By Judy Russell September 06, 2011 ( Volume 80 , No. 5 )

Cowboys and Aliens (PG-13)

With a title such as this, the viewer might expect a rollicking sci-fi spoof or at the very least some funny Raiders of the Lost Ark-style quips from Harrison Ford’s character (the tyrannical Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde), but there are no funny parts to this Western action film set in 1873 Arizona. At first the story has the ring of a 50s TV Western, but later this movie has the settlers and Indians join together to defeat a group of alien creatures who have come to lay waste to the resources and population of Earth. Once the audience gets over any expectation of comedy, the storyline will carry them along through a graphic, imagination-bending tale which pits post-Civil War guns against speedy star ships and lasers.

The film begins in the desert where a beat-up, lone cowboy, Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig), finds himself without memory but with a strange metallic wristband he cannot remove. With great physical difficulty he makes his way into the small town of Absolution. There he finds the usual cast of Western characters: the boss-man (Ford) and his gone-bad son, the gentle bartender (Sam Worthington), a brave young boy (Noah Ringer) and of course a beautiful, mysterious woman (Olivia Wilde). As soon as the film’s path seems set and the stranger finds out he is a wanted man, the aliens arrive in blinding fast aircrafts and amazing lassoes which they use to snatch away loved ones from the town. These people are whipped up into the sky in front of the running, screaming townspeople. The characters’ roles immediately change and a fight is on!

This is not a movie for children. There are many brutal scenes which are shown in colorful detail—explosions compete with flying body parts, men and the scary, predator-like creatures killing each other, unbalanced chases between people on horses and aliens in aircrafts, and even aliens eating the bloodied captured people. The final explosion of the film was so reminiscent of the Challenger disaster that many adults may have their attention completely withdrawn from the film’s story. This movie may be an attention grabbing story for adults, but may be nightmarish for young minds which have vivid imaginations of their own.

The Mighty Macs (G)

This film is based on the true story of the improbable victory of a newly formed all-girl basketball team winning the first national championship for women’s basketball. It is an against-all-odds story which is uplifting and amazing.

In 1971 Cathy Rush (Carla Gugino) was hired to coach basketball at the small, Catholic Immaculata College located near Philadelphia. She had never coached before. She had not even played on a varsity basketball team during her college days, but she was ready for the challenge of forming a team who would play as a Team. During this era, when women were first allowed teams and tournaments, most universities were getting ready for a new form of athletics which included the newly created Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championship.

Immaculata College did not have a gym. It did not have any uniforms for the girls to wear, or any money to support the team. The college was going broke and getting ready to sell the campus to developers. Yet this little school that “didn’t have a prayer” grew into a basketball powerhouse. With the help of Sister Sunday (Marley Shelton), a booster club of elderly nuns, the town, and Cathy’s husband, Ed Rush (David Boreanaz), this tiny team went on to win the first National Championship (where the film’s story ends). The team helped save the school. 

In real life the team captured the championships from 1972-1974—three years in a row. It is a Cinderella story for women’s basketball. Cathy Rush continued coaching and had a record of 149 to 15—a .909 winning percentage. In 2008 she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Even though audience members may know the outcome, they will find themselves sitting on the edge of their seats cheering. Try to see this fantastic story coming in October.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (PG-13)

This “prequel” story about how man and apes would become enemies in the future is full of engaging storylines and emotions. Director Rupert Wyatt has taken Rick Jaffa’s screen interpretation of Pierre Boulle’s La Planete des Singes (1963) and turned it into a feast for the eyes and the intellect. In fact, it can almost be seen as a story from today’s headlines about DNA and the research for the cures of diseases through gene manipulation.

The film’s story centers around the research work of Will Rodman (James Franco), a good-hearted scientist working for a large pharmaceutical company named Gen Sys. (If spoken quickly the name sounds like “Genesis,” which is appropriate since it turns out this company’s policies are the reason for the start of the conflict between man and ape.) Will’s main interest is in Alzheimer’s because his father, Charles Rodman (amazingly portrayed by John Lithgow), suffers from this terrible disease. The scenes between father and son show the extremes families experience when this disease strikes: tenderness during lucid moments and despair when the inevitable confusion returns.

Will believes he has found a cure for this terrible disease. His formula, ALZ 112, works on a female ape called Number 9 (or Bright Eyes as Will calls her due to the color change in her irises after the drug takes effect). His drug causes new brain cells to grow so it may be able to help all sorts of brain diseases, disorders and injuries—a true money maker for the company.  However, just as the drug is ready to take off, disaster strikes, the drug trials are ended, and all the test animals are put down…except one.  Will cannot bring himself to destroy Caesar, the newborn son of Bright Eyes, so he illegally takes him to his own home to live.

It isn’t long before Will notices Caesar has the same elevation of intelligence as his mother, Bright Eyes; the gene therapy seems to have been passed through the pregnancy! Again illegally, he tries the drug on his father in a desperate but amazingly fruitful attempt to “bring him back” –if even for a little while. Sadly there are immune problems for humans who take ALZ 112, and his father dies. When the authorities find out about Caesar (Caesar makes a misguided rescue attempt and bites off a neighbor’s finger), he is taken away to an animal shelter where he experiences the darker side of man’s nature. The actions of the caretakers within the shelter will be upsetting to children and adults alike, but it sets the stage for a novel and rather violent escape designed by Caesar for himself and the other apes.

At the end of the movie there is a Taser killing of a human, lots of explosions and gunfire, and an amazing Golden Gate Bridge confrontation between the smart apes and the humans. This part of the film may frighten some kids as it is so graphically shown, but adults may find themselves cheering for the apes. Make sure to stay for the first part of the credits since there is a very important map that shows the connection between this film’s story and the other Planet of the Apes movies. 

The Smurfs (PG)

La-la-la-la-la-la – The Smurfs are on the big screen! This animated live action movie is a delightful tale of the cute little blue characters created by Peyo. As usual they find themselves under attack by Gargamel (wonderfully portrayed by Hank Azaria), but this time they all end up in New York City. The 3-D aspect of the film helps the adventure along as the Smurfs traverse waterfalls, scale roof tops, and execute a big, well-planned showdown with their nemesis while trying to return to their peaceful village full of little mushroom houses. There also is a sweet human side-story with the theme of following one’s dreams while putting families first.

In this story the Smurfs are sucked into a magical Blue-Moon portal that ends in Central Park while trying to escape from Gargamel and his funny, silly CGI cat, Azriel. Gargamel and Azriel also go through the water tunnel and are soon hot on the Smurfs’ trail. Gargamel plans to capture the Smurfs and squeeze them for the magical powers contained in their tears and sweat. The little blue guys decide to hide in a box of advertising papers belonging to Patrick Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris). Once the box is carried into his home, Patrick and his pregnant wife, Grace (Jayma Mays), discover the cute group of stowaways. Many silly and exciting adventures follow as the Smurfs try to return home, and Patrick tries to help them and keep his job and sanity at the same time.

Of course this movie follows the idea that no matter how bad the odds, the characters with truth and love on their side will win. This is a movie for children to enjoy with their parents. It might even offer parents a chance to talk with their children about what to do if they get separated or lost in a new place and what kind of people they can trust. As an extra plus, this film tells us about Smurfette’s origins. They never did that in the TV series! 

Zookeeper (PG)

Zookeeper has a predictable plot that Kevin James has played before (Mall Cop), but this time the film has the added benefit of a zoo full of animals that talk. The lip syncing dialogue was excellent and helped make the conversations more believable. The romantic part of this story is also more believable since it is portrayed with a boyish charm and is not as over-the-top as in some of James’ work.

In the movie Griffin Keyes (James) is a zookeeper who is at a crossroad in his life. He has lost his true love and has been at the same low paying, low status zoo job for years. In fact he knows that his lack of status is the reason his love left him for “greener ($) fields”.  He loves the zoo, the animals that live there, and his job, but he is worried that maybe he should make a change. 

Since he has cared for these animals so long, he considers them “friends” so he talks out his problems in front of them. In the evening when the zoo is closed and no people are around, these animals—Monkey voiced by Adam Sandler, Bear voiced by Jon Favreau, Giraffe voiced by Cher, Lion voiced by Sylvester Stallone—get together and discuss how they could help him with his love life. They decide to break the Code of Silence, and tell him how to attract a mate. Of course these are not good ideas for humans to use, but he does them anyway to the delight of the younger viewers. 

His friend and zoo co-worker, Kate (Rosario Dawson), also helps him out by going to a wedding party as his date. They know his “true love” Stephanie (Leslie Bibb), will be there too. Kate and Griffin are of course wonderful together, but their plan to make Stephanie jealous works. Then even more of silliness happens, but that is what a sweet, funny family film should offer to its target audience. Most of the humor may be smile-funny for adults, but the children in the audience will laugh out loud at the craziness on the screen. Needless to say, all works out just right for the zookeepers. Let’s hope they all live “happily ever after.”

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (PG-13)

If you love the Transformers and great special effects make sure you see this latest robot story which is filled with crashes, chases and explosions. The movie weaves history with imagination in an interesting plot which again involves Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), the Autobots, The Deceptions, a new villain, Shockwave, and great 3D CGI action.

Optimus Prime brings the audience up to speed by narrating the story of the great war between the Autobots (freedom) and the Decepticons (tyranny). He tells of a desperate mission, their “final hope”—a secret cargo ship which managed to escape Cybertron into space and carried their planet’s fate with it. Then that spaceship is seen crashing into our moon’s dark side. When that ship, The Ark, captained by Sentinel Prime, is discovered (director Michael Bay’s use of the American Moon landing was a great addition to the film’s believability) the race is on to see who can unlock its secrets first. That race and those secrets make up the rest of the plot.

As in the other Transformer films, a great deal of the movie revolves around Sam and his life, but the movie is called Transformers. The robots are the reason the audience goes to these movies. They are awesome when they fold and unfold.  Some viewers may be disappointed that Bumblebee does not have as great a role as he did in the other films, but there are many other action scenes to hold their attention—some of which seem to jump off the 3D screen. The building collapses—with people, furniture and robots sliding and falling all over the place—are amazing and worth the whole price of admission. And the 3D of this film does not seem to make it too dark; it does not get in the way of the storyline.

This film is too long and has too many scenes of mass destruction for younger viewers. The final battle scene goes on and on with its explosions and near death events. However those who played with the transformer toys years ago will find the action and robots totally worth it.

Judy Russell teaches music and performing arts at Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School.