THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN
The four Pevensie siblings are again magically whisked off to Narnia, where they must work with the fantastical Narnians (talking badgers, sword-fighting mice, etc.) and against the nasty Telmarines, all the while joining forces with the one good Telmarine, Caspian, who is the rightful king to be. Epic battles are fought on expansive fields, and though a body count grows, most of the carnage is done off-camera. A solid follow-up to the first film in the C.S. Lewis series. (ES) Rated PG
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
Boy meets girl, loses girl, gets girl. Sad Peter (Jason Segel) loses his girlfriend Sarah (Kristen Bell) to a ridiculous Brit rock star (Russell Brand), then goes to Hawaii to forget her -- only to find the happy couple staying at the same hotel. Judd Apatow produced, so there's plenty of raunchy humor and a real sweetness. I'm not sure if it's a good date movie, but it sure made me laugh. (ES) Rated R
INDIANA JONES: KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
Fans have been waiting almost 20 years for the Steven Spielberg-Harrison Ford follow-up to the adventures of their favorite archaeologist-professor. And the wait turns out to be worth it, with Indy going up against Cold War-era Russians and their power-mad scientist leader (Cate Blanchett, looking hot in a tight jumpsuit and a pageboy haircut). Everyone's searching for the mythic crystal skulls of Peru, with guns firing, swords slashing and vehicles hurtling through jungles. Ford is not too old for the part, Shia LaBeouf doesn't overact, and Karen Allen makes a terrific return as Marion Ravenwood. Funny, fast-moving, and action-packed. (ES) Rated PG-13
IRON MAN
Robert Downey Jr. gets the role of his career and steps right up to it, while Jon Favreau does the same in the director spot. The Marvel comic springs vibrantly to life with action and comedy in the story of a weapons maker who sees the light and wants to change his life, right around the same time he develops a "heart problem" and invents a metal suit that lets him blow away the bad guys. Great fun, and no doubt the start of a new franchise. (ES) Rated PG-13
MADE OF HONOR
Tom (Patrick Dempsey) and Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) are best friends. Near Hannah's wedding, for which Tom has been asked to be a bridesmaid, he realizes he loves her. That's when the trouble starts. What had been a charming story about two friends who might be able to fall in love stops trusting itself. Colin, Hannah's fianc & eacute;, is Scottish, which leads to a whole "aren't foreigners funny?" thing. Then come the fat jokes. (MAJ) Rated PG-13
SPEED RACER
The Wachowski brothers score again. After imagining an unworldly world in their Matrix series, they go back to their youth and reinvent the TV cartoon Speed Racer, which now exists as an impossible-to-make, great-fun-to-watch live-action film. Speed (Emile Hirsch) must put up with nasty villains galore and "some of the most dangerous drivers in the world" as he tries to win absurdly presented road races that fly up into the sky. These are sights and sounds you've never seen or heard before. In terms of visual style, it's a dandy follow-up to Tron and itself a groundbreaker. Buckle up, hang on and go for a ride. (ES) Rated PG
SEX AND THE CITY
Fans of the TV show rave about how it depicts "real" women and "real" concerns. But I don't see a real woman in Carrie Bradshaw: I see a very narrow, stereotypical idea of what women are. I see a caricature of "women," not someone who is a human being first and a woman second, like we all actually are. Fans of the show will likely find it lovely; certainly, there are moments of intense drama that will make far more sense to those who have an investment in these characters. I would have preferred it, though, had this Sex movie included something that spoke to those who were not already fans. (MAJ) Rated R
THE STRANGERS
The only thing "strange" about this film is that a studio gave it a green light. Lazy writing and flat, repetitive direction, along with actors who either scowl or scream results in a horror film that's scary only because the sound is sometimes turned up too high. It's one of those "people trapped in an isolated house by maniacs" plots. Neither Liv Tyler nor Scott Speedman, as the victims, adds anything, and first-time writer-director Bryan Bertino needs to go in search of an original idea, or at least a story that's less stupid. (ES) Rated R
THE VISITOR
In Tom McCarthy's follow-up to his beloved The Station Agent, a lonely man returns from self-exile in Connecticut to find his NYC apartment inhabited by squatters. They befriend each other, becoming social support for each other and, eventually, an ad hoc family. (LB) Rated PG-13
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
Ashton and Cameron (I'm not using their last names because the trailers/marketing materials don't) go to Vegas separately and for different reasons. They get drunk, meet, presumably have sex and end up getting married. No prob, quick annulment time, everyone's happy. Except Ashton won three million bucks at slots with a quarter Cameron gave him, and now they need to stay together until a judge will let them part, each with his/her piece of the pie. (LB) Rated PG-13
YOUNG@HEART
A doc chronicling the Young at Heart Chorus, a gang of octogenarians that tours America and Europe belting out rock 'n' roll songs. As the film reaches its climax, two former members of the chorus return after long illnesses to perform at a special performance. It soon becomes clear that there's a point beyond which the mind, no matter how willing, cannot keep up with the body. So there's sadness here: Do what ya gotta do, because your days are numbered. But even that kind of sadness cannot dent the joy of Young@Heart. (MAJ) Rated PG
