“Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” contributes to the history of cinema one of the greatest lines of all time for an actor to deliver. It comes from Lucian, the first lycan, or werewolf who can take human form. “We can be slaves,” he declares before he unleashes a guttural cry, “Or we can be lycans!” Beyond that, there’s not much in “Underworld” that will live on forever as its main characters, Lucian (Michael Sheen) and the vampire king Viktor (Bill Nighy) do within this action thriller that’s missing two important elements: clear action and thrills. In this prequel, Lucian rallies the enslaved werewolves to rise against the aristocratic vampires who enslaved them, except for Viktor’s daughter Sonja, whom he loves. Widening his eyes in several scenes rather than acting, Sheen reprises his role as Lucian for several on-screen fight scenes, the majority of which you can’t see because of strobe-effect lights blinding you every other second and poor camera angle choices. In the first half, every movement, motivation or emotion is spelled out for us in dialogue, even when it’s completely unnecessary. The second half picks up with Viktor’s cruelty and a wowing special effect here and there when an enraged Lucian turns to beast. But five entertaining minutes can’t save a 92-minute movie that feels two hours long.
>> Rated R for bloody violence and some sexuality. 92 minutes. One-and-a-half stars out of five.
– Jessica Novak, Examiner Movie Critic
“Inkheart”
Single father Mo Folchart (Brandon Fraser) can turn characters into flesh-and-blood versions of themselves merely by reading aloud. The problem? He can’t control which character pops into reality and which person in the room is then flung into the book. If you accept the “rules” of “Inkheart’s” reality as easily as the characters within the fantasy adventure do, you’re in store for a magical, fun-for-the family flick crammed with stirring special effects, impeccable British talents, some humorous moments and unabashed declarations of love for books. “Inkheart’s” overly complex plot loses its gusto and spins out of control, but is much more imaginative and entertaining than what typically passes for family fare. You might not cry or hold your breath at the final showdown, but it’s a sight to see.
>> Rated PG for fantasy adventure action, some scary moments and brief language. 106 minutes. Two-and-a-half out of five stars
– Jessica Novak, Examiner Movie Critic
“The Wrestler”
Facedown on the mat, Randy “The Ram” Robinson slices the skin on his forehead with the razor blade he hid in the tape wrapped around his wrist to give the crowd the blood they applaud. His blood streams into his puffy eyelids, but this visual is not even close to the most gruesome sight “The Wrestler” will put you through. In this bleak and deeply moving drama, Mickey Rourke gives a career-defining performance as Randy, a lonely has-been who lives in a New Jersey trailer park and unloads stock for a supermarket to pay the bills between matches in halls, rented school gyms and community centers. Director Darren Aronofsky opts for dark and grainy images and a rocky, hand-held, documentary like camera style to match the just as dark, rough and rocky life screenwriter Robert D. Siegel conjured. After an extremely brutal match, Randy collapses and wakes in the hospital with a scar from bypass surgery that rivals all the other wounds he’s proudly shown his only friend, a stripper and single mother, Cassidy. The climax comes at a rematch 20 years in the making. The Ram knows his broken body can’t take another moment in the ring, but as he says, “The only place I get hurt is out there.” Beyond making us care about a guy the world would consider a loser, “The Wrestler” holds up a mirror to society’s thirst for violence at any cost. And it ushers you into the locker room to show that even a scripted fight causes tremendous pain.
>> Rated R for violence, sexuality/nudity, language and some drug use. 115 minutes. Four out of five stars.
– Jessica Novak, Examiner Movie Critic
“The Unborn”
The Kabbalah. Hot college students. A creepy, abandoned mental institution. Gary Oldman. Jogging. Twins. Nazi scientists. A suicidal mother. A lost blue mitten. What do these things have in common? They’re all pieces in the convoluted mythology of “The Unborn.” Best as one can tell, writer-director David S. Goyer’s film is a sort of Jewish version of “The Exorcist,” which is a vaguely novel concept. Catholics are usually the ones who have all the fun purging demons. But Goyer, who wrote the “Blade” series and co-wrote “The Dark Knight,” makes things laughably more complicated than they needed to be. Well, there are some effective scares here, and you’ll laugh at yourself afterward for jumping like a little girl. But other images and pieces of dialogue are just as hilarious — and that probably wasn’t their intention.
>> PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images and language including some sexual references. 95 minutes. One-and-a-half stars out of four.
– Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic
“Gran Torino”
Using his finger as a gun, Clint Eastwood’s scowling Walt Kowalski aims, fires and recoils, picking off Detroit street thugs one by one. If any other actor, let alone another 78-year-old, did this, we’d laugh at him. But given it’s Eastwood, the iconic face of masculinity, playing a pissed off Korean War vet in “Gran Torino,” we’re at attention, awaiting what’s next in the serious-minded drama that ingratiates itself through the first half with laughs before building to a sobering conclusion.
You can see it coming, but that doesn’t ruin the authentic, father-son-like relationship that forms between Kowalski and well-mannered Hmong boy Thao, who, ordered by his mother, has to make amends for trying to steal Kowalski’s 1972 Gran Torino during a would-be gang initiation. Eastwood playing Eastwood directed by Eastwood is what you get in this sure-to-be Oscar contender.
>> R for language throughout and some violence. 116 minutes. Three out of five stars.
– Jessica Novak, Examiner Movie Critic
