WHITE IRISH DRINKERS Review (2 out of 5 stars)

The oddly titled WHITE IRISH DRINKERS offers a convincing recreation of working-class Brooklyn in the 70s. It boasts compelling portrayals by newbie Nick Thurston and film veteran Stephen Lang and some memorable (and even unforeseen) moments. But the film unfortunately suffers from a detrimental mix of slow pacing, lack of well-rounded characters, a back load of plot turns saved until the very end and a subpar performance from Karen Allen.

Brian (Thurston) and Danny (Geoffrey Wigdor) are teenage brothers living with their abusive father (Lang) and weak-willed but loving mother (Allen). Danny attempts to enlist his younger bro’s help in carrying out petty crimes, finally capping those efforts with a grand scheme to steal tens of thousands of dollars at an upcoming Rolling Stones concert. Pitching it as their once-in-a-lifetime ticket outta town, Danny forces the shy, sensitive Brian to choose between loyalty to his blood and a brighter possible future through the use of his hidden artistic talent.

WHITE IRISH DRINKERS’ bellbottoms, mutton-chop sideburns and old fashioned phones and furnishings combine for a more-than-convincing return to 1975. The resourceful filmmakers even employed CGI to erase satellite dishes from hundreds of rooftops. And the characters’ clueless offhand remarks about phenomena of the time that were to become future mainstays, such as computers and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW had me grinning.

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PEEP WORLD Review (1 out of 5 stars)

Given its fun cast, I really wanted to like PEEP WORLD. But I found it dreadfully depressing instead, both for its mordant tone and, well, pure badness. The Myerwitz family, around whom the film revolves, are thoroughly unlikable, neither Sarah Silverman nor the big dinner scene at the end work, and while Lewis Black seems like the perfect choice for voiceovers, his narration often feels like overkill here. The action all takes place on Henry Myerwitz's (Ron Rifkin) 70th birthday, during which his four grown children each grapples in their own way with the recent and widespread publication of the family’s secrets.

Each of the four siblings complains endlessly, and rarely in a way that’s amusing. Jack (Michael C. Hall) runs a failing design firm and is discovered masturbating at a porn shop called Peep World by his pregnant wife (Judy Greer). His oblivious, sneering ass of a brother Nathan (Ben Schwartz) is "the voice of a generation" and newbie author of the best-selling novel Peep World, a humiliating tell-all at the heart of each Myerwitz’s angst that’s being made into a movie. (And making for one too many invocations of this film's title.) The middle son Joel (Rainn Wilson) is billed as the black sheep, unemployed, lacking in self esteem and a perpetual drain on Jack's finances. Yet he still manages to attract Mary (Taraji P. Henson), a perky security guard who legitimately cares about him.

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LIMITLESS Review (2-1/2 out of 5 stars)

I'd think I was on drugs too if I were facing off with Jake La Motta.

Between its generic title (I prefer The Dark Fields, from the Alan Glynn novel it's based on), a less-than-engaging lead in Bradley Cooper and De Niro’s typical tough guy routine, I expected LIMITLESS to be God-awful. Yet I left the theater moderately entertained and even fascinated by the premise. The film is buoyed by a brash style and moments of levity, and Eddie Morra is a believable superhero for our modern miracle drug age.

The scraggly, unshaven Eddie we first meet suffers from depression and low self-esteem, a writer unable to write. (Been there, done that. But Cooper as a writer? And how did Morra get a book contract?) Then he runs into his douche-y ex-brother-in-law Vernon (Johnny Whitworth), a former drug dealer now thriving as a consultant for a pharmaceutical company. Vernon peddles a translucent pill called NZT that he claims will allow Eddie to use his brain’s full potential, but falsely assures him it’s FDA approved. Morra swallows it and ta-da! He’s Uber Eddie.

…And his lightning quick mind enables him to finally write that novel — in four days. He remembers everything he’s ever seen or heard and soon speaks Italian and Japanese fluently. He makes a bundle on the stock market. He’s a hit at parties, beds beautiful ladies and wins his girlfriend back. (Abbie Cornish is the smart, sophisticated Lindy — how did he score her before?) He even morphs into an expert fighter based on Bruce Lee films from his childhood, one of many fun glimpses of things from his past now yielding fruit.

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PAUL Review (2 out of 5 stars)

Phone home? More like phone it in. (And stay home.)

Two British sci-fi geeks, Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost), set out from San Diego’s sci-fi/superhero fest Comic-Con on an RV tour of America’s UFO landmarks. (Not sure what those would include beyond Area 51 and Roswell...) Just as their adventure is getting underway, they witness a car crash involving Paul (Seth Rogen), an alien freshly escaped from a military base where he’s been sequestered for 60 years. The trio accidentally picks up a fourth, Ruth (Kristen Wiig), and soon her fanatical father and the Feds are on their tails in a race to return Paul to the mothership.

Paul's CGI is too crisp to seem real and is especially distracting when he’s in proximity to live actors — which is always. His character therefore lacks physical credibility; he might as well have been a cartoon. Perhaps it would have wise to show Rogen as an alien taking human form. The actor feels present anyway since Paul so closely resembles his typical, amiable wise guy characters. And instead of generic frat boy humor, I might've preferred Paul deadpan like Jason Bateman’s hilariously named agent, Lorenzo Zoil. Or even a neurotic alien would have been funnier. Paul boogeying around a campfire — Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" should be banned from further film use — or chucking a moon are antics meant for kids, not adults. Yet the movie is rated R for language, sexual references and drug use. (People blown up in explosions are apparently of no concern to the MPAA.)

The storyline of PAUL follows a pattern very much by the book. The alien’s discovered, he develops human friendships, over-zealous authorities get their chase on and it’s a race to get him home. No surprises there! Fortunately, however, there are occasional bright spots in the dialogue. A clever Bob Dylan joke, men's comments on a comic book character’s three boobs, people fainting at the sight of Paul, a men's room labeled "Maliens..." (The other said “Women.”) I laughed most when the newly toking Ruth went from giggly to ravenous to paranoid in seconds, then flopped over unconscious.

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New Trailer for SUPER 8, the JJ Abrams Sci-Fi Flick

A new trailer for JJ Abrams’s highly anticipated sci-fi flick SUPER 8 is generating significant buzz after popping up on Twitter (@Super8Movie) over the weekend. Written and directed by Abrams (STAR TREK, co-creator of TV’S Lost) and produced by Master of the Cinematic Universe Steven Spielberg (you know his record well), this latest marketing morsel leaves the 30-second Super Bowl spot that preceded it in the dust. And if that’s not enough, there’s now an official poster for you to feast your eyes on too...

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MARS NEEDS MOMS Review (3 out of 5 stars)

Someone could use some face cream and conditioner...

MARS NEEDS MOMS functions well as a children's film, but unlike Pixar's productions I wouldn't recommend it for adults. It works off what I consider to be an adorable premise. And while I assumed it'd be primarily Earth-bound, most of the story takes place on Mars. (Which we like!) The title may be a play on the '68 C-film cult classic MARS NEEDS WOMEN.

Milo (Seth Green) is a typical nine-year old with ideas of his own who will barter and debate with his parents any time to get his way. He makes hi mom cry when he yells at her that wishes she wasn’t in his life, then gets what he wished for when she’s kidnapped by Martians! (The aliens want to harvest her maternal essence, or something like that.) Milo stows aboard their ship and upon arriving on the Red Planet enlists the help of juvenile adult earthling Gribble (Dan Fogler) and a spunky rebel Martian named Ki (Elisabeth Harnois). Together the trio attempt to rescue Milo’s mother from her Martian tyrannical captor, the Supervisor (Mindy Sterling), liberate the oppressed Martians populace and find their way back to Earth.

MARS NEEDS MOMS shows off some fun visuals and special effects, some in homage to the STAR WARS series and other films. Milo delicately inching his way along a tower’s ledge looks a lot like Obi Wan’s disabling of the Death Star’s tractor beam. Platoons of helmeted soldiers lining up in a vast hall brings to mind the Empire’s troops assembling to greet their Emperor. Gleeful natives overrunning Martian soldiers conjures up visions of Storm Troopers on Endor being ambushed by Ewoks. For that matter, the neon blue threaded throughout Martian technology recalls TRON: LEGACY, and the fluorescent splashes dotting some ancient ruins seem reminiscent of AVATAR. (This last scene is bewilderingly beautiful -- a real treat for the eyes.)

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BATTLE: LOS ANGELES Review (1/2 out of 5 stars)

The real battle here is keeping sleep at bay.

I'll say it straight out: BATTLE: LOS ANGELES is the worst modern apocalyptic alien invasion movie I’ve seen. The sub-genre includes ID4, SKYLINE, the WAR OF THE WORLDS remake, SIGNS, MARS ATTACKS, the current and original V TV movies and perhaps even CLOVERFIELD, though it’s not a perfect fit. I was one of the few to enjoy the November’s SKYLINE, but I’ll join the majority in slamming BATTLE – at least the former had cool aliens and futuristic gizmos.

In a single sentence: Marine staff sergeant Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon must figure out how to destroy aliens attacking LA, sight of the most important battle in a worldwide alien invasion.

I’m so tired of warring over LA. Why not Portland? Or Atlanta? Austin? SKYLINE centers on LA; So did much of the mother of modern sci-fi takeovers, INDEPENDENCE DAY. Most people I know don’t even like LA -- some would even prefer it destroyed. Why not choose a city everyone values and admires? Just not Gotham: it too has been vaporized ad infinitum.

Tip: Invading aliens should be frightening. Or at the very least, interesting to gaze upon. Spielberg’s aliens in WAR OF THE WORLDS were criticized for being generic, yet even they’re infinitely cooler than BATTLE's E.T.’s.

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THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU (1-1/2 out of 5 stars)

In this behind-the-scenes photo, Matt Damon and Emily Morton react with horror to the script. (Kidding!)

George Nolfi's directorial debut THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU takes itself very seriously, its grayness, save for brief bursts of color in Elise’s red dress or the grass below Lady Liberty, further exacerbating its grave tone. I would definitely have welcomed some fun poked at the bureau's Keystone Kop moments. But worst of all, its creators never decided whether the film's a love story or sci-fi adventure, a la THE MATRIX. It vacillates between the genres but in the end fleshes out neither enough to satisfy: Norris’s time with Elise is minimal, and the of unseen manipulators theme — BUREAU’s biggest potential drawing card — is full of gaping holes. The writers take the easy way out of adapting the original short story by neither explaining nor expanding upon any of the ideas the parallel universe of the Adjustment Bureau puts forth.

The story concerns an up-and-coming young politician named David Norris (Matt Damon) who meets and falls for a beautiful ballerina, Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt). Yet mysterious men in gray fedoras keep getting in the way. Known as The Adjustment Bureau, these puppeteers of humankind do everything in their power to shape the world according to their own perceived sense of order. But this doesn’t stop Norris from fighting for his own unique destiny and the girl he loves.

The film is based on the 1954 short story, The Adjustment Team, by Philip K. Dick, author of the original tales behind popular films such as BLADE RUNNER, TOTAL RECALL and MINORITY REPORT. (His daughter Isa Dick Hackett served as executive producer.) The bureau members’ fedoras and snappy suits are an obvious holdover from the 1950s when Dick penned his tale, though his all-male organization at least is updated enough to show some racial diversity. And perhaps it’s not coincidental that John Slattery was cast, an actor we’re all accustomed to seeing in the similar fashion of Mad Men’s early to mid 1960’s.

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RANGO Review (3 out of 5 stars)

That's no ciggie (above), but RANGO is the first animated movie to include "Smoking" in its MPAA rating.

RANGO is the first full-scale animated feature from Industrial Light & Magic, the special effects company not only behind the STAR WARS films but AVATAR, TRANSFORMERS, JURASSIC PARK, TERMINATOR, and other powerhouse franchises. RANGO’s animation is truly awe-inspiring — perhaps the best I’ve ever seen. Add to this Gore Verbinski’s proven directorial track record and the superb cast he’s gathered, and you’ve got what should amount to a win-win movie-going experience on your hands. Yet despite these multiple advantages, RANGO is still quite flawed. The first half drags, and its overall storyline about a missing water supply seems lacking and – pardon the pun – a little dry. But what its creators do manage to get right, they get RIGHT – and for those successes I’ll gladly heap praise.

A pet chameleon slash aspiring actor named Rango (voiced by Johnny Depp) tumbles out of his owners’ station wagon and into the Mojave Desert. He comes across a creaky old Wild West town called Dirt: a collection of roadside trash a diverse community of desert critters happens to call home. It's there that Rango discovers he must fulfill the most challenging role of his life – the swashbuckling hero.

Perhaps the most spectacular element of RANGO is its close-ups of the dozens of weird, wonderful characters inhabiting Dirt. From the ever-shifting shades of green among the scales of Rango’s bulbous eyelids to the wizened face of Roadkill the armadillo (Alfred Molina, looking like a Mystic from THE DARK CRYSTAL) to the soft pink snout of the child mouse Priscilla (Abigail Breslin), the meticulous level detail exhibited by each actually makes them look real on the screen.

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