fearsome fighter. This is slight material for a DreamWorks cartoon -- there are no musical numbers, or jokes for accompanying adults -- but as kids' stuff it works just fine, and the kung-fu fights are genuinely exciting -- if, perhaps, a little too exciting for the very young. The film contains cartoon violence. (6/6/08) -- S.W.

MAMMA MIA! (PG-13; 108 min.)
ONE STAR

I'll say. A mess of a movie musical in which a bit of Broadway silliness gets weighted down with miscast stars, non-existent staging and clumsy visuals. Meryl Streep, who apparently can do anything, has a lovely voice and a limber style, but she's too old for the part of an early-40ish mother; Pierce Brosnan, still hunky as long as he keeps his shirt buttoned, gets several songs but, alas, can't sing a note. For indulgent Abba fans only. The film contains some suggestive material. (6/18/08) -- S.W.

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (R; 112 min.)
TWO STARS

Dude, where's the movie? A sloppily constructed comedy about two stoners who find themselves caught up in a gangland murder, and have to flee -- whenever they remember to stop smoking. Call it "Some Like It Baked," but don't put it at the top of your list to see -- unless you're satisfied by one nice, sweetly addled performance by James Franco and constant jokes revolving around car crashes, groin injuries and dope. The film contains drug use, strong language and gory violence. (8/6/08) -- S.W.

SEX AND THE CITY (R; 142 min.)
TWO AND A HALF STARS

An overstuffed, overdone big-screen version of the small-screen femme opera, with Sarah Jessica Parker and her gal pals back -- only this time they're all in relationships, and trying to figure out what comes next. Unfortunately, it's just another fashion show, as the movie devotes itself so fanatically to chronicling the characters' high heels and shoes that it begins to forget about the drama at the story's heart. Diehard fans of the show will undoubtedly be satisfied, but newcomers may find the pace stultifying, and the endless consumerism -- particularly in these recession-buffeted times -- not a little grotesque. The film contains full-frontal nudity, sexual situations, strong language and alcohol abuse. (5/30/08) -- S.W.

THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2 (PG-13; 117 min.)
TWO STARS

The next -- and last -- installment in the tween girls' series finds our four friends in college now, but still sharing a magical pair of jeans and chasing after their hearts' desires. One again, Alexis Bledel seems like the sweetest one, Amber Tamblyn the best actress, while -- ironically, the biggest stars -- America Ferrera and Blake Lively merely go along for the ride. Unfortunately, although each girl still gets her own story, not every one is that compelling, and our interest fades a good 40 minutes before the film does. The film contains sexual situations. (8/6/08) -- S.W.

STEP BROTHERS (R; 98 min.)
TWO AND A HALF STARS

A new comedy from Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly has the two actors playing adult -- really, over-grown -- children, who move in together after their parents marry. The concept is fun, and the performances are wild, but you need to have a high tolerance for graphic raunch and sloppy screenwriting. The film contains constant crude humor, strong language, nudity and violence. (7/25/08) -- S.W.

SWING VOTE (PG-13; 120 min.)
THREE STARS

A mildly witty (if not nearly wicked enough) political comedy, with a presidential election to be decided by the vote of one man -- one incredibly average man -- and with both candidates pandering furiously to win it. But if the jokes still could be sharper, a few of them connect (particularly the desperate campaign ads) and the strong cast -- anchored by an amiable Kevin Costner as the town drunk, and featuring such old pros as Stanley Tucci, Nathan Lane, Dennis Hopper, Kelsey Grammer and Mare Winningham -- keep things moving. The film contains strong language and alcohol abuse. (8/1/08) -- S.W.

THE VISITOR (PG-13; 103 min.)
TWO AND A HALF STARS

A gentle, sometimes too quiet movie about a mild-mannered economics professor and how his life changes -- begins again, really -- thanks to the two illegal immigrants he gives shelter to in his apartment. There's very little overt drama here, but that's sort of the point. The pleasure is in watching long-time supporting player Richard Jenkins finally getting a lead role, interacting with the other characters, and consistently doing the decent thing. The film contains strong language. (4/11/08) -- S.W.

WALL-E (G; 97 min.)
FOUR STARS

A marvelously inventive, even artistically risky Disney cartoon about two robots in love -- set (partially) on a toxic, abandoned Earth and with plenty of pointed but never overpowering comments about our wasteful, lazy society. (You don't want to know what we look like in the 28th century -- it's not pretty.) Smart and surprisingly moving, as well as beautifully animated by the Pixar crew, it's their best film since "The Incredibles." The film contains some mild perils. (6/27/08) -- S.W.

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE (PG-13; 104 min.)
TWO STARS

A belated big-screen spin-off of the sci-fi TV show, this installment finds David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson six years older, and out of the FBI -- but drawn back in on a case involving a psychic, a kidnapped woman and some mysterious body parts. It's fun to see the actors working together again -- they have a teasing, testy rhythm -- but the scares are pretty standard, and the most interesting characters are quickly replaced by cliched ones. Only the most forgiving fans won't be a little disappointed. The film contains gory violence, adult subject matter and strong language. (7/25/08) -- S.W.