Capsule reviews of films currently playing at area theaters. Star ratings are by Truth movie columnist Ben Ford; other capsules by the Los Angeles Times.
Bedtime Stories: Adam Sandler stars as a man who tells his nephews outlandish versions of the titular tales -- which unexpectedly begin coming true.
Duplicity: Two spies-turned-corporate operatives are in the midst of a clandestine love affair when they find themselves embroiled in a high-stakes espionage game. As with "Michael Clayton," Tony Gilroy's debut film as a director, "Duplicity" is a treat for the ears, and it's very easy on the eyes, too, with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen in the leading roles. The problem with "Duplicity," if you want to call it one, is that for a movie that presents itself as a breezy entertainment, it's not always easy to follow -- though you can enjoy it without actually keeping up with every plot twist. It's also not a good movie for the impatient, as Gilroy follows his "Michael Clayton" blueprint by staging a set-up scene at the outset and then shifting time and filling in the gaps as he goes, leading to a downbeat but satisfying finish. HHH 1/2
Fast & Furious: Vin Diesel and Paul Walker reteam when a crime brings the fugitive ex-con and the FBI agent back to L.A. to confront a shared enemy. If you're a lover of stomach-clenching speed that turns the world into a neon blur; if you thrill to the sight of high-gloss chassis screeching, spinning and slow-rolling into explosive fires and flying debris; if your eyes go soft in the presence of a gleaming motor; if a pounding bass is the bump-and-grind background music of your dreams -- or put more simply, if you're in the mood for a lot of vroom, vroom, thump, thump, then the fourth edition of this metal-twisting series should leave you exhausted and satiated for a very long time.
Friday the 13th: In this re-imagining of the classic horror film, a new generation of college kids heads to the infamous Crystal Lake for a weekend of terror. This new film is something of a bouillabaisse of story points and killing concepts from earlier "Friday the 13th" movies -- a hatchet to the head here, a mother issue there, a poked-out eyeball for good measure -- with a few additions. The original handful of "Friday" films had a certain low-rent elegance about them, and this slickly done, dimly lighted, whiplash-edited update loses that too. Not fun, louder than it is scary, not even all that gory, this new "Friday the 13th" has Jason, all right, but otherwise it's missing nearly everything that made the original films work.
The Haunting in Connecticut: The true story of one family's supernatural ordeal after moving to Connecticut for treatment of their son's cancer. The movie doesn't have much to offer in the fright department besides this-is-scary-oh-no-it's-not moments, but it is pretty well-acted by Virginia Madsen, Martin Donovan, Kyle Gallner and Elias Koteas. HH
I Love You, Man: Peter (Paul Rudd), a recently engaged real estate agent, sets out to find a friend (Jason Segel) to be the best man in his wedding. The movie's best moments come when the two guys are talking about real things, like Peter's self-esteem issues or why he's getting married at all. It is here that you see something of what might have been, how "I Love You, Man" could have taken a more relevant, insightful and even funnier cut at a very rich topic. But the filmmakers didn't; they went with dog poo instead.
Knowing: A teacher (Nicolas Cage) opens a time capsule from his son's elementary school and finds chilling predictions -- including some that have already occurred -- leading him to believe his family is involved in future fatal events. Hollywood filmmakers have long grappled with the inherent conflict between belief systems and science, as Jodie Foster's scientist-atheist did in 1997's "Contact." Those themes are certainly echoed again, and left equally unresolved, here. Whatever else director Alex Proyas has done in "Knowing," he has created an ending that is sure to divide audiences into camps of love it or hate it, deeming its message either hopeful or hopelessly heavy-handed. It doesn't quite work, but it was worth the risk.
Monsters vs. Aliens: In this animated film, the president of the U.S. enlists a motley crew of monsters, confined in a secret government compound, to combat an alien robot and save the world from imminent destruction. The monster crew is led by a feisty Reese Witherspoon, who brings some of the edgy-fun of her "Election" mean-girl to her role. The clean lines of the film's 1950s retro look work well with the uncluttered, straightforward tale, and the filmmakers' nod to that era's B-movies is a nice one. In fact "nice" is the adjective that seems to surface most in trying to pin down the film's most salient quality, which means that while the film is enjoyable enough, it is unlikely to become a classic for us, or a "Shrek" sort of franchise for DreamWorks.
Pink Panther 2: Steve Martin, back for Round 2 as Inspector Jacques Clouseau, is one of the writers, along with Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. Perhaps that is why Clouseau is in virtually every scene, which isn't necessarily a bad thing because really all the movie has going for it is whatever comedy Martin can squeeze from the moment -- speaking of analogies, blood out of a turnip comes to mind. There is no real plot, the movie's filled with friends of Steve, the comedy is terribly overplayed, or the comedy is overplayed terribly (again, you can choose) -- what you're left with is a bag of tricks that has seen better days.
Push: A young man and a teenage girl take on a clandestine agency in a race against time that will determine the future of civilization.
Race to Witch Mountain: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson takes over the lead role in this slick but bland "re-imagining" of an old Disney family movie, playing a Las Vegas cabbie who picks up a pair of teenagers who, it turns out, are aliens trying to prevent an assassin from their home planet from destroying or enslaving the Earth -- or something. Johnson is charming enough, and provided that this movie hasn't exhausted every possible type of chase scene -- it comes close, given that the entire movie is basically one chase after another -- there could be enough for a new film franchise here. HH 1/2
Sunshine Cleaning: On the surface, "Sunshine Cleaning," about a small-time crime scene cleanup crew in a crumbling corner of Albuquerque, is an offbeat and oddly endearing drama, leavened with just the right amount of comedy to even things out. But dig in a bit deeper, and you uncover a smartly done morality tale that couldn't be more in sync with these troubled times. With Amy Adams as Rose, a struggling single mother on the downside of a life she expected more from, and Emily Blunt as Norah, her younger sister caught in a free fall of her own, director Christine Jeffs has given us the sorts of faces that have mostly been forgotten these days -- people and places already on the edge, hit by the one-two punch of bad breaks and an unforgiving economy that has left so many reeling.
12 Rounds: World Wrestling Entertainment star John Cena plays Danny Fisher, a conscientious New Orleans cop who becomes involved in the violent capture of international terrorist Miles Jackson (Aidan Gillen), during which time the criminal's girlfriend is accidentally killed. One year later, Jackson escapes from prison ready to exact eye-for-an-eye revenge on Fisher in the form of a dozen death-defying, ticking-clock tests the police detective must unravel and pass if he wants his fiancée (Ashley Scott) to stay alive. Although basically an excuse to string together a giant-sized popcorn's worth of high-octane set pieces, "12 Rounds" is escapist fun that provides an effective showcase for Cena's blue-collar charisma and bulky good looks.
Taken: Liam Neeson stars as an ex-government operative with less than four days to find his daughter, who has been kidnapped while on vacation in Paris. "Taken" is not the kind of action film to spend much time worrying about its pedestrian script or largely indifferent acting, so it's fortunate to have Neeson in the starring role. A bit larger than life at 6-foot-4 and, in general, an actor who wears his heart on his sleeve, Neeson throws himself into this role, appearing in nearly every scene and making good use of a purposeful scowl that combines fury and disgust in equal measure.