June 21, 2007

``Evan Almighty'' (PG, 1 hr., 36 min.)

By retelling the Old Testament tale of Noah and the Flood as a latter-day comic fable with a ``green'' message about environmentalism as a way of preserving God's creation, ``Evan Almighty'' will irritate some folks for political and/or theological reasons. Otherwise, it is surprisingly entertaining, even while it is corny, predictable and subtle as a freight train. The nuanced comic presence of Steve Carell in the lead and great critters flocking in twos around him mask the film's weaknesses. Kids 8 and older ought to get a kick out of seeing adults act silly in this milder sequel to ``Bruce Almighty'' (PG-13, 2003). The frequent toilet humor chiefly involves bird doo. Rare off-color references are mild and irreverent, such as a movie marquee title ``The-40-Year-Old-Virgin Mary,'' a nod to Carell's R-rated 2005 hit, ``The 40-Year-Old Virgin.'' The film contains mild sexual innuendo, a kid describing a duck's penis, a drug reference and implied nudity. There are intense images of a flood sweeping away houses, recalling Hurricane Katrina. The mild profanity is always partly muffled.

Carell's character, Evan Baxter, also figured in ``Bruce Almighty'' as a TV anchorman. In that film, Bruce (Jim Carrey) misused the powers God (Morgan Freeman in both films) gave him, causing Evan to speak jibberish on the news. In ``Evan Almighty,'' the anchorman has just been elected to Congress. He moves his neglected family to a McMansion near Washington and starts his career on Capitol Hill, hoping to ``change the world.'' His chief of staff (John Michael Higgins) and assistant (wise-cracking Wanda Sykes) steer Evan toward a powerful congressman (John Goodman) who wants his support for a dubious land bill. Then Evan starts receiving odd deliveries -- ancient looking tools, piles of wood and a visit from God Himself, who explains he wants Evan to build an ark in anticipation of a flood. Animals follow him everywhere in twos. Everyone thinks he's bonkers, but Evan must accept his task to find peace.

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``1408'' (PG-13, 1 hr., 34 min.)

In this neat, melancholy little spook-fest (expanded from a Stephen King story) -- creepy, not gory -- John Cusack plays a debunker of ghostly legends who gets the tables turned on him big time at a vintage Manhattan hotel in fatal room 1408. Though director Mikael Hafstrom employed plenty of special effects, he also used effects rigged to happen live during filming. As a result, much of the film feels less slick and more ``actual,'' which adds to the fun. ``1408'' will give high-schoolers and many middle-schoolers a nice chill, but could upset younger, more timid teens. And it is a dubious choice for most preteens. In a sense, the tale is a kind of exorcism for the protagonist's grief over the loss of a child and his flashbacks to her infancy and the final days of her illness. He dreams of meeting her in an afterlife, her body crumbling to ash in his arms. On a less metaphysical note, the movie includes nightmarish images, such as the ``ghosts'' of suicides jumping out a high-rise window, murderous figures, including a zombie, suddenly appearing to leap at the protagonist, and nongraphic but bloody photos of past victims of room 1408. Intense scenes show the room breaking apart. The movie also has strongish profanity, considerable drinking and some smoking. Suicide is a repeated verbal and visual theme.

John Cusack carries the film lightly on his honest, Everyman shoulders as Mike Enslin, author of books that prove supposedly haunted places to be normal, not paranormal. We meet Mike as a cynical loner. He receives a mysterious postcard from the Dolphin Hotel in New York that says only ``don't stay in 1408,'' so of course he determines to do just that, even though a return to New York, as his publisher (Tony Shalhoub) warns, could reopen old wounds. It is then we learn of Mike's loss of a child and separation from his wife (Mary McCormack). Samuel L. Jackson as the dapper Dolphin manager tries reason, threats and expensive cognac to keep Mike from checking into 1408, to no avail. Mike is in for it now.

P.S. FOR TEENS: If you like ``1408,'' you might enjoy the stories of Edgar Allan Poe as fine summer reading. Poe died in 1849, but his works had a major effect on 20th- and 21st-century writers and filmmakers. You can see his influence in ``1408,'' which is based on a short story by modern writer Stephen King. Try reading Poe's ``The Fall of the House of Usher,'' ``The Pit and the Pendulum,'' ``The Gold Bug'' and ``A Descent into the Maelstrom.'' The first two were made into creepy films in 1960 and 1961, respectively.

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BEYOND THE RATINGS GAME

-- OK FOR KIDS 6 AND OLDER:

``Surf's Up'' PG (Funnier, less pretentious, more carefree computer-animated penguin saga than ``Happy Feet'' (PG, 2006), fun for all age levels; ingeniously conceived as a ``reality TV'' show about a surfing-obsessed Rockhopper penguin, Cody Maverick (voice of Shia LaBeouf), who leaves his Antarctican isle for the tropics to compete in a surf off; Cody befriends a spacey surfing rooster (Jon Heder), a lovely penguin lifeguard (Zooey Deschanel) and her reclusive uncle (Jeff Bridges) who teaches him the Zen of surfing; Tank (Diedrich Bader), a surfing champ and bully, harasses Cody. Toilet humor; occasional crude language (``crap,'' ``pecker face'' are crudest); subtle comic reference to masturbation will be caught by adults, older teens; Cody and others are knocked out, nearly drowned in briefly intense wipeouts; secondary theme about losing a parent -- photo of Cody's dad as a whale is about to swallow him.)

``Shrek the Third'' PG (Inventive, irreverent, albeit crass, sequel keeps computer-animated medieval fairy-tale romp/Hollywood spoof afloat and offers gentle nudges about taking responsibility; chosen by his dying father-in-law, King Harold the frog (voice of John Cleese), to rule Far Far Away, the ogre Shrek (Mike Myers) cringes at dual prospects of kingship and impending fatherhood; Shrek, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) go off to find the teen (Justin Timberlake) in line for the throne; evil Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) invades Far Far Away (spooky view of his minions on broomsticks), taking Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) hostage; buffoonish Charming is not scary. Verbal joke that someone's tunic doesn't quite cover their privates; teens high on incense; alcohol reference; mild sexual innuendo; threat to kill Shrek; a stabbing shown to be harmless; ugly stepsister (Larry King) seems transgendered.)

-- FINE FOR 8 AND OLDER:

``Evan Almighty'' PG (NEW) (Milder sequel to ``Bruce Almighty'' (PG-13, 2003) is corny and subtle as a freight train, but its adults acting silly and wild animals acting tame in an update of the Noah story will charm kids; Steve Carell uses his deadpan gifts well as new Congressman Evan Baxter (the TV anchorman forced to spout jibberish by Jim Carrey in the first film); he moves his neglected family to a McMansion near Washington and starts his new job; a big-shot committee chairman (John Goodman) pressures Evan to back a dubious land bill; he starts to get odd deliveries of tools and wood; finally, God (Morgan Freeman, as in the first film) visits and tells Evan to be a latter-day Noah, build an ark and warn of the flood; his beard grows spontaneously and animals flock in pairs around him; film's mix of ``green'' and Bible themes will put off some on theological or political grounds. Bird doo gags; rare, mildly irreverent off-color references; mild sexual innuendo; kid describes a duck's penis; drug reference; implied nudity; intense image of a flood sweeping away houses recalls Hurricane Katrina; rare mild profanity, always partly muffled.)

``Nancy Drew'' PG (Emma Roberts (Julia's niece) plays prim, perky, arch (to the point of parody) teen sleuth Nancy Drew in chic retro duds; she seems younger, more goody-goody than Nancy of the books, and too middle-school to drive her vintage roadster; in Los Angeles while her lawyer dad (Tate Donovan) argues a case, she pursues a mystery about a dead actress (Laura Harring) who once owned the mansion they're renting; girls at Hollywood High diss Nancy, but a pudgy 12-year-old (Josh Flitter) worships her; (her sort-of boyfriend Ned (Max Thieriot) visits and is jealous). Rare semi-crude words; mystery involves mild talk of unwed motherhood, suicide, murder; under-8's may flinch when Nancy explores a hidden passage and when she's abducted (she escapes, natch). Girls 8 to 13 will be mainly charmed, despite the plain vanilla taste.)

``Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'' PG (Harmless but dull sequel to ``Fantastic Four'' (PG-13, 2005), still based on Marvel Comics characters, has been tamed to a PG to grab kids not ready for PG-13 intensity; it is pallid as a 1950s Saturday-morning serial, with lame repartee and fake-looking effects; Fantastic Four chief, scientist Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), aka stretchy Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), aka force-field emitting Invisible Woman, stone man Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), aka The Thing, and Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), aka the Human Torch face down speed-of-light traveling humanoid, Silver Surfer (voice of Laurence Fishburne), advance man for planet killer Galactus. Rare crass language; mild sexual innuendo; beer; implied nudity; bloodless violence; under-8's may cringe at cloud-like Galactus engulfing Earth.)

-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:

``1408'' (NEW) (John Cusack easily carries this nifty, fairly low-tech spook-fest (based on a Stephen King tale) on his Everyman shoulders as a melancholy writer who debunks ghost stories for a living; an anonymous tip about room 1408 in a vintage Manhattan hotel draws him; the grim manager (Samuel L. Jackson) warns him no one survives in 1408 but he insists; as soon as he closes the door, weird happenings escalate. Central theme about grief over loss of a child; flashbacks to child's illness; father dreams of meeting her in afterlife, her body crumbling in his arms; nightmare images of suicide spirits jumping out a high-rise window; murderous figures, including a zombie, lunge at the protagonist; nongraphic but bloody photos of past victims; intense scenes of room breaking apart, burning; strongish profanity; much drinking; rare smoking; suicide as a verbal, visual theme. May upset middle-schoolers, preteens.)

``Golden Door'' (LIMITED RELEASE) (Sicilian peasant family sails to America, circa 1900, in stunning Italian-language film blending gritty naturalism with surreal dreamscapes -- an alternately hopeful, harrowing epic on an intimate scale; a widower (Vincenzo Amato) and his kin are crammed into ``steerage,'' their heads full of New World myths (money trees; rivers of milk); he befriends a mysterious English woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg); in stunning Ellis Island sequence, they're checked for ``defects.'' Passengers injured during rough seas; distraught woman with dead infant; sexual innuendo; reference to prostitution; young man sneaks into women's quarters on ship, sniffs sleeping figures; male, female nudity in doctor exams; wine. For mature teens interested in history, immigration debate; great intro to foreign film. Italian with subtitles.)

``Ocean's Thirteen'' (Low-key caper comedy (sequel to ``Ocean's Eleven,'' 2001, ``Ocean's Twelve,'' 2004, also PG-13s) is too long and heavy on convoluted ``procedure,'' but hits jackpot with male star power and banter; Danny Ocean (George Clooney), Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) and their fellow con men (Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner) return to Las Vegas to avenge their mentor, Reuben (Elliott Gould), after a casino magnate (Al Pacino) cheats him. Occasional mild profanity; nongraphic heart attack; steamy near-seduction never gets past shedding of outer garments; sumo wrestlers' derrieres; drinking. Younger teens may fidget through talky narrative detours.)

``Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' (Chaotic, interminable sequel with incomprehensible plot-o'-nine-tales is mostly a drag, except for flashes when stars do their pirate/villain thing to droll effect; wily Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and callow lovers Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Will (Orlando Bloom) rescue rascally Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp, now caricaturing his caricature) from the undead limbo of Davy Jones (Bill Nighy with the squid face) Locker, so pirate leaders can unite against Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander). Stylized mayhem pushes PG-13 limit with harrowing image of mass hangings -- including a boy -- feet falling through trap doors, bodies carted off; characters run through with swords, shot in head; frostbitten toe snapped off; glass eye licked clean, popped back into socket; fish-headed zombies; mild sexual innuendo, profanity; drinking; themes of death, betrayal. Iffy for 'tweens, some younger teens.)

-- R's:

``Hostel Part II'' (Horror flick's vile premise -- young travelers abducted so rich folks can pay for the thrill of torturing and killing them -- makes one despair over civilization; somewhat smarter, slightly less gory (it's a relative thing) sequel to ``Hostel'' (R, 2005) again weds American xenophobia to an image of Eastern Europe hardened, haunted by violence; three American students (Lauren German, Bijou Phillips and Heather Matarazzo), are lured to a ``spa'' in Slovakia and become prey for the killing ``factory''; Roger Bart as a timid ``client.'' Bloodletting with saws, blades, axes, dogs; entrails, severed heads, headless corpses; a boy shot dead; sexualized killing; nudity; sexual situations; crude sexual slang; strong profanity; drug use; drinking, smoking. Too grostesque for under-17s.)

``Mr. Brooks'' (Visually and psychologically slick, gripping variation on cinema's infatuation with serial killers; Kevin Costner as wealthy businessman Brooks, a secret serial killer; he tries to break his ``addiction,'' but his alter ego (William Hurt), seen and heard only by him, wants more ``fun''; a voyeur (Dane Cook) sees Brooks murder a couple having sex with their curtains open; he demands Brooks take him on his next killing; Brooks' wife (Marg Helgenberger) is clueless, but their daughter (Danielle Panabaker) has issues; and a cop (Demi Moore) is closing in. Subtle but clear link between killing and sexual pleasure for Brooks; flinch-inducing murders with gun, blade, shovel; explicit sexual situation; nudity; profanity; drinking; smoking. Truly not for under-17s.)

``Knocked Up'' (Director Judd Apatow's knack for mixing raunchiness and heart (``The 40-Year-Old Virgin,'' R, 2005) works to hilarious, humane effect in tale of Ben (Seth Rogen), a slacker who lives with his buds, smoking pot and barely working; he meets lovely, career-minded Alison (Katherine Heigl) at a bar; they have a drunken one-night stand; she gets pregnant and tells him; they try to forge a relationship; savvy cast adds neat improvisational edge. Much strong profanity; graphic sexual situation; seminudity; crude, explicit sexual slang, discussion of condom use; steaming sexual innuendo; topless dancers; marijuana, hallucinogenic drug use; drinking; toilet humor. Iffy for high-schoolers under 17 -- in an ideal world, should depend on parental discretion.)