FEBRUARY 6 MOVIE RELEASES
CORALINE
It’s one thing not to coddle children; it’s another to creep them out. From a craft perspective, this rendering of Neil Gaiman’s book, by the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas, should be admired. But the story is quite dark and sinister, falling somewhere between Psycho for kids and a hallucinogenic Mommie Dearest. Upon moving into a rambling Oregon house, the young heroine enters an alternate reality populated by unpleasant versions of her parents and eccentric neighbors. Although stop-action animation is ideal for 3-D, this material isn’t crowd-pleasing enough to warrant all the effort Hollywood studios are devoting toward making the projection format more commonplace. (PG)
HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU
Most real-life relationships are more exciting than the ones in this soporific ensemble dramedy, which manages to drain all the fun out of modern-day romance. The script, from a book by two Sex and the City writers, fakes incisiveness as it disabuses various Baltimore residents of their shallow preconceptions visa-vis dating and marriage. Jennifer Anniston wants to marry Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson aspires to be a home-wrecker, and Ginnifer Goodwin just wants to be loved. “Don’t try so hard” is the overarching message, yet that’s what the glossy movie does, creating a deflationary effect and obscuring any humor, drama or passion. (PG-13)
PUSH
You have to be clairvoyant to follow the particulars of this overly complicated, unconvincing thriller about folks with paranormal abilities. You have to be desperately lonely to care. In Hong Kong, two second-generation psychics from America (Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning) are hunted by government baddies seeking another gifted woman (Camilla Belle) in possession of a special drug. There are various paranormal types in this tedious movie world. For example, Movers move objects with their thoughts; Watchers see into the future; Stitchers heal wounds; Wipers erase memories; and Pushers plant ideas in other people’s heads. Audience members will kill for one who is able to speed up time. (PG-13)
AT OAHU MOVIE THEATERS THIS WEEK
Taken
Swift, sure and mildly sadistic, this thriller is a lot like its protagonist, a semi-retired CIA agent. Upon arriving in Paris from Los Angeles, his 17-year-old daughter is abducted by Albanian gangsters. Daddy (Liam Neeson) has 96 hours to find her before she’s hooked on drugs, deflowered and never seen again in polite society. (PG-13)
The Uninvited
Having spent 10 months in a mental ward trying to cope with her mother’s death in a mysterious fire, Anna (Emily Browning) returns home to find dad (David Strathairn) involved with Mom’s suspicious nurse (Elizabeth Banks). Prompted by visits from ghosts, she comes to believe that Dad’s new girlfriend may be a murderer. (PG-13)
Hotel For Dogs
The story revolves around two orphaned siblings who start a new “family” by caring for stray dogs in a dilapidated hotel. Although you can see every story beat coming a mile away, you could do much worse if you’re looking to keep the kids entertained for a few hours on a rainy day. (PG)
Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood snarls as racist Korean War vet Walt Kowalski. After the Hmong boy next door tries to boost his vintage 1972 Gran Torino, Walt protects him from a local gang. (R)
Slumdog Millionaire
Behold the eventful life story of an 18-year-old orphan (Dev Patel) from the slums of Mumbai, recounted using his appearance on the Indian version of the TV game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. (R)
New In Town
Rene Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. headline a pasteurized romantic comedy about a foxy food company exec transplanted from Miami to small-town Minnesota. While beating regional stereotypes to death, the movie puts the corporate interloper in the path of a union rep who happens to be an eligible single father. (PG)
My Bloody Valentine 3-D
Ten years after a miner perpetrated a massacre, he reappears to cause bloody mayhem. By virtue of swift pacing and severe gore, as well as a conception of its fiend as the outgrowth of past traumas, the film clearly knows its genre maneuvers well. (R)
Inkheart
Not every young-adult bestseller can make a successful transition to the screen. Cornelia Funke’s popular book about a father and daughter who bring fictional characters to life by reading aloud certainly doesn’t. First, it’s necessary to buy Brendan Fraser as a bibliophile. Second, you must overlook sloppy directing and cinematography, choppy editing and middling special effects. (PG)
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