The Green Hornet

Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz
Directed by: Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”)
Written by: Seth Rogen (“Pineapple Express”) and Evan Goldberg (“Pineapple Express”)
 
There are some major problems with a superhero movie when the best thing about it (and only real evidence that the 3-D effects actually work) is the stylish end credits.
 
As far as superhero movies go, “The Green Hornet” finds itself suck somewhere in the middle of a genre that has been as amazing in recent years as “The Dark Knight” and as abysmal as “Elektra.”
 
In “Hornet,” Seth Rogen (“Knocked Up”) plays rich brat-turned-vigilante Brit Reid, the son of a powerful newspaper publisher, who must take over the business after his father passes away. Teaming up with the family mechanic Kato (Jay Chou), a role made famous in the 1960′s TV series by Bruce Lee, the duo set out to clean up crime in the city much to the dismay of veteran crime boss Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz in a wasted role) who demands respect and doesn’t want to see anyone treading on his turf.
 
Despite some fun martial arts choreography and a few inventive weapons, “Hornet” still has to be chalked up as a disappointment. While visionary director Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) has his hands on the project, he’s only able to muster the usual fanfare that makes many of these action movies so ordinary.
 
Comic-book fans will be hard-pressed to remember this one especially with other entries coming soon like “Thor,” “The Green Lantern,” and “X-Men: First Class.” Those movies might end up being just as mundane, but at least they weren’t relegated to the cinematic dumping ground known as the month of January.

Shrek Forever After

Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz
Directed by: Mike Mitchell (“Sky High”)
Written by: Josh Klausner (“Date Night”) and Darren Lemke (“Lost”)

“Shrek Forever After” is being labeled as “The Final Chapter” of a 9-year-long fairytale franchise and well it should be. It’s a sequel that’s squeezing out what little magic is left in it’s ogre-sized tank. It might be superior to the slaphappy third installment in 2007, but there’s still not enough originality to make it a truly happily-ever-after.

In “Forever After,” DreamWorks Animation and screenwriters Josh Klausner (“Date Night”) and Darren Lemke (“Lost”) toss a little of Frank Capra’s classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” into the mix as a more mature Shrek returns to a Shrek-less version of Far Far Away.

With the everyday repetition of his family life (changing baby ogre diapers isn’t as adventurous as he thought it would be), Shrek doesn’t feel like the same nasty ogre that once instilled fear into everyone. Instead of running for the hills when Shrek is near, the villagers now look upon him as a celebrity.

In an attempt to revisit his glory days, Shrek signs a pact with the villainous Rumplestiltskin (Walt Dohrn), who has held a grudge with the lovable ogre since he ruined him chance to take over the kingdom years ago. All Shrek wants is one more day where he can feel like the ogre he used to be. Rumple, however, has other ideas.

Transporting into an alternative universe where he was never born, the Shrek realizes that a lot has changed in Far Far Away. Fiona (Cameron Diaz) is now a strapping warrior leading an underground ogre resistance; Donkey (Eddie Murphy) pulls a carriage for some evil, whip-whapping witches; and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) has packed on a few pounds and become a lazy house cat.

To break the spell and return to his regular life, Shrek must get Fiona to fall in love with him all over again and share in “True Love’s Kiss.” Isn’t breaking a spell with a kiss as listless as a storybook tale can go these days?

As in the last two “Shrek” movies, it’s Banderas’ Puss in Boots who steals most of the scenes. Even though there’s not much swordplay in this last film, the now pudgy feline with the Spanish accent is able to match the energy of the new characters, including an army of personable ogres (Craig Robinson and Jane Lynch give funny performances). Cameos by the Gingerbread Man (Conrad Vernon) are also enjoyable. One of the best parts of the movie is when Gingy gives his best impression of a gladiator chopping down fierce animal cookies in a coliseum.

Despite some character highlights, “Shrek Forever After” doesn’t reach the level of the first two installments. It may be the darkest of the series, but it’s light on charm and all around cleverness.

The Box

Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella
Directed by: Richard Kelly (“Donnie Darko”)
Written by: Richard Kelly (“Donnie Darko”)

A morality tale based on a “Twilight Zone” episode, director/screenwriter Richard Kelly (“Donnie Darko”) tries to stretch the original work as much as possible into a feature film, but the results are far more ordinary than you could have imagined. While the source material is simple – a couple must make a decision whether or not to push a mysterious button that will kill someone they do not know but also earn them $1 million – Kelly complicates things by creating a ridiculous governmental thriller set in the 70s with no rhyme or reason. Sure, there’s another hour or so he has to fill in with narrative, but what he delivers is not nearly as fueled by paranoia as it should be.

My Sister’s Keeper

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Sofia Vassilieva, Abigail Breslin
Directed by: Nick Cassavetes (“The Notebook”)
Written by: Nick Cassavetes (“Alpha Dog”) and Jeremy Leven (“Alex and Emma”)

There’s so much negative connotation when a film is referred to as a Lifetime Movie of the Week. Typically, this signifies the movie is cliché, overacted, and sappy and usually about spousal abuse or someone dying of a mysterious disease or someone fighting an addiction. But in the entire history of the Lifetime Channel, isn’t it possible that at least one of those dramas was actually watchable to more than the female demographic it caters to?

“My Sister’s Keeper” isn’t a Movie of the Week, but if it were it would be that unmentioned tear-jerker that is the exception to the TV-movie rule. Although it tries to slide into that position in the final act, director/writer Nick Cassavetes (“The Notebook”) and the entire cast create a poignant foundation where family thresholds are tested with life and death scenarios.

Based on the best-selling book of the same name by Jodi Picoult, “My Sister’s Keeper” tells the story of the Fitzgerald family, who are waiting helplessly as their oldest child, Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), slowly dies of leukemia. Through nonlinear storytelling, we watch parents Sara and Brian (Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric) faced with a decision to have another child (Abigail Breslin) so that later in life when their sick daughter needs a new kidney, a carefully customized baby with the same chromosomal makeup would be available. Along with an inevitable surgery, their engineered daughter, Andromeda (did they really have to make her name sound so sci-fi?), would also be used to collect blood cells and bone marrow to keep her older sister alive.

But by the age of 11, Andromeda doesn’t want to be a lab rat anymore. When Kate finally needs a kidney transplant, the family is shocked when Andromeda hires a high-profile lawyer (Alec Baldwin) and sues her parents for “medical emancipation,” which means she can’t be forced to give her kidney to her sister.

Of course, this splits the family down the center and forces them into court. Sara, who was a lawyer before she stopped practicing to care for Kate, is beyond disbelief because her own daughter would allow her sister to die. Compassionate father Brian, sees both sides of the argument. What kind of life would Andromeda lead if the transplant wasn’t a success?

It an ethical mindbender as the family waits as Kate becomes sicker. “I don’t mind my disease killing me,” Kate says, “but it’s killing my family, too.” While it would have been easily to let the sentimentality wander all over the place, Cassavetes stays focused on the issue at hand and allows his characters to work their way through these scenes organically.

With some effective performances by all the women – Diaz, Vassilieva, Breslin, and Joan Cusack as the judge hearing the case who is going through her own tragedy – the film is touching on many levels despite unnecessarily dabbling in melodramatic tone. When only the heart of the matter is at the forefront, “My Sister’s Keeper” is a moving piece.