Movies: Recent openings

Compiled by Regina Robinson

April 10, 2008

Here are selected capsule reviews of movies in current release.

Beaufort *** 1/2

No MPAA rating. 2:12.

Working from a novel by Ron Leshem, who co-wrote the screenplay, Joseph Cedar has constructed a kind of Israeli "Apocalypse Now," a brooding examination of the nature and purpose of war that is a tribute to the traditional virtues of bravery and sacrifice as well as a painful admission of how futile those qualities can be. — Kenneth Turan, Tribune Newspapers

Caramel ** 1/2 PG. 1:36.

Something of a Middle Eastern take on slice-of-life, "Caramel" features five women in a Beirut beauty salon comparing notes on their love woes. Director Nadine Labaki shoots with a gauzy prettiness, but doesn't imbue it with any particular passion. Yet, there's a pleasant, easygoing charm, due to Labaki's determination to depict Beirut as something other than a recovering battleground. — T.R.

CJ7 * 1/2 PG. 1:26.

In Hong Kong filmmaker Stephen Chow's latest, the determinedly cuddly "E.T." homage "CJ7," Chow is a poverty-line worker with a young son, Dicky (played by the female Xu Jiao) who longs for the coolest new toy, CJ1. His father can't afford it, but an alien fuzzball, CJ7, comes into their lives. It's pliable, like "Flubber." And "CJ7" is roughly as grating as that "Flubber" remake. — M.P.

Flawless ** 1/2 PG-13. 1:45.

An American living in London (Demi Moore) joins forces with a night janitor (Michael Caine) who has been dreaming of diamonds and how to steal them for years. For all its stodginess, Caine is the one reason "Flawless" is a reasonably good time. While his character comes straight out of a million other movies, Caine's grace and presence make the stereotype entertaining. — M.P.

Leatherheads **

PG-13. 1:54.

It's 1925, and George Clooney (also director) is Dodge Connolly, ringleader of the scrappy, financially challenged Duluth Bulldogs football team. John Krasinski plays the Bulldogs team savior, a college football star recruited by Dodge to legitimize and glamorize the flailing Duluth franchise. Clooney's third directorial effort is sidelined by a script that plays like an imitation of another era's artifacts. — M.P.

Nim's Island *** PG. 1:36.

Abigail Breslin is Nim, an independent 11-year-old living with her microbiologist dad on an uncharted island until he is lost at sea. Nim looks to her favorite Indiana Jones-type author for help, only to find an agoraphobic fiction writer. It's a fun story, in its creative sense of the relationship between fiction and reality. But overwrought performances make the film's "real world" less compelling. — T.R.

Run, Fat Boy, Run ** PG-13. 1:40.

Simon Pegg plays Dennis, a schlubby commitment-phobic Londoner who ditches his pregnant fiance (Thandie Newton) at the altar. Newton's Libby now goes with a smug American fitness freak (Hank Azaria) who goads Dennis into entering the London marathon. "Run" represents an uncertain Britification of a script by Chicago native Michael Ian Black, and the result finds itself stranded in the Atlantic, midcrossing. — M.P.

Shine a Light *** 1/2 PG-13. 2:02.

Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert picture does not capture a historic farewell, as did his great 1978 tribute to The Band, "The Last Waltz." Look at it this way: It is akin to paying for a very good seat at a Stones concert, a stroll down memory lane, conducted by four men who know the way, and know how to make it vital. — M.P.

Stop-Loss ** 1/2 R. 1:53.

Kimberly Peirce ("Boys Don't Cry") helms this stirring but overburdened indictment of the military's controversial policy of extending tours beyond a soldier's contract. Peirce's obvious respect for the returned soldiers should prevent "Stop-Loss" from being dismissed as a Hollywood anti-war screed. It's more accurately described as an anti-war movie with a resolutely pro-troop message. Its biggest fault is that it tries to say too much. — J.R.

Superhero Movie *

PG-13. 1:16.

Craig Mazin, writer-director on this tiresome spoof on "Spider-Man," "The X-Men," "Batman" and "The Fantastic Four," can barely muster enough script to reference all of those movies. He certainly can't find anything funny to say about them. The movie's highlight is actor Miles Fisher replicating Tom Cruise's Scientology recruiting video. And you can see that for free on YouTube. — Roger Moore, Tribune Newspapers

Compiled by Regina Robinson

Reviewers include: K.C. = Kelley Carter; M.E. = Michael Esposito; M.P. = Michael Phillips; J.R. = Jessica Reaves; T.R. = Tasha Robinson; S.S. = Sid Smith.