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Summer at the flix
Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones (PG-13; 140 min.). There’s another sort of star war going on inside “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones,” one between the actors and their terrible dialogue. Long gone are the magical days of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fischer as Han Solo and Princess Leia. Now you have the try-to-take-them-seriously Natalie Portman as Senator Padme, whose life is threatened by political separatists, and Hayden Christensen as the young Anakin, who will turn out to be Darth Vader. Their laughably stiff love scenes play like Day One of a soap opera audition. Ewan McGregor returns as Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has transitioned from apprentice to teacher. The one guy who can act, Samuel L. Jackson, is underused as Mace Windu, a peacekeeper. The real stars of this movie are clearly the creatures and special effects. Yoda, the little green Dalai Lama type, steals the show, especially with his unexpected Kung Fu scene. Too bad it’s a little too late. This second installment in the trilogy of “Star Wars” prequels is heavy with exposition; even somebody who saw the first film will be lost. There are probably enough fanatics, curiosity seekers and marketing-driven kids to make this wearying cartoon of a movie a monster hit. But if you’re looking for quality, well, “May the Force will be with you.”
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Unfaithful (R; 124 min.). Based on the 1969 film “La Femme Infidel,” Adrian Lyne’s scorching new drama is another of his studies of adultery and betrayal. Bored with everyday car-pool suburbia, Connie Sumner (Diane Lane) runs into a French book dealer, Paul Martel (Olivier Martinez), the kind of guy every oven-cleaning housewife fantasizes about. An affair sparks and escalates, as do her husband Edward Sumner’s (Richard Gere) suspicions. Lyne knows how to do love triangles, steamy sex and tension, yet we never find out what drove Connie to stray.
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Hollywood Ending (PG-13; 101 min.). With Woody Allen, it’s hit or miss — this one is hit. Allen directs and stars in a satirical story of a character that must make a new movie or his career is over. Allen’s Val Waxman is a neurotic, washed up two-time Oscar winner. His ex-wife Ellie (Teá Leoni) dumped him for the studio head (Treat Williams) who is not only her fiance, but also the man bankrolling Val’s picture. “Hollywood Ending,” clearly a new beginning for Allen (and his character), has expert comic timing and a lot of autobiographical references. Debra Messing does a great job at the role of Val’s airhead girlfriend.
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Insomnia (R; 115 min.). The halibut fishing capital of Nightmute, Alaska doesn’t get dark — a problem for baggy-eyed, big-shot detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino), who arrives in town to investigate a young woman’s murder and can’t get any sleep. Eager local detective Ellie Burr (Hillary Swank) is wowed by Dormer’s skills. The murderer is a control-freak mystery writer (Robin Williams), who taunts the sleepless detective. The story has big-fish-in-a-small-town appeal. The aging Pacino has his usual sex appeal; Swank starts off underused, but manages to come through in the surprising conclusion; and Williams steps away from his goofy roles to deliver something dark and effective. Directed by Christopher “Memento” Nolan, “Insomnia” will keep you wide awake, despite some bothersome plot issues.
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Enough (PG-13; 115 min.). Jennifer Lopez plays a working-class waitress named Slim who finds her life transformed when she marries a wealthy contractor Mitch (Billy Campbell of TV’s “Once and Again”). Settling into lovely suburbia with 5-year-old daughter Gracie is fine, until hubby turns into a cheating, control freak maniac — out of nowhere, and we’re never quite sure why. Slim takes off, with help from her underground gal pal (Juliette Lewis). But Mitch keeps showing up and a scary cat-and-mouse scenario begins. Slim puts Gracie in a safe place, then mentally and physically transforms herself, including a new hairdo, to say “enough!” to the towering Mitch. Despite its lack of plot logic, this movie will give some a vicarious thrill, while the adventure of the final scenes will keep other viewers from saying “enough, already.”
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Spirit: Stallion of The Cimarron (G; 82 min.). There’s nothing more graceful than a horse galloping with flowing mane and, in “Stallion,” this is depicted with fluid perfection. Not since Disney’s “The Lion King” has anyone tackled animals so honestly. DreamWorks offers an original horse tale of a wild and rambunctious mustang stallion journeying through the untamed American frontier. Encountering man for the first time, Spirit defies being broken, even as he develops a remarkable friendship with a young Lakota brave named Little Creek. The movie is a departure from the usual kiddie fare, although the story’s branding, bullet injury and inhumane treatment of horses is not depicted on screen. Grownups and children will enjoy this part history lesson, part love story. “Spirit” is narrated by Matt Damon, with James Cromwell (“Babe”) voicing the Cavalry colonel determined to break the defiant mustang; the horses don’t speak. Music by Hans Zimmer (“The Lion King”) and Bryan Adams accompany much of the storyline.
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About A Boy (PG-13; 101 min.). Hugh Grant plays Will, a rich, self-absorbed, spoiled and irresponsible London playboy whom the audience should hate, yet loves in this comedy drama based on Nick Hornby’s novel. Will’s latest scheme to score women has him joining SPAT (Single Parents Alone Together), despite his lack of a child. He meets a lovely divorcee named Angie (Isabell Brook), who comes with a package of her own child and another kid named Marcus (Nicholas Hault). Marcus slowly worms his way into Will’s life by mirroring Will’s own childhood and faults. Once Will opens up, life floods him with all he’s been missing. New friends include Marcus’s mom (Toni Collette) and true love interest Rachel Weisz. This is a story about the meaning of meaning something to somebody. Don’t miss it. u